Nagato's Fury

Amegakure.

A fine rain fell beneath a gray, oppressive sky that felt suffocating.

Inside a towering iron spire, Deva Path Pain stood in stillness like a statue.

He had received word that Uchiha Madara wished to see him...

Soon, a pitch-black figure silently emerged from the shadows. It was Black Zetsu.

He quietly approached Deva Path Pain. "Pain, I have something I need to report to you."

Deva Path raised his head, his cold gaze sweeping over Black Zetsu as obvious displeasure colored his voice.

"Zetsu? That Uchiha Madara fellow cannot even be bothered to meet me in person?"

"Does speaking with Akatsuki's leader require a messenger?"

Black Zetsu fell silent for a moment, then explained with faint helplessness in his tone.

"Not at all... I am simply more suited to deliver such crucial intelligence."

More accurately, Obito would not be able to explain this clearly...

Organizing one's words was an art in itself...

He could not just bluntly tell Nagato that he had caused trouble and now the Shinobi World was about to be destroyed.

It was precisely Obito's interference that had provoked Uchiha Yuan's Mangekyō Sharingan, ultimately creating the present disaster.

Moreover, Obito himself was clumsy with words and not particularly sharp-minded.

If he came to explain in person, it would likely only make matters more complicated.

Black Zetsu also wanted to avoid having Nagato direct his anger at him because of this.

Deva Path Pain frowned slightly and spoke again in a cold voice. "What exactly happened?"

Black Zetsu was silent for a moment before slowly recounting everything that had happened on the night of the Uchiha massacre.

He described Uchiha Yuan's sudden awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan and the terrifying ability he had unleashed.

Here, Black Zetsu called it a sudden awakening...

Although he believed Uchiha Yuan had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan long ago, he could not phrase it that way.

The more Nagato listened, the darker his expression became.

After hearing the account, his voice sounded low and distant, carrying incredulous mockery...

"So you are saying that because Uchiha Madara interfered in the Uchiha extermination operation, some insignificant nobody in the clan lost control after awakening, then unleashed a Mangekyō Sharingan ability powerful enough to destroy the entire Shinobi World?"

Black Zetsu slowly nodded. "That is indeed what happened."

Nagato gazed deeply into the distance, his voice full of icy ridicule and confusion.

"A Mangekyō Sharingan can possess the power to destroy the entire world? Do you not think that claim is rather exaggerated?"

Indeed, even Nagato himself, though he called himself the god of the Shinobi World, had never imagined destroying the entire Shinobi World in an instant by his own power alone.

Yet according to Black Zetsu, that utterly unremarkable Uchiha clansman could achieve such a thing with nothing more than a newly awakened pair of Mangekyō Sharingan?

It was utterly beyond what Nagato could comprehend.

I think it is absurd too, but it is the truth...

"Nagato, if you doubt it, have Asura Path and Animal Path go into the sky to verify it."

Nagato was silent for a moment, then let out a cold snort and performed a summoning technique.

When the smoke from the summoning technique dispersed...

Asura Path Pain stepped forward. His body, modified with steel machinery, began to shake violently as scorching, ferocious flames erupted from his back. In an instant, he shot into the air and soared toward the heavens.

The dense layers of storm clouds above Amegakure were pierced apart by Asura Path's rapid ascent.

He soon stopped high in the sky, looking down upon the tiny world below, then performed the summoning technique again.

Animal Path Pain's figure appeared silently.

Without hesitation, Animal Path performed the summoning technique a third time...

Several massive, powerful birds appeared at once. Their summoned wings beat violently as they swiftly broke through higher layers of clouds and flew toward the distant depths of space.

Deva Path Pain remained where he was as Nagato shared their vision through the Rinnegan, patiently awaiting the information from those summoned creatures.

A short while later, when the images transmitted by the giant birds entered his sight, Nagato finally fell into prolonged silence.

Deep in the distant cosmos, there truly was an incomparably enormous meteor, burning with strange, incomprehensible flames as it sped toward the Shinobi World.

Its immense size and terrifying presence left even Nagato shaken and uneasy.

Only after a long time did Nagato finally emerge from his silence.

He stared coldly at Black Zetsu, his tone becoming exceedingly hostile.

"Where is Uchiha Madara? At a time like this, he is still hiding behind the scenes and does not dare face me?"

Black Zetsu froze slightly. Then, sensing Nagato's intense, suppressed rage, he could only brace himself...

He knew very well that under such catastrophic circumstances, Nagato had reached the limits of his patience with Obito hiding in the shadows instead of personally coming forward to explain himself.

"It is not that he does not dare see you. The situation is simply complicated at present, and he needs a little time to deal with the aftermath."

Black Zetsu carefully considered his wording as he explained cautiously.

Nagato sneered, his voice cold and filled with obvious anger. "He took part in the Uchiha massacre and indirectly caused this disaster, yet he still needs time to deal with things? Tell him that if he does not come explain himself to me in person, then he will bear all consequences himself!"

Faced with Nagato's undisguised threat, Black Zetsu fell into difficult silence for a moment. Inwardly, he wanted nothing more than to curse Obito for his unparalleled talent for causing trouble.

But now was not the time to dwell on such matters. He could only patiently gather his words and cautiously persuade the Akatsuki leader before him, whose anger was ready to erupt.

"Nagato, you cannot be too hasty right now."

Black Zetsu spoke gently, trying to calm Nagato's nearly explosive rage.

Nagato merely gave a cold laugh, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Of course I am not in a hurry. The Shinobi World is about to be destroyed anyway, and all this pain will become nothingness."

Tell me, is that peace or not?

Nagato had originally been immersed in his ideals and obsessions, imagining how he would spread pain across the entire Shinobi World after becoming a god.

But Black Zetsu's words were like a basin of bone-chilling water, instantly extinguishing the last trace of enthusiasm in his heart and leaving him more frustrated and irritated than ever.

Sensing the shift in Nagato's mood, Black Zetsu spoke even more carefully...

"Nagato, it is at times like this that we must remain calm. Akatsuki cannot handle this disaster alone. We must act and make the Five Great Shinobi Villages aware of this threat as well."

"...What exactly do you have in mind?"

"Uchiha Itachi. Though he has joined Akatsuki in name, his ties with Konoha may not have truly been severed. If we need to relay intelligence, he may prove useful..."

In truth, Obito and Black Zetsu both knew perfectly well.

Uchiha Itachi was a Konoha spy. They merely needed his strength.