Hi again, so recently I have been catching up on my hero academia. I love the setting, even though sometime plot armors are very thick and and power scale is all over the place (like any shonen although it does bother me). And well I thought of a little something so here it is.

This might be updated more often that Aged Soul. It is easier to write than anything Dragon age related after all.

I really like Nagato/Pein as a character. His appearance and philosophy made him one of the best antihero in my humble opinion. I hope I will do his charater justice.

I hope you will enjoy.

If you do (or don't) please leave a comment or a constructive critic if possible, that would be appreciated.

And as it is a custom here. I own nothing.

Enjoy :)

"In the end I never received my teacher acknowledgment…

Please… become a masterpiece so sublime it wipes away my mistakes… Naruto

So long…"

Those were the last thing Nagato could think of.

He died, and died again, his body desecrated as a mere pawn, a puppet in the hand of someone else. The irony wasn't lost on him. But he didn't care anymore. It was over. And he was at peace. What he couldn't accomplish in life, he left it to other to pursue. He was confident that his teacher second student wouldn't fail where he had. Naruto wouldn't fail him.

Now he could finally rest.

Or at least that was what he had hoped for. But it wasn't to be so…

For one doesn't call himself a god and just passes away.

*HOOOONK*

Nagato awoke at the sound of a busy street. Voices, honks, people shouting and walking. All he could see was foreign to him. Weird rectangular vehicles going and coming. Peoples in strange clothes. Lots of strange people actually, in even stranger outfits.

He was in an extremely busy street. That much He could tell. Ame, the village hidden in the rain, had some similar places. Less frequented admittedly, but still… The question though was, where was he and why?

Looking up he could see some tall buildings, once again, not unlike the one in his village. Although, there was less drainpipe, and somehow the atmosphere wasn't as gloomy. The buildings were of various shapes and colors, with all kind of glowing signs and letters. Some strange logos or peoples drawn on it and some were…

'wait, were some of the images moving? What kind of ninjtsu does that? '

But most importantly… it wasn't raining. In fact the sun was setting, plunging the place in a strange ambiance, even more so as the buildings surrounding him started to light on and illuminate that place in all kind of different colors… A sight that couldn't be seen in the war ridden country he led.

'So this isn't Ame…'

Breath-taken by the sight, Nagato extended his arm toward the sky, as if trying to grab it. Only to stop at the realization that something was off…

A quick look at his hand gave him the answer as to why he was feeling so… weird.

His hand. It was…small to describe it in a single word. Pinkish and healthy too. Young looking if he had to judge. Something he was not. Not anymore. That much he knew. After all he was sick and after he used all his remaining chakra to bring the village of Konoah back to life, he pushed himself to the brink of…

' I died'

"Are you lost kid?"

Turning his head Nagato saw an elderly man looking at him with what he could only describe as concern. Unsure of what to answer he could only settle for staring at him while thinking.

The silence that followed was upsetting, if the good old man had to be honest with himself. And being scrutinized by the weird purplish-grey concentric eyes the young boy held didn't help in any way in the matter.'I shouldn't be thinking that way about a kid, especially one so young, but his gaze is truly unsettling' thought the man.

While the elder was fidgeting before the sight of the late self-proclaimed god, Nagato was still deep in thought, examining the situation.

'… not Ame, that much is clear, and the level of technology available is too high, this probably isn't even in the element nation… the land of iron perhaps? No, not the style of architecture the samurai do tend to use... And the last thing I remember, I died, so the afterlife? No. Or… I might still be alive. Still in Konoah? Interrogation perharps…No, wait I was brought back for a moment during a war… or this might be an illusion…"

"Would you like me to call the cops or perhaps some heroes? I heard there were some specialized in bringing people home…"

"Kai !"

"…"

"…"

"Kai? Did you hurt yourself?" Asked the old, eyeing the, admittedly weird, kid that was holding his left hand in front of him with two fingers extended.

'And what is he doing? Did he hurt his head? Or is that a trending thing amongst young kids this day? …'

"Your assistance would be unnecessary."

