Chapter 225: Deva Path Pain
In the spring of Konoha 58, sunlight generously sprinkled over the newly reclaimed territory of the Land of Stars.
At the border region where Ghost County bordered the Land of Swamps, the original desolation and traces of warfare had been covered by rapidly spreading vitality.
Deep within a rarely visited dense forest in Ghost County, two figures quietly appeared.
Konan wore a black windbreaker embroidered with red clouds, her light purple hair gently swaying in the forest breeze, a white paper flower worn on her head, her cold face bearing a faint trace of worry that was hard to detect.
Beside her was a male puppet with pale skin, dressed in the same attire, pupils displaying multiple concentric circles: Animal Path Pain.
Konan looked around, confirmed it was safe, and nodded to Animal Path.
Animal Path expressionlessly formed hand seals, pressing one palm to the ground.
“Summoning Technique!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four bursts of white smoke exploded, and four more Pain puppets appeared in the clearing: Deva Path, Asura Path, Human Path, as well as Nagato’s emaciated true body, whose vital signs were maintained by a special talisman device.
Nagato’s true body coughed violently several times, and in his deeply sunken eye sockets, that double-pupiled Rinnegan flickered with cold and weary light.
Konan immediately stepped forward, her eyes full of heartache: “Nagato, your body…”
“No matter.” Nagato’s voice transmitted through Animal Path, low and hoarse: “To ensure foolproof control, the true body must be nearby. The strength of Asura and that Uchiha far exceeds the ordinary; relying solely on Deva Path’s remote control, power cannot be fully exerted, insufficient to form an overwhelming deterrence.”
Konan pursed her lips, paper silently sliding out from her sleeve, quickly gathering and shaping, cleverly wrapping around a nearby massive ancient tree, hollow inside, forming a concealed space.
She carefully assisted Nagato’s true body into it.
“I’ll protect you here.” Konan’s tone was firm, paper flying again to perfectly disguise the entrance, blending seamlessly with the surroundings.
“Mm.” Nagato responded, his consciousness fully immersed in controlling the four Pain puppets.
Deva Path, Asura Path, Human Path, and Animal Path simultaneously opened their Rinnegan, their cold gazes sweeping the forest, then steadily walking toward the Land of Swamps.
“Really… is it necessary to go this far?” Konan leaned against the disguised tree trunk, gazing at the direction the four puppets departed, murmuring softly, as if asking herself, or asking Nagato in the tree hole.
Responding to her were only the wind sounds in the forest and Nagato’s emotionless voice from within the tree:
“Only absolute power can bring true understanding and peace. If they refuse to understand, let them feel pain!”
……
The four Pain puppets silently walked along the rural road at the junction of Ghost County and the Land of Swamps.
Nagato observed this land, “conquered” by the Land of Stars not long ago, calmly through their eyes.
The scenes he saw were completely different from the postwar devastation and destitute misery he had imagined.
The roads had been repaved and compacted, with neat drainage ditches dug alongside.
In the fields, many farmers were busy; they used not the old, worn farming tools of the past, but various new iron plows and hoes, even some agricultural tillers, dramatically increasing land reclamation efficiency several times over.
Some people wearing Land of Stars administrative official uniforms walked along the field ridges, loudly proclaiming key points for spring plowing and the Land of Stars’ issued “land reclamation order.”
“Everyone, pay attention to and listen to the new government’s reclamation order. Reclaimed wasteland belongs to whoever reclaims it, tax-free for the first three years.”
“But to avoid land concentration leading to new large landlords breeding nobles, each household has slight limits based on population and land situation, between one mu per person and two mu.”
“Excess reclaimed land becomes collective, uniformly planted, with profits from output fed back to the collective populace— in short, no one will lose out!”
Nagato listened to these policies through the four puppets, slightly furrowing his brow, somewhat unable to wrap his head around it.
Shouldn’t farmers want as much land as possible?
Why limit people’s land reclamation?
Nagato operated the four Pain puppets, deciding to venture deeper.
Farther ahead, by a river originally silted and prone to flooding, several ninjas wearing Star Ninja vests were joining hands in seals.
“Earth Style: Earth Moving Core!”
“Water Style: Water Formation Pillar!”
Amid low shouts, the riverbank was reinforced and raised, the river cleverly diverted to areas needing irrigation.
Several engineer-like people held blueprints nearby, directing and measuring.
Seeing the remarkable ninjutsu effects, the watching farmers erupted in cheers; some even excitedly knelt to kowtow, hastily helped up by nearby administrative officials.
The villages passed along the way, though most houses still appeared rudimentary, had their thatched roofs replaced with new grass, damaged walls repaired.
At village entrances, congee stalls often provided food for commoners; though only two meals of a bowl of congee and a steamed bun with simple pickled vegetables, occasionally a bowl of fish or meat soup, the people queuing orderly showed no despair on their faces.
These were relief meals for households without grain, but not free— instead, work-for-relief, having the hungry do feasible labor in exchange for food.
Young people could also join large-scale basic construction projects organized by the Land of Stars, earning full meals with meat and a wage.
Medical ninjas in white robes with red cross emblems on the cuffs either held free clinics or taught villagers how to identify and use several common herbs to prevent spring diseases.
Several children ran by chasing and playing, their laughter crisp; their patched clothes belied faces without hunger pallor.
