A New Path at Life

by ForPain

Konan had enough of Nagato's corrupted image as Pain. She decides to open his eyes and reflect him upon his mistake. Thanks to his Angel's strong love towards him, Nagato's eyes are finally opened, now both of them go forth on a new path towards true peace. But as they move forward, they will face consequences of their past, meet new comrades and enemies, and strengthen their love.

10. Know Pain!

Chapter 10- Know Pain.

"Speech."

'Thoughts.'

"Past Speech"

"Echoing Speech."

Author Edition Notes

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So, first of all, again, I would like to apologize for the amazingly long delay in my updating schedule. Damn…seems as if I'm around a MONTH late! I need to really catch up!

Thank you, all of you, my readers, for reading my story and voicing your opinions. Your reviews allowed me to reflect upon the improvement I need to make to become a better author, and I couldn't have done this chapter without your constant support.

A small discussion- as I was concerned, AGAIN, I was forced to SPLIT the chapter AGAIN due to its length…and possible plot considerations (but hey, only I should know about that). This chapter, unlike the others beforehand, will be filled with ACTION and VIOLENCE and SUSPENSE! It will get you sticking into your chair and bringing your food from the kitchen to your room because you don't want to miss a single SECOND!

So, after you come back to the bottom of this page, I'll be there to meet you.

Oh, I forgot to add something- in the date of 11.16.2012 this chapter was edited to fit in the entire battle. So those of you who have already read the chapter, please re-read it as it now contains the end you have been expecting for. Sorry for that, I simply thought about a better ending to Chapter 10 and didn't want the battle content in chapter 11 to be mixed with the dialogue content.

Happy reading~

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Sakura's eyes snapped open with a gasp, which instantly turned into a scream of fear and stress. She went silent, slowly looking downwards, her eyes widening as she caught the sight of her hands. They were amazingly fine, and somehow, the Kunoichi found it usual that her entire body was colored in a black shade, her outlines being white.

She looked around her, noting that her environment was a dead, endless wasteland which was colored with the same shades of black and white as she was. She looked upwards, the moon was gigantic and didn't move and inch, the skies around it were colored in a deep shade of bloodied-red.

There was a strange feeling to this darkened wasteland, a feeling which made her tired and numb. Was all of this real?! Yes, it was. She felt completely normal, so real and embracing.

Then what is that twisted feeling creeping into her? What are those silent screams in her head?

'W-What is this place?' Sakura thought as she stood up, contemplating as she continued walking and looking around. The more she moved, the less it seemed like she was moving, as if she was stuck in place throughout that endless wasteland. She realized everything was real- she could feel everything around her and could do as her body commanded. She even controlled her own thoughts.

Hours on top of hours had passed, and still the pink Kunoichi could swear everything was fine. She was getting tired, unaware that the sun didn't rise up at all. The moon was still gazing at her, the bleeding sky surrounding it. 'I don't get it…I feel something's wrong but there's no sign of Genjutsu!' Sakura thought, looking all over. She then froze in her tracks, her eyes widening when she looked at the moon, seeing it wasn't moving. The screams and whispers echoing in her mind only strengthened, but however, it was totally natural. She was Tsunade's apprentice- if she was under a Genjutsu she would've recognized it right away. 'The screams…they're not…leaving my head!'

Her eyes suddenly snapped, fully widened when she caught the sight infront of her- staring deeply into the pattern of the Rinnegan which covered the moon, gauging the same way Pain's eyes did. The Kunoichi perked up completely, seeing that the moon was the same barely a blink after.

In a blink it came and in a blink it went. She was just getting tired, there was absolutely no Rinnegan in the sky.

Sakura's eyes widened, feeling the world suddenly spin around her, horror climbing up her body. Her breathing became fast, and soon enough she was sprinting through the wasteland as fast as she could. 'W-What is this place?!' She screamed mentally, snarling as she looked all over, seeing that she was running through a small village across the wasteland.

"DAMMIT! ENEMIES?!"

Sakura found herself inside a living room of a house, colored in the same colors as the wasteland, the pitch-black void with white outlines making her body numb. Her eyes were completely widened, feeling some sort of connection to that foreign, unfamiliar place.

Her eyes caught a man, in the same color as she was, charging at a similar colored Konohagakure Shinobi, releasing a battle cry which was filled with so much despair and agony.

The man didn't seem to care that he's even armed. He clashed with the Shinobi with amazing force, sending himself to his death as his armed enemy slashed his body down with his kunai, spraying blood all over the place.

The blood was in the color of blood, but a stronger shade than regular blood. It was calling, silently whispering to her, talking with words she could not understand, and was grateful for that. It glowed to her eyes, dominating her eye-sight.

"NAGATO, RUN!"

Sakura's eyes widened even further, seeing a woman sprinting towards another Konohagakure Shinobi, her fate eventually ending the same as the man who came before her. And before she knew it, even more blood was splashed across the living room.

And a second after she was crying in the corner of the room, the two Konohagakure Shinobi slaughtered, sprawled on the floor, blood gushing out of their bodies, tainting the wooden floor. 'No…no…please…make it stop…' Sakura screamed mentally, her sobbing eyes looking at the man and the woman who just sacrificed themselves to save her. She didn't know them, she has never seen them before in her life…so why was she crying like this?!

She walked on all-four towards one of the dead Konohagakure Shinobi, looking at his face, thinking that maybe she will recognize who it was. No, his face was unfamiliar, but upon looking at his Konohagakure Forehead Protector, which was the only think colored in a shining aura of silver, Sakura's eyes completely widened in disbelief.

She saw…Pain's Rinnegan.

Her reflection…her face…through the Forehead Protector she could see she was bearing Pain's Rinnegan. Her heart almost exploding in her chest, she instantly tore apart the Shinobi's Forehead Protector, wanting to get a closer look.

She perked up, seeing that her eyes weren't the Rinnegan at all- they were still her green, emerald eyes. She was speechless, words could not describe how confused and shocked she was.

Before she knew it, Sakura was kneeling in the middle of the same wasteland she spent days walking through. 'What is…happening to me?' Sakura thought as she looked at her palms, snarling, seeing that they were still the same, that everything was still normal. Those screams of agony and pain refused to leave her mind, not the mention that each beat of her heart pounded her chest like a hammer.

She slowly managed to gain the strength to stand up, and without hesitating or doubting what her next destination will be, the Kunoichi began wandering through the wasteland aimlessly, as if she was a dead woman walking.

Her body was exhausted, yet somehow she continued moving on, spending days walking through the wasteland. She didn't know the exact time as she lost track of it, the moon not moving a single inch no matter how far she traveled.

She didn't know if she has been walking for hours…days…weeks…months…or years, but nevertheless she didn't even care.

And then, out of nowhere, a figure came charging at her, causing Sakura to perk up and take a step backwards in a defensive position. And before she managed to comprehend on what just happened, the figure bumped into her with great force, sending her a few steps backwards.

Her eyes widened, hearing the sound of flesh being pierced, the vicious metal echoing through her ears, causing her jaw to drop and her body to tremble. She could feel a kunai in her hand, and soon after, a warm liquid began gushing down her wrist.

She glanced to her right, her eyes horrified, looking at the man's spiky hair, seeing that by the looks of it he was probably around his teenage years, or maybe at the end of it. The man grinned, blood gushing down his mouth as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

It was then when Sakura felt unbelievable pain and devastation tearing her from the inside, as if half of her heart was taken away, as if a part of her soul died, a part of her dreams. Her body was trembling viciously, frozen in its tracks by the shock and agony, her eyes widening to the point her eyeballs began popping out.

The spiky-haired man chuckled, perking Sakura up from her trauma. "Nagato…" He started weakly, his voice hoarse, trembling, blurred by the blood that was gushing out of his mouth. His voice…his voice caused Sakura to almost give into her trauma, recognizing that cursed, damned voice.

It was…Pain's voice.

"You and Konan…you too must survive…at…all costs."

The man's legs failed his as he barely went down on Sakura's body, dying slowly as he did so. "You are…the savior…of this…world…" The man chocked, wincing, his voice fading away as he seemed to be fighting against death. The man then lost his support and slowly began falling right next to Sakura, the bloodied kunai withdrawing from his abdomen.

"I'm sure…you…can…"

The man's body hit the ground with a loud thud, and Sakura was only standing there, shocked, devastated, unable to realize what just happened, not wanting to realize what just happened. 'N-Nagato?!' She thought shockingly, time standing by as she felt her body going numb, realizing that something so wrong…however, nothing could've been more fine at the same time.

She could only glance at a small hill which wasn't there a second before, shocked again when she managed to spot a too-familiar figure at the top of it, barely standing, her eyes completely widened and tears overflowing from them. The woman's jaw dropped in devastation, her snarl rocking down Sakura's heart.

Behind her was an unfamiliar man, wearing something that seemed to be like a gas-mask. He was holding the woman hostage. Before Sakura could prepare herself, the woman opened her mouth, and the world seemed to be turning blacker and blacker every second from that point on.

And before she knew it, Sakura was standing in a middle of a pitch-black void.

"YAHIKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !"

As the scream tore apart the eternal abyss, Sakura's eyes widened when a raindrop fell down and dripped on her shoulder. She looked at it, brushing her finger to smear it up and bring it closer to her eyes, which were now widened, filled with confusion and fear. 'B-B-Blood?!' She thought shockingly, looking at the bloodied teardrop which was soon followed by many others, rain of blood coming down upon her from the skies of an industrial-looking village peeking over the horizon. The village housed many tall buildings which were made out of pipes and stones, and was in the middle of the wasteland.

