Chapter 205

Cough, cough, cough

A man's heavy coughing echoed from within a large tree, indistinguishable from its surroundings.

Following the coughing, a cold, female voice spoke:

"Nagato, take a break. You've come a long way, and your body is already exhausted."

Nagato, with his red hair and emaciated body, stifled a few more coughs before shaking his head.

"No. I've already detected the traces of the Six-Tails' chakra. It won't be long before we find the Jinchūriki."

While White Zetsu was excellent at gathering intelligence in fixed areas like the Five Great Shinobi Villages, tracking a constantly fleeing Jinchūriki was a different matter. At best, they could narrow down a general region, but continuous pursuit was difficult.

Pain was now in that region and had found a lead.

Knowing Nagato's stubbornness, Konan didn't press the issue any further. Instead, she asked:

"Do we need to move forward again?"

Nagato nodded.

"Half a kilometer ahead."

Konan nodded back and raised her hand.

The large tree that had concealed them, undetectable even to the Sharingan, instantly dissolved into countless sheets of paper, scattering into the air.

In no time, the tree vanished.

In its place, countless paper fragments floated gracefully, creating an unusual scene of beauty.

Konan controlled part of the paper to lift the bed Nagato was sitting on, while the rest scattered in all directions, acting as eyes and ears to monitor the surroundings.

In this manner, they swiftly covered the half-kilometer distance.

Once again, Konan used her Shikigami no Mai, transforming the sheets of paper back into a lifelike tree, concealing them both inside.

Nagato suddenly looked up, his voice cold and emotionless: "I've found him."

Simultaneously, far away, Pain lifted his head and gazed at the towering mountain ahead, his expression indifferent: "I've found him."

...

"They've arrived."

On Mount Katsuragi, where the bait had been laid, Gensou, reclining in a chair that Hotaru had thoughtfully brought out, was basking in the warm sunlight when he suddenly opened his eyes. He turned his gaze, looking down at a figure clad in black with red clouds who had just arrived outside the mountain.

As expected, the big fish had taken the bait.

Gensou slowly stood up and, without turning around, gave instructions to Hotaru and Utakata beside him: "Stay here. Don't go outside."

Before either of them could respond, Gensou vanished in an instant.

Hotaru and Utakata exchanged puzzled glances.

It wasn't until the sound of a tremendous explosion echoed from outside Mount Katsuragi that they, along with Tonbei, who had rushed out at the noise, instinctively looked toward the source.

Only then did they understand the true meaning behind Gensou's earlier words.

It was a nice day.

The fresh breeze, filled with the fragrance of grass, made the body feel at ease.

However, Pain, though human in appearance, was merely a corpse, long dead.

Unable to experience the beauty of the world, he sought solace in its opposite—bestowing suffering upon the world.

True peace could only be achieved through true understanding and pain.

This was the belief he had always held.

It was also his motivation for being here today, to capture the Six-Tails Jinchūriki.

However, before Pain could take action, a figure leaped down from Mount Katsuragi, exuding an aura so overwhelming that it stopped him in his tracks.

"Gensou?"

The moment Pain saw the man's face, a flicker of surprise crossed his usually emotionless expression.

The same look appeared on Nagato's face, miles away.

He couldn't comprehend why Gensou, who was engaged in tense skirmishes with the Five Great Nations, was now here.

Gensou had come from the direction where the Six-Tails Jinchūriki had been hiding.

When did Gensou start involving himself with the Six-Tails Jinchūriki?

Or... had he taken an interest in the tailed beasts?

Nagato's gaze grew cold.

Beside him, Konan's expression tensed as well when she heard Nagato mention the name of a man who had no business being here. She glanced at Nagato, then carefully scanned their surroundings.

A person's reputation cast a long shadow.

Both she and Nagato had witnessed the abilities of "Uchiha Madara" firsthand.

Now, with Gensou, who was equally famous as Uchiha Madara, suddenly appearing, they had no choice but to take this situation far more seriously than they would with any other shinobi.

"Pain? Leader of the Akatsuki?"

Hearing Pain call his name, Gensou nodded, unsurprised, and casually asked a question in return.

Pain, his expression having returned to its usual stoic state, didn't deny it.

His voice was flat, devoid of emotion: "You shouldn't be here right now."

"No."

Gensou smiled faintly.

"It's the right time, the right place, and... the right person."

"My target is you, Pain."

As his words fell, a cold wind howled.

If it were anyone else, being targeted by someone like Gensou would undoubtedly stir panic.

But Pain remained as calm as ever.

Confident in his Rinnegan, he listened to Gensou's declaration and asked calmly: "Why?"

Inside the disguised tree, Nagato's gaze seemed to pierce across miles to focus on Gensou.

He needed an explanation.

An explanation for why, after all his careful planning, designed to pit Gensou's forces against the Five Great Nations while Akatsuki remained hidden, this plan would have to be scrapped after he killed Gensou.

Gensou gave him an answer.

"The Rinnegan."

At this, Pain lowered his eyelids, disappointed:

"Another ignorant fool coveting the Rinnegan."

Was this really someone on the same level as Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara?

Compared to Uchiha Madara, who had found him and planned meticulously for years to achieve a great vision, Gensou's ambition seemed so small.

Gensou chuckled and shook his head.

"Ignorant? No. It's precisely because I know so much that I've taken an interest in the Rinnegan."

"Especially after learning the truth about the Rinnegan and the Eye of the Moon Plan involving the Infinite Tsukuyomi."

Pain had been about to make a move.

In his mind, even a figure as strong as Gensou was no different from any other misguided individual. Strength alone wasn't enough to warrant further discussion.

But at that moment!

Upon hearing Gensou mention "the truth of the Rinnegan," "the Infinite Tsukuyomi," and "the Eye of the Moon Plan"—separate phrases he understood, but together forming a mystery—Pain's sharp instincts sensed something was amiss.

The Rinnegan has a truth?

How could there be something he, the wielder of the Rinnegan, didn't know?

Was Gensou bluffing?

But someone like him wouldn't need to lie.

Pain—no, Nagato—paused, as if something had clicked.

It was like small, insignificant questions he had ignored for years were suddenly connecting, forming a much larger problem that had always been lurking beneath the surface.

But it was still submerged, with only a faint outline visible, not the full picture.

And so...

Pain looked at Gensou, his tone, for the first time, wavering as he asked:

"What are the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Eye of the Moon Plan?"

(End of Chapter)

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