The members of the Akatsuki trembled as they watched.
By now, they finally understood—when Dragonite had fought them earlier, it hadn't even been using half of its true power.
Now, watching each of its moves made them uneasy. If any of them were hit even once, they'd likely be knocked unconscious—or worse, killed on the spot.
Ryo, on the other hand, showed no change in expression. He simply nodded with satisfaction.
…
Back on Dragonite's side.
After taking down the Human Path, Dragonite shifted its gaze to the Asura Path.
That body shuddered under Dragonite's glare.
It wasn't just the Asura Path trembling—in fact, it was Nagato, the one controlling the Six Paths of Pain, who trembled from behind the scenes. The intensity of Dragonite's power left him shaken.
He had never imagined that Dragonite could be so overwhelmingly strong.
Strong enough that, aside from the Deva Path, the other bodies couldn't even put up a fight.
Strong enough to casually destroy the vessels he had painstakingly crafted.
As Nagato struggled to process this, Dragonite moved again.
Flapping its small wings, it shot toward the Asura Path at blinding speed.
Nagato immediately snapped to attention and began to operate his chakra with full focus.
Just before Dragonite could reach the Asura Path, a figure appeared in front of it, blocking its path.
Dragonite paused, stunned. It didn't advance.
Confused, it wondered—hadn't this opponent already been shattered into pieces by its earlier attack? Why was it standing here again?
Dragonite wasn't the only one puzzled. The other Akatsuki members near Ryo stared in disbelief.
That had definitely been the Preta Path earlier, scattered into pieces after being smashed. And yet now it stood whole and unharmed before them.
Ryo, however, furrowed his brow and turned his gaze toward the only Path that hadn't yet fought—Naraka Path.
And the moment he looked, his expression darkened.
The Naraka Path had summoned the King of Hell. Its giant mouth opened, tongue extended, and it swallowed the shattered Human Path whole.
After a few chewing motions, the King of Hell opened its jaws again—and out walked the Human Path, fully restored, without a scratch.
This scene was visible to both Ryo and the Akatsuki members.
Their eyes went wide in disbelief.
"This—this can't be real. That thing can bring the dead back? That's impossible!"
Sasori shook his head in shock, unable to stop himself from shouting.
The Human Path, which had clearly lost all signs of life just moments ago, had come back good as new with just a few chews.
The others nodded in stunned agreement. Resurrection… it was something many dreamed of, but everyone believed it to be impossible.
And yet it had just happened before their very eyes.
Ryo heard Sasori's outburst and shook his head. "That wasn't resurrection."
"Huh?" the others looked over, intrigued.
Ryo continued, "These six Pains—they're all just corpses, reanimated and modified. Think of them like puppets. Just like yours, Sasori."
"No way. That can't be." Sasori immediately refuted him.
He was arguably the greatest puppeteer in the world.
Creating a talking, thinking puppet like the Deva Path? Even the others would be impossible.
But Ryo only shook his head slightly. "It's not impossible. These Pains are just operated with a unique method."
"How so, boss?" Sasori asked, curiosity overcoming his earlier doubt.
The other three also turned their eyes toward Ryo.
Ryo gestured toward the battlefield. "See those black rods embedded in their bodies? They're chakra receivers. They allow chakra to be transmitted remotely—which is how someone can control them from afar."
"And the Rinnegan… That eye is among the most powerful in existence. Anything the Pains see, the controller behind them can also see clearly."
"With that vision, and the ability to control them remotely, plus the fact that each one wields a unique Rinnegan ability, you get what you've seen: the Six Paths of Pain."
Honestly, Ryo felt like ranting about how the chakra signals worked.
How the heck could black rods transmit chakra like that? It made Nagato seem like some kind of mobile signal tower.
Still, while Ryo wanted to complain, the others were just plain shocked.
"So... our leader is actually dead?" Deidara blurted out.
Everyone: …
They stared blankly. Was that really the most important takeaway?
Even so, they couldn't help but look toward Ryo, wanting confirmation.
Ryo shook his head. "Not quite. While the Deva Path may appear to be your leader, that's just a public identity—a decoy. The true leader is the one behind the scenes, the person controlling Pain."
"I see." Deidara nodded, looking like he finally understood. He didn't ask further.
But Itachi, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Ryo. "Boss, earlier you said the Rinnegan is one of the strongest eyes in existence. How exactly is it formed?"
Ryo met his gaze. "Now's not the time for that."
Itachi frowned slightly but didn't press further. Still, a flicker of suspicion lingered in his mind.
He couldn't explain it, but something about the way Ryo looked at him just now felt… strange.
"Boss… you seem to know a lot about me. Who exactly are you?"
Just then, a voice echoed from within the fading smoke.
It was the Deva Path.
Footsteps followed, and a moment later, the Deva Path emerged from the haze, eyes locked solemnly on Ryo.
Ryo simply shook his head. "I'm just a humble shop owner from the House of Pokémon. I know what I know… because I've seen more than most."
The Deva Path frowned, unsure how to respond.
But in his heart, his sense of wariness toward Ryo deepened.
To possess such powerful Pokémon and also harbor such vast knowledge… there was no way to ignore a man like that.
Boom—
Suddenly, another impact sounded on the battlefield, drawing everyone's attention.
They turned to see the Preta Path—just recently revived—smashed into the ground once more, motionless.
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