The rain of blood was painting the wasteland's surface in its color, as if the ground was just a canvas for it. The bloodied raindrops were also clinging into Sakura's body as she began running as fast as she could towards that village, her mind horrified and weak, feeling as if she was going to lose her sanity any second.

'H-How can such…a horrible thing…happen?!' She screamed mentally, knowing that it was all real, knowing that there were no signs of genjutsu around. She could still freely control the movements of her body, she could freely control her thoughts and words, could act as she desired. Those few facts countered everything she'd learned about genjutsu, where the being influenced by it is unable to move or think correctly.

As Sakura reached the village, she began wandering through the horrible, abandoned streets, looking all over. It was dead-silent, the pipe-filled skyscrapers only injecting fear into her. The stoned floor seemed to be wrecked, and was constantly absorbing the rain of blood.

Suddenly, a fire burst throughout one of the buildings in the midst of the bloody rain, sending heat waves all over as it engulfed the rest of the structures in the streets and caused them to collapse into fiery ruins in barely a few seconds. Sakura's eyes widened in horror as screams of terror began echoing through the fire, multiplying as time passed. She didn't even bother to notice that the rain of blood didn't extinguish the flames.

Sakura began turning around and looking all over, seeing shadowy figures of men and women fleeing inside the flames. Each one eventually dropped on the floor, releasing a horrified scream before turning motionless as a corpse.

"N-No…please…you can't, you won't! I'm begging you!" A man's voice echoed through the flames, causing Sakura to turn her expression towards two shadowy figures. One of them was at the floor, propelling its upper body upwards, looking at another cloaked figure that was just standing calmly.

The standing figure raised it's right arm and withdrew a shadowed, narrow pole with a blade-like ending from the sleeve of its long cloak, doing so with no movement of hesitation.

"Please! Please let me go! I don't know Hanzo I swea-"

Before the dying figure could finish its plea, the other figure impaled the pole into its head, the shadow of blood splashing everywhere as the dead figure collapsed into the ruins, motionless. The other figure just stood there, looking at the corpse.

Sakura took a few steps backwards in fear, the bleeding rain tapping on her body, her eyes completely widening in horror as the shadowy figure turned its head to look at her, not saying a word as the shadows of many other figures faded in. Every single shadow fell to the ground, blood splashing all over it as the cloaked, calm figure began slowly walking towards Sakura.

Before the Kunoichi knew it, a horrible scream of terror erupted from her mouth as she began running as fast as she could, fleeing for her life, tears streaming down her eyes. The rain of blood didn't cease, it still continued tapping violently on her body, driving her mad. 'Naruto…Kakashi-sensei…HELP ME!'She screamed mentally, her thoughts echoing through her head as she didn't look back, the district of flames endless before her, the screams of terror and death tearing apart her mind.

Sakura then perked up, seeing a tiny shimmer of light at the end of the eternal district, a light that only caused her to speed up and gasp as if she was running for her life. The light was whispering her name, its voice echoing through her mind, calling her, engulfing her with warmth.

She charged through the light, the white color blinding her eyes, numbing down her entire body, causing her to feel as if she was hovering.

When the Kunoichi came to her eyes widened heavily in disbelief, finding herself again at the same place where she started- the allies of the industrial village. The rain of blood was still tapping on her body, washing it, covering her with its colors.

It was quiet, too quiet, and for some reason Sakura failed to notice the figures dressed in rain cloaks heading towards different directions around the district, walking in the same pace, with the same gestures, as if they were all the same. Their faces were shadowed, and before she knew it, Sakura was again making her way through the district, fear crawling inside her, threatening to take away her sanity once again.

She constantly bumped and tackled the figures, apologizing every single time, but whenever she did, the figures just continued on their way, as if they weren't focused or aware of their surroundings, not bothering to reckon her apologies.

'W-What am I doing?!' Sakura asked mentally as she noticed that she was losing her way through the endless district for over an hour, roaming through the hypnotized figures, trying to find her lost way back. 'Where am I even trying to go? I need…I need to ask one of these people for help!'

Sakura's eyes traveled to the first figure she managed to notice among the crowd around her, walking away. Its back faced to her as it continued down the street, blending in with familiar cloaked figures. Every single person Sakura managed to see were wearing similar-looking rain cloaks, making them look the same from behind. "H-Hey, excuse me!" Sakura yelled frantically, speeding up towards the figure, hearing her own voice echoing through the streets. The figure did nothing to motion it noticed her voice and just continued down the district.

Sakura suddenly noticed she was going backwards, and the faster she sped up, the father the figure got from her. Many other figures began bypassing her from behind as she did so, and eventually Sakura couldn't take it and stretched out her hand, grabbing the shoulder of the next figure that got near her. His body structure was that of a man in his twenties, perhaps around eighteen.

"Hey, you, can you tell me whe-"

Sakura gasped heavily, her heart missing beats as she took a few steps backwards in fear, her body trembling as she began losing her balance. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, her green pupils locked with the figure's face, looking at its ringed eyes, that horrifying, gauging Rinnegan she knew so well.

She was staring…deeply into Pain's emotionless face.

Before Sakura realized, she was charging forward at the man, snarling, her eyes streaming with tears as she. Just like in the clearing, she again prepared her strongest punch, surrounding her palms with glowing, blue chakra that seemed to shimmer among the darkened, white-outlined world.

She took the amazing momentum, her vicious snarl glued to her face, gathering all of her hatred towards the one who caused her and her friends so much pain. She thrust her right arm forwards, preparing to strike down the Rinnegan wielder's face. Her eyes widened completely, filled with terror and fear as her body merely passed through Pain's body as if it was thin air.

The uncontrollable momentum caused her to trip forwards and hit the floor with a loud thud. Almost on reflexes alone, she instantly turned around, her front body facing Pain as she attempted to crawl away in fear, trembling. Why did she crawl away instead of standing up!? Why did she break one of the most important rules for a Shinobi- never stay on the ground!?

Her thoughts dissipated when she caught Pain looking at her, his eyes gauging up holes into her soul once again, filled with darkness that kept creeping into her from his Rinnegan. Sakura wanted to scream as loud as she could in fear, so that was exactly what she did.

The Kunoichi let out a roaring shriek from the top of her lungs as she got up and, without hesitating, turned around and began tearing apart through the street with speed she never knew she had, trying to get away from Pain. She failed to notice that this time, instead of bumping into the cloaked figure, she was actually passing through them.

Before she passed through every figure, the figure turned its head to look at her, revealing itself as Pain, only terrorizing Sakura more, causing her to increase her pace. The district was endless, the rain of blood got thicker and wilder, the drops of blood nearly carving holes into her silhouette.

'T-This isn't real…' Sakura finally concluded, her thoughts echoing through the industrial village, finally realizing that everything was wrong all along. She was gasping and panting viciously, losing her mind, losing the fragment of sanity that she held so tightly on, feeling her fears and her traumas tearing her heart apart. 'T-This must be a nightmare!'

"No…"

Sakura perked up and opened her eyes a split second before she bumped into that too-familiar figure. The impact sent her to the floor with another loud thud, her body trembling and her eyes widened, looking up to see Pain gazing down at her, his Rinnegan eyes emotionless, yet filled with so much rage and murderous intent.

She began hypertilating as she crawled back and stood up, about to charge into the opposite direction, about to do anything to escape this horrible person. Her eyes widened in disbelief, seeing that another Pain was blocking her escape route, and before she knew it, the traumatized, hypertilating Sakura was surrounded with countless of Pains, each Pain seeming exactly original as the other. They were all staring at her with those eyes, those eyes which caused her to lose her mind, caused her to scream mentally, tore her apart.

Sakura felt the temperature around her rising to extreme levels, the ground below her reflecting some sort of purple light, the sound of flames roaming around the streets. The light thickened and expanded, causing Sakura's eyes to widen yet again as she slowly looked upwards, her eyes nearly popping out of her sockets. The moon was diving down at the village, covered in purple, glowing flames, melting the buildings around it.

Amidst the purple flames, blood began tainting the burning moon, taking shape and form as it slowly formed the horrifying pattern of the Rinnegan, making Sakura feel like she was staring an inch away from Pain's eyes. It even held the same emotionless, yet murderous touch.

She never managed to feel the moon colliding with the village, as just in the same moment everything went pitch-black once again. Time that seemed like eternity passed, and when Sakura came to, awakening from her coma, she perked up in disbelief.

Sakura instantly yelped and looked downwards, but was awestruck when she saw she was sitting on an ugly frog-like statue. However, unlike before, she could see the other colors aside from black and white. She looked around, her eyes widening, staring at the amazing yet depressing view of the industrial village, the village she was running through for so long. The rain of blood never really ceased, painting the buildings and the streets in its color.

Looking at that view was what cracked her up.

Unable to take anymore, tears began streaming down Sakura's eyes as she snarled, her expression starting to sob. Her sobs soon turned into wails, bringing out many tears which rolled down her cheeks. She buried her head into her knees, crying her heart out, feeling like she finally lost it. 'Naruto…Kakashi-Sensei…' She sobbed mentally, disbelieved at what that bastard Pain had done to her, thinking about the two closest people to her. Yes, she had a family, but for some reason she wasn't thinking of them now. The image of Pain bore itself into her mind, causing her expression to turn enraged among the tears. 'Stop…you bastard…make this nightmare stop!'

Suddenly, loud shrieks echoed through the industrial village, shrieks containing so much agony and despair that they almost made Sakura's heart shatter. Sakura's eyes widened as she lifted her head from her knees, staring emptily into the endless village.

