Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

only--

The girl's enthusiasm, however, gave Bai a bit of a headache. He smiled helplessly and mumbled, "I'll try my best, try my best!" As for whether he was trying his best not to get hurt or trying his best to get hurt, only Bai himself knew the answer.

"...Bai, I'll wait for you to come back. I promise I'll keep an eye on Karin and make sure she doesn't get hurt."

"I said it very seriously."

The handsome and elegant young man didn't say anything, but simply waved to Jugo, then turned around and walked towards the door without looking back, pushing it open and walking straight out.

then,

We arrived at the room diagonally opposite.

"You have thirty seconds to prepare, then come with me. It's your turn to go on stage," Bai instructed the group in the room. He didn't show the same gentle and friendly attitude towards this group as he did towards Jugo and Karin.

In his view, both Jugo and Karin were good people by nature, even though they had blood on their hands.

However, compared to these few nasty characters in front of him, he was an absolute angel. These guys were considered quite strong under Lord Orochimaru, but their personalities were all hard to describe, and none of them were kind. Unless necessary, Bai usually didn't like to act with them.

[Chapter 375. Pain VS Uchiha]

After today, everything will return to normal.

Black Zetsu thought to himself silently.

The pitcher plant-like figure was hidden in the shadows. This was a viewing spot that was specially selected after surveying the surrounding area. Even with the fine drizzle blocking the view, it was still possible to see the two groups of figures facing off on the wide, empty street.

Killing intent

Soaring into the sky.

Even Black Zetsu could faintly feel the stinging pain, like needles.

"What about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Aren't we going to deal with him?"

The white monster on the left side spoke up at this moment.

Thanks to the intelligence relayed by the remaining White Zetsu who were hiding in various places and responsible for surveillance, no movement in the village could escape Zetsu's notice. The news that Uchiha Sasuke had been rescued had already reached his ears, and he had also received the latest news that the Konoha ninjas were heading towards the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"There's no need to get involved in that. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... is not important," Black Zetsu said in a deep voice. "Even if Konoha takes it back, it won't matter. As long as the wings protecting the tailed beast are cut off, even if it's lost temporarily, it can be retrieved at any time."

correct,

The importance of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki varies depending on the circumstances.

At this point in time, before the official collection and sealing of the tailed beasts has begun, the importance of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is not great. Their greatest value does not lie in the Nine-Tails that needs to be extracted, but rather in their role as 'bait,' which can draw Konoha's ninjas away from their home field to fight on an away field.

After achieving this goal,

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is temporarily useless; at this point, the most important thing is to annihilate this group of enemies from Konoha.

Especially the Sixth Hokage,

After carefully studying the developments in recent years, he made a discovery: the preparations for the Eye of the Moon Project began to go awry as soon as the useless Obito Uchiha lost to Mugen Uchiha.

The Uchiha clan, which was supposed to be destroyed, was not destroyed; instead, it flourished and thrived.

Konoha, which was supposed to be weakened, did not decline. Instead, it ushered in an even stronger future with the resurgence of the Uchiha clan.

Fortunately,

It's acceptable for some mistakes to occur during the initial preparations.

As long as the errors are corrected in time and do not hinder the implementation of the plan, there will naturally be no problem.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"You are... Nagato?"

Jiraiya stood on the street.

His white hair fell behind him as he stared at the three figures that suddenly appeared in front of him. The focus was on the young man with short orange hair and a cold expression standing in the middle. Although he had changed quite a bit and his expression was as cold as ice, he still completely overlapped with the figure in Jiraiya's memory who always had a bright smile.

"It's been a long time, Jiraiya-sensei."

Payne responded coldly to his mentor's surprise.

"Really...it's you? You really are Nagato? But, your face, Yahiko, he..." The complex and incomplete information plunged Jiraiya into deep confusion, unable to sort out a clear thought.

same,

beside,

Chihaya Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi also showed surprise at the conversation between Jiraiya and Pain.

Uchiha Chihaya, who had already gripped the hilt of her sword and was ready to strike at any moment, showed a rare expression of surprise on her face. Looking at Jiraiya, who was in a state of confusion, her crimson eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment.

but,

She wasn't the type to like figuring out all the secrets.

If you can't figure something out, then so be it! As long as it doesn't stop her from wielding her sword, then there's no problem.

In contrast,

Kabuto's curiosity was much stronger. If the current situation weren't inappropriate, he would definitely have tried to find a way to probe indirectly and get to the bottom of things. However, after noticing Sogen's calm demeanor, he realized that the Hokage must know about this.

