Naruto: Starting from the time when the Six Paths of Pain was Kira Yoshikage

Outside the tavern, Emilia's face was filled with anxiety and worry, and she wanted to rush in to help several times.

It was originally her business, but it dragged others into it, even at the risk of their lives, making this kind girl feel very uneasy and guilty.

The sounds of fighting inside the tavern gradually subsided. Emilia stared intently at the door, even unconsciously holding her breath. This tension even affected Felt and Rom, who had just finished bandaging their wounds.

With a creak, the tavern door was slowly pushed open, and Pain stepped out.

Seeing that Pain was safe and sound, Emilia finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately cheered.

"Mr. Payne, it's so good to see you're alright."

"Um."

Pain nodded to Emilia, then took out a badge and handed it to her: "Is this what you've been looking for?"

The badge of the King's selection.

Emilia, as the holder of the badge, is one of the heirs of the Kingdom of Lukenica. She is only one of them because there are several others who share the same identity.

However, this does not negate the possibility that Emilia has the potential to become the King of Lukenica in the future.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Payne, for your help."

Having regained the badge she had once obtained and then lost, and having gone through so much, Emilia's gratitude towards Pain was beyond words.

Pain winked at Emilia and said, "Miss Emilia, you helped me first, remember?"

When Emilia heard Pain mention this, she thought he was teasing her and blushed slightly as she said, "Mr. Pain is capable