Chapter 165: The Enemy Has Split Apart

Pain Deva Path looked at Jiraiya, his Rinnegan devoid of emotional fluctuation, possessing only a detached, lofty indifference.

"Jiraiya... Teacher."

"You shouldn't be asking where Nagato and Konan have gone; you should be asking: what did Konohagakure do to us?"

Jiraiya's pupils contracted sharply, and he turned his head to look at Orochimaru, his eyes filled with suspicion and hatred.

Orochimaru smiled and raised his hands: "This has nothing to do with me; it was the good work of Shimura Danzo."

"Of course, our dear Teacher Hiruzen tacitly approved of it afterward and sealed all the intelligence. It wasn't until I became Hokage that I was informed of this matter by Yamanaka Chujiu."

The hatred in Jiraiya's eyes dissipated, and he asked anxiously and suspiciously: "What exactly happened?"

Orochimaru did not answer, but instead looked at the Pain Deva Path hovering in the air.

The Deva Path remained expressionless and asked: "Teacher Jiraiya, do you still remember the three orphans from the Land of Rain?"

Jiraiya recalled the days of endless rain in the Land of Rain, the innocent eyes of the youths, and their longing for peace.

He closed his eyes: "I remember, I have never forgotten. Your appearances, your ideals, I have always remembered them."

Pain Deva Path: "Remember?"

"If you truly remember, why did you never come looking for us?"

"If you truly remember our ideals, why did you never stop the evil deeds of the Konoha Ninja?"

"Even if you didn't know, then why didn't you settle the score, why didn't you avenge us?"

Jiraiya was stunned: "Avenge? Nagato... Konan... what happened to them?"

Pain Deva Path smiled expressionlessly: "Konan is fine, and I am still alive, but Yahiko is dead..."

Jiraiya was even more bewildered; his fingers trembled as he pointed at the Deva Path: "Yahiko, you are joking with your teacher, right? You are clearly standing right in front of me..."

The Deva Path interrupted him: "I am the Deva Path, Pain Deva Path, a god among men created by the Rinnegan using Yahiko's corpse as a foundation!"

Nagato was still too young; upon seeing Teacher Jiraiya, he was completely unable to control his emotions and let his entire background slip out in one go.

"Rinnegan... modifying corpses... god... it really is the legendary Six Paths Power."

Orochimaru licked his lips with the tip of his tongue: "The civil war in Konohagakure not only brought out such a monster, but it turns out to be Jiraiya's student; this is too interesting."

Jiraiya looked at the Pain Deva Path, carefully examining every inch of his skin, and finally confirmed:

Yahiko was dead.

That child who always smiled, gentle and sunny, harboring pure ideals, the youth who would smile and say to Jiraiya "I want to save everyone," was dead.

What appeared before him now was a puppet controlled by the Rinnegan.

Jiraiya's hands were both trembling: "Nagato, you are Nagato, right?"

"Tell me, tell me everything that happened?"

"I beg you..."

Pain Deva Path said coldly: "You want to know now?"

"Fine, I will let you know how filthy and treacherous Konohagakure is, and let you know that Konohagakure is the source of all evil in the Ninja World!"

Following this, the Pain Deva Path revealed the truth that had been deliberately buried by the high-ranking officials of Konohagakure.

More than a decade ago, during the Second Shinobi World War, the Land of Rain became a battlefield for the great nations, leaving the land shattered and the people destitute.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, three orphans, struggled to survive in a sea of corpses and blood; having seen enough slaughter and displacement, and having tasted despair and suffering, they instead resolved to bring peace to the Ninja World.

When Jiraiya met the three and taught them the foundations of Ninjutsu, their ideals gained the support of power, and the original Akatsuki was born.

The original Akatsuki was unbelievably clean; they did not vie for power, did not kill, but only lobbied all sides with goodwill, resolved disputes with gentleness, and strove for peace with sincerity.

In the suffering-filled Ninja World, the Akatsuki was truly like a beam of light at dawn, bringing hope to countless people.

In just a few short years, the Akatsuki grew wildly, becoming a light that the weak commoners yearned for.

But this light was too pure, stinging the eyes of those in power who were accustomed to darkness.

Hanzo of the Salamander of Amegakure feared the growing Akatsuki, worried about his own rule, and even more worried that the Akatsuki would invite interference from the great nations.

Shimura Danzo of Konohagakure feared the strength of the Akatsuki and worried that the three powerful ninja would return to Konohagakure, strengthening Jiraiya's influence and completely cutting off his possibility of becoming Hokage.

The two colluded for their own selfish interests and set up a trap to surround and kill the Akatsuki.

Hanzo, in his capacity as the leader of the ninja village, claimed to deeply identify with the ideals of the Akatsuki and invited Yahiko to lead the Akatsuki to negotiate and discuss plans to achieve peace together.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan naively believed him and jumped into the trap with the members of the original Akatsuki.

In the end, Hanzo shamelessly launched a sneak attack and captured Konan, then used her life as leverage to force Yahiko and Nagato to commit suicide.

Danzo directed the Root ninja of Konoha to directly surround and kill the members of the Akatsuki, and claimed that as long as Yahiko committed suicide, he would spare all the other members of the Akatsuki.

In the end, the youth Yahiko, who single-mindedly pursued the light, drew his blade and killed himself to protect his companions.

But Hanzo and Danzo had no intention of keeping their promises; while triumphantly mocking Yahiko for his stupidity, they ordered the slaughter of everyone in the Akatsuki.

Pain Deva Path sneered: "This is the justice of Konoha! This is the order of the Ninja World!"

The memories made Nagato's emotions unstable, and once his emotions became unstable, the state of the Rinnegan would become unstable as well; massive chakra erupted wildly, forming a storm that swept through the Valley of the End.

He questioned through Pain: "Teacher Jiraiya, do you know about everything Konohagakure did?"

Jiraiya's gaze was dull: "I, I didn't know."

Pain asked again: "Then now that you know, will you go and kill Shimura Danzo?"

Jiraiya stammered: "Danzo is already dead..."

Pain nodded: "Oh, he's dead, then is the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen dead?"

Jiraiya was struck as if by lightning: "This, this has nothing to do with Teacher Hiruzen..."

Pain: "He is the Hokage, the Hokage is responsible for everything in Konohagakure!"

Jiraiya could no longer speak.

Pain sneered expressionlessly: "So, Teacher Jiraiya, you won't avenge Yahiko, and you will even stop me from taking my own revenge!"

His voice rose abruptly: "The endless wars in the Ninja World are because of you ninja, who indulge the evildoers in their wanton behavior; the price they pay is too light!"

"Under your indulgence, ambitious people and great nations can launch wars at will and madly oppress the weak, because no one can make them pay the price!"

"If you won't do it, then I will!"

"I will replace hollow justice with absolute terror!"

"I will have those who incite war destroyed! Let those who wantonly trample on the weak die! I will use fear to shackle greed and use violence to end suffering!"

"Only when everyone has felt pain, and everyone knows the terror of war, can the endless chaos of the Ninja World be ended!"

The blood-stained declaration Nagato spoke through Pain was tragic and fierce, every word piercing the heart.

But to the ears of the ninja and samurai, they felt nothing at all, only feeling offended.

Hostility shifted from Orochimaru and Yamanaka Chujiu toward Pain Deva Path.

Yamanaka Chujiu scratched his cheek: "Teacher Orochimaru, has the enemy split apart on their own?"

Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked his eye: "Don't ask me, I don't know either."