She recognized those voices…heck, how wouldn't she?! These were the screams of Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke.

Before she knew it, Sakura was running through eternal, dark, pipe-filled hallways, searching for the direction in which the shrieks came from, barely noticing which turns she took. But no matter how far she went, how deep she went into the building she found herself in, the screams of her comrades seemed to remain similar in volume and pitch…she wasn't even getting farther or closer towards the source.

She took turn after turn, not exactly knowing where she was going, her legs moving on their own as she lost count of the turns she took, not bothering to resume counting anymore. The maze was slowly creeping its way into her heart, whispers boring into her head, whispering, caressing. She took one more turn, and to her luck, she reached a dead end with a normal, mid-sized wooden door.

Sakura couldn't prepare herself as a loud, devastated shriek erupted through the door, echoing through the hallways of the maze, causing Sakura to take a step back and widen her eyes in horror.

She recognized the feminine voice of the shriek, causing her eyes to harden with anger and hatred.

The voice belonged to Konan.

However, Sakura's eyes slowly widened when the shriek changed its pitch, slowly turning manly, causing her jaw to drop when she recognized that voice as well. Without hesitating, Sakura charged towards the door, closing her eyes as she prepared for the impact.

She lunged forwards, hoping to hit the hard, wooden surface which was seemingly inches away from her body.

A second later, she fell on the floor with a loud thud.

Sakura's eyes snapped open instantly and she rebounded into standing, her sapphire irises shaking when she realized she was in the middle of a tremendous lobby. The lobby's floor was made of stone and its walls were consisted from countless pipes. She could hear the echoing noise of the water which were streaming inside the pipes, boring their way into her mind.

'W-What is this place?!' Sakura thought mentally, trembling slightly, her expression hardened and suspicious. She looked all over, moving her head around, searching for everything that may provide her with the information she needed.

More than that, she was searching for her friends- for Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi.

Sakura's eyes then widened in disbelief, suddenly spotting something infront of her. She didn't even bother to think how she hasn't noticed it before as she put both of her hands on her mouth, gasping. She stepped backwards as far as she could from the horrible scenery infront of her, her pupils shaking viciously. 'N-No…' She thought, tears streaming down her, unable to believe her eyes.

Right infront of her were three stone-made crosses, their size massive, embed to the ground. The crosses shackled down those she was searching for all along, the closest people to her- Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke. They were all hanged on the crosses, countless of holes in their bodies, dried blood markings leaking down the holes. The three were unconscious, lifeless, as corpses.

There were pools of blood beneath each one of them, the color of the blood glowing against Sakura's eyes as she dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. An endless, echoing shriek erupted from her lungs, terror filling her soul and mind as she collapsed, crying heavily, unable to take the sight infront of her. "MAKE IT STOP!" She roared as loudly as she could, closing her eyes and burying her head in the floor, snarling in devastation. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

And so time passed, and Sakura could no longer count the time she spent crying. She didn't even want to open her eyes to witness the same sight again, wanting to dearly hold onto the last bits of sanity she had remaining. At some point, Sakura could hear the sound of her wails changing, as if she was slowly growing farther away.

She hesitatingly opened her eyes, only to widen them in complete disbelief, her jaw dropping when she realized she was hanged on one of the same stoned crosses. She instantly looked to her sides, only to perk up when she noticed Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke disappeared.

The only soul in the lobby was her…and the crying Sakura who was crumbled infront of her. Sakura's eyes remained widened as she stared at her crumbled, devastated version, kneeling on the ground, wailing, sobbing.

And in an instant, that sobbing ceased, and the crumbled, devastated Kunoichi remained silent, only to slowly try and stand up a few seconds later. As the crumbled Sakura slowly rose, so did the shackled Sakura's head and eyes with her, disbelieved as the other Sakura took a firm stance, wobbling a little, trembling.

Her head was lowered, her pink hair covering her face, tears no longer escaping from her eyes. Eventually, her trembles ceased, the once-devastated Sakura slowly raising her head upwards, inch by inch.

The other Sakura's eyes widened completely, gasping as her jaw dropped in pure shock and disbelief. Her heart nearly exploded in her chest when the other Sakura revealed her face instantly, her hair fluttering to the sides as she glared deeply at her, her eyes completely widened.

And the real Sakura could no longer hold down herself, seeing that she was now gazing deeply into the terrorizing, murderous Rinnegan which belonged to Pain.

"Trash…" The other "Sakura" spoke, her voice bearing Pain's tone. Her hair slowly turned orange, her skin cracking and pilling off crack after crack, peach-colored skin crumbling to reveal lifeless, grey skin. The pink, shoulder-length hair soon turned orange and spiky, and her face, which bore resemblance to Sakura's face, were now Pain's.

And before she knew it, Sakura was staring at the leader of the Akatsuki, who was dressed in his Akatsuki cloak. The world, which finally began to receive colors from Sakura's eyes, again faded into a black void with white outlines, the only thing that remained colored being the purple, glowing tint of Pain's eyes.

And as she was digesting and putting together the puzzle pieces to reveal the truth behind one of the most horrible traumas in her life, Sakura could only gaze at Pain, who raised his arm upwards to extend a chakra blade from his sleeve and grab it in his hand. The red tint of the blade shimmered as the Rinnegan wielder tilted it the slightest bit, waiting a few seconds before lowering his hand back to his side, the blade following along, piercing the air against it.

"You…bastard…" Sakura muttered, tears of anger and shame rolling down her cheeks, realizing that all of this was just a game Pain created to play with her mind, to torture her. How foolish she was not to know that he was behind all of this, how she gave him the pleasure of seeing her cry, these were the thoughts which brought forwards a devastated snarl from the Kunoichi as she lowered her head to avoid Pain's emotionless eyes.

Her subconscious and mind were now too damage to take anything into consideration, and in this slightest moment, the finally Kunoichi managed to realize that she was under a Genjutsu this entire time. "It felt…so real…you son of a bitch…" Sakura swore, her voice weak, exhausted, shattered. She then suddenly swung her head upwards and glared deeply into Pain's eyes, her enraged snarl inches away from his face. "LET ME GO!"

She searched for any kind of retaliation, any kind of reaction in Pain's emotionless, cold gaze that would let her know he acknowledged her anger. However, Pain's expression hadn't flattered the slightest, causing the miniature remains of Sakura's courage to sink into herself. "Letting you go…as if nothing happened…" Pain suddenly muttered coldly, breaking the long, eternal silence which followed Sakura's outburst. He stretched his arm forwards, holding the chakra blade which was attached to his inner-forelimb firmly. Its sharp tip prodded against Sakura's abdomen, cutting and bruising her flesh, causing the Kunoichi to close her eyes shut and wince in pain. "I do not think I can allow that…"

And so Sakura screamed on top of her lungs, every single muscle in her body tensing up, pain tearing her body apart as the Rinnegan wielder tore through her flesh and impaled the chakra blade into her abdomen ever so slowly. Blood gushed out of her insides, staining her pitch-black clothes and the chakra blade itself as it dripped down the metallic weapon. It spilled all over the floor, drop after drop, creating a small pool of blood in the matter of seconds.

Pain moved his hand backwards and folded his wrists upwards, breaking the attachment of the chakra blade to his forelimb with his palm. He gazed at Sakura, watching her body trembled as she sobbed and panted, her head lowered completely and her muscles tensed.

It was only a matter of seconds before Sakura gasped in disbelief and lifted her head upwards instantly, gazing at her abdomen in shock. The chakra blade which was impaled into her body was nothing more than thin air now, and so was the injury caused from it. Even the pain she was feeling just completely disappeared as if the only sign of what happened a while ago was just the horrible trauma which was caused by the pain. Sakura's expression then turned enraged, knowing exactly what Pain was doing despite the fact that she had already lost her sanity. "YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN?!" Sakura roared, her completely widened eyes trying to gauge back the Rinnegan wielder who was quietly standing infront of her. All she could do is watch as Pain extended another chakra blade from his sleeve in the same way he did before, causing the fear to crawl up in her. "YOU THINK YOU CAN CRACK ME?!"

"Cracking you? This…is not what I am planning to do…" Pain noted emotionlessly, prodding the chakra blade against Sakura's abdomen once again. Sakura's eyes widened at the feeling, causing her to recall the unimaginable pain she felt a second earlier, her mind going berserk. "Getting cracked by this Genjutsu…should be the least of your concerns."

Sakura's jaw slowly dropped, her heart slowing down in her chest as her gut clenched, horrified by Pain's words. "I will make you beg for mercy…I will make you scream…I will make you bleed…" Pain muttered coldly, his voice coming out in the form of unforgiving deadpan as he slowly slid the chakra blade into Sakura's abdomen, triggering a worse reaction than the one she had. Sakura's eyes completely widened and her jaw dropped as she released constant shrieks of pain, unable to take anymore already. "I will bring pain upon you…I will torture your body…I will decimate your soul…I will shatter every solid fragment of your mind. I will…make you…pay…"

And as his words echoed through Sakura's ears, Pain again broke the chakra blade's attachment to his forelimb with his palm, gazing at the hypertilating, crying Sakura. Her body collapsed against the stoned cross, her eyes completely widened, watching her blood spill into a pool on the floor once again.