Vastly different from the war-displaced people Nagato had seen in the Land of Rain.
Nagato controlled Deva Path Pain, slowly surveying all this.
In those Rinnegan eyes, still cold, yet seemingly passing a faint fluctuation even he himself had not noticed.
Through Human Path’s perception ability, he could more clearly capture these commoners’ emotions: hope mingled with fatigue, expectation amid fear, and genuine gratitude toward those Star Ninjas and administrative officials.
This mood contrasted sharply with the numbness and despair of the Land of Rain populace perpetually shrouded in war’s dark clouds and Hanzo’s oppressive rule, etched in his memory.
“Land of Stars… Lord Shura…” Deva Path’s lips did not move, but Nagato’s voice seemed to echo among the four puppets: “What exactly have you done?”
Nagato chose to infiltrate from these annexed regions rather than directly attack Star Capital, one intent being to personally verify: after the war, had this land become more miserable, or as that man calling himself “Lord Shura” claimed, gained new life.
What he saw now was quietly shaking some of his deep-rooted cognitions.
At that moment, Human Path’s perception captured a relatively strong chakra fluctuation moving along the main road.
“A convoy.” Deva Path said coldly.
The four puppets immediately changed direction, silently slipping into the roadside forest like the most seasoned hunters, tracking that chakra source.
They tailed for a distance, finally arriving outside Bonsō Castle, a major town in the Land of Swamps.
A massive convoy was parked at the city gate, loaded with grain, cloth, and farming tools.
Many laborers, under administrative personnel’s command, busily and orderly unloaded from the carts, carrying into the newly built massive warehouse by the city wall for registration and storage.
At the city gate, a group was negotiating.
Leading were two women: one in standard Star Ninja vest, red-brown long hair tied back, demeanor capable and gentle— Star Ninja jonin Natsuhi; the other in elegant priest robe, demeanor dignified and compassionate— former Land of Demons miko, now one of Star Capital’s high-level officials, Miroku.
Natsuhi’s squad members— white-haired Oyakushiro Chino, somewhat impulsive Shita Junhito, and more reserved Murahashi Hazuki— assisted nearby in maintaining order, gazes vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
“Natsuhi jonin, this batch of grain and medicinal materials arrived just in time!” Miroku looked at the registry, a relieved smile on her face. “Several villages downstream on Ghost River have outbreaks of spring plague, desperately needing these.”
Natsuhi nodded mildly: “Lord Shura foresaw it; warehouses everywhere are expediting transfers. Saving the populace and stabilizing livelihoods is the current top priority.”
Miroku thanked again: “Captain Natsuhi, thanks for the escort.”
“Part of the job.” Natsuhi smiled, about to say more.
Suddenly, ever perceptive Murahashi Hazuki whipped her head around, gazing toward the distant main road outside the city, voice tinged with tension: “Captain! Someone’s coming! Four… chakra sensations… very strange, extremely powerful!”
Instantly, the relaxed atmosphere at the city gate vanished.
Natsuhi and Miroku immediately looked in Hazuki’s direction.
At the road’s end, four figures approached unhurriedly.
Uniform black-based red cloud windbreakers ominously gleamed in the light, steps stiff and synchronized, like puppets manipulated by invisible strings.
Expressionless, their skin an unnatural pallor, faces adorned with lip-stud-like piercings; most striking were those four identical pairs of eyes with multiple concentric circle patterns.
Cold, indifferent, like deities overlooking ants, devoid of any emotion.
An intangible oppressive pressure surged like a tide; Shita Junhito instinctively gripped his kunai, Oyakushiro Chino’s Blood Dragon Eyes involuntarily flared red, body crouching low, throat emitting a small beast-like warning growl.
“Remnants from the Land of Snow? Or…” Natsuhi quickly suppressed her heart’s palpitation, making a judgment: “Not ordinary enemies. Lady Miroku, please immediately organize the convoy and people outside the city to enter for shelter! Chino, Junhito, Hazuki, with me to investigate!”
“Be careful.” Miroku didn’t hesitate, immediately turning to command the surrounding mikos, priests, and administrative personnel: “Quick! Organize everyone into the city! No panic!”
The well-trained Land of Stars personnel sprang into action, guiding the somewhat panicked laborers and nearby farming peasants orderly into the city, demonstrating the Land of Stars’ efficient grassroots organization.
Natsuhi led her three young subordinates quickly toward the four uninvited guests.
The closer they got, the heavier that suffocating oppression became, as if the air had solidified.
Both sides halted around a hundred meters from the city gate, facing off remotely.
Natsuhi took a deep breath, asking loudly: “Who are you? This is Bonsō Castle in the Land of Stars’ Land of Swamps— state your purpose! Unidentified ninjas!”
Dead silence.
Only the sound of wind over newly turned earth.
Nagato, through Deva Path Pain’s eyes, coldly regarded this spirited female jonin and the three young ninjas behind her, tense yet unyielding.
He saw their immediate move to protect the commoners, deepening that subtle wavering in the heart of this war orphan Nagato.
But the mission of god allowed no shaking.
After a moment, among the four figures, the foremost Deva Path Pain slowly stepped forward, Rinnegan indifferently overlooking Natsuhi; that lifeless voice, through Yahiko’s body, clearly spread across this land just brimming with new life:
“I am god.”
