Returning to Amegakure, Sasuke picked up the White Cloak he had discarded when activating the White Cursed Seal's state three and wrapped it around his bare torso. He looked up at the tallest tower in the rain.
Pain's technique operated through remote control. Keeping the real body at the highest point to ensure smoother chakra transmission was basic common sense.
Of course, Nagato might have deliberately changed his approach, but Sasuke's infiltration of Amegakure had been unexpected. That made it almost certain that Nagato was in the tallest tower.
Whoosh! His cursed wings spread, and Sasuke flew to the tower's summit, landing on the tongue protruding from a Demon relief. The cursed wings vanished into his back, and he stepped into the darkness.
Tap, tap, tap!
With hurried footsteps, Konan moved to block his path.
"Konan, stand down. He defeated Pain single-handedly and made it all the way to me. He has earned the right to speak with me!"
The admonition echoed from behind her. After a brief hesitation, Konan slowly stepped aside.
Sasuke looked up and finally saw Nagato's true appearance.
Beneath the red hair characteristic of the Uzumaki bloodline were an emaciated face and torso. His crippled legs forced him to rely on a mechanical vehicle to get around, and over a dozen black rods were embedded at staggered angles in his spine, fanning outward to control Pain.
Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he could never have imagined it... the man who had controlled the Six Paths of Pain and nearly destroyed Konoha in his previous life looked so frail.
Even with the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline, does developing a Rinnegan that isn't your own to this extent still exact such a terrible price?
That thought stirred a sigh of wonder in Sasuke, along with