On a certain street in the residential district.
Pain (Tendo), wearing the black cloak with red clouds, stepped into the area with an expressionless face.
Several Konoha shinobi noticed his appearance and, without hesitation, rushed toward him, forming hand seals to use various ninjutsu...
"Shinra Tensei."
Pain (Tendo) merely raised his hand slowly, the casual words slipping from his mouth.
An absolute repulsive force instantly erupted, centered on him!
BOOM!!
All the charging shinobi, all the incoming ninjutsu, and even all the surrounding buildings, trees, and the ground itself were compressed and crushed by this crude, absolute power!
When the smoke cleared, all the houses, shops, and trees had vanished, leaving behind only the pulverized bricks, wood chips, and a perfectly clean, circular depression!
The entire street looked as if an invisible hand had simply wiped it flat with absolute force.
The Konoha shinobi, unable to even let out a scream, were utterly buried beneath the ruins, along with their ninjutsu and the surrounding street.
In the center of this smooth ruin, Pain (Tendo) stood quietly, lowering his hand. His Rinnegan eyes rotated slightly, locking onto a similarly ruined area in the distance.
Based on the intelligence he had gathered along the way, that should have been the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's residence.
Now, only rubble remained, and it was empty.
The dust cloud behind Pain (Tendo) slowly dissipated. Pain (Jigokudō), clenching the necks of two Konoha shinobi who had luckily avoided being crushed, lifted them in front of himself.
The two shinobi's eyes rolled back, foam bubbled from their mouths, and their bodies twitched violently, their faces etched with pain and unspeakable terror. Their bodies suddenly went rigid, and they slumped completely.
Thud.
Like discarding trash, Pain (Jigokudō) casually tossed the two still-warm corpses onto the ground.
"Have they been moved to some underground shelter?" Pain (Tendo) muttered to himself emotionlessly. "As expected, it is more efficient to inquire directly with that woman."
With that, just as he was about to move toward the Hokage Mansion,
Pain (Tendo) suddenly turned his head without warning, as if he had seen something through Jigokudō's shared vision...
Swish!
A faint, sharp sound of something cutting the air suddenly came from behind him. A kunai wrapped in blinding electrical light flew past his cheek at a speed beyond visual tracking!
The sharp wind pressure cut a few strands of his hair and deeply embedded the kunai in the scorched earth not far in front of him.
"..."
Pain (Tendo) slowly turned around, looking with his cold Rinnegan eyes in the direction the kunai had come from.
Standing on a relatively intact piece of ruined wall in the distance, a figure had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
He had short, silver-white hair, a black mask covering the lower half of his face, and his visible eyes were slightly narrowed.
It was Kakashi Hatake.
His right hand remained in the kunai-throwing posture, with faint sparks of lightning still crackling and fading at his fingertips.
Kakashi stared intently at Pain (Tendo), his face filled with caution and gravity. He clearly didn't understand how his opponent had dodged his attack, which had come from a blind spot...
"No matter who you are," he declared with undeniable resolve, "Your plan seems to have failed."
Based on Hyūga Kawa's "prophecy," they had long suspected the invaders' target would likely be the Tailed Beasts.
After he and Hiruzen Sarutobi returned, not knowing the exact situation, they split up to go to the Hokage Mansion and Naruto Uzumaki's residence as a precaution.
It now seemed that the opponent's target was indeed the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. Fortunately, Jiraiya-sensei was reliable enough to transfer the Jinchūriki immediately.
"Kakashi Hatake." Pain (Tendo) spoke his name slowly, his voice still flat and emotionless. "Your return is indeed unexpected."
"However, it is utterly meaningless."
Hearing this, Kakashi's pupils slightly contracted, further confirming the suspicion in his heart.
The opponent chose to act during the period they were away, clearly a well-planned operation.
The opponent's goal was likely not just Konoha's Jinchūriki.
It was all the Tailed Beasts!
The other four Great Shinobi Villages must also have been invaded and attacked.
And the power the opponent possesses...
Kakashi's gaze swept over the street that had been forcibly leveled. A drop of cold sweat trickled from his temple.
"This is going to be difficult," he thought to himself, unconsciously tightening his grip on the handle of the short sword at his waist.
Just as his muscles tensed and he was about to draw his sword.
"'Seven Deadly Sins'?"
"I don't know what your ability is, but I won't give you the chance to use that ninja tool."
As if reading his intent, Pain (Tendo) abruptly raised his arm, pointing his hand at Kakashi, and said coldly, "Banshō Ten'in!"
An irresistible, powerful gravitational pull instantly exerted itself on Kakashi's entire body!
"Wha—"
Kakashi only managed a short, startled sound. His body was violently and uncontrollably torn from the broken wall, rocketing toward Pain (Tendo)!
Simultaneously, a sharp black receiver rod extended from Pain (Tendo)'s other palm. He firmly grasped it and stabbed it toward Kakashi's chest as the body flew toward him!
Pshh!!
The muffled sound of a blade piercing flesh and blood rang out!
Everything happened in a flash of lightning. The black rod effortlessly pierced through "Kakashi's" chest!
However, the pierced "Kakashi" did not show any expression of pain. Instead, his entire body suddenly erupted in a blinding, savage flash of lightning.
Zzzzzzt!
The entire body of "Kakashi" transformed into a flickering mass of electrical light, engulfing Pain (Tendo)'s entire arm and a large part of his body.
Undoubtedly, this was Kakashi's Lightning Release Shadow Clone.
The savage Lightning Release chakra surged and shocked, causing Pain (Tendo)'s body to momentarily stiffen!
And just as the "Lightning Release Shadow Clone" erupted, the real Kakashi Hatake emerged from the shadow of another ruin nearby!
The moment he appeared, Kakashi crouched slightly, his right hand already firmly gripping the 'Envy' short sword at his waist!
"Let me see your ugly face." Kakashi stared intently at Pain (Tendo), who was temporarily paralyzed by the lightning, and drew his blade before Pain (Jigokudō) could rush toward him.
Swoosh!
The shadowy blade suddenly left its sheath. The chakra, largely consumed by the "Lightning Release Shadow Clone," surged out at this moment.
Envy: Phony Mirror!
Accompanied by an unsettling, cold aura, the air in front of Kakashi rippled like water. A figure slowly condensed and materialized out of thin air.
And the instant that figure appeared, Pain (Jigokudō), who had been charging toward Kakashi Hatake, froze in his tracks, his Rinnegan trembling in shock.
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