Chen Xiaoxi's Growth

After quite a while,

the countless clouds of smoke and dust finally began to dissipate.

By then,

of the three Anbu squads from Sand Hidden, all but a handful of men had already passed out!

The puppet summoned by the Sand Ninja captain had also been completely burned to ash.

His pupils contracted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he stared despairingly at Chen Xiaoxi, unable to believe what he was seeing!

What was going on?

Had this golden-eyed guy really unleashed a huge attack right at the start?

Just as he was reeling in shock,

another sudden change occurred!

The Umbrella Boy in front of him suddenly vanished into the rain!

And the next moment,

he appeared right before him!

"!"

The Sand Ninja captain's face changed dramatically. He tried to get up and attack!

But before he could move, Chen Xiaoxi's foot came down on his chest in an instant!

"Thud!"

"Gah!"

The pain in his chest made him cry out involuntarily.

Just then,

Chen Xiaoxi leaned down slightly, staring into his eyes as he chuckled,

"Judging by your uniforms, you're members of Sand Hidden's Anbu, right?"

"Your Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, actually dared to set his sights on Amegakure. That's quite a surprise."

"Does he think his life is too long?"

"—?"

Meanwhile, elsewhere,

atop the tallest gray building in Amegakure,

Deva Path Pain stood silently, watching the distant darkness as he used the Rain Tiger Self-Control Technique to observe everything happening throughout the village.

But just then,

in the darkness far away,

a dazzling azure light shot into the sky, illuminating the entire night!

Immediately after, a deafening roar of flames rang out—

Boom!!

Even from this great distance, the overwhelming heat and pressure were unmistakable!

Deva Path Pain's brow furrowed slightly, and his eyes flickered.

A puzzled sound escaped his lips, almost as if unconsciously.

"...Hmm?"

Hearing this, Konan immediately noticed something was wrong and asked,

"What's wrong, Nagato?"

"..."

Deva Path Pain turned his head slightly to look at her, a trace of gravity in his gaze.

"Konan, have you noticed..."

"During the time since Chen Xiaoxi joined the Akatsuki, his strength... has continued to grow at an incredible rate!"

"—?"

Konan's breath caught.

"Huh?"

"You mean... he's still getting stronger?"

"That's right."

Deva Path Pain nodded impassively, then spoke in a solemn voice,

"Ever since he first came to Amegakure,"

"my Rain Tiger at Will Technique has sensed him many times."

"But it wasn't until tonight that I realized... his presence is now far stronger than before."

"You could even say he's a completely different person."

"Even the azure Fire Style he just used... its power has increased noticeably."

"He's—definitely getting stronger!"

Deva Path Pain's eyes flickered as he stated his conclusion with absolute certainty.

"..."

The moment he finished speaking, Konan froze, at a complete loss for words.

She didn't know what to say.

Unbelievable.

A boy who had already been powerful enough to kill a Kage Level fighter in an instant... was still growing stronger at an astonishing pace?

If Nagato hadn't said it,

Konan would never have believed it.

But,

Nagato's sensory abilities had never been wrong.

In other words—

Ever since joining the Akatsuki, Chen Xiaoxi really had been getting stronger!

Just what...

was he?

As Konan stood there, lost in thought,

Pain suddenly turned back toward the distant darkness. With his back to her, he spoke calmly,

"Still,"

"perhaps this is a good thing."

"With a powerful genius like him supporting the Akatsuki, we can go further."

"Perhaps peace in the Ninja World will be one step closer, too."

Pain spoke in an even tone.

Konan lowered her eyes slightly.

But just then,

two presences suddenly began rushing toward the building at high speed!

Before Konan and Pain could react,

the next moment—

The wind howled, and the sound of rain was cut off!

Chen Xiaoxi, dressed in black, suddenly appeared right before them!

In his left hand, he held an open umbrella. In his right... he held an unconscious man!

That uniform was—

An Anbu Ninja from Sand Hidden in the Land of Wind?

Pain and Konan's pupils shrank as they recognized him.

Just then,

Chen Xiaoxi casually tossed the man onto the ground, then smiled at the two of them.

He raised the umbrella in his hand and chuckled,

"All twenty-one have been subdued."

"This man seems to have led their operation. I've already secured the others."

"You can handle the interrogation and the rest."

"I'm off."

With that, Chen Xiaoxi didn't even wait for their response.

He slung the umbrella over his shoulder and sauntered away, carefree.

From beginning to end,

he hadn't even given the Akatsuki's two leaders a chance to speak...

"..."

An odd silence fell over the scene.

Pain and Konan first glanced at the unconscious Sand Ninja on the ground,

then looked up at Chen Xiaoxi's departing figure in the distance. Finally... they looked at each other, completely dumbfounded.

What was going on...

Hadn't I just told him a few dozen seconds ago that enemies had invaded?

And now...

he'd already subdued them all?

Had he really taken down twenty-one elite Anbu Ninja from Sand Hidden with just one azure Fire Style?

Just how powerful had this guy's ocular prowess become...?

The next morning.

Almost everything was just as it usually was.

The sudden invasion the night before had caused no upheaval in this small ninja village.

The civilians and Rain Ninja seemed to have long since gotten used to sudden battles breaking out in their village.

On Pain's orders, the twenty-one Anbu Ninja from Sand Hidden were eventually imprisoned by the Rain Ninja.

Then,

just as Chen Xiaoxi had expected—

Not long after dawn,

Pain immediately used his ring to send a message to Chen Xiaoxi.

"We have a mission, Chen Xiaoxi."

"Meet me at the base in three minutes. I'll explain everything there."

Chen Xiaoxi had already anticipated this message, of course. He got up at once and headed toward the base.