"Huh?"

"I will find my way back on my own. " Although he didn't know what the term 'cop' meant, Nagato could infer the meaning due to his situation. He was in a predicament; he was in an unknown place with unknown people for unknown reason, best not make a scene out of it. The less people were informed about him the better. He could always use his talents for information gathering later.

"Oh… well, if it's all right. Tt is good then right?"

This man, however well meaning, was starting to be a hindrance; Nagato needed more time to think and analyze the situation he was in as well as to try and make sense of his jumbled memories.

'This is not a genjutsu… So this is reality. Still I do not know my current location, nor why my body appears to be younger. I need more intel. And this old man is seriously starting to be a bother…'

Gathering information was part of a ninja life. And having the appearance of an unsuspecting kid might help to diminish suspicion.

"You're sure you don't need to call anybody for help?" asked the persistent man.

"No" was all that he offered for an answer. "I'll be heading home this instant." A lie obviously, but deception was part of the ninja art. Getting rid of a nuisance without using violence was the best choice of action right now. Leaving the old man on the sidewalk, Nagato headed toward one of the adjacent avenuee trying to gather more information and knowledge on this place while still remaining discreet.

'What kind of discussion was that?! This kid is weird! Is it because of his quirk or did he really hit his head? He gave me the creeps!'

Completely unaware of the old man mental state, Nagato left to accomplish his most important objective.

'This place is weird'. Was the first conclusion Nagato came to.

Not just a bit weird, but extremely strange. Just like the buildings, the people living in this city were all… different. Most of them appeared to hold some kind of Kekkei genkai modifying their appearance height or other random things.

While kekkei genkai were not exactly a rare occurrence in the elemental nations, the amount of people that appeared to hold one in this place was staggering. And if part of the normal appearing crowd held some as well… The thought was concerning.

'This place might just hold some incredibly high military power'. Caution was needed to proceed.

Nagato was still concerned with his lack of understanding of the place. While using the ningendo (Human path) to rip the soul of some unsuspecting passer-by to read their mind would do the trick it would probably also incur the wrath of whoever might be in charge of this place. That wasn't something he wanted, at least not for now.

This reasoning was exactly what led him to his current location: a random back alley. Well, not so random to be exact. It was chosen with some precise criteria: far enough from the main streets, one that was dirty and not-so-well-frequented. No matter the place, cities all had some things in common. You could always find punks and low-life in places like this one… and people that nobody would miss or shed a tear for. The perfect opportunity for some forceful 'information gathering'.

Nagato wouldn't obtain anything fancy around here. That much he knew. But the street rats held a lot of knowledge, most than most people gave them credit for. They knew what was considered as common knowledge, and that was something he desperately needed right now, but more than that they also knew who held true power, who was to fear and how to avoid the eyes of the local authorities. To summarize, when it came to information, they were gold mines.

Walking in the dark and trash-filled alley wasn't an enjoyable activity for the prideful god. Taking care not to step in whatever strange and unsavory thing littered the ground, or trying not to stain his clothes wasn't exactly the best…

'Wait… my clothes'. Once again, Nagato stopped to take a look at himself. He didn't have time for that back in the main street when he was interrupted by the grandpa or taken by the sight. Now that there wasn't anyone to interrupt him, what he discovered was… shocking.

He was wrapped in a red robe, not the dark one with red clouds he was so fond of, the one that was used when he was called back to life as a puppet in the fourth ninja war. And his body was, young, far younger than he had the right to be, not exactly one of a kid, but certainly not one of a man. But something else was bothering him…

Somehow… he could feel it. The rinnegan. The eyes that weren't even his. Thoses accursed eyes that were always depriving him of his life energy, forcing him to live as a husk, a shadow of his former self… they weren't bothering him. That was not something that was supposed to be possible.

'The only time that happened was when I was…'

Unable to remove the annoying thought from his mind, Nagato took one of the kunai that he was holding in one of his back pocket, and proceeded to slowly approach it to his left hand. Then, in a swift motion, he cut his palm open.