And before Sakura knew it, the pain was gone, and it seemed as if she hadn't lost her sanity a split second ago. And there Pain was, again sliding the chakra blade into her abdomen, as if they were going through a constant loop in time and space. Sakura was again screaming her heart out, feeling the same pain piercing through her body. "I will make every single second…every single minute…every single hour…every single day…every single week…every single month…and every single year count. My body is…trembling from the thoughts of what I am…going to do to you…" Pain muttered emotionlessly while he was sliding the chakra blade into the poor Kunoichi, her blood once again creating a pool beneath the stoned cross. "I will redefine and entrust a new meaning to the word "pain" upon you, trash…and I am going to enjoy every…last…bit of it."

And again, in a second, the pain Sakura was feeling just disappeared altogether and the wound in her abdomen, together with the chakra blade which was impaled into her body, again, weren't there. It was as if what Pain did never actually occurred.

"I will make you feel…I will make you feel the same pain that you have brought upon my Angel…over and over again…"

And with that, Pain ceased to talk as he again pierced Sakura's flesh, sliding another chakra blade into her abdomen. And again, the loop occurred and it was as if nothing happened, only for it to happen again.

And so this eternal torture had been performed on the Kunoichi for as long as she managed to remember. If she counted the time correctly, it was over a day up until now. Pain continued shattering every single fragment of Sakura's sanity, but as the loop occurred, Sakura's sanity returned to normal only to be shattered again.

The black void with white outlines continued seething its way into her soul, the color of Pain's eyes and her blood emphasizing themselves in her mind. The pain that she was already too-familiar with continued soothing its way through her body every single time, and the cold, emotionless Rinnegan continued carving itself into her being.

Sakura felt like time stood by, she had lost the feeling of her body already. Only the pain seething and searing through her cells, terrorizing her body in strange cycles of time was the feeling she could recognize at that point.

However, it seems as if she managed to pass a day without cracking up, an achievement she never thought she would attain. With the pain disappearing every single time, Sakura had no problem to expect how it will feel as the loop realized itself. She managed to regain her sanity every single time, so if she's still completely fine after a day…then mayb-

"One second passed…"

The dead silence of the black void was filling up Sakura's ears, the Kunoichi unable to believe her ears at Pain's words. His claim sent tremors down her heart and she could feel it nearly coming out of her chest. Maybe she wasn't as sane as she thought- she was beginning to hear things.

Sakura barely managed to raise her head and gaze at the blurred image of Pain, who was still standing infront of her with that same, emotionless expression plastered on his face. She gasped weakly, her jaw dropping in complete this belief, seeing that right next to Pain was standing…another Pain?!

"Seven years…three hundred and sixty four days…twenty three hours…fifty nine minutes and fifty nine seconds…remain…"

And with Pain's words tearing apart the remains of what was left from the insane Kunoichi, that too-familiar pain, which was doubled from this point on throughout every single loop, continued chorusing apart her body.

And among the black void and white outlines coloring the industrial village, shrieks could be heard erupting, one after another, one stronger than the other as the eternal torture continued. And in that pitch-black void, where a single day in the true world counted for as a second in this nightmare, the Kunoichi realized that…

She was going to beg for mercy at some point.

---

Sakura's shrieks and terrorized screams tore apart Konohagakure's forest, echoing through the Eight Man Squad's ears and the clearing.

Jiraiya's eyes widened in horror and disbelief at the image of Pain chocking down a defeated, devastated Sakura who just kept shrieking and screaming unconsciously. Her screams were getting distorted as seconds passed, mentioning that Sakura's vocal cords were already tearing themselves apart.

Pain smirked for the briefest moment, his smirk so distinctive and dark, satisfied and maniacal, that for a second there Jiraiya failed to recognize his apprentice. The Rinnegan wielder could feel anger and satisfaction filling his soul, fueling themselves on Sakura's screams, on her pain.

In a single second he managed to put the Kunoichi through an eternity of pleasuring torture, in a single second he managed to make her pay, to make her cry, to make her bleed and to make her beg for his mercy. He completely destroyed her mentality and her subconscious, tore apart her soul with every mean of the word.

Sakura continued screaming constantly up until her vocal cords couldn't take it anymore, and as her voice slowly faded away, the Rinnegan wielder found a void growing up in his heart. There was no chance in the world he would allow her to stop screaming.

Even though her body was plunged into a traumatic coma, Pain tightened his clutch around Sakura's throat, his expression hardening. The Kunoichi didn't scream, she didn't show any reaction to his clutch, aside from the blood which was now leaking down her mouth by his inhuman strength.

Just at that moment, the too-familiar scene of Sakura knee-kicking Konan in her wound flashed through Pain's mind, and soon after her screams echoed through his ears. His Angel screamed in pain and cried by Sakura's hand. However, here the Kunoichi was, silent as a corpse, not making a single sound to show she was suffering the slightest…

Before Pain knew it, he had an enraged snarl plastered on his face.

He let go of Sakura's throat, allowing her body to slowly bend forwards and start falling towards the ground of the clearing, everything going in slow motion for him.

"SCREAM!"

And a second later, Pain sent out three, enraged punches into Sakura's abdomen, her body bending forwards with each impact, his strength almost tearing her body apart. She unconsciously coughed up blood, however, that wasn't what Pain wanted.

The Rinnegan wielder roared uncontrollably, swinging his upper body backwards and stretching his right arm into the same direction, a second before he took the full momentum of his second swing to thrust his arm forwards with rage, his fist colliding with Sakura's face.

The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing, powerful gusts of winds whirling away from the strength of Pain's fist. He could slowly see as Sakura was sent away with such brute force she was actually tearing the air in her way, her flight racing towards the outskirts of the clearing, out of his sight.

Before Sakura managed to collide with the woods, Pain had already knee-kicked her lower back from behind, his ears chiming with the loud cracking which was heard together with the shockwave that came afterwards.

Sakura's body bended backwards completely, her backbone completely crushed by Pain's knee, her torso facing towards Pain. The Rinnegan wielder lowered his knee back in the moment of impact, only to hammer-punch Sakura's chest with both of his hands.

The inhuman impact crushed Sakura's ribs, her body colliding with the ground from the sheer momentum, shattering it completely. The impact of Pain's powerful sent Sakura's body bouncing upwards, giving the Rinnegan wielder enough room to swiftly lift his right leg upwards and axe-kick her abdomen back into the ground, shattering it even further.

Pain swiftly kneeled towards the ground, thrusting his arm downwards towards Sakura's body to send a direct, powerful blow into her abdomen. The earth ruins which were surrounding the Kunoichi were now slightly cratered from Pain's blow, his fist sinking into her body to the point Sakura's stomach was squeezed down.

Pain then stopped, slightly panting, his enraged expression glued to his face as he glared at Sakura, just resting on the ground, unconscious, dying. She wasn't screaming…he couldn't make her scream once again…he couldn't delight on her suffering voice to knew he made her pay. The Eternal Tsukuyomi wasn't enough for him! But the Rinnegan wielder concluded that he should prolong the fight no further.

Pain was getting exhausted, his sight slightly blurred as he lowered his head, his Rinnegan gazing at Sakura's unconscious expression. Soft winds caressed the grass around the Rinnegan wielder as his feet hovered above the ground, Pain's body ascending into the air seconds later.

He was going to finish her miserable life. It was a shame he couldn't make her suffer more than he did, as she had already did, but he will have the memories of hearing her scream for years, memories which he will delight on for the rest of his life.

Pain's expression turned emotionless as he folded his right forelimb upwards and opened his palm, gazing at it calmly. "This is the end for you…" He muttered under his breath, looking down from above at the dying Sakura, who had yet to pay for her sins.

A strange, wobbling, screeching sound echoed through the clearing as the air around Pain's hand began rotating slowly, concentrating and gathering in his palm as it took the form of a transparent orb at the size of a Rasengan.

The Heavenly Protection Seal began screeching as well, as if it was reacting to the strange technique Pain was performing by glowing stronger and stronger. The transparent orb, in return, screeched louder and louder as it rotated in inhuman pace, compressing itself and shrinking. At this point, Pain's palm was shaking slightly in reaction to his technique, unable to restrain the powerful orb. 'You made my innocent Angel suffer…you brought pain upon her and forced her into battle…smiled and laughed as she bled…It's…unforgiveable…' Pain thought, closing his eyes as the images of Konan flashed through his mind again, his resolves resurfacing once more. He found himself sinking into his thoughts of Konan, remembering how she smiled back when that clearing was just peaceful scenery, one of the only places which were called "beautiful" by his Angel. 'Monsters like you…I will…kill…monsters like…you…'

His last thoughts clouding up his mind, Pain's eyes shot open, his expression turning into an enraged snarl once again as he descended downwards towards Sakura with amazing speed, tearing apart the air and sending an aerial shockwave of winds trailing off behind him as he aimed his Shinra Tensei Sphere at Sakura.

"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

---

Tsunade's juked upwards as a she felt the floor beneath her legs shaking, a shake which soon developed into a powerful magnitude which tore through her office, causing her heart to jump in her chest as she widened her eyes. The sound of a powerful, gigantic explosion could be heard all over Konohagakure, causing Tsunade to shoot up into standing from her chair, not minding she broke her porcelain, green tea glass and soaked her paperwork she was working on all day with tea.

She was infront of her office's window a second later, a window which overlooked the entire village and a small part of the forest, wanting to see what was the source of this event.

Her eyes only widened in horror and disbelief, a shocked expression carving itself on her face as she gazed at the enormous earth cloud which scattered all over the skies of the forest, engulfing a large portion of it as well…the explosion came from the direction of the clearing Pain and Konan were sent towards by her.

Her gut began clenching, and soon enough a panic could be seen visible on her face. 'N-No! It had to come from there?!' Tsunade exclaimed mentally, knowing that with her horrible luck- Pain and Konan are bound to be the reason of the explosion. She put both of her hands on the window, disbelieved.

