On a forest trail, Sakiya and Kakashi moved at full speed, racing toward Konoha.
Kakashi's expression was tense, his eyes filled with worry.
"Konoha..."
Images of Sand Village's destruction flashed in his mind—half the village reduced to rubble, a massive crater left in its center.
If the same thing happened to Konoha…
He didn't want to imagine it.
Beside him, Sakiya remained calm. Konoha had plenty of reinforcements, and even if Pain attacked as in the past, she was confident she could protect the village.
In fact, Pain's invasion might not be a bad thing.
A glint flashed in her eyes.
This could be useful.
"Sakiya!"
Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned to Kakashi.
"Hm?"
"You should go ahead!"
She immediately understood his meaning.
"You want me to go first?"
Kakashi nodded, his tone serious.
"Your abilities will be crucial in the fight. Don't worry about me—just get to Konoha and provide support!"
Sakiya glanced at him and saw the urgency in his face.
"Understood! I'll return to my battlefield at full speed!"
Fixing her gaze ahead, electricity crackled around her body, and the wind shifted, forming a high-speed tunnel.
"Lightning Escape: Ultimate Speed Form—Endless Thunder! With the Wind's Ascent, this is my fastest state!"
In the blink of an eye, she became a streak of lightning and vanished.
The sudden burst of speed caused the air to ripple violently, generating a massive shockwave.
Kakashi, caught in the blast, had no time to react.
"Damn—!"
He was thrown backward, tumbling more than ten times before finally coming to a stop.
For a long time, Kakashi struggled to get back on his feet. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he stared at the deep trench carved into the ground ahead.
"Seriously? Does it have to be this over-the-top?
Can the enemy even stand a chance against Sakiya?"
After witnessing the sheer force of her technique, some of his worries faded. Instead, he began questioning whether their opponents could handle this level of power.
He stepped closer to the long, wind-carved trench. A continuous breeze blew past him, drawn in by the lingering effect of her speed.
Kakashi's eyes widened.
"Wait... the technique is still active?"
He hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow the trench. As he ran along it, he felt the wind pushing at his back.
His body felt lighter.
His speed increased—by at least 20%.
"This is actually pretty useful… but it looks like it only works in a straight line."
After a while, he noticed a turn up ahead, leading into the jungle.
But the trench continued straight.
A bad feeling crept up his spine. Sure enough, when he followed the path into the forest, he was met with a row of broken trees, their trunks snapped cleanly.
"Uh… Sakiya? You can't change direction mid-run, can you?"
Scratching his head, he tried to brush the thought aside.
"No way… that can't be it."
But as he continued, his doubts grew stronger.
He followed the trench until he saw a hill in the distance.
That uneasy feeling intensified.
When he reached the base of the hill, his suspicions were confirmed.
The trench didn't curve around the obstacle.
She hadn't stopped or turned.
She had run straight through it.
Kakashi stood at the foot of the mountain, staring at the massive hole punched clean through the rock.
Cracks still spread along the cave walls, and loose rubble crumbled from the edges.
A large drop of sweat rolled down his face.
"Sakiya… is your head okay?"
He stepped inside, following the path of destruction. The tunnel had collapsed in several places, forcing him to backtrack and find another way through.
When he reached the other side, he spotted another hole at the exit, with scattered debris marking the impact zone.
"So she… actually smashed her way through an entire mountain?"
Kakashi stood in stunned silence, his mind reeling from the absurdity of it all.
"Sakiya's head… really is hard."
---
A little earlier…
In Konoha, the Six Paths of Pain had already spread out.
However, something felt off.
The village was too quiet.
Not a single civilian was in sight. Every street was empty. That was impossible for Konoha.
At that moment, Pain realized—his attack had been leaked.
Nagato narrowed his eyes, immediately suspecting one person.
"Uchiha Itachi?"
Deva Path muttered coldly as he leaped across Konoha's rooftops.
With the keen vision of the Rinnegan, he quickly spotted Konoha ninjas lying in ambush.
He frowned.
"This just got a lot harder."
If Konoha was fully prepared, destroying it wouldn't be as easy as he had hoped.
Meanwhile, in the communication outpost, Konoha's sensory team detected his presence.
"Report! Enemy sighted! Red cloud, black robe—Akatsuki confirmed!"
---
Konoha Headquarters
Tsunade stood at the center of command, issuing orders as reports poured in.
Yamanaka Inoichi, captain of the Intelligence and Sensor Division, rushed forward with urgent news.
"Lady Hokage! We've spotted enemies wearing black cloaks with red clouds!"
Tsunade's expression hardened.
"It's Akatsuki. Stick to the plan!"
However, Inoichi hesitated.
"We're detecting multiple hostiles throughout the village. Seven in total!"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed.
"As expected. Intelligence reported six members of the Paths of Pain. The seventh must be Akatsuki's usual two-man partner."
Shizune frowned.
"But why six? Didn't Itachi's intel suggest the Paths of Pain are actually one person? Maybe not even a person at all?"
Tsunade remained calm.
"That's what we need to find out. Stay sharp."
---
Konoha Streets
The battle had begun.
A squad of Konoha shinobi confronted Deva Path Pain.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Three massive stone walls shot up from the ground, cutting off Pain's escape routes.
With nowhere to go, Konoha's forces launched an all-out assault. Kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags filled the air, all aimed at their target.
But Deva Path Pain barely reacted. He simply raised his head and spoke.
"Shinra Tensei."
A devastating shockwave erupted from his body.
The earth split apart, sending massive chunks of stone flying. The walls meant to trap him shattered instantly. Even the attacking shinobi were thrown backward, some crashing into debris, others coughing up blood from the sheer force.
The surviving Konoha ninjas looked on in horror.
"What the hell was that?!"
One of them, more informed, shouted a warning.
"It's the ability from the reports! He can repel all attacks! This is Deva Path Pain!"
The sensor unit wasted no time relaying the information back to headquarters.
Inoichi's face turned pale as he reported to Tsunade.
"Lady Hokage! We've confirmed Deva Path Pain's location!"
Tsunade inhaled deeply, then gave her order.
"Deploy the special operations unit!"
_________
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