Did you feel pain?

Seeing the Phosphorus Corrosive Insects about to burrow into his brain, Uchiha An felt not a shred of anxiety.

He wore an uncharacteristically eerie smile as he looked down at Aburame Torune lying on the ground. Facing Torune's eyes, which were filled with both hatred and anticipation, Uchiha An suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Haha..."

"I've been hiding this and holding back, just waiting for a wonderful moment like this!"

"As Danzo's right-hand man, how could I not have considered how to finish you off?"

"Come on, take a look at the gift I've carefully prepared for you!"

Laughing madly, Uchiha An manipulated his Susanoo to unhook the Herb Gourd from its back. Aiming it at himself, he activated his Chakra and inhaled deeply.

Then, to Aburame Torune's despair, he watched as a stream of purple mist drifted out from Uchiha An's body, pulled toward the Herb Gourd.

The mist, composed of Nano Poison Insects, writhed and struggled like a living creature, yet it had no power to resist the pull of the Sealing Power and was sucked into the Herb Gourd.

Uchiha An's skin color rapidly shifted from purple back to its normal tone.

Aburame Torune had seen this Herb Gourd before, back when Uchiha An had activated the second form of his Susanoo, as it had been strapped to the back of the energy giant. However, Uchiha An had never taken it off to use it, so Torune had no idea what the gourd was actually for.

He never imagined that this Herb Gourd was a tool for Fuinjutsu!

The lethal trump card he had pinned all his hopes on had been so easily neutralized by his enemy. The realization left Aburame Torune devastated; he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood and could no longer hold on.

Although the Phosphorus Corrosive Insects had still inflicted significant damage on Uchiha An during their brief entry and exit, the tissues eroded by the toxins were now recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye under the effects of his Dojutsu.

Uchiha An dispelled his Susanoo and looked down at the dying Aburame Torune, laughing triumphantly once more.

"Haha..."

"This is the feeling!"

"First give you hope, then plunge you into despair!"

"This feeling is just too exhilarating!"

"This is what revenge feels like!"

"Haha..."

A flash of hatred crossed Uchiha An's eyes. He raised his foot high, aimed it at Aburame Torune's head, and brought it down with a heavy stomp.

With a sickening squelch, Aburame Torune's head was crushed like a rotten watermelon, spraying brains and bone fragments everywhere.

Looking at the mangled remains of Aburame Torune, Uchiha An's hatred remained unquenched. He lifted his head and set his sights on the remaining Konoha Ninjas.

Before he could even make a move, a sudden whistling sound erupted beside his ear, and a Kunai flew right before his eyes.

Then, with a flash of yellow light, a golden-red figure suddenly appeared. With one hand held high, a Rasengan the size of a human head spun violently, emitting a shrill screech that tore through the air as it smashed down toward his head.

Moments earlier.

Namikaze Minato flashed to the side of Akimichi Choza, quickly retrieved medicine from him, helped him with a simple bandage, patted his shoulder, and whispered, "Hold on a little longer."

Then, he bent down to pick up a pouch of Kunai from the ground, tied it to his waist, and grabbed a Short Sword. His gaze swept across the faces of the Akatsuki Organization members watching the battle from afar.

His eyes paused for a moment on the distinct Sharingan of Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi before pulling away. He glanced sideways at Uchiha An, who was having a heated battle with Aburame Torune, but ignored him, choosing instead to look up at Pain, who was hovering in mid-air.

"I am Namikaze Minato. Enough people have died today; can this battle end here?"

Although Pain found it strange that the dead Namikaze Minato had suddenly "resurrected" and was residing inside a child's body, the ninjutsu of the ninja world were strange and varied. The Rinnegan could even bring people back to life, so this "pseudo-resurrection" of Namikaze Minato was nothing to be surprised about.

He lowered his gaze and asked coldly:

"Have you felt pain?"

"Do you know the value of peace?"

Namikaze Minato frowned, finding such cryptic, preachy words quite a headache, but he still nodded and replied:

"I have always known the value of peace, and I do not wish for war to break out anywhere."

"Konoha has never actively launched an invasion against any country; we have always been committed to maintaining peace in the ninja world."

"Liar!" Pain shouted, cutting him off. He asked coldly, "You say you have felt pain and understood the value of peace. Then let me ask you: regarding today's events, will Konoha not launch a retaliatory strike against Amegakure?"

"This..." Namikaze Minato was immediately at a loss for words.

He knew well in his heart that although Konoha had always pursued a strategy of peace, in reality, the only entities they could discuss peace and negotiate with were the Five Great Shinobi Countries.

So many people from Konoha had died today, and the enemy was not one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, but a tiny Amegakure. Neither the high-ranking officials of Konoha nor the ordinary ninjas and citizens could accept this result.

Even if only to deter the other four great nations and prevent them from thinking Konoha was weak and seizing the opportunity to invade, Konohagakure would inevitably have to retaliate.

But if the ones who killed these people were not Amegakure, but any one of the other Five Great Shinobi Countries, it was likely that, given Konohagakure's consistent policy of appeasement, they would probably just issue a condemnation and let it go, and the public would not find it unacceptable.

But Amegakure was different!

To put it bluntly, a small country like Amegakure didn't deserve it!

Back in the day, Amegakure had stood on equal footing with the Five Great Shinobi Countries for a time, but that was because of the Demigod Hanzo of the Salamander, whose prestige was carved out by sheer, overwhelming force.

Only then were the other nations barely able to acknowledge the status of the Land of Rain. But as Hanzo of the Salamander grew old, the Land of Rain returned to the position it was always meant to occupy, being bullied and oppressed by the ninjas of the Five Great Shinobi Countries.

He had also served as Hokage once and was well aware of the conflicts within the village. Therefore, he understood perfectly that even though the blond-haired enemy before him might be even stronger than Hanzo of the Salamander was back in the day, Konohagakure could never accept negotiating without fighting first.

Not to mention that he was already dead; even if he were still alive, he would only have one choice when faced with this situation.

That choice was to win the fight first, and then negotiate.

His personality was naturally bold and forthright, and he was unwilling to use words to deceive the other party in this regard, even if that person was an enemy.

Faced with the silence of Namikaze Minato, Pain naturally knew what the result would be.

"Well then, so don't go around saying that you people of Konohagakure love peace and hate war!"

"You simply take it for granted that the pain and death brought about by war will never fall upon your own side!"

"As for where that pain and death actually fall, you don't really care!"

"Those who have not experienced pain cannot understand the true value of peace!"