Six Paths of Pain (II)

In a tree on a mountain outside Konoha.

"So that's his Summoning. It's indeed extraordinary. And that huge lion and tiger, their auras are incredibly powerful. No wonder they can give the people of Konoha such great hope. However, today I will destroy Konoha's 'hope' right here. Without hope, they are useless..." Nagato looked at the Issui above the village through the eyes of the Six Paths. Although he was surprised, he was even more excited. Killing him would make the people of Konoha feel even more fear and pain.

Konan stood silently beside Nagato. Although Yahiko's death indirectly fueled her hatred for Konoha, she still felt a little reluctant to Nagato use the power of Six Paths of Pain to destroy the Konoha. However, she hoped that he could stop Nagato and bring Nagato back to his senses.

Inside a dark, underground hall somewhere in Konoha.

"What is the current situation in Konoha?" Danzo asked calmly to the group of people kneeling below.

"My lord, Konoha has suffered severe damage, but..." the person leading the group replied, his tone somewhat somber, clearly deeply worried about Konoha's situation. Although they were Root, they were also Konoha; joining Root was solely for the purpose of better protecting Konoha.

"But what..." Danzo glanced at him casually, his eyes dull and lifeless.

"However, Issui has already appeared above the village and summoned his flying dragon ninja beast. Everyone's morale has rebounded, and they have begun to organize a large-scale counterattack, retreat, and rescue." The leader answered with a stiff upper lip. He knew that Issui was a thorn in Danzo's side. Everyone knew it, even if they didn't say it.

"Oh..." Danzo simply replied.

"Sir, should we join the battle? After all, the enemy is coming on strong. No matter what, we are part of Konoha. If Konoha is destroyed, no matter how strong we are, it will be useless..." the leader suggested. Even with Issui present, he was still quite worried, since the village had already been ravaged by the enemy.

"It doesn't matter. The village's true power hasn't disappeared yet. When that boy and the invaders are both exhausted, that's when we'll appear. Besides, it'll be good for them to understand what disaster is, so that our goals can be implemented more perfectly." Danzo said with a sneer. Let them fight. Those who died deserved to die. Those without ability don't deserve to live in this ninja world. It's better for them to die sooner, less useless trash.

"Yes..." Everyone responded and withdrew.

Standing atop Christina, Issui looked down upon the entire Konoha. Everywhere was engulfed in war; Nagato's Six Paths of Pain of Pain were wreaking havoc. The once beautiful village was now riddled with bruises. What a despicable fellow, Nagato.

"Everyone, please assist the civilians in their evacuation for now. Do not linger in the battle. We will gather our strength and fight the enemy one last time. All ninjas with fighting ability, unite to fight the enemy. Do not act recklessly on your own..." Issui shouted to everyone.

Upon hearing his voice, everyone sprang into action.

Issui everyone responding to the battle in an orderly manner, Yishui focused on confronting the enemy. "Six Paths of Pain, is it? Let me see how powerful you are. First, I need to deal with the Animal Path. Her Summoning have caused the most damage to Konoha, but with Leins here, there shouldn't be any problem. Next are the Deva Path, Human Path, Naraka Path, Evil Ghost Path, and Asura Path. Except for the Deva Path, which will be a little difficult for Issui, the others are not a threat."

"Christina, you go and take care of those two, leave the rest to me..." Issui said, pointing to the Asura Path and the Evil Ghost Path on the ground.

The Preta Path possesses the ability to absorb all Ninjutsu and Chakra, but it is helpless against Christina's natural water. Moreover, most of what Christina uses is not Ninjutsu, but natural energy. Even if it can absorb that, she can drown it by spitting on it, or cripple it through hand-to-hand combat.

The Asura Path possesses the ability to summon mechanical armor, but even if you're an Asura, can you compare to the Mother Tyrannosaurus? Christina is the true "Asura"!

The remaining few can be dealt with by myself. The most troublesome one is the Deva Path. The Deva Path has the ability to control attraction and repulsion. As long as it attracts or repels the opponent, it can defeat the opponent. No one is an exception. Of course, this is only for more powerful forces that exceed the limits of attraction and repulsion. The powerful moves of the Eye of Heaven Issui just right to deal with it.

The Human Path possesses the ability to read others' memories and extract their souls. This Path is slightly troublesome for Issui, but it's only troublesome. Reading one's own memories and extracting one's own soul is simply wishful thinking. He should defeat himself first. It can be said that this Path is also the easiest to deal with.