"T-Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade's head perked and she looked over her shoulder, seeing her niece and one of her most loyal assistants, Shizune, panting at the double-door leading into her office. Her eyes were closed as if she just did two laps all over the village, her expression was panicked as much as the Hokage's expression was.

"Shizune, gather the emergency treatment medical crew and head towards Pain's and Konan's meeting point with Jiraiya!" Tsunade promptly ordered, thankful for Shizune's arrival, knowing that she was about to inform her about the explosion and ask her for its source.

Shizune's eyes widened and she straightened herself up, her expression shocked at Tsunade's order. However, it didn't took long for her to frown and nod seriously, knowing that she should follow her Hokage with no question or hesitation, knowing that if Pain and Konan are the cause of the explosion, they can't waste any time.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!"

And in a second later Shizune left off, her steps echoing through the Hokage Residence as she headed towards Konoha's hospital, panicking. Tsunade was left in her office to open up the large window behind her desk with both of her hands, doing so swiftly. She then jumped through it, snarling.

The Hokage landed on one of the rooftops down at the village, ignoring the villagers' calls and shocked expression as she began charging through rooftop and rooftop, a panicking expression on her face. 'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!' She thought in rage, her eyes locked with the gigantic earth cloud hovering over the forest, something that caught many of the villagers' attentions. 'What if Pain and Konan were caught up in this explosion!? What if they're somehow involved in this!? I have to get there fast!'

---

Amidst the earth cloud which was covering the entire clearing, Jiraiya could be seen, bent over, his eyes closed and his expression snarling. He was lucky to pick Konan and flee to safety before Pain's attack collided with the surface of the forest, and considered himself even more lucky as he lifted up his upper body to reveal a safe, unconscious Konan. He knew Pain was at an outrage, and wanted to stop it before being too late with every fiber of his being, but protecting Konan now was top priority.

If Pain realizes that he somehow hurt Konan while he was in rage…who knows how he will deal with it in his current, emotionally unstable condition. 'I need to start speeding up the healing process…' Jiraiya thought, his expression turning serious as he resumed treating Konan's wound, a glimmer of relief and satisfaction in his eyes when he saw that it was slowly closing down.

He then raised his head upwards, looking at the endless cloud of dust which engulfed him and the entire clearing, narrowing his eyes as it faded down, only to widen them back in disbelief.

The clearing, as gigantic as it has become, was now mostly an enormous crater which was a result of Pain's attack. The trees which were previously surrounding were now nothing more than one, big wooden wreckage.

And in the middle of that gigantic crater was the kneeling Rinnegan wielder, his face emotionless, though bearing slight frustration and disappointment. He gazed at his forelimb, which was now embed deeply into the rocky ground as if it was a part of it. He found the lack of Sakura's blood all over it or the remains of her body scattered all over disturbing, however, Pain was smart enough to know what the possibilities for her disappearances were.

'Pathetic…' He thought in frustration, effortlessly pulling out his forelimb from the ground as if it was just water, splashing rocks all around him as he clenched and opened his hand a few times, his expression blank, deep.

Pain attempted to stand up, suddenly using both of his arms to support his body as he lifted it upwards, feeling the world around him spinning. He was losing his balance, his body dazzling to the sides, his sight blurred more than it already was. He was getting weaker…exhausted…he wasn't in his best shape since the battle with that cursed Madara, and if that wasn't enough, every single second he's fighting with that Heavenly Protection Seal is another second for him to feel his body squeezed out of chakra.

The Heavenly Protection Seal was not formed on the original Nagato, but instead was formed on Pain. In other words, while Pain's chakra-consumption was increased massively, Nagato's chakra production remained the same, so he had to stream up massive amounts of chakra just to keep Pain standing up.

That was going to be a problem that he will have to solve.

And so Pain finally managed to regain his balance, the entire crater which was rotating around him finally coming into a stop. He didn't even need to look around him for Sakura's whereabouts; the Rinnegan wielder just raised his head upwards, his eyes hardening coldly.

The sun, which was directly above him, was blinding out two figures who were standing at the outskirts of the crater, looking down at him from above. However, Pain had no difficulty in recognizing at least one of them, the realization shocking him slightly.

"Hatake Kakashi…" He muttered lowly, his Rinnegan glaring down at Kakashi's exposed Mangekyo Sharingan, seeing that the Jonin wasn't hurt the slightest bit, no blood leaking down from the imaginary wound which was supposed to be spread across his chest.

The picture of the explosion that his Heavenly Protection Seal created once activated flashed through Pain's mind, noting how it covered up the entire clearing. 'I see…' The Rinnegan wielder thought, dwelling in the scene of Kakashi slowly dying amidst the wooden remains of a tree's bole, a vertical, gashing cut tearing through his chest.

Pain's eyes hardened into a glare, and so did Kakashi's. It was only then when the Rinnegan slowly drifted downwards, seeing that in the Copy Ninja's arms was a dying, devastated Sakura. As bad as his condition seemed, she was still alive…still alive.

The Copy Ninja turned his eyes from Pain to Sakura, gazing deeply at her, his eyes showing great sadness and concern at the condition of his apprentice. 'Sakura…I'm sorry…' He thought in despair, closing his eyes before he swiftly dashed to a part of the wooden ruins around the clearing and rested Sakura against them.

"Kakashi-dono!" Yamato yelled angrily, great concern in his voice, causing Kakashi to look over his shoulder instantly, seeing the ANBU forming countless of hand seals. In barely a second, Kakashi was at his side, his heart pumping into his chest at the sight of the Rinnegan wielder slowly making his way towards them, effortlessly walking up on the crater's curved sides as if he was manipulating gravity.

Yamato then rammed both of his hands together, causing a small shockwave to rock through the clearing as countless of horizontal, wooden pillars erupted from the crater's outskirts and charged towards each other. Pain could only watch as they joined together above him, forming a formidable wooden surface for the clearing, and for the Rinnegan wielder- a wooden ceiling.

The two Konohagakure Jonin barely got the time to blink, and another shockwave tore apart the clearing, causing them to widen their eyes at the sight of a large hole gauged up through the wooden pillars. Pain was in midair already, glaring down at both of them, their shocked eyes meeting with his cold ones, amazed at his speed. 'A Wood Release technique…' Pain thought emotionlessly, focusing his glare on Yamato. 'Harishama Senju's Wood Release Kekkei Genkai shouldn't have been passed down to a casual Konohagakure Shinobi…It seems that your sick experiment succeeded after all…Orochimaru.'

Pain landed directly against the wooden surface, his body taking a kneeling position, shattering the wooden pillars completely with the strength of the impact. His eyes were locked with Kakashi's and Yamato's, the Rinnegan eying them taking their offensive stances, ready to battle.

The Akatsuki leader calmly stood up, not rushing a single bit. He didn't even bother to take his own fighting stance, not wanting any more blood to be splashed at this clearing, a place his Angel loved, which was now nothing but a devastated battlefield because of those Konohagakure Shinobi. "Out of my way…Hatake Kakashi," Pain deadpanned emotionlessly, hissing down Kakashi's and Yamato's souls, causing their bodies to literally go numb with adrenaline. Deep within himself, even though he was now too clouded with hatred and anger to admit and accept it, Nagato was still holding some kind of faith in the village that saved his Angel.

However, that faith was now nothing more than a scar of the past.

"My business is not with you…all I want is that trash…"

Kakashi's eyes hardened into a heavy glare, his mouth snarling beneath his mask as he formed two, roaring Raikiri in his palms. Those Raikiri were much stronger than the previous ones, and sent waves of lighting all around the clearing, intimidating Yamato's stance into a defensive one. His Mangekyo Sharingan glowed slightly, emotions of hatred and anger which were long since forgotten in the corner of his mind surfacing once again. "If you want to touch a hair of that "trash's" head, you'll have to pass my dead body first!" Kakashi yelled angrily, his eyes filled with rage he has never shown before. Pain, however, didn't flutter the slightest bit by Kakashi's strength, even not when the lightning surges of the Raikiri began roaming through the clearing. Kakashi dwelled on the thoughts about Rin and Obito, how his emotionlessness and lack of consideration caused both of them to die at the end…

He wasn't going to let Sakura be the third.

"There is no way I am going to let you live…You will pay for what you've done!"

Pain perked up, seeing that a second later, Kakashi was already inches away from him, their agility almost matching. Before Pain knew it, he was swiftly dodging Kakashi's furious, agile arm-swings, the two stepping all over the clearing, locked in a close combat.

'I'm fortunate to be able to follow his movements with my Mangekyo Sharingan…he seems weaker than before.' Kakashi thought calmly as he continued swinging both of his roaring Raikiri at Pain, not letting him any opening for a counter-attack. Even though the Copy Ninja was enraged, Kakashi knew better than letting those emotions affect his calm thoughts, his sense of judgment and his tactical plans.

Pain was actually showing effort this time, noting how significantly stronger the original Kakashi was than the clone. However, the emotionless Rinnegan still didn't wither or tremble, not even challenged by the Jonin's speed, able to predict and foresee every single movement Kakashi made, and would make in the following seconds.

'He's slowing down!' Kakashi thought, noting how he was slowly gaining the upper hand on the Rinnegan wielder, who was slowly putting more and more efforts into his dodges. Wanting to further pressurize onto him, Kakashi only doubled his speed, forcing Pain to double his.

The two were now basically a single, black-green blur roaming all over the clearing, even though it was far from being like it. Kakashi's eyes snapped when the lightning of his Raikiri actually managed to touch the Rinnegan wielder's cloak, causing his eyes to harden.

