Chapter 103: The Path of Pain
"Pain?"
"That's correct."
Nara Shikaku retrieved a small scroll from the side table and handed it to Minato. Liumu stepped closer to read it alongside his teacher.
'They claim sovereignty over the Land of Rain. Any who enter its borders without their consent are considered enemies.'
The intelligence detailed how Sunagakure, seeking to carve out a buffer zone, had launched an assault into Rain territory. However, a formidable and previously unknown ruler had emerged from the chaos of the war-torn nation.
When Suna's forces pushed in, a single figure clad in a black cloak with red clouds confronted them under the name "Pain."
"One man… against a village?" Minato's voice held frank disbelief. He instinctively glanced at Liumu, whose own expression had grown thoughtful.
"That's what the report says," Kakashi confirmed, having read similar dispatches.
Akimichi Chōza, who had greeted Liumu warmly earlier, now added with grave emphasis, "The reports say this 'Pain' is immensely powerful, a master of summoning techniques. He held back the entire Suna incursion force with a single, bizarrely powerful psychic creature. And there's more… guess what?"
Liumu: "..."
Minato: "?"
"The Rinnegan. This 'Pain' possesses the Rinnegan. And the creature he summoned… it had the Rinnegan as well. It's… unnerving."
While Konoha's leadership might be mystified by the name 'Pain,' Liumu knew. It wasn't so much a single man named Pain fighting Suna, but likely one of the Six Paths of Pain.
The Six Paths: Deva, Asura, Human, Animal, Preta, and Naraka. The one adept at summoning would be the Animal Path. The creatures it called forth were nightmarishly powerful.
The Deva Path was the core, wielding abilities like Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei. The Asura Path was pure mechanized offense. The Human Path could extract souls and read minds. The Preta Path could devour any chakra or ninjutsu—a power eerily similar to Liumu's own Taotie's Gluttony. The final Naraka Path was for interrogation and restoration, summoning the King of Hell to judge truth from lies.
The Six Paths of Pain were six corpses, puppeteered through shared vision and those distinctive black receiver rods by a single controller. And in this timeline, that controller should be…
He's grown so fast. He's already utilizing the Six Paths technique… Liumu thought, a complex mix of pride and profound unease swirling within him.
Perhaps sensing Liumu's deep distraction, Minato finished his discussion with Shikaku and Chōza and approached him.
"I need to go to Yahiko," Liumu stated without preamble.
"Now?" Minato's brow furrowed.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine. But there's something I must confirm."
Liumu turned to leave, then paused after a few steps. He looked back at Minato, his expression uncharacteristically solemn. "Senior Brother Minato, please keep the information about 'Pain' confidential for now. Especially… don't tell Master Jiraiya."
Minato: "???"
What did this 'Pain' have to do with their teacher? And why the secrecy? But Liumu offered no further explanation, his mind already made up. This was a contingency he needed to verify personally. If Nagato's development had deviated dangerously from the hopeful path Liumu had tried to set, then he would be forced to consider the most extreme measures. However, under Yahiko's influence, Nagato had already shown significant divergence from the tragic figure of the original timeline. That, at least, was a hopeful sign—for Nagato, for Jiraiya's future, and perhaps for the entire shinobi world.
The main battlefronts in the Land of Rain were concentrated in the southwest, not far from Konoha's forward base. This made Liumu's journey to Yahiko's location relatively short, though not without risk.
The Land of Rain was now a nation on high alert. Wearing a Konoha headband made travel conspicuous. He was challenged multiple times, coming within a hair's breadth of having to fight his way through.
Fortunately, Liumu was still utilizing the Kizaru template. Dissolving into particles of light, he bypassed patrols and checkpoints, arriving at the hidden base of the nascent Rain Country within three days.
Before the war, Nagato had been the ever-watchful eye of Rain, using his Rain Tiger at Will technique to monitor the entire country. But with the unnatural drought, that technique was inactive. Nagato likely had no idea he was coming.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Three raps on a wooden door.
From inside what was once Konan's room, a playful voice called out, "Enter!"
The door creaked open. Liumu stepped in, his eyes immediately drawn not to Konan, but to the unfamiliar young woman standing beside her.
"Liumu?! Is that really you? When did you get here?" Konan gasped, rising swiftly from her chair. She hurried over, pulling him inside and looking him up and down with wide, astonished eyes.
"Sneaked in," Liumu admitted bluntly, his gaze still fixed on the stranger. "Who is she?"
"You little rascal, can't take your eyes off a pretty girl?" Konan chided, though her tone was more amused than annoyed.
"No, no, that's not it!" Liumu waved his hands dismissively.
The reason for his intense stare was the girl's earring—a distinctive black rod, identical to the ones used as receivers in the original timeline. And her eyes… those were unmistakably the concentric rings of the Rinnegan. The sight sent a jolt of shock through him.
"Hello. You must be Liumu. Sister Konan speaks of you often," the girl said, stepping forward with a gentle smile before Konan could introduce her. "My name is Kon Yu. Nakayama Kon Yu. But here, in the Land of Rain, I am known as… Pain."
"P-P-P… Your name is Pain?" Liumu's mind short-circuited for a moment, his confusion evident.
"That's right!" Konan chuckled, pulling Liumu to sit beside her. "A little over a year ago, when Nagato went to the Land of Water to scout the names on that list you provided, he found her in a devastated village. Her family had been killed by Kiri ninja. She was the only survivor."
"And the name 'Pain'?" Liumu pressed, looking from the girl to Konan.
Konan's smile softened, tinged with something deeper. "You've seen her eyes. This matter… it's better if Nagato explains it to you himself."
She then led Liumu to a heavily secured, windowless room deep beneath the base.
"Oh, by the way," she added casually as they walked, "that man from the list, Loquat Jūzō, arrived here on his own some time ago."
"I know," Liumu replied with a faint, knowing smile, following Konan inside.
The room was pitch black. Konan felt for a switch on the wall, and dim light flooded the space, revealing Nagato resting on a simple cot.
Perhaps sensitive to the light even in sleep, Nagato stirred. His eyelids fluttered, then opened. He raised his head slowly, his gaze—now bearing the profound, lavender rings of the Rinnegan—focusing on the doorway.
"Liumu…?" His voice was hoarse with sleep, but held genuine surprise. "When did you arrive?"
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