Glad to Meet You...

Boom! The Rasengan in Minato's hand struck the wall behind him!

The white smoke swirling before his eyes dispersed, and the masked opponent had vanished without a trace.

"Gone..."

This shocked Minato immensely.

"Could the enemy also use a space-time ninjutsu similar to the Flying Thunder God?"

Crack! He pulled his hand from the indentation in the wall, his expression returning from shock to calm.

"No, that white smoke was more like a simple summoning. Summoning a person... as far as I know, only the Three Great Sage Regions can do something like that."

"If there is something beyond that... then it is a power beyond common sense."

"The enemy wearing the cat-faced mask just now, judging by her height and build, was likely a girl."

"Did the fragment of the Scroll of Seals get taken away through the summoning as well? The thing I least wanted to see still happened."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions sounded faintly from behind him.

Minato turned in the rain, looking toward where the flames of battle had risen, then vanished in a flash.

On a mountain outside Konoha, beneath the pouring rain.

Nagato lowered his hands from their hand seals and let out a long breath.

Konan watched Pain Rin climb up from before her and asked in surprise, "Nagato, could that have been..."

Nagato smiled. "That's right. It was the technique we tried during our private practice—the one where we instantly cut off Pain's transmission signal, return the abilities to the main body, then restore the transmission. It's called 'Breakpoint Resumption.'"

"It worked in an emergency. Otherwise, something really would have gone wrong."

He took the fragment of the Scroll of Seals from Pain Rin's small hand and sighed sincerely. "This spoils of war truly didn't come easily!"

Though Konan had not witnessed the process herself, the "hole" in Pain Rin's left shoulder and the expression on Nagato's face explained everything.

She asked, "What is the situation inside Konoha now?"

"The Human Path self-destructed and died. The Preta Path and Asura Path are at a disadvantage against the Third Hokage. Once the Fourth intervenes, it will probably be over in minutes..."

Nagato clenched the pages in his hand, light gathering in his Rinnegan.

It's time for the Naraka Path and the Deva Path to close the net!

Konoha, Uchiha clan compound.

The village had come under attack, and the police force had dispatched men to provide support.

The guards left behind here were not particularly strong.

At the very least... the Deva Path and Naraka Path's infiltration did not encounter much fierce resistance!

"Argh!" "Aah!"

Two Uchiha clansmen left behind crashed back-first into the wall and lost their ability to fight.

The Deva Path lowered his hand and vanished into the alleyway.

The Naraka Path stepped forward, seized both men by their throats, and lifted them into the air.

—Naraka Path!

Behind him, the King of Hell rose amid blazing purple flames!

"W-What is that...?" The two Uchiha clansmen stared at this bizarre sight beyond all common sense, terror on their faces.

Nagato's eyes shifted as he thought, My rain has never detected Shisui's or Fugaku's chakra. At first, I thought they simply weren't outside and hadn't entered the range of my rain. But after all this chaos, neither of them has appeared. It seems they aren't in the village.

Waiting for them to return was impossible.

After breaking into Konoha like this, they would not be able to do it again anytime soon.

So... finding their whereabouts and intercepting them before those two returned to the village was the proper course!

"Uwaaah!" "Gah!"

At that moment... the two Uchiha clansmen's mouths opened against their will. Their tongues thickened and lengthened, protruding forward!

Two purple tongues with hands emerged from the King of Hell's mouth and grabbed their tongues!

This was the Naraka Path's Yama's Judgment. The caster asked for the intelligence he wanted; if the judged person lied, they would suffer the punishment of tongue extraction and subsequently lose their life.

Nagato currently faced a problem: if the other party was found to be lying, that also meant they knew the information. Taking their life through judgment would then lose its meaning.

Aside from rare traitors like Mizuki, most people in Konoha and the Uchiha clan had backbone. Even if they knew, they would not speak.

Using the Human Path... would have been much more convenient.

Unfortunately, Human Path Mizuki was already dead.

But using the Naraka Path's judgment was not without purpose.

Nagato was skilled at psychological warfare.

"I am about to ask you a question. If you lie or refuse to answer, your tongues will be torn out. Believe me, it will be very painful."

"There is only one condition for surviving: you genuinely do not know."

The two men's expressions immediately grew tense.

"Then I'll ask." Giving them no time to prepare themselves mentally, Nagato spoke through the Naraka Path. "Do you know the whereabouts of Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Fugaku?"

"!" Knowing the consequences of lying, the subtle changes in their expressions revealed everything.

Before either man could speak... Pain's Naraka Path released Yama's Judgment.

Their tongues retracted into their mouths.

Pain's Naraka Path put down the Uchiha clansman in his left hand, punched him in the stomach, and knocked him unconscious.

Looking at the man still held in his right hand, he said in a low voice, "Even without judgment, your face has betrayed you. Fine, speak now. Tell me, and I'll spare you..."

"Heh, hehehe..."

That Uchiha clansman laughed, then spat directly onto the face of Pain's Naraka Path, which had been made from an unnamed Hidden Sand Village ninja.

"Kill me if you want. Why are you wasting your breath? There are no cowards in the Uchiha clan!"

"But let me warn you: if I die, just wait for the Uchiha's most terrifying retaliation! The Uchiha are Konoha's strongest!!!"

Nagato smiled and sighed. "As expected... you all have backbone. But this is not up to you."

Pain's Naraka Path raised two fingers.

This unnamed Hidden Sand Village ninja had been an expert in genjutsu!

Supported by Nagato's immense chakra, the power of that genjutsu was enough to ensnare even the mentally resilient Uchiha clan!

"Now~ tell me."

The Uchiha clansman's eyes went vacant as he recited everything woodenly... Once he finished, he collapsed unconscious and lost awareness.

"Put Setsuna down!"

A cold voice sounded behind Pain's Naraka Path.

Uchiha Yashiro stood at the forefront, followed by a group of young Uchiha. Every one of their Sharingan glimmered faintly, their faces stern and murderous.

They were the police force members who had returned to the clan compound after symbolically lending aid.

Looking at the Hidden Sand Village forehead protector worn by Pain's Naraka Path.

Yashiro said coldly, "Hidden Sand Village vermin, you dare lay hands on our people? Have you decided how you want to die?"

A young Uchiha behind Yashiro shouted sharply, "Who cares about that! Anyone who offends our Uchiha clan will be subjected to the harshest punishment!"

"Is that so?" Pain's Naraka Path threw Uchiha Setsuna in his hand forward, then sprinted at full speed toward the shrine!

In a hopeless situation, he could only buy as much time as possible. The Deva Path had also found the "real target."

Rumble!

Thunder rolled through the torrential rain.

The boy stood beneath a rain-soaked eave, turning his gaze toward a dark corner. "Come out. I know you're there!"

Tap.

The Deva Path emerged from the corner in the rain. A sincere but warmthless smile appeared on his cool-toned face.

"I'm glad to meet you, Uchiha Itachi."