…

Nothing happened.

Well, not 'nothing' exactly, he did cut himself. But he couldn't feel the pain of his wound. More importantly, he wasn't bleeding. In fact, the wound started to close itself as little pieces of dirt, paper and leaves coagulated in what appeared to be healthy skin… his skin.

"Edo tensei, huh?" 'This might very well be a curse as much as a blessing'.

"Oya oya, what do we have here? U lost kiddo?"

"Need some help with that pointy thing? Careful you don't hurt yourself he he he"

"It would be such a shame with a face so cuuuuuuute".

"You should run to you mama boys trust me, you do not want to be here!"

…

Slowly turning his head Nagato gazed at the five persons that were approaching him.

Finally, the reason he did come here deigned to show itself: information in the row.

He would just have to… collect it.

…

Night had fallen on Tokyo, giving the already dark alley an even creepier look as it shifted between blue and red, illuminated by the dim beacon of some police cars and the random flashes of cameras.

Gloved and masked men were busying themselves trying to preserve most evidence they could find while other were still securing the area or trying to prevent curious passer-by to come too close.

Lifting one of the 'Police - Do not cross' yellow tape a tall man in matching overcoat and hat approached the site, his face not betraying anything that might have gotten through his mind at the sight before him.

"Glad that you finally made it here detective Tsukauchi" greeted a man in a protective vest whose most characteristic trait was his cat head.

"Sorry you had to wait; I made it as fast as I could officer Tamakawa. I heard this was bad."

"Bad doesn't even come close to describe it." Answered the man-cat with a frown.

This made the detective rise one of his eyebrow in a questioning look. Even though he didn't look like it, he knew that the man in front of him was a veteran. He had been through and seen many things during his career. For him to make such a comment…

"You should come and see for yourself. Might catch something we overlook while you're at it."

Tsukauchi didn't answer. Following silently with a stern look on his face he approached the site.

Then…

He saw it…

Mangled corpses.

Four of them.

One was half burnt, still fuming, pinned to the ground with some kind of strange rod made of metal.

Another one was nailed to a wall with the same kind of weapon piercing his body, sprouting several cut, deep and shallow in several areas.

The third one, a female, was missing hole part of her body. One could only infer what might have happened to her looking at the sheer look of terror her faced still captured in death.

The last one while also nailed to the ground was in what appeared to be a small crater. Most of his bones were broken and bent in way they were most definitely not made to bend in.

The sight was one of hell.

And the smell.

Oh god the smell…

This pungent smell… It would stick to the clothes for days…

And only god knew how long it would remain in their mind.

"What manner of…what is that?!" Exclaimed Naomasa Tsukauchi clearly disturbed by the sight.

'Bad doesn't come close to describe it'? Talk about the understatement of the year, thought the detective. But he didn't come here to complain. He had a job to do. Grabbing a pair of gloves and a most needed mask, and while taking great care not to step in blood, Tsukauchi crunched near one of the poor victims to start his investigation, trying to search for clues that might have been overlooked so far, while trying his best not to focus on the smell.

"Do we know who they are?"

"We aren't clear on their name yet. But from their description and some testimonies they appear to be part of a small neighboring gang".

"So? You think this might be a conflict between some opposite factions that went out of hand?" Asked Tsukauchi.

"That was the general consensus on the matter." Answered the cat-man dismissively.

"And what is your opinion on the matter, officer?" Pressed Tsukauchi, carefully observing one of the corpses.

"My opinion is, and forgive the crude language, that this is a load of bullshit! Meow !"

"And why would you think that?" 'Also, meow? This is clearly perturbing him as well'.

"This is, for lack of another word, too professional."

Looking around to take another good look at the other victims, Tsukauchi could see where Tamakawa was coming from.

"Indeed, that is one way to phrase it." Whatever those metal rods were they all had something in common. They were deeply stabbed in articulations, not to kill, but to incapacitate while delivering extreme pain at the same time. This could be said for all the other injuries as well; they avoided all vital parts but appeared extremely painful.

