Facing Deva Path Pain's icy interrogation and Konan's sharp gaze, Naruto Uzumaki stood where he was, his expression utterly unchanged.
His calm demeanor made it seem as though the ones heavily surrounded were not himself, but the Six Paths of Pain and Konan standing opposite him.
"Where the other one went, you should know perfectly well." Naruto spoke calmly. At the same time, his gaze passed over the seven figures before him and drifted toward the tallest tower at the center of Amegakure in the distance. His voice carried a trace of calm. "He went to find his student, to have a... conversation and redemption that came far too late."
Those words instantly stirred a raging storm within Deva Path Pain and Konan.
The two of them nearly froze at the same time for an extremely brief instant.
The amount of information contained in that sentence was simply too great.
It was practically an undisguised declaration that Naruto knew the Six Paths of Pain were not the true body, but merely puppets being controlled—and that he clearly knew Nagato's true body was hidden atop that tower.
That meant the secret they believed they had concealed so deeply was nearly transparent in his eyes.
More importantly, it directly exposed Naruto as either a participant in or the mastermind behind the successive disappearances of Akatsuki members.
The enormous wings made of countless sheets of white paper behind Konan trembled slightly from her emotional turmoil. Her purple eyes remained fixed on Naruto as she asked coldly, "Teacher Jiraiya... went to the tower? Do you think we can't kill Teacher Jiraiya, or are you confident enough to face all seven of us alone?"
Her voice was icy, but it also held a trace of unease at having their secrets seen through.
"He merely went