Kabuto frowned slightly at Karin's excitement and raised a practical concern.
"But Sasuke isn't stupid. Once he realizes Pain is dangerous, he'll stay hidden and observe. If he never truly falls into a desperate situation… how are we supposed to 'observe' anything?"
"Hehe~"
Karin let out a light, mischievous laugh. Her small face was full of playful confidence, as though everything were already under control.
"Why should he get to hide comfortably and watch the show?" she said sweetly. "I'll give him a little 'push.' Make it so he has to reveal himself~"
She licked her lips, eyes gleaming with dangerous excitement. Clearly, she was already plotting how to nudge Sasuke—just enough—to shove him straight into Pain's path and satisfy her curiosity.
Kabuto said nothing further. A flicker of anticipation passed through his eyes.
Across the shinobi world, people felt a chill.
"This devil child—she's trying to sabotage Sasuke!"
"She's going to force him to fight Pain? That's sending him to his death!"
"All for her own curiosity?!"
"Sasuke, watch your back! There's someone worse behind you!"
Ninja Academy – Present Timeline
The real Sasuke Uchiha's face had turned pitch black with fury. His fists clenched so tightly they creaked.
Pain's overwhelming chakra alone had already unsettled him. He had confidence in his Sharingan—but six Rinnegan radiated an undeniable, crushing pressure.
What infuriated him even more was Karin.
That lunatic was actually planning to push him out as experimental material.
"Karin… you have a death wish," he muttered coldly.
In his mind, she was already erased from any future association with his team.
Pain's Judgment
On the battlefield, Deva Path stopped attempting persuasion. His Rinnegan held only resolution.
He slowly ascended into the sky, rising above the ruined earth like a god withdrawing from mortal filth.
His cold voice echoed across Konoha's shattered landscape—and through the heavens, across the shinobi world:
"Feel pain…"
"Think about pain…"
"Accept pain…"
"Know pain…"
With each phrase, his chakra swelled.
Below, Tsunade's unease surged into full-blown dread.
"What are you doing?! Stop!" she shouted.
Pain's voice grew more impassioned.
"Those who do not understand pain will never understand true peace!"
He rose higher still.
Then, spreading his arms wide, Rinnegan blazing—
"Shinra Tensei!"
Divine Catastrophe
There was no further buildup.
No warning.
Only annihilation.
A blinding white light descended from the sky.
Then—
Destruction.
Everything within the center of Konoha—ruins, broken buildings, weapons, even the earth itself—was violently repelled.
The ground rippled like water before being crushed flat.
All matter was swept outward by an invisible, overwhelming force.
A massive, perfectly smooth hemispherical crater formed in seconds—expanding rapidly.
"No—!!!"
Tsunade's scream tore through the chaos.
Anyone who had not evacuated beyond the outer perimeter would be erased instantly.
In that moment, she made her final stand.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Protect whoever you can—no matter what!"
Thousands of small Katsuyu clones shimmered into existence, glowing faintly green as they surged toward the edge of the expanding shockwave, attaching themselves to civilians and shinobi alike in desperate attempts to shield them.
But against Shinra Tensei—a force like divine catastrophe—
Even Tsunade's monstrous chakra and Katsuyu's division were pitifully small.
Countless tiny slugs were obliterated on contact with the expanding repulsion field. The lives they could save were few.
The Vision of Ruin
The Tenkai showed it mercilessly:
At the center—a blazing white sphere and a growing crater of death.
At the margins—flickering green lights of struggling Katsuyu clones.
Further out—bodies hurled through the air by the shockwave.
Above it all—Deva Path of Pain, floating like an indifferent god.
Silence fell across the world.
This was no longer a battle between shinobi.
This was divine-level devastation.
"One attack… destroyed Konoha…"
"This is the power of the Rinnegan…"
"How can anyone resist that?"
Fire Shadow's Office – Present Timeline
Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen all sat pale as death.
They had witnessed Konoha's end.
Witnessed Tsunade's futile resistance.
Witnessed countless comrades vanish in white light.
"So this is… 'feel pain'…" Tsunade whispered hoarsely.
Even knowing this was a possible future, the impact was crushing.
Jiraiya closed his eyes in agony, fists trembling. The child he had once taught had become the one to "teach" the world through devastation.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slumped back in his chair, as though decades had suddenly fallen upon him.
He was afraid.
Afraid that when everything was revealed—
Konoha might truly have played a role in creating this monster.
Aftermath
Shinra Tensei left Konoha's center as a vast, silent bowl-shaped crater.
And at the edge of that apocalyptic ruin—
Three figures slipped quietly into the outer wreckage, hidden by smoke and dust.
Ghostlike.
Waiting.
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