Still this raised another question… 'How did they die then?'

The injuries were severe, that much was a given but… but judging by the time they were inflicted, those peoples should still be alive.

"What was the cause of their death?" inquired Tsukauchi.

"You caught up on that then? I should expect no less from you detective. Well, your guess is as good as mine."

'Another mystery to add to the pile' thought the detective. This case was particularly unusual. Violent action using quirks did happen every so often, but this was different. Precise, violent, swift and painful. This couldn't be the act of another gang.

'Could it be a villain then? But why bother with petty thieves and scums. A vigilante perhaps? Unlikely, they tend to act alone. This however tend to indicate that multiple quirks were used. Or was it weapon perhaps?'

As he was pondering something else a little caught his attention.

"Officer, could you light up this wall?" asked Tsukauchi pointing at a building a little further away in the dark.

"Will do, meow" was the reply as the man-cat took a flashlight to illuminate the said wall.

As the light fell on the façade of the building, both men could see a big impact on it, not unlike the craters another of the victims was in, the only difference being the hollow frame in the middle of it. It was reminiscent of a human figure, if only bigger and taller.

"This raises all kind of new questions, meow."

It did, indeed. First this indicated that there were five victims and not four as they initially thought. But another one would be…

"Where is the body?"

...

Nagato was angry. No scratch that, not angry, it didn't come even close to describe what he felt right now.

Livid? Humiliated? Frustrated? He couldn't put it into words…

This world, for he now knew, after ripping the soul of those four maggots, that this was a different world from his own.

If it was only this much though, he could accept. Somehow he knew from the start that this was a different place. He did die after all. And nothing here was even remotely close to what he was familiar with in the elemental nation, except the tall buildings perhaps. But this wasn't what mattered. No.

It wasn't the fact that he couldn't be reunited after death with his long lost friend Yahiko nor with Konan, although this did hurt him somehow. NO, this wasn't it either!

No, it was the fact that this world had just slapped him in the face, spitted on his name and trampled on his pride!

Peace.

It was his goal.

Peace and justice, it was his best friend dream.

PEACE!

That was why he became Pain, why he had embodied it.

He had wanted to create a weapon so powerful and mighty that all would have to bow and abandon their hatred. They would be forced to know and understand each other, sharing the same pain! In doing so the world would have known peace!

Although he knew he failed, and hoped that Naruto would find his very own answer, deep down he believed that he wasn't in the wrong. He believed his way could have worked.

But this place, this damn world. It had done it. It did exactly just that. And it was a massive failure!

It was common knowledge even street scum held. 'Nuclear bomb' they called it, a weapon that could glass entire cities if not small countries.

Oh it did bring peace all right…. for a time. They even created so much of it that they could blast this planet five time over and still have some more to continue…

But somehow, at some point… nobody cared anymore. It became too powerful to even be used. Conflicts started anew, wars, on smaller scales but wars nonetheless.

And as if it wasn't enough. Out of nowhere appeared 'quirks', Kekkei genkai like powers that any individual could possess as long as they lived passed their fourth birthday.

This world was sick. It's inhabitant individualistic. The more 'connected' they grew, as they called it, the less they cared for each other. They didn't hold ideals, they only cared for themselves.

Heroes chasing after fame and money.

Villains creating havoc for the hell of it.

Quirkless people just going with it hoping nothing would happen to them.

This was maddening.

He had failed once and died.

But somehow he was brought back here. Not as part of the living, but in an undying body that could muster untold amount of chakra. It had to be for a reason.

"Teacher, Naruto… May you forgive me."

The path he had walked may not have been the correct one. But it was the only one he knew.

He would bring salvation to this wretched world.

He would be the harbinger of peace and the bearer of justice.

"For we are Pain, for we are God".

And done.

Hope you enjoyed this one.

If you find any mistake or anything please let me know.

Have a nice day !