Chapter 168: Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei

Yamanaka Chujiu pointed at Pain Deva Path: "What you say is wrong!"

"The peace you created is based on the deterrence of fear and pain, suppressing the world with immense power; the cornerstone of this peace is your strength, the destruction that rulers fear from you!"

"Such peace has already appeared in the Ninja World, and it lasted for a full twelve years—that is, the period when the First Hokage of Konohagakure, Senju Hashirama, was in power."

"As everyone knows, less than three months after the First Hokage passed away from illness, the First Shinobi World War broke out in full force."

"Nagato, you are the same."

"The power you display now, while not yet reaching the height of the First Hokage, is already above all other ninja, an absolutely invincible existence."

"I also believe that you have not yet fully grown, and there is still great room for improvement; you will become even more powerful."

"But I know even better that you are, in the end, a human who will die; your power cannot last for eternity, and your deterrence cannot transcend life and death."

"You can use violence to bring about the most universal fear, suppress all contradictions, and create an era of peace, but hatred, ambition, and selfish desires will not disappear on their own; they will only be forcibly buried and continue to accumulate."

"When you finally fall, when your deterrence dissipates, all the contradictions will erupt completely, all at once!"

"By then, the Ninja World will erupt into even greater chaos, the suffering of war will be even more miserable, and the slaughter between ninja will be even more brutal!"

"The peace you created while alive is bound to be limited and short-lived, perhaps even just paving the way for a greater destruction."

Yamanaka Chujiu's words were logically complete, struck at the heart of the matter, and unceremoniously tore apart all beautiful fantasies.

In a cave outside the Valley of the End, the withered and curled-up Nagato was stunned for a long time, then suddenly began to cough.

He coughed so violently that his body shook intensely, and the chakra within him became chaotic and out of control.

After the pain of encountering his dear friend's death, the plan he had finally figured out—the cornerstone of his self-affirmation and salvation—had actually been pierced and shattered by the young ruler of Konoha.

The key was that Nagato could not refute it at all; Yamanaka Chujiu agreed with the feasibility of his plan and did not even question the steps to implement it, merely asking him: how to maintain it after achieving peace.

Yes, after the peace brought about by deterrence arrives, how can it be sustained?

Nagato is not a smart person, nor is he a firm idealist.

The plan he formulated was too crude; he only wanted to stop violence with violence and stop killing with killing, never having deeply contemplated the essence of peace, let alone thought about how to protect eternal tranquility.

The beautiful fantasy was destroyed, and Nagato fell into confusion.

At the center of the Valley of the End, the chakra around Pain Deva Path showed violent turbulence, and his orange short hair fluttered in the wind.

The controller himself fell into confusion, and this state was reflected onto the Deva Path through their mysterious connection, making it clearly visible to all the ninja present.

Jiraiya looked at Yahiko's face, his heart filled with mixed feelings, and guilt almost welled up.

It was unclear who was right or wrong in this matter, or rather, if he refused to admit the mistakes of Konohagakure, he could not distinguish between justice and evil.

Tsunade frowned; she did not know the root cause of the strife in the Ninja World, nor did she care—now she was only thinking about how to end this farcical war.

Orochimaru, however, understood that war had nothing to do with the opposition of good and evil; the essence of war was the conflict of interests, the collapse of order, and the game of human nature.

He was even more satisfied with his student.

Yamanaka Chujiu's perspective, vision, and critical thinking ability had long since surpassed all contemporary ninja, including Orochimaru himself.

Konan, who was accompanying him, noticed Nagato's pain and hurriedly asked what had happened.

After listening to Nagato's retelling, Konan said coldly: "Then, didn't that Konoha ninja say so much just to stand on Konoha's side and question you?"

"Nagato, why do you care so much about that?"

"Even the shortest peace is better than continuous war!"

"No matter how righteous Konohagakure is, the blood debt they owe us must be repaid with blood!"

Nagato's confusion dissipated; Konan had persuaded him—no logic could outweigh the logic of a blood feud.

A life for a life, a debt for a debt; this has been the rule since ancient times!

After a few breaths, the confusion in Nagato's eyes disappeared completely, replaced by determination and madness.

He admitted that Yamanaka Chujiu's analysis was entirely correct; he knew his path had fatal flaws, and he was clear that the peace he sought was short-lived and illusory.

But so what?

This rotting Ninja World was already terminally ill; the deep-rooted hegemony, the never-ending greed, and the iron law of the jungle could never be rewritten by a single day, a single thought, or a single theory.

A perfect peace system was so unreachable that even imagining it was impossible, let alone proving it; saying it was just a waste of breath.

Rather than sit and watch the Ninja World sink into chaos, it was better to break the situation with violence according to his own method!

Even if it were only ten years of peace, it would be better than continuous war.

Pain Deva Path opened his mouth and repeated the thoughts in his heart: "Even if it is short-lived peace... it is still better than the suffering brought by war!"

The voice started hoarse, but soon turned into a roar that resounded through the heavens and earth, expressing a firm will that ignored all obstacles.

From the body of Pain Deva Path, a powerful repulsive force erupted.

In an instant, wild winds howled and the earth shook within the Valley of the End; countless rocks broke through the soil and rose into the air, the forest completely disappeared under the terrifying impact, replaced by a barren earth.

"Not just peace, but hatred, blood feud!"

"Konoha owes me the life of Yahiko, the lives of over three hundred comrades in the Akatsuki organization, and the blood debt of countless civilians in the Ninja World!"

"Today, I cannot refute the logic you spoke, but you also cannot stop me from settling this blood feud with my own power!"

"Six Paths Chibaku Tensei!!"

Pain Deva Path struck with a Six Paths Rinnegan pupil technique that transcended all Ninjutsu, capable of annihilating the entire field and crushing everything!

Boom—!

An earth-shattering roar resounded across the wilderness; a pitch-black sphere appeared in the palm of Pain Deva Path, and terrifying gravitational force erupted and expanded from the black sphere.

Everything was seized by the terrifying gravity; the earth cracked, the soil surged, and giant rocks rose into the air, gathering and rotating around the black hole, quickly condensing into a giant stone sphere hundreds of meters in diameter.

Jiraiya's expression changed drastically; with the help of the two Toad Sages, he entered Sage Mode, his white hair flying and transforming into giant whips, lashing at the flying boulders to rescue the ninja being sucked away by the gravity.

At the same time, he shouted: "Everyone, retreat immediately! Stay away from the gravitational range!"

Tsunade clenched her fists, erupting with extreme physical strength, and shattered an incoming boulder with one punch.

Orochimaru used the Snake Shedding Substitution Technique to instantly escape the pull of the gravity and appeared in a safe area in the distance.

His golden slit pupils stared fixedly at the giant stone sphere in mid-air, and he said with full shock: "I heard it; he said the words 'Six Paths'."

"In other words, this power transcends the scope of Ninjutsu."

"Is there a possibility of eternal life?"