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Shin’s life in the Land of Whirlpools was one even gods would envy.
Tsunade and Konan eventually fell into the trap, tricked by Kushina and the others into Shin’s room to offer him “Morning comfort.”
And that little minx Karin actually tried a night raid on him.
If Kushina hadn’t interrupted, Shin probably would have “eaten” Karin.
After all, meat delivered to his doorstep… Shin wouldn’t become a monk and refuse. Unfortunately, Kushina interrupted.
Both Shin and Karin felt it was a pity. But Shin wasn’t in a hurry. There would always be a second time after the first.
….
One day, Shin left the Land of Whirlpools and headed towards the Land of Fire, towards Konoha.
According to intel from White Zetsu, the Six-Tails and Seven-Tails had also been captured. The Eight-Tails had already been handed over by Shin.
Now, Tailed Beasts One through Eight had been successfully sealed. Only the Nine-Tails remained.
And the Nine-Tails had, for some reason, returned to Konoha.
After Itachi Uchiha let it escape, Shin didn’t know if the Nine-Tails had gone mad, but it had actually returned to Konoha.
If this intel hadn’t come from White Zetsu, who wouldn’t deceive him, Shin would have thought White Zetsu was spouting nonsense.
Shin understood the Nine-Tails’s hatred for Konoha. Logically, there was absolutely no way it would return to Konoha.
Yet, the Nine-Tails had done just that. This baffled Shin.
Regardless, Pain had already decided to go to Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails, and the other Akatsuki members would go too. This time, it was a full-scale deployment.
Only the Nine-Tails remained.
So, Nagato chose to be cautious—leading all Akatsuki members to capture the Nine-Tails.
….
“Konoha is really in for it this time.”
Shin didn’t think Konoha had the ability to resist. Honestly, Nagato alone was difficult to deal with, let alone the rest of the Akatsuki.
Except for Itachi Uchiha, the Akatsuki was still at full strength—Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, and Tobi (Obito). Their combined strength rivaled that of a multi-village alliance.
….
When Shin arrived outside Konoha, the Six Paths of Pain and the other Akatsuki members were already there.
“Can’t wait to slaughter those Konoha bastards! I’m so excited!” Hidan shouldered his scythe, his eyes filled with fanaticism. If he could sacrifice everyone in Konoha to Lord Jashin, Lord Jashin would definitely be pleased.
Hidan was getting a bit conceited. Though his immortality was impressive, Hidan’s actual strength was at the bottom tier of the Akatsuki.
His immortality wasn’t comparable to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s.
Hidan’s was more like pseudo-immortality. If a Fire Release jutsu turned him to ash, could he still revive? Impossible.
Once turned to ash, Hidan would be well and truly dead.
So, dealing with Hidan was actually very easy.
Deidara, for example, could blow Hidan to smithereens with his clay bombs. Even if he could survive being blown to bits, without Kakuzu, being alive was worse than being dead.
“Don’t get careless” Pain said, glancing at the Akatsuki members with a warning tone.
Compared to the Nagato of the original story, the current Nagato wasn’t as arrogant, likely because of Shin, who was hundreds of times stronger than him.
Though Nagato issued a warning, some, like Hidan and Deidara, paid it no mind, looking down on Konoha.
“White Zetsu, the Nine-Tails’ chakra isn’t in Konoha.” Shin glanced at White Zetsu.
Just now, Shin had used Kagura Mind’s Eye to scan Konoha and hadn’t found the Nine-Tails.
“Shin-sama, the Nine-Tails seems to have been voluntarily sealed back into Naruto Uzumaki. And Naruto Uzumaki isn’t in Konoha right now. But I believe if we attack Konoha, he will definitely return,” White Zetsu quickly explained to Shin.
“White Zetsu. Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” Pain asked White Zetsu, his tone unfriendly. He hadn’t known this information.
“Leader, Naruto Uzumaki only recently left. I just received the intel,” White Zetsu quickly explained, not daring to hide anything from the unfriendly Pain.
Pain gave White Zetsu a deep look, seemingly accepting its explanation, and said nothing further.
Regardless of whether Naruto Uzumaki was in Konoha or not, as long as they attacked Konoha, they weren’t afraid of Konoha not handing over the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
“Shin-sama, actually, I’m very curious. Naruto Uzumaki should have had the Nine-Tails extracted by you once. How did he survive?” White Zetsu asked Shin curiously.
After White Zetsu asked this question, the others, intentionally or unintentionally, looked towards Shin. Clearly, they also wanted to know the answer.
Shin glanced at White Zetsu but ignored its question.
Since Shin didn’t speak, White Zetsu didn’t ask further, afraid of angering Shin.
“Leader, how should we enter Konoha?” Sasori asked Pain. Attacking Konoha was the most important thing right now.
Sasori didn’t underestimate Konoha. Only a fool would.
In previous Shinobi World Wars, Konoha had always emerged victorious. Though Kumogakure’s military strength was well-known, Konoha had always been the number one Hidden Village.
This title was earned through battle. Even though Konoha had suffered many disasters and seemed weaker now, they still needed to be cautious.
“We charge in.” Pain said to Sasori.
Leading so many people, all of whom were exceptionally strong—even Hidan, with his immortality, wasn’t someone an elite Jonin could easily deal with.
“That’s what I like to hear!” Deidara was very excited. He disliked sneaking around. Since they were here, they should make a grand entrance.
“Sasori, I’ve heard you single-handedly destroyed a small nation. Care to give us a demonstration?” Kakuzu asked Sasori.
“That nation was filled with civilians. Not a single ninja.” Sasori said flatly.
If it were Konoha, Sasori certainly wouldn’t claim to be able to destroy it. But causing some trouble for Konoha? He felt he could manage that.
“Let’s go.”
Pain walked at the front, all Six Paths of Pain assembled, and entered Konoha through the main gate.
Deidara and the others followed behind Pain.
‘Konoha is doomed. I wonder if they can withstand this.’ Shin was particularly curious if Konoha could survive this assault without being destroyed.
It felt like unless a miracle happened, Konoha was truly finished.
“Obito, how are your injuries recovering?” Shin didn’t dwell on it, turning his gaze to Obito Uchiha, who was lingering at the back.
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