— — — — — —
"Those eyes! ... Could it be...?"
Kakashi's expression changed drastically when he saw the eyes of Tendo Pain.
"No way!"
"What is it, Kakashi?"
Guy asked, seeing Kakashi's shocked reaction.
"His eyes… they're the legendary Rinnegan!"
"Rinnegan?"
Guy looked confused.
Uchiha Kitaro explained calmly, "The Rinnegan is one of the Three Great Dojutsu, alongside the Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan and the Sharingan of our Uchiha Clan."
"Among these, the Rinnegan is the most powerful. It possesses the highest ocular abilities, including the power to control life and death. To put it simply, it can bring the dead back to life."
"Bring the dead back to life?!"
Even Kakashi was stunned. He had only heard bits and pieces about the Rinnegan. Identifying it based on its appearance was one thing, but hearing the details left him shaken.
"Hello there. I'm a student of Orochimaru-sensei. Could you do me a favor and pass along a message? Tell him I'd like to meet him."
"Orochimaru's student?"
"It's you!!"
Konan's expression changed dramatically upon hearing Uchiha Kitaro's words.
"What's wrong, Konan? Who is he?"
Tendo Pain noticed Konan's reaction and realized she recognized the man.
"It's him! The Sword God, Uchiha Kitaro!"
"Uchiha Kitaro!"
Even though Amegakure didn't participate in the Third Shinobi World War, Pain had heard of the two legends from Konoha who emerged during that time.
One was the late Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. The other was Uchiha Kitaro of the famed Uchiha Clan.
Uchiha Kitaro's reputation was especially fearsome. Despite being under ten years old at the time, he had terrified his enemies on the battlefield. However, he had vanished from the spotlight for a long time after that.
Konan looked puzzled. "Didn't the Uchiha Clan disappear a year ago? How are you here now?"
"That's not something you need to worry about. I'm just here to see Orochimaru-sensei. I don't want any trouble with you. Just tell me where he is, and we'll leave."
Pain didn't appreciate the commanding tone. It had been a long time since anyone dared to speak to him like that. "I don't know. You're not welcome here. Leave immediately, or I'll consider you intruders and deal with you accordingly."
"I really just want to know where Orochimaru-sensei is. I don't mean him any harm. Isn't that simple enough to understand?"
"Orochimaru is a member of the Akatsuki now. Do you think I, as the leader, would betray one of my subordinates?"
"I'll give you ten seconds to leave. If you don't, you'll never leave."
Uchiha Kitaro sighed, clearly annoyed. "Man, I just want to know where Orochimaru-sensei is. I'm not even looking to fight. Why is this so hard to explain to you?"
"Ten… nine…"
"I've always been a peaceful guy, but some people only seem to understand fists. What choice do I have?"
"…Eight… seven…"
Tendo Pain had already begun forming hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Five figures appeared beside Tendo Pain. Each of them had the same Rinnegan and black chakra rods piercing their faces.
"So many people with Rinnegan? How is this possible?!"
Kakashi was in disbelief. The Rinnegan was supposed to be the pinnacle of dojutsu. Having even one was extraordinary, but there were now six wielders standing before them.
"Not exactly," Kitaro corrected. "These are just puppets. The only real Rinnegan user here is one person. And even then, those eyes don't truly belong to him—they're just on loan."
"What did you just say?!"
Konan's face darkened. She hadn't expected the enemy to see through their secret so easily. And Kitaro's cryptic statement about the eyes being borrowed left her deeply unsettled.
Tendo Pain hesitated briefly but resumed his countdown. "…Six… five… four…"
Whatever the intruders knew, Pain intended to capture and interrogate them thoroughly.
"Kitaro, let me take this guy on!"
Shisui said eagerly, his eyes shining with excitement. The earlier skirmish against the Root ninjas had been nothing more than child's play for him. Now, standing before an opponent of such caliber, he was itching for a real challenge.
"They've got too many! I'll take one of them!"
Kakashi said seriously. Over the past three days, his physical abilities had improved dramatically, giving him a significant boost in combat potential. His strength had practically doubled, thanks to the enhanced physical foundation.
"I'll handle one too!"
Guy chimed in. Although he hadn't yet mastered Haki, his newfound strength paired with his tenacious willpower made him a formidable force.
"I can take one as well!"
Itachi declared. Over the past year and a half, his Mangekyou Sharingan had grown significantly stronger. While Itachi's abilities had previously been limited by his frail body and deteriorating eyesight, his current state was leagues above where he'd been before.
"Forget it. I'll take care of them. You guys deal with the woman instead."
"What?!"
The group protested, clearly disappointed. It was obvious that the man with the Rinnegan was the strongest among them, and they all wanted a crack at him to test their abilities.
Kitaro smirked and gave a blunt reason for his choice: "I don't like hitting women, especially not beautiful ones."
"...Seriously?"
.
.
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