The rain fell once more as the dust gradually settled.
Evan stood in the center of the ruined building, an invisible force surging around his body.
Every raindrop that fell toward him was deflected before it could touch him, drifting harmlessly off to either side.
The Six Paths of Pain did not attack again.
Instead, all six retreated several dozen meters, spreading out in a ring around Evan and watching him warily.
Shock filled all six pairs of Rinnegan.
The Paths exchanged glances, each conveying the same conclusion.
The man before them had no chakra whatsoever.
Everything he’d done had been accomplished through pure physical strength.
And yet, according to the information relayed by the Rain Tiger at Will Technique, this man had unquestionably appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the village.
He hadn’t entered gradually from outside Amegakure.
Which meant…
There had to be another shinobi hiding somewhere nearby, one who possessed space-time ninjutsu.
The expressions on all Six Paths of Pain immediately darkened.
It never occurred to them that Evan might possess some entirely different kind of supernatural power.
In the shinobi world’s understanding, all supernatural abilities stemmed from chakra.
Someone without chakra couldn’t possibly use ninjutsu.
That was common sense.
Which meant there wasn’t just one intruder.
There could be two.
Three.
Maybe even more.
And those unknown enemies were currently hidden in the shadows, watching them.
The thought sent a chill through Nagato.
Being observed by an unknown number of powerful enemies was not a pleasant feeling.
“Are we still fighting?”
Seeing the Six Paths retreat and simply stare at him instead of attacking, Evan raised his head toward the Deva Path.
This bastard is actually taunting me!
Far away, Nagato ground his teeth.
But then he remembered the unknown number of powerful enemies supposedly surrounding him.
For now, discretion seemed like the better part of valor.
Internally, he was tense as hell.
Externally, the Deva Path remained as cold and emotionless as ever.
“What is your purpose in coming here?”
Your?
As in plural?
Evan’s head practically filled with question marks.
He had come alone.
Where had this mysterious group suddenly come from?
Then he looked at the Deva Path’s expression, the unmistakable look of “I already know you’re not alone*,”* and the corner of his mouth twitched.
The power of imagination really was terrifying.
Still, Evan had no intention of wasting time arguing that there was no mysterious “group.”
Business came first.
“I’m here to find Black Zetsu.” He spread his hands and revealed his objective without the slightest hesitation.
Black Zetsu?!
Black Zetsu handled intelligence gathering for the organization.
The instant Evan mentioned him, Nagato’s first thought was that Black Zetsu must have been discovered while gathering information, and now whoever he’d offended had come straight to their doorstep.
“What do you want with him?” Nagato kept that speculation to himself.
At the same time, he instructed Konan beside his real body to contact Black Zetsu and gather whatever information she could.
“I want to make a deal with him.” Again, Evan answered without hesitation.
“What kind of deal?” the Deva Path pressed.
This time, Evan didn’t answer.
Instead, he extended his right hand and caught a few falling raindrops in his palm.
“Do we really have to discuss it out here?” He glanced upward.
“The rain’s getting heavier.”
The Deva Path said nothing.
Nagato seemed to be considering the matter.
Half a minute later, the Deva Path turned and started walking away.
“Follow me.”
Evan shrugged and followed thirty or forty meters behind him.
The other five Paths remained roughly thirty meters behind and to either side of Evan.
Since all Six Paths shared vision, he was effectively still surrounded.
Tch.
Cautious bunch.
Evan smacked his lips but said nothing, instead taking the opportunity to examine his surroundings.
Dark clouds blanketed the sky, leaving it gloomy and nearly black.
There wasn’t much else to say about that.
Most of the buildings lining the streets were tall, tower like structures made primarily from steel, though plenty of stone had been used as well.
Large and small metal pipes rose all around the buildings, both inside and out, giving Amegakure its distinctive appearance.
There were shorter buildings too, but not many.
Wooden structures were even rarer.
During the entire walk, Evan could count the wooden houses he’d seen on one hand.
That made sense given Amegakure’s climate.
The village existed in an almost perpetual rainy season.
The air was constantly damp, and wood simply couldn’t withstand those conditions as well as steel or stone.
While Evan was thinking about all this, the group of seven crossed nearly half the village and arrived before a black tower near the central district.
It didn’t look particularly different from the surrounding structures, except that it was somewhat more dilapidated, as though no one had lived there in years.
The Deva Path didn’t pause at the entrance.
He went straight inside and started climbing.
The other five Paths did not all follow.
Only the Asura Path and Animal Path entered behind Evan.
The interior looked exactly as Evan expected.
No one had lived here for a long time.
Broken furniture lay scattered everywhere, filling the air with the stale smell of decay.
They passed through the living room and climbed to the second floor.
Black body bags covered the floor.
They continued upward for several more levels.
Once they reached the upper floors, however, the corpses disappeared.
Evan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked around.
The lower floors of Amegakure’s towers were normally used as living quarters, while the upper floors and rooftops were often used to store bodies.
Which meant…
Someone was living at the top.
After climbing several more floors, the Deva Path finally stopped.
The Asura Path and Animal Path remained outside the room.
Then someone emerged from the shadows.
She wore the Akatsuki’s black cloak embroidered with red clouds.
Its loose fit concealed her figure.
Her hair was a pale blue violet, while her eyes were light amber orange.
A pale purple paper flower adorned the right side of her head.
Purple eye shadow framed her eyes, and a small piercing sat beneath her lower lip.
Her features were refined and delicate, carrying an unexpectedly gentle air despite her cool expression.
Konan.
Evan immediately recognized her.
“We can continue now,” Konan said, stopping beside Pain.
Her voice was cool and restrained.
“Let’s wait until Black Zetsu gets here.” Evan declined without hesitation.
“Some of the things I need to discuss wouldn’t make much sense to you anyway, so you might as well hurry up and call him over.”
Then, figuring there was no point standing around doing absolutely nothing while they waited, Evan changed the subject.
“How about we start with a smaller deal as an appetizer?”
Konan frowned.
“What deal?”
She wasn’t particularly interested in discussing anything else right now.
Understanding this man’s true purpose was far more important.
Evan smiled.
“How does helping you resurrect Yahiko sound?”
“What did you say?!” Konan’s composure shattered.
Even the Deva Path beside her visibly trembled.
Clearly, Nagato wasn’t calm either.
The Deva Path’s body radiated a murderous chill.
“Do you even understand what you’re saying?”
Yahiko had been Nagato’s closest friend.
He would not tolerate anyone using Yahiko’s death as some kind of joke.
“You don’t need to look at me like you’re about to kill me.” Evan spread his hands helplessly beneath their murderous stares.
There wasn’t a trace of guilt or uncertainty on his face as he met the Deva Path’s Rinnegan directly.
“I know exactly what I’m saying.”
“And I’m not joking.”
His tone remained utterly casual.
“If I dared to make an offer like that, obviously I have a way to do it. Otherwise, why would I bring it up?”
“To piss you off so badly that we end up fighting to the death?”
Konan and Nagato gradually regained their composure.
The Deva Path’s face once again became expressionless.
“If this is a transaction, what do you want in exchange?”
“Simple.” Evan snapped his fingers.
“Just give me Konan.”
“GO TO HELL!”
“ALMIGHTY PUSH!!!”