Sigurd vs. Deva Path Pain

After hearing Zetsu's report, a flicker crossed Nagato's eyes. He was the first to ask, "Do you know where he is now?"

At this, Zetsu chuckled. "Heh heh, of course I do. You mean..."

Nagato didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Konan and said, "Konan, now that Akatsuki has just been reborn, we're badly in need of manpower. Take Deva Path Pain with you and go there. Make sure you recruit him."

Konan furrowed her brow, looking worried. "Nagato, could this cause problems? After all, we don't know anything about that man."

Nagato replied confidently, "No matter who it is, they're insignificant before these eyes of the gods."

It was a very arrogant thing to say, but given the current era in the Ninja World, he wasn't actually wrong.

With Nagato's current strength, he could easily crush any of the major ninja villages.

As for whether he'd still be alive after crushing a village, that was none of your concern.

Konan knew there was no point trying to talk him out of it. She could only nod. "Understood. I'll bring him back."

Just then, Deva Path Pain, his body riddled with Black Receivers, stepped out of the incubation pod and walked over to Konan.

He fixed his Rinnegan on Zetsu and asked, "Zetsu, tell me where he is."

After a brief fight with Salamander Hanzō, Sigurd left Amegakure and headed for a place near the border of the Land of Wind.

He wanted to see why, despite the Land of Rain being drenched year-round, there wasn't a drop of water to be seen in its neighboring Land of Wind.

When he arrived, he found a towering mountain range between the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind.

The range was so high that it blocked most of the rain clouds from drifting into the Land of Wind.

The rain that had accumulated in the Land of Rain over the years was also blocked by the range, causing almost all of it to flow down into the Land of Rivers.

It stood to reason that if someone dug a river through the middle of this mountain range, the Land of Wind's situation would improve considerably.

It was such a simple solution, yet no ninja had thought of it.

For a ninja, digging a tunnel like this would be easy, yet no one had bothered.

The Land of Wind was so poor that even the Kazekage had to go mine for a living, yet they still hadn't thought to make use of their neighbor.

This was further proof of how warped the system in the Naruto world was. Daimyo were supposed to stand above everyone else, while ninjas were supposed to work for them.

The idea that ninjas couldn't survive without missions assigned and funds provided by Daimyo had long since taken root.

In Sigurd's eyes, it made no sense that this world possessed chakra, an all-purpose energy source, yet its people still lived like primitive humans.

These ninjas thought about nothing but waging war. They never considered improving people's livelihoods.

With all the jutsu in this world, surely putting ninjas to work farming, mining, and building houses would be more practical than fighting.

Look at the Fourth Kazekage. Hadn't he kept all of Sunagakure afloat by mining on his own?

The other villages' Kage had seen this and still hadn't learned from him. Instead, they just sat there mocking him and kicking him while he was down.

You could argue that Magnet Release was especially suited to mining, but that wasn't a reason for the other villages not to learn from him.

If they really wanted to, the other villages could surely find a substitute. Never underestimate a village's resources.

At the thought of all this, Sigurd sank into deep helplessness.

Just then, a shadow fell from the sky, obscuring Sigurd.

He turned and saw a man and a woman standing on the slope some distance away. They were Deva Path Pain and Konan.

Both wore the Black Cloak with Red Clouds Sigurd remembered. It was obvious they were members of Akatsuki.

Seeing them, Sigurd thought, They designed a uniform this early? I was going to suggest that myself.

"Who are you?" Sigurd asked first.

Deva Path Pain raised a palm toward Sigurd. "Join us, or be destroyed by us."

At this, Sigurd chuckled. "Heh, join you? Shouldn't you at least tell me what you do first?"

Deva Path Pain spread his arms and declared loudly, "We are Akatsuki! Our goal is to lead this world and bring it true peace!"

Sigurd raised an eyebrow. He had the feeling that Nagato wasn't quite so over-the-top yet, and didn't constantly go on about being a god.

There was no real problem with simply agreeing to join, but he needed to show what he could do if he wanted a better position and better treatment.

With that in mind, Sigurd casually flicked his hand, and three Moonlight Flying Swords appeared.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With three sharp clangs, Sigurd struck the backs of the swords with his hand, sending them flying toward Deva Path Pain.

As the attack came at him, Deva Path Pain merely raised a palm slightly and deflected all three swords in an instant.

"Do you wish to defy God?" Deva Path Pain demanded coldly.

Sigurd silently grumbled to himself, I take back what I thought earlier. Nagato is still the same over-the-top Nagato.

He controlled the swords as they flew back to his side, then let them hover quietly around him.

After that, Sigurd shrugged at Deva Path Pain. "If you want me to join you, you'll have to let me see what you can do!"

With that, Sigurd immediately grabbed one of the hovering swords and hurled it at Deva Path Pain again.

Having seen the story unfold, Sigurd knew this attack wouldn't hurt him.

But if he wanted to gain some say within Akatsuki in the future, he still had to fight Deva Path Pain here.

Seeing him attack again, Deva Path Pain sneered. "Hmph. Then I'll show you the power of a god!"

At this, paper wings sprouted from Konan's back, and she immediately flew away from the battlefield.

Once Konan was out of the way, Deva Path Pain raised his hand again and easily repelled the incoming sword with Shinra Tensei.

At this, Sigurd immediately conjured the Sun Demon Sword and hurled it straight at him.

This time, although Sigurd's attack seemed fast, he deliberately took five seconds to execute it.

After all, if he figured out how Deva Path Pain's ability worked here, what if they killed him to silence him? He had that much sense, at least.

As the attack came at him again, Deva Path Pain narrowed his eyes and continued using a miniature Shinra Tensei to block it.

But just then, Sigurd rushed forward and kicked the hilt of the Magic Sword.

The force of his kick was so great that the sword actually held its ground against the repulsive field of Shinra Tensei, the two forces locked in a fierce struggle.

Deva Path Pain was startled. This guy is incredibly strong! But even so, he still can't stand against a god.

"Shinra Tensei!"

Deva Path Pain shouted, unleashing the full power of Shinra Tensei. An even stronger repulsive force burst forth than before.