The Naraka Path possesses the ability to summon King of Hell of Hell. Damn, this is even less interesting; I don't know how many souls I've stolen from King of Hell. I've taken back the souls of the First and Second Hokage. Not to mention, I have a grudge against King of Hell. My Soul Seal is also a master of manipulating souls. The Naraka Path isn't anything to be afraid of.

In summary, none of these Six Paths were particularly powerful to Issui, since they weren't originally that strong, unlike the Six Paths of Obito's later Six Paths, who were all Jinchūriki and powerful beings in life. Even without the Six Paths Power, they were still very strong.

Of course, this lack of power only applies to someone like Issui. After all, who else possesses his strength? Even if Madara were resurrected, he wouldn't dare say he could easily defeat Issui. Yishui has many more trump cards up his sleeve. The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, have already been resurrected. With these two invincible fighters, the three of them could destroy the world.

After landing on the ground, the Animal Path had already been subdued by Leins, saving Issui Lein Period effort to deal with the Human Path and the Naraka Path, while he alone faced the Deva Path that had already reached its end.

Even though Issui didn't seek out Deva Path Pain, Deva Path himself rushed towards Issui. He looked at Issui with a cold expression, showing no fear whatsoever, and held a black stick in his hand, from which bright red blood was still dripping from.

"Hmph, you really have the nerve to keep killing people who can't fight back. How about we have a fight?" Issui said coldly. Hmph, you've been killing those ordinary people with such abandon. What a despicable act! I have to teach you a lesson. You're so smug now. You won't be so smug when I unleash my power.

"Alright, I've been wanting to fight you for a long time, but I didn't expect to have to wait until today. I'm getting impatient. I'll make you taste the pain. How about it? Does the heavy casualties in the village remind you of the destroyed Heaven Village?" Pain said calmly.

Enraged, Issui was furious. The events of Heaven Village had always been a wound in Issui's heart. After all, it was the place where his closest relatives lived when he came into this world, yet they had been Kirigakure. This thorn remained in his heart, like a lump in his throat. Even if he killed Zabuza, what Zabuza would it make? The vibrant lives of his loved ones could never be brought back.

"Is this how you trample on other people's hearts? Do you really think you're the embodiment of suffering, understanding the pain of everyone in this world? Don't you realize that what you're doing now is creating suffering? Pshaw, you've endured so much pain—your parents were killed, your best friend Yahiko was killed—can you really bear these things?" Issui looked at Pain with a mocking smile, utterly disdainful. Because of his own suffering, he wanted others to understand his pain too—was that true peace?

Deva Path Pain's eyes were lifeless, but his body trembled slightly. He had been unable to let go of the deaths of his parents and his best friend Yahiko, but in order to realize his and Yahiko's shared dream—peace—he had to endure pain, understand the existence of pain, and then inflict this pain on all people. After that, he would use his great power to conquer the world and maintain order, so that the peace he desired would truly come.

Deva Path Pain took a small step forward, gazing calmly at the Issui, and said, "Too many people have died in this world, whether by my hand or by others. Their suffering has made me grow. Even ignorant and foolish children can only grow into adults after experiencing pain. But I have, amidst the infinite suffering, achieved a growth beyond that of mortals, transforming from a mortal into a god."

Issui sneered, "God? Even if there are gods in this world, they don't necessarily have to be someone like you. Gods are beings that people collectively believe in. What you spread is only evil that everyone hates. What you inflict on people is not faith, but endless suffering. You are a demon, not a god. Demons always have only one fate: to be destroyed by justice!"

Ignoring Issui's words, Deva Path Pain exclaimed excitedly, "I will bring an end to this war-torn world; this is God's mission. How can we swiftly stop wars between nations? Simply deploy forbidden weapons in these conflicts. Those who wield these weapons will undoubtedly use their power. Thousands will die instantly, and everyone will feel terror! People, nations, the entire world will then know pain. That fear will create a restraining force, and war will cease. It can be said that the world is now growing towards stability and peace. Pain will make the world grow, just as I was before. For the world to grow, to think, to move forward, it needs God's guidance. This world is still a child; to make it grow, it must know what pain is."

Issui looked at Deva Path Pain with disgust and said, "Pah! You have a twisted mind, trying to disrupt the world's order. Even if a god stood in my way, I would kill him. Yes, this ninja world is truly bloody and dark, but it cannot be changed by your methods. If any power can change the world, it must be the power of justice. The power of evil may control the world for a while, but it will not last long, because anything that stands above the suffering of all people is the enemy of all people."