"Nagato, where is Yahiko? Why is your body different from Yahiko's...?" Jiraiya suppressed the many distracting thoughts in his mind and stared at Pain, asking the question.

"He's dead! That guy... he's been dead for a long time. This body is just a reuse of a resource."

Payne replied in a cold, indifferent tone.

"Nagato, how...how could you say such a thing? The reuse of resources...in the past, you were..."

People change!

Pain interrupted Jiraiya's intermittent questions once again.

He looked at his former most respected mentor and said, "Many years have passed, Jiraiya-sensei. I am no longer that hungry child. War, endless war, has been repeatedly played out on this land. Many people have died in the war. It was that pain that made me grow."

"Nagato, what... what happened to you?"

Jiraiya looked at Pain.

It's like looking at a complete stranger.

This body clearly belonged to Yahiko, one of his disciples, and the spirit within it was the will of another disciple, Nagato. However, the person standing before him at this moment was neither Yahiko nor Nagato, but Pain.

"Pain leads to evolution. When a child is pricked by a needle, he learns to avoid it; when burned by a flame, he understands the danger of playing with fire. People will naturally improve after experiencing enough pain, and even a dull child will eventually grow into an adult."

"So, in your opinion, as long as you abandon your friends and treat their bodies as resources that can be reused, you are a mature adult?"

Jiraiya retorted.

At this moment,

The confusion and disorientation in his heart gradually subsided. Although he had not expected this situation, he had made the worst mental preparations when he decided to participate in this operation, so the feeling of being at a loss only lasted for a very short time.

"Jiraiya-sensei, you are still just a human being, but after experiencing endless pain... I have grown once again!"

Payne spoke slowly.

"What do you mean?"

Jiraiya frowned, not understanding what emotion Pain was trying to express.

"I grew from a human... to a god!!!"

Payne said matter-of-factly.

Compared to the exaggerated words, what is more astonishing is the unwavering and self-righteous attitude. Does anyone really believe that they are a god?

Jiraiya fell into a silent silence.

Uchiha Chihaya curiously widened her eyes and looked up and down at the 'God' to see what was different about him.

Kabuto Yakushi looked at Pain as if he were looking at a mental patient.

“I know that you… are ultimately just humans, and it’s normal that you can’t understand me.” Payne took in the changes in everyone’s expressions, but his expression remained calm and unchanged. He was not angered by the 'humans’ offense.

"So what exactly do you want to...?"

"Alright, Jiraiya-senpai, let's leave this idle chatter between master and disciple here!"

Zongxian reached out and patted Jiraiya on the shoulder, interrupting Jiraiya's question.

"But······"

Jiraiya was not satisfied and wanted to get to the bottom of things.

"Jiraiya-senpai, don't you understand? To the gods, mortals are nothing but ants. Even the ninjas of the Aburame clan wouldn't think there's any point in talking to insects. Words are no longer necessary at this point."

Communication is a behavior that generally only occurs within the same species.

Even though people can't communicate in the same language, they can still express simple meanings through actions. However, humans cannot communicate with an ant, and there is such a huge gap between gods and humans.

At this time,

Only fighting remains as a viable option.

Only by pulling the arrogant gods down from their thrones and making them stand on the same level as humanity can we then talk about communication and interaction.

Zongxian looked at Pain and the rest of the hungry ghosts, animals, and so on.

He didn't say anything.

He silently watched Pain and used a pupil technique called "Stone Longer Than Stone" to try to turn Pain, who was standing at the very front and had just stepped into the range of his pupil power, into stone.

"This move... is useless against me."

Payne said softly.

Having witnessed Kakuzu's clone turn to stone, he had been on guard against this move. This time, he deliberately stepped into the range of the opponent's eye technique in order to test whether the Rinnegan's eye technique could be effective against the Mangekyou Sharingan's eye technique of the Uchiha clan.

He could not see that invisible and colorless pupil power.

However, he could feel an unusual power falling on his body. In that instant, he activated the eye technique called [Shinra Tensei], which belonged to the Heavenly Dao.

The invisible repulsive force was like the hand of God.

He flicked away the eye power that had almost turned the body to stone.

Zongxian also noticed that his pupil power was repelled by an invisible force, which then returned and projected back towards him.

Will the Mangekyou Sharingan's eye techniques, which have the ability to interfere with reality, harm me?