Orochimaru's home was soon surrounded by a swarm of visiting shinobi.
The Third Hokage, the Fourth Hokage, the two advisers, Danzo, and members from every clan in Konoha were all watching Orochimaru to see what he would do.
What surprised everyone was that Orochimaru actually accepted the verdict. He persuaded his loyal followers to back off and went alone to the Hokage's office.
No one knew what he and Namikaze Minato discussed, but that very evening, the Hyuga clan received a directive from the Hokage: Hyuga Asana would assist Orochimaru in completing the two S-rank missions. The Hyuga clan was not to interfere.
The Hyuga main family, who had been preparing to severely punish Asana, were furious. They collectively pressured Hyuga Hiashi to go and appeal directly to the Hokage to rescind the order.
But before Hiashi could go, Orochimaru paid a visit himself.
That same night, something strange occurred within the Hyuga clan: all the elders of the main family were injured by a mysterious person.
Even the clan leader was no match for this intruder. At the critical moment, Hyuga Asana stepped in and stopped the mysterious figure.
As for who this mysterious person was—everyone seemed to know, yet no one could say.
In any case, after this incident, the Hyuga clan tacitly accepted that Asana would accompany Orochimaru on these S-rank missions.
The next day, with everything packed, Orochimaru and Hyuga Asana quietly left the village.
They had already said goodbye to those they cared about in advance, so they didn't notify anyone of their departure. They left Konoha in complete silence.
Atop the Hokage Rock, Uchiha Yuan activated his Sharingan and watched the two of them leave.
He stood there for a long time until their figures vanished completely from sight.
"All right, it's time to get serious now!" With that, Uchiha Yuan stretched and disappeared from the Hokage Rock.
At the same time, within the Akatsuki, Obito and Black Zetsu—who had vanished for over a month—returned.
But instead of seeing Nagato, they were greeted by six emotionless, orange-haired men.
"Nagato…"
"Call me Pain," said the Deva Path, stepping forward and speaking in a flat tone.
"All right, Pain, you—"
Before Black Zetsu could finish, he suddenly felt a tremendous gravitational pull from the Deva Path.
"What are you doing?" Black Zetsu asked in panic.
"Nothing. I just want to know what exactly you are." As he spoke, the Deva Path's gravity intensified, pulling Black Zetsu toward him.
Then a black chakra rod appeared in Pain's hand and pinned Black Zetsu to the ground.
Black Zetsu, being a product of Yin-Yang Release, could only be restrained by techniques of a similar nature. The chakra rods created by the Rinnegan belonged precisely to Yin-Yang Release.
As a result, Black Zetsu was immobilized, unable to move.
"Nagato, what's the meaning of this?" Obito asked sternly.
"Don't get agitated. I just want to understand what he really is." The Deva Path then produced two more rods and stabbed them into Black Zetsu's head and chest.
"Just as I thought. You're not human. No one could survive a stab to both the heart and the head." Pain glanced at Black Zetsu coldly.
"Can you release him now?" Obito asked.
In response, Pain withdrew the rods.
Black Zetsu crawled up from the ground, backing away instinctively, still shaken by the experience.
"Relax. I won't attack you again. Speaking of which, even though we've agreed to work together, you two have never actually told me your real objective, have you?
And this time, you both disappeared for over a month. Shouldn't I get an explanation?" Pain's tone remained cold and distant.
Relieved, Black Zetsu quickly explained, "We were just gathering information. Please believe us, we truly want to cooperate."
Pain frowned but gestured for him to continue.
"Just like you, we want to end the chaos of the ninja world and bring peace. But our power is insufficient. You, on the other hand, possess the power of the Sage of Six Paths. You could not only join us—you could lead us."
Pain wasn't moved by Black Zetsu's words, but when he heard "peace," he had the Deva Path ask, "How do you plan to achieve peace?"
"Allow me to explain," Obito interjected.
Pain, through the Deva Path, cast a wary look at Obito.
When they first allied, Obito had introduced himself as Uchiha Madara.
Pain had heard the name, of course. Madara was the terrifying co-founder of Konoha, alongside Senju Hashirama, who brought an end to the Warring States period.
But neither Nagato, Konan, nor Yahiko truly believed this man was Madara.
Setting everything else aside—if Madara were still alive, he'd be over ninety years old by now. How could he still have a full head of black hair?
Still, even if this man wasn't Madara, he was no ordinary shinobi.
From the exposed Sharingan in his mask, Pain could sense immense ocular power—greater than that of any Uchiha he had encountered.
That was why he had chosen not to drive them out immediately and instead maintained a shallow alliance.
Thinking this over, Pain responded, "Go ahead—tell me your idea."
"In my view, peace can only be born after the world has known pain."
"Peace... born of pain?"
"Exactly. Words can never make people truly understand each other. Only suffering and despair can connect people. Only those who have experienced the same pain can understand one another."
Obito's words left Pain deep in thought. Everything he said contradicted the ideals Nagato had long believed in.
Nagato couldn't help but recall the moment Yahiko had collapsed at his side.
If not for Uchiha Yuan rescuing Yahiko back then, Nagato might have accepted Obito's ideology completely.
"How exactly do you plan to achieve peace?"
"Our plan is to collect all the tailed beasts and use them to develop a forbidden technique—one that turns their chakra into a weapon of mass destruction. The chakra of the tailed beasts is immense. If we harness it, we'll have the power to destroy a country in an instant."
"Destroying countries? That's not peace—that's war!" Pain's face darkened. This was nothing like the peace he sought.
"No war, no peace. We want humanity to experience fear and despair first. Only by suppressing war through fear can we guide the world to stability and peace."
Pain again fell silent. Obito's words shook him.
Seeing Nagato hesitate, Obito pressed on: "Think about it, Nagato. If everyone had felt the pain of seeing their loved ones die beside them, who would still want to wage war?"
After a long pause, Pain finally understood Obito's point.
In essence, Obito wanted to make the world feel pain—deep, unforgettable pain. That fear would then make people treasure peace, and strive to preserve it.
(To Be Continued...)