Staring down at the lifeless corpse of Hanzō in his grasp, the Deva Path Pain slowly closed his eyes.
"Yahiko was right," he said coldly. "It's precisely because cowards like this lead this village that the Land of Rain has been trampled and humiliated by others. Our ideals nearly perished because of a man like this… Unforgivable."
As he spoke, the Deva Path's grip suddenly loosened, but Hanzō's corpse did not fall naturally. Instead, a terrifying repulsive force erupted from the Path's palm, slamming the body violently against the wall. Without the protection of chakra, the corpse, subjected to such an immense impact, was instantly pulverized into a puddle of fragmented flesh.
Thus ended the so-called "Demigod" Hanzō of the Salamander—his remains scattered beyond recognition.
After shattering Hanzō's body, the other five Paths of Pain gathered beside the Deva Path. It was clear that no one else in Hanzō's residence had survived.
Stepping out of the ruined room, the Deva Path slowly rose into the air and turned his gaze toward Konan, who hovered above, stunned.
"Konan," he asked evenly, "do you think this kind of power is enough to maintain peace?"
Konan nodded blankly, still dazed by what had just happened. Then she came back to her senses and said,
"Now that Hanzō is dead, we should inform the rest of the organization and spread the news."
Deva Path's tone remained icy.
"That won't be necessary. I'll announce it to the people of the Land of Rain myself—
in my own way."
As he spoke, the Deva Path in the air slowly spread his arms, aiming at Hanzo's massive estate below:
"Shinra Tensei!"
A terrifying wave of repulsive energy burst forth, obliterating everything in its path. The massive estate—once a symbol of Hanzō's authority—was reduced to dust in an instant, the land beneath it scorched clean.
The explosion's shockwave rippled through the entire Amegakure. People threw open their doors and windows, staring in disbelief as the grand estate of Hanzō collapsed into ruins before their eyes.
Then, a voice echoed from the sky, deep and resonant like thunder:
"The laughable so-called 'Demigod' has received divine punishment. From this day forth, there shall be no more false gods in the Land of Rain — only the true god… Pain."
———
Elsewhere — The Border of the Land of Fire
On a battlefield along the Fire Country's frontier, several Konoha shinobi whispered among themselves, gossiping about the shocking rumor they had just heard.
"Did you hear? That so-called Demigod Hanzō from the Land of Rain was killed by some mysterious man! They say no one in his entire estate survived, and now the whole Amegakure has been taken over by some organization."
Passing by, Jiraiya's ears perked up at once. He quietly approached to listen more closely as one of the shinobi continued:
"I heard it from my cousin, a merchant who trades in the Land of Rain. He said Hanzō tricked and killed the leader of a secret organization—but not long after, a man calling himself Pain appeared, slaughtered everyone connected to Hanzō, and took control of the organization himself. Now that organization runs the entire Amegakure."
Jiraiya stroked his chin, his brows furrowed.
The Amegakure… it's been unstable lately. I wonder how my three little students are doing…
Just as he was thinking about asking the toads at Mount Myōboku to investigate, a small toad suddenly appeared at his feet, holding a scroll in its mouth.
Jiraiya took the scroll and opened it—and his face went pale.
Inside were reports detailing the deaths of Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato.
The smile vanished from Jiraiya's face. He stood frozen, feeling as if the world itself had collapsed around him.
Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato are dead?
Impossible.
Nagato possessed the Rinnegan—the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths—the child of prophecy who was destined to change the shinobi world. How could he possibly die like this, without reason, without explanation?
Could it be that the Great Toad Sage's prophecy was wrong all along?
Had his lifelong journey… all been for nothing?
Jiraiya's heart felt hollow. The war before him suddenly seemed meaningless.
He walked quickly to the command tent and found Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was temporarily serving as commander in place of Hoshiyomi.
With a weary sigh, Jiraiya said quietly:
"Old man… I don't think I want to fight in this war anymore."
Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya in bewilderment, clearly confused about how his most carefree and optimistic student had suddenly become so withdrawn and gloomy.
"What's wrong? Have you seen too much killing lately and grown tired of it?" he asked gently. "If you need a break, I can talk to Hoshiyomi and arrange a short leave for you."
Jiraiya hesitated for a moment before finally replying:
"No… that won't be necessary. Once we gain a solid advantage in this war, I want to leave the village for a while."
"Nonsense," Hiruzen scolded. "If every shinobi thought like you, what would become of Konoha?"
Jiraiya opened his mouth to argue, but then the thought of the Child of Prophecy—and the possibility that the prophecy might have been wrong—hit him again. His mood sank completely. Frustrated, he scratched his head and muttered:
"Tch… I have my reasons. I have to find out the truth. If I can't… then what's the point of my existence at all?"
Without waiting for Hiruzen's reaction, Jiraiya turned and hurried out of the command tent.
———
Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Hoshiyomi had also received word of the recent events.
After Danzō's death, although Hoshiyomi had nearly dismantled Root, he hadn't discarded the vast intelligence network that Danzō had spent decades building. Thanks to that network, Hoshiyomi was always among the first to hear about any major development in the shinobi world.
Upon hearing the news about Amegakure, Hoshiyomi immediately thought of Pain. There's no mistaking it. Although that guy Hanzo had degenerated, there aren't many in the current shinobi world who can take him down.
Right now, the war is intense. Anyone with the time to do this must be Pain.
So… has Nagato's descent into darkness already begun?
But wait—Danzō was dead. Without that meddling old schemer stirring up chaos, how could things have escalated so quickly?
Drawing on his knowledge of the original story, Hoshiyomi immediately thought of two other names: Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu.
If this had happened even after Danzō's death, then it could only mean those two had started to act.
Nagato awakening the Rinnegan at this point likely meant that Madara—or rather, the entity behind him—was running out of patience.
The reincarnations of Asura and Indra always occurred together. In the original story, Naruto and Sasuke were born in Year 48 of the Shinobi Calendar.
That meant Madara likely died around that same time.
And now… it was only early Year 45—three years before their birth.
Which meant… that old fossil Madara was finally running out of time.
It was a shame that Nagato's fate couldn't be changed, but Hoshiyomi couldn't help feeling a surge of anticipation for what was to come.
With Obito and Rin safely under his protection, the next step was clear: if he could personally intervene and prevent the Kannabi Bridge Incident, then Madara would die without ever finding a new successor.
And if that happened—how would Black Zetsu possibly carry out his grand plan?
A small, almost eager smile crossed Hoshiyomi's face.
"Let's see," he thought, "what other tricks you still have up your sleeve."
Rising to his feet, he turned to Tsunade and said decisively:
"Next, I'm heading to the Iwagakure front. I have a feeling the Stone will be making some big moves soon."