Pain Against a Thousand

The massive Iwa-nin force marched through the damp forests of Rain Country, and their pace was not slow.

Upon learning that the vanguard had taken Rain Country’s largest steel storage warehouse, Ōnoki was delighted. The Iwa-nin had truly struck it rich this time. Once they transported the steel resources back to Earth Country, they would not have to worry about military supplies for the next two years.

In his good mood, Ōnoki did not mind revealing this news to Nara Shikaku of Konoha. The two sides had an agreement; this area had originally been assigned to the Iwa-nin to attack. Still, Nara Shikaku had not expected the Amegakure-nin to fall so quickly. It was practically surrender without putting up any resistance.

Shikaku was accompanied by Shibi Aburame and Hyuga Homura. After hearing the news, the two said somewhat speechlessly, "Senior Shikaku, we might as well have attacked this place ourselves back then."

Shikaku sighed and shook his head. "Who could have known the Amegakure-nin would have no response at all? This is completely different from how they performed during the Second Shinobi World War. And that Rinnegan leader…"

Nara Shikaku paused there. He did not doubt the authenticity of the intelligence; he simply could not understand the Amegakure leader’s intentions. Why had he still not appeared when his own side had suffered such enormous losses?

Boom!

A tremendous blast interrupted Nara Shikaku’s thoughts.

The three exchanged glances, then immediately moved toward Ōnoki’s position.

"Homura," Nara Shikaku said in a low voice.

"Understood, Senior Shikaku. Byakugan, activate!"

Hyuga Homura answered, formed hand seals, and activated his Byakugan, looking directly toward the source of the explosion.

Before long, shock appeared on Hyuga Homura’s face.

"W-What is that!? The Rinnegan? Why are there six of them?"

Hyuga Homura’s cry made Nara Shikaku and Shibi Aburame turn toward him in surprise.

"Senior Shikaku, six people with Rinnegan have appeared in front of the Iwa-nin forces, and they…"

Hyuga Homura quickly described what he had seen to Nara Shikaku. After hearing it, Nara Shikaku was equally shocked and unable to speak for a moment.

Six pairs of Rinnegan…

When had the most mysterious of the three great Eye Techniques, one that had not been heard of for centuries, suddenly appeared in six pairs?

"No, this should be an Eye Technique of the Rinnegan."

Nara Shikaku’s mind raced. Combining what he knew of Eye Techniques with his own deductions, he quickly arrived at that possibility. He then turned to Hyuga Homura and Shibi Aburame. "In a moment, I’ll tell Ōnoki some intelligence in exchange for permission to observe from the sidelines. Homura, Shibi, make sure you record the Rinnegan’s abilities."

Nara Shikaku had a persistent feeling that the Iwa-nin would not be a match for the Amegakure leader.

Nara Shikaku soon found Ōnoki. Before the Iwa-nin messenger returned with his report, he quickly relayed what Hyuga Homura had seen. "Lord of Earth, there are Amegakure-nin ahead. They should be the leaders of Amegakure, but there are six of them, and all possess the Rinnegan. However, this should be one of the Rinnegan’s Eye Techniques."

At that moment, the front line also sent back a messenger to report to Ōnoki. "Lord of Earth, several Amegakure-nin are blocking the way ahead. Their abilities are extremely strange. The vanguard has suffered heavy casualties in a short time."

"Have Kitsuchi take command and respond with the third combat method." After giving the order, Ōnoki glanced at Nara Shikaku and said, "Watch if you want, but stay farther away. Do not interfere with the Iwa-nin’s battle."

The other side had immediately informed him of the intelligence, and they were still in the middle of a cooperative arrangement. Ōnoki could not simply turn hostile and deny them.

"Yes, I understand. Thank you, Lord of Earth."

Nara Shikaku had not expected Ōnoki to agree so readily. This might expose the Iwa-nin’s methods of battle. Perhaps it was because he had decisively shared the intelligence just now that Ōnoki had made this decision.

"Damn it, what kind of Ninjutsu is this guy using? Why are all Ninjutsu repelled the moment they get near him!?"

And it was not just that. There was also that bizarre suction Ninjutsu, the elusive Summoning Technique, and the strange human modifications. Two of their opponents had not even acted, yet they had already paid such a heavy price.

The Iwa-nin commanding the battle at the front line cursed in fury. More than twenty Iwa-nin corpses already lay on the ground, while the enemy had not suffered so much as a scratch.

Summoning Technique!

The Animal Path used the Summoning Technique again. This time, it summoned two enormous birds, each seven or eight meters long. Even more shocking was that the summoning beasts themselves had Rinnegan in their eyes.

Seeing this, the Iwa-nin front line commander shouted, "He’s summoned more summoning beasts! Attack them with Earth Style!"

But before they could use Earth Style, the two bird summoning beasts rapidly charged at the Iwa-nin, moving so quickly that they could barely use a Combined Ninjutsu.

This is bad!

The Iwa-nin front line commander’s pupils dilated, but then he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!

A white beam of light shot down from the sky behind the Iwa-nin in an instant. It was so fast that the two Animal Path summoning beasts could not react before they were struck by Ōnoki’s Dust Release.

bang!

After being hit by the Dust Release, the two giant bird summoning beasts did not dispel the Summoning Technique. Instead, they fell dead to the ground, though their bodies had been sliced into four pieces.

"Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki."

After seeing the figure flying through the air, Deva Path Pain spoke flatly. "So that was Dust Release. It truly is an impressive technique. It can inflict injuries on summoning beasts that cannot be dispelled by releasing the Summoning Technique, killing them directly."

"You bastard, are you Pain, the leader of Amegakure!?"

Ōnoki floated in the sky and shouted at Pain’s Six Paths. Seeing the Iwa-nin corpses on the ground, he immediately roared in anger.

"Not only have you sheltered the culprit who attacked the Iwa-nin, you have also caused the Iwa-nin to suffer such heavy casualties. It seems we no longer need to show the Amegakure-nin any mercy."

After hearing Ōnoki’s shameless words, Deva Path Pain gave him an indifferent glance. "The shamelessness of the Ninja from the great countries exceeds even my imagination. Ōnoki, once you have experienced pain, perhaps you will understand the feelings of Small countries a little better. Without the same experiences, there can be no same resonance."

While Ōnoki and Pain exchanged words, Kitsuchi also arrived at the front line. He swiftly took over command and ordered the Iwa-nin to quickly occupy the surrounding positions in three-man squads.

At that moment, Nara Shikaku’s group of three stood on high ground in the distance, preparing to gather intelligence from there.

"The Iwa-nin move quickly indeed, Senior Shikaku. If someone were surrounded by the Iwa-nin like this, aside from Space-Time Ninjutsu and flight Ninjutsu, it would be difficult for anyone else to escape, wouldn’t it?"

With his Byakugan activated, Hyuga Homura watched the Iwa-nin squads move. Given their formation and the nature of Earth Style, once someone was surrounded, they could only be trapped beneath an endless barrage of Earth Style attacks. This was probably how the Third Raikage had died back then.

"Focus on gathering intelligence. Our greater priority is collecting information on the Rinnegan’s abilities."

Nara Shikaku spoke with a grave expression. Intelligence on the eyes of the legendary Sage of Six Paths was undoubtedly of higher priority than intelligence on the Iwa-nin.

"The leader of Amegakure dares face so many Iwa-nin because he must possess some confidence we do not know about. Perhaps today, we will witness the Rinnegan, the most mysterious of the three great Eye Techniques."