It was then when Kakashi thrust his left Raikiri towards Pain's face, going for a final strike.

And the troubled, concerned expression of the Akatsuki leader returned to its emotionless form in a blink of an eye.

Kakashi's eyes slowly widened, everything going in slow motion for him thanks to the ability of his Rinnegan, finally noticing that Pain was no longer infront of him. 'W-Wha-' Kakashi began thinking, but got no time to finish his thoughts as a brutal splash of blood erupted from his chest vertically, forcing his eyes to widen even more.

His two Raikiri slowly died down, shock and surprise overflowing the Copy Ninja when he finally managed to realize that Pain was calmly standing behind him, a feet away, their backs turned towards each other. A chakra blade was extended from the right sleeve of his Akatsuki cloak, his right hand holding onto it. The tip of the chakra blade was covered up with Kakashi's blood.

And before Kakashi knew it, he was falling towards the ground, pain pulsing through his body until his systems were numbed down. He attempted to taking a few steps forwards, wanting to gain as much distance from the Rinnegan wielder as he could. 'H-He was just…playing with me…' The Jonin shockingly concluded, suddenly recalling the exchange they both had. Even though Pain was constantly moving his body around, looking troubled and concerned…his feet were barely walking through the clearing, showing no effort whatsoever. 'Damn…it…'

The Jonin then hit the ground with a loud thud, feeling his blood leaking into the grass, his sight blurred down, the sound of Pain's footsteps echoing through his ears. All he could see was Pain's shadow engulfing him, probably thinking the Rinnegan wielder was glaring at him from above. He could see the shadow of his right hand breaking the attachment of the chakra blade to his sleeve, holding it firmly, intending to deliver the final blow which would put him out of his misery.

And in the next second, Kakashi's eyes widened, seeing that Pain's shadow was struck by Yamato's shadow, who literally flew towards him, his right arm replaced by a few, short wooden pillars glued together to form a large, wooden hard weapon.

The wooden pillars collided with the side of Pain's body viciously, the sound of a brutal crack echoing through the clearing as the Rinnegan wielder's eyes snapped open. Yamato's eyes hardened, realizing what that cracking sound meant as Pain's body looked like it was going to be sent away any second now.

His hopes were in vain, however, as Yamato's expression was filled with complete shock, his wooden pillars shattering right infront of him, clarifying the source of the cracked sound. Pain took four steps to the opposite direction, trying to rebalance himself, confused at how he failed to notice Yamato coming.

Yamato's expression hardened into a snarl as he rammed both of his hands together before slamming them against the ground, causing Pain to perk up as a gigantic tree erupted out of the ground right beneath his legs, consisted out of countless, sharp wooden pillars.

With great speed, Pain was already at the other side of the clearing, the tall, thick tree separating him from Yamato and Kakashi.

Pain's off-guarded expression instantly went back to its original form, the Rinnegan wielder processing the new situation as countless of wooden, sharp branches were fired towards him from the tree's bole, piercing the air in their way.

Pain's eyes narrowed, blank as he began stepping all over, causing Yamato's jaw to drop as the Akatsuki leader closed his eyes, his body moving and rotating as he literally slid between the branches, dodging the endless volley with little effort.

The Rinnegan wielder could feel time passing by, his chakra slowly draining down, causing his expression to harden. 'If this keeps up…' He thought, feeling the wooden branches slightly brushing against his cloak, rupturing it slightly.

Yamato's eyes hardened, realizing that Pain had no difficulty dodging his technique, causing him to charge forwards and slam his right palm against the back of the tree's bole, causing a slight shockwave through the clearing.

And from the other side of the bole, many thick, sharp wooden pillars emerged, charging towards the Rinnegan wielder with incredible speed, causing a small smile to tug Yamato's lips, seeing that Pain was too distracted and busy dodging the volleys of branches which charged towards him.

Pain's expression turned into a glare, the Rinnegan wielder suddenly snapping his enraged eyes a second later, a hardened, determining Rinnegan glaring towards the tree, and Yamato, who was behind it.

"ENOUGH!"

And in a second later, unimaginable force erupted away from the Rinnegan wielder towards the wooden branches, sending vicious shockwaves rocking through the clearing and shattering everything in its path, scattering a trail of dust behind it.

It stroke down the wooden pillars with inhuman force, plunging them into themselves and tearing them apart into heavy, thick wooden pieces. Yamato's eyes slowly widened, seeing the invisible wrecking ball of air charging towards him.

Pain's Shinra Tensei viciously collided with the gigantic tree, cracking and breaking it apart as it sent another tremor through the clearing, only dropping Yamato's jaw as, within a second, it collided with his own body as well, causing him to cough up blood, feeling his bones and insides being squeezed down until they nearly exploded.

The barricade still charged forwards, carrying Yamato in the turmoil as it continued towards Kakashi and the outskirts of the clearing, tearing everything in its path, sending gusts, shockwaves and tremors in its wake.

And a second later, a massive trail of earth and wood dust was covering the pathetic, two miles infront of Pain. The gigantic earth mist reduced the sight to zero percent, Pain just standing in the middle of it, calm, waiting.

…not to mention the two miles ahead of Pain which were now basically engulfed in a cloud of earth dust, brewing through the forest.

The Rinnegan's wielder eyes traveled to the right, locking his Rinnegan with Sakura, who was slowly dying against an unharmed tree's bole, the earth cloud brushing against the side of her body.

The clearing wasn't entirely destroyed by Pain's technique, he made sure it wouldn't hit Sakura and will only extend towards one direction to prevent Jiraiya and the unconscious Konan, who were behind him, from getting hurt.

For Sakura…he had other motives.

Pain turned his body towards Sakura as he began to slowly walk towards her, his steps calm, paced, echoing through the clearing as a soft breeze went by. Seconds passed, and the Rinnegan wielder was then standing infront of Sakura, looking down at her dying form, following the distorted way her stomach expanded and shrunk, struggling for air.

Without saying a word, he extended his right arm forwards and grabbed the collar of Sakura's shirt, slowly raising her body upwards until her feet were above the ground. He could see the blood from her mouth and arms dripping to the ground, his emotionless expression showing slight satisfaction.

He could only harden his eyes as a chakra blade was extended from his left sleeve, the metallic sound chiming to his ears, knowing that every time he's going to hear it from now on, it will symbolize the pain he's about to bring upon someone who hurt his Angel.

"Your life has been prolonged for too long…" The Rinnegan wielder muttered emotionlessly under his lips, his left hand grabbing the chakra blade and tilting it slightly, exposing its red, bloody tint. He folded his left forelimb and aimed the tip of his chakra blade against Sakura's throat, the blade weakly prodding against her neck. "Trash…if you die, you will no longer be able to hurt my Angel…and she will again smile peacefully and be secur-"

Pain suddenly perked up, his eyes snapping in surprise when, before he knew it, the atmosphere around him began rippling, blurring down his sight. He could feel the air compressing around him, squeezing down his body, causing the Rinnegan wielder to look over his shoulder, shock covering his face as his widened Rinnegan Kakashi's figure, which was rested against the remains of the clearing's north outskirts. He was panting viciously, his body filled with gashes of blood and his Mangekyo Sharingan fully widened, glaring down at Pain's figure.

'I see…' The Rinnegan wielder thought, the air around him distorting and disrupting as it began collapsing into itself, taking along Pain's body with it.

Both of Kakashi's eyes suddenly widened as he began coughing up blood, feeling his body steaming out. His heart began squeezing down, causing the Copy Ninja to viciously grab his throat and choke down, blood leaking from his right eye. 'Damn it…damn it!' He fumed, feeling his body being crushed by invisible force. 'Using Kamui…on an entire human body…with such…massive chakra…I'm dying…this is over for me…'

Kakashi could feel his mind flashing back to the moment of his childhood, recalling all he had been through with Obito and Rin…right before the two of them died.

'Rin…Obito…' Kakashi thought, his body going numb as he recalled the confrontation he had with a masked anonymous figure at the clearing in which he was forced to kill Rin. He could feel the world around him spinning, remembering the phrase Obito spoke to him.

"Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!"

Kakashi chuckled to himself, thinking about Obito's careless personality. 'Obito…I'm sorry…please forgive me…' He concluded, feeling the world around him going black. 'I'm sorry for…abandoning Rin…I had no choice but…I redeemed myself…haven't I? I saved my student from that ba-'

"Kamui…the uncompleted form of Madara Uchiha's Time Migration Technique…I am impressed that a man who does not possess the blood of an Uchiha is able to use such a powerful technique…"

Kakashi's eyes fully widened themselves in horror, the too-familiar voice tearing apart his ears, causing his heart to skip beats. He could see the shadow of a figure covering up his body, only to look upwards over his shoulder, his widened, disbelieved eyes locking themselves with Pain's Rinnegan.

The Rinnegan wielder was standing on top of the remains of a tree's bole on which Kakashi's body was resting, looking down at him emotionlessly, unscratched. "I-Impossible…" Kakashi muttered, his voice trembling with shock and weakness. He felt his Mangekyo Sharingan tremble upon gazing deeply into Pain's strange eyes, which were slightly glowing. "Y…you countered…my Kamui?"

"No, I simply nullified it." Pain answered calmly, the chakra blade which was destined to end Sakura's existence still being held in his hand. However, it seems as if this chakra blade was gifted with a new purpose. His voice was reasonable, merciful, willing to explain the shocked Copy Ninja why he was unable to kill him.

"H-How were you able to…"

"My Rinnegan is the source of every single technique known to the Shinobi world, the eyes of the Kami of all Shinobi- the Sage of the Six Paths. It holds the secrets of the ninjutsu art, it is the forefather of chakra. The Sharingan is nothing but an incomplete, weak mutation of it- it is nothing but an empty void, it pales in comparison to the Rinnegan. My eyes are stronger than yours…my resolve is stronger than yours…and that is why your Sharingan was unable to face my Rinnegan…the eyes of the Sage of the Six Paths…"

Soft breezes brew through the clearing, which was silent for a few minutes, Kakashi trying to digest Pain's sayings. "The…Rinnegan…the Sage of…the Six Paths…You are…lying…" Kakashi muttered hoarsely, his body exhausted, dying. He didn't bother looking at Pain any longer, knowing his end has finally come. His voice was filled with denial, with disbelief, unable to process Pain's words. "Those are just…legends…myths…they don't exist!"

"Your thoughts and beliefs are no longer relevant, Hatake Kakashi." Pain retorted, raising his right hand to the side, his chakra blade bathing in the sun, the red tint brightening with a metallic sound. "Hatake Kakashi…you have been a worthy opponent…"

Kakashi lowered his head, preparing himself for the stab as he smiled softly. He wasn't prepared for death, heck, he even knew that after Pain kills him, he'll move to Sakura and the rest of his comrades…however, he knew he could do nothing at the matter.

Better yet, he thought until his death, until his very breath ceased. He protected his students and his village with every fiber of his being, he fulfilled the promise he made to Obito and redeemed himself for his horrible doings.

He still knew that whenever he was going now, he won't be with his friends and family.

Kakashi suddenly perked up, his eyes widening when he heard a loud thud a second later, followed by the sight of Pain rolling down the wooden rubbles like a ragdoll, his eternally-emotionless expression finally replaced by a shocked, disbelieved one, his eyes completely widened.

'No…stop…' Pain thought in shock, his jaw dropping in disbelief as he just rested on the grass, motionless, his sight blurred. He could feel his body going numb, the world spinning around him viciously, an endless screeching sound tearing apart his ears. The glowing red lines which were scattered across his body dimmed into a black color, blood leaking down his mouth. 'No…damn it…I SAID NO! NOO! NO NO NO!'

And with that thought, Pain managed to catch the shocked, surprised expression of his Sensei, who was staring at him with disbelief.

And before he could get a glimpse on his Angel…everything went blank for the Rinnegan wielder.

'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O!'

---

Nagato's eyes shot open, widening to full extent as a vicious grunt came from the back of his throat. He snarled, his eyes almost rolling to the back of his head as blood leaked from between his teeth. He removed his right forelimb from his mechanical walker component to tightly grab his throat.

He grunted again, closing his eyes in pain before he opened his mouth and vomited a brutally big pool of blood from his mouth, splashing it over the grass. Nagato grunted again, his pupils dropping down as he panted and gasped heavily, his upper body bent forwards. 'Damn…it…DAMN IT!' He screamed mentally, looking at the pool of blood he expelled from his body, the world spinning around him, barely able to breathe. That was one of the most powerful chakra exhaustions he ever felt, but that incident, together with the amazing pain which was tearing through his body, was the least of his concerns. 'No…the connection…with…damn…I…can't…breathe…'

Nagato began coughing again, blood splashing out from his coughs as he bended forwards heavily, now clutching his throat with both of his hands as he closed his eyes. 'No! Damn…stop!' He mentally screamed, feeling the chakra exhaustion draining out his essence. His body couldn't endure the immense pain, and suddenly the Rinnegan wielder was driven back to those often moments when he was going through chakra exhaustions. At those moments, Konan just rushed in to his aid with concern plastered on her face, and as much as he could recall, he just mercilessly waved her off. 'I'm…sorry…Konan…'

He recalled her expression of desperation and disgust when he began injecting that stabilizing liquid which he made by himself, that would often numb down the pain and allow him to continue operate. He gasped and panted even more as he shoved in his left forelimb back into the mechanical walker's vacuum-like arm holder, adjusting it inside until it was in the right position. 'Please…Konan…' Nagato thought, trying to stop himself from panting any longer as he took deep, wild breaths. The mechanical walker began making a strange sound of liquid running in through pipes, and in a second the left arm component began expanding. Nagato could feel sharp needles tearing through his flesh into his muscles, causing his expression to harden. 'Let me just…use it…one last time…for you…my Angel…'

And so, the left arm container of the walker began squeezing out, plunging the liquid up Nagato's forelimb. The Rinnegan wielder closed his eyes, his breathes stabilizing as he felt the pain slowly being pushed away, his strength returning.

---

The Rinnegan snapped open, Pain's expression coming back to "life" as he could see the blurred world spinning around him once again. His head throbbed, his body sprawled on the grass of the clearing, lying on his back.

He could make out Jiraiya's expression as he glanced behind him, seeing his relieved, yet shocked expression which was locked with his tightly. Pain's eyes traveled downwards, meeting with Konan's figure.

His Angel was still resting on the grass, her expression bearing much less pain than before…almost…peaceful. The concern and tense in Pain's eyes were heavily relieved at that sight, but that was before he glared at the other direction, seeing four, blurred figures at the other side of the clearing.

The Rinnegan wielder flipped over so he was lying on his stomach, thrusting both of his hands at the ground, feeling his body heavy and hurt. His arms and shoulders were wobbling heavily as he attempted to lift himself up, doing so slowly, cautiously, feeling like his connection with the real him is slowly being broken again.

Giving one last push, Pain heavily stood up on both of his legs, his body dazzled as he began taking steps to the left and to the right, not feeling any sort of balance whatsoever. He winced, clutching his face viciously, feeling the world spinning around him even faster as his eyes trembled, glaring at the same figures infront of him.

The Akatsuki leader slowly wiped away the blood which was leaking down from his nose and mouth, noting how his sight was getting clearer and clearer until he could visibly see the shocked and disbelieved expressions of those infront of him.

He couldn't care the less about the rest of them, the only one who got the attention of Pain's eyes was Naruto. The blonde was standing in the middle of the group, his expression made up into a feral snarl, his irises red and his pupils slitted. His blonde, spiky hair was messy, showing those unique, feral traits of his Kyuubi form.

The one who was standing on Naruto's right was feral as well, his snarling expression bearing wolf-like traits, not to mention the rather large dog growling at his side. The two other figures were rather emotionless, reminding Pain of his past form. However, they seemed to put slight anger in their expressions as well.

Not far behind them were Kakashi, Yamato, and Sakura, all injured and almost dying. Next to them was a dark-blue haired girl, seemingly a Hyuga, as Pain recalled from the past wars. The girl was trying to desperately heal Sakura, as Yamato and Kakashi were conscious and alive…not to mention utterly shocked.

That was when Kakashi's weak, terrified glare locked with Pain's. 'No…how is this…possible?' Kakashi thought, panting, his body pained and exhausted. He couldn't believe that he managed to escape death from some reason, puzzled, recalling the moment when Pain fainted in the outskirts of the clearing before putting him out of his misery. '…He was…dead…I swear to Kami he was…dead…'

Pain's eyes narrowed dangerously, now noting what a bad decision it was to allow the Hyuga girl to get to Naruto. To think that she would aid Naruto and start healing up her wounded allies, but however, Naruto's recovery was inevitable due to the Kyuubi's chakra.

And now…they were all facing him, willing to bring him down no matter the cost. Pain couldn't help but to close his eyes and smile, chuckling at the pathetic sight of hopeless determination and willpower. Still, he, himself, was barely able to stand up, leading him to the conclusion that he had pushed himself over his own limits. It didn't surprise him- he didn't recover any bit of chakra from himself after the battle with Madara, focusing it all on repairing the Deva Path. In addition with the Heavenly Protection Seal inhuman chakra consumption it was only logical that he'll be pushed over his own limits sooner or later.

Jiraiya's eyes saddened, gazing deeply at Pain from behind, unable to believe that he would still stand and battle despite what happened earlier. 'Nagato…' He thought, knowing how painful it must be for him to stand up now, knowing how exhausted he already was. He thought about what Konan would say, causing him to lower his head and look at the Angel's relieved expression. He glanced downwards at her healed, closed wound, gazing at it with satisfaction, with happiness and relief. He removed his palms from Konan's abdomen, causing the glow engulfing it to slowly die down as the healing process ceased.

Naruto's red pupils managed to drift off over his shoulders, gazing at his dying friend, his dying family, looking at what Pain has done to both Kakashi and Sakura, looking at how they were bleeding, how they were injured…

Kakashi's condition was life-threatening, but it wasn't as urgent and crucial as Sakura's, who already had continuous blood leaking from her mouth and her nose. The blonde looked at her squeezed, broken right arm, his black slits coming in contact with the red color of her blood.

Naruto's eyes widened to full extent, feeling his body trembling with anger, bubbling sound echoing through the clearing as thick, dark-red chakra slowly caressed his body, his hands clenching into brutal fists, his snarl strengthening.

"You…" Naruto muttered, his voice broken with rage, his head lowered and his hands bleeding from his sharp fingernails, which were clenched against them. "You…fucking…MONSTEEEEEER!"

Naruto's vicious roar tore through the clearing, sending red, brutal gusts of chakra all over, causing Kiba, Shino and Sai to take a few steps backwards in surprise and shock.

Kakashi's eyes widened in horror and Yamato's eyes narrowed in disbelief, feeling the gusts of chakra burning against his body. Hinata perked up, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping as she turned to look over her shoulder, only to widen her eyes even more, her expression terrorized. She had never seen Naruto like that…

'N-Naruto-Kun!'

"I…I swear to Kami…" Naruto deadpanned, his voice still trembling and shaking heavily, his tone feral and enraged. "I will…I will…"

The red chakra crawling around Naruto's body was finally engulfed his body, creating a transparent-red cloak of chakra which grew its own foxy ears, filling up the atmosphere in the clearing with dark energy. Naruto's Kyuubi cloak started growing out its first tail, his mind recalling all that Akatsuki had done to him and his friends.

"I will…MAKE YOU PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

Pain's expression didn't flatter at Naruto's inhuman, monstrous strength. It only burned against his cloak, fluttering it backwards. His glare hardened, his ears still stuck in Naruto's previous sentence as he clutched his hands into fists.

"You rage and anger are justified…Kyuubi…but…"

"YOU MONSTER, WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!?"

Pain's glare slowly turned into a snarl, the Heavenly Protection Seal's black lines combing back to life, glowing brightly in the colors of red and white, raising off steams of rage.

"YOU RUINED MY ENTIRE LIFE! I DESPISE YOU! STAY BACK!"

"After what you've done…" Pain muttered, his voice resembling Naruto's in the way it shook with anger. Pain's snarl clashed with Naruto's, the overwhelming amount of anger and hatred flooding the clearing. Pain recalled the death of Yahiko and his parents, and even worse, the moment in which Sakura knee-kicked Konan. Those memories didn't help quelling down his rage the slightest bit. "After what you've done to me…After what you've don't to Konan…don't you bastards dare…DON'T YOU DARE…CALLING ME A MONSTER!"

Pain's snarl grew vicious as his body tensed, cracking the ground around him as his Heavenly Protection Seal screeched. Before they knew it, Naruto and the others were struck by a vicious shockwave of chakra which erupted from Pain's body, bearing a lighter red shade than Naruto's Kyuubi chakra.

Kiba, Sai, and Shino attempted to cross their forelimbs infront of their faces to defend themselves, but it was to no avail as the chakra sent them away to collide with the wooden ruins behind them, perking up Hinata before the winds reached her, Kakashi and Yamato as well.

Only Naruto wasn't moved by Pain's strength, his snarl strengthening as he bended his upper body forwards, his Kyuubi cloak synchronizing itself with the movements of his form as he took a step forwards as well. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT WE DID TO YOUR HORRIBLE LIFE! I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR FUCKING SEX SLAVE TOO!" Naruto roared back, causing Pain's eyes to tremble with rage and desire to kill as he realized that he was referring to his Angel. If Naruto's eyes weren't blinded by the Kyuubi's chakra, the blonde would've dropped to his knees. "I'M GLAD WE KILLED OFF YOUR DAMN MONSTER-"FRIENDS"! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU TOO! THAT BITCH WILL BE NEXT! MONSTERS LIKE YOU SHOULD'NT BE ALLOWED TO LIVE!"

This was when Pain couldn't restrain back his anger…that was when he just knew he had to kill all of them, that was when he knew he had to burn down Konohagakure to ashes. If more people like the ones before him exist in that village, Konan can't be safe.

More than that…he will never forgive anyone who speaks like that about Konan.

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" Pain roared back, taking his fighting stance and clenching his fists further in rage. His roar echoed through the clearing, strengthening the winds and shockwaves both he and Naruto expelled from their bodies. His mind was blurred from anger, blurred from hatred…and he loved every bit of those feelings he had towards Naruto. "I HAD ENOUGH OF YOU, KONOHA BASTARD!"

Rage overflowing his heart, Pain grabbed the collar of his fluttering Akatsuki cloak as he tossed it over his body and into the air. The removal of the cloak revealed Pain's Akatsuki outfit and his pierced body, together with the many lines extended from the Heavenly Protection Seal, bended and crossed up his arms.

Pain then spread his legs slightly, holding his feet firmly against the ground as he clapped both of his palms together. The Heavenly Protection Seal began to shine in a stronger aura, screeching viciously. "You…" He said weakly as the ground around him was slowly shattered by the immense force. "You have to die…you just…have to die…"

Blood began gushing out of Pain's mouth as he lowered his head and parted his palms from each other, revealing a pearl-sized black orb surrounded with white outlines of energy in each palm. The Rinnegan wielder sent his arms to the sides, the pearls of energy slowly expanding and growing bigger. "This will be…my last move…" Pain announced, a large amount of blood gushing out of his mouth and nose as he spoke, feeling the pain tearing apart his body as his Chibaku Tensei Spheresgrew into the size of a Rasengan. The Rinnegan wielder's feet shattered the ground he was standing on, causing his body to slightly lose balance. Pain could feel the world spinning around, but it was fine, since he knew that the only direction he needs to head is straight forward. "If…if I want Konan to be safe…if I want Konan to be happy…monsters like you…MONSTERS LIKE YOU…MUST DIE!"

A vicious snarl covering his face, Pain moved into a more fierce position, his Chibaku Tensei Spheres screeching in a horrible, waving sound. His new position caused the ground around him to turn into a massive crater, the black and white orbs sending gusts of powerful winds all around. "MY FLAMES WILL BURN DOWN YOUR PATHETIC VILLAGE! YOU HAVE…NO IDEA ABOUT THE PAIN I WILL BRING UPON YOU ALL!" Pain roared in uncontrollable rage, the blood leaking down his mouth slowly dropping on the grass. "I WILL KILL YOUR FRIENDS! I WILL KILL YOUR FAMILY! WHEN I'M DONE…THERE WON'T BE A SINGLE TRASH LIKE YOU LEFT ALIVE!"

More portions of the area around Pain began shattering as the gusts which were sent all over the clearing caused the trees to bend and the leaves to be torn away from their branches, grass hairs to fly away and trees to bend.

'W-What power!' Kakashi thought, his forelimbs crossed infront of his face and his eyes closed, feeling the leaves and the branches slowly covering him off. He couldn't withstand the winds as his body slowly burrowed and sank into the wooden rubbles, clearing them away.

Still snarling in rage, Naruto was able to walk forwards and drop on all-four, the Kyuubi's cloak thickening around his body, providing a protective shield and taking the silhouette of the Kyuubi. He lifted his right palm from the ground, a screeching Odama Rasengan slowly forming up from the Kyuubi's and his own chakras, sending mixed gusts of chakra all over the clearing as well. "YOU CAN FUCKING TRY!" Naruto roared back, his voice clouded by the Kyuubi's rage and hatred, prepared to charge forwards at the Rinnegan wielder if such an action is needed. "I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE THIS CLEARING ALIVE, YOU ABOMINATION!"

Saying that their powers were matching each other could be a correct assumption at such a point, but Pain's strength was amazingly overpowering Naruto's despite the fact that the Rinnegan wielder now didn't have a single drop of chakra remained- he only had his fake, sheer willpower which was created by his hatred and anger, enabling him to stand.

He could slowly feel and hear the world around him muting down, the sounds dimming and disappearing as all there was left was Nagato's heartbeats. He heard himself roaring, the most vicious roar he had ever let out, sounding like a beast…like a monster.

And that was when Pain finally realized he was no longer in control. He could feel immense chakra gathering up down his feet, causing the ground to tremble. He could feel his leg muscles tensing up and preparing for a launch so powerful that it will tear the clearing apart.

His body was prepared…Pain was prepared…

But Nagato wasn't.

'What am I doing…Sensei?' Pain thought in depression and disbelief, ready to make a dash that would break even the sound barrier. Everything was now going in slow motion, and before the Rinnegan wielder knew it, he found himself back on the bed at the highest tower of Amegakure.

Everything around him was white…pure-white, and infront of him he could see Konan standing, offering him a hand, smiling. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted to the side, the way she used to smile when she was a child.

"Nagato…"

That was the image that carved itself into Pain's mind as his focus returned back to the clearing.

"Believe in your ideals! Do what you want!"

'My Angel…' Pain thought, his eyes slowly widening as his jaw dropped.

"Promise me you will never hold grudge, resolve things peacefully."

"Don't let hatred and revenge blind you like that ever again."

Pain could now see time standing by, his widened eyes scouting over the clearing. He was about to charge in and destroy Naruto, he was about to burn down Konohagakure to the ground, he was about to make Sakura pay for the pain she brought upon his Angel…

He was about to fulfill his promise and make Konan safe and happy…

"I give you my word…"

But...he was about to break it at the same time…

'My Angel…help me!'

---

ANOTHER! DAMN! CLIFFHANGER! I apologize, my readers, I just couldn't resist it.

And with that ends ANPAL's TENTH chapter! With yet another devastating cliffhanger which will (probably) leave us all hanging for around two weeks now…maybe less, as the second part of the chapter is amazingly shorter.

Now, I vouch that "Chapter 11- Understand Pain." Will NOT have a cliffhanger and will conclude the battle of Pain vs The Eight Man Squad (probably sooner than expected). As I kind of decided to split the chapter apart around the end of the battle, you can expect it to end quickly.

Now, I wouldn't put any more stress at you (more than I already did)…and will see you in a few weeks from now.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the action will be much more dull in Chapter 11, as its title says "Understand Pain". It will mostly be a dialogue chapter, I'm saying this so you will know what to expect.

Oh, and, due to the many positive and amazing reviews, I decided that I will decorate the REVIEW textbox by putting many glowing lights around it to emphasize in your screen.

Wait…you can't see them?

Look closer…

Closer…

Alright, that should be close enough. Maybe try writing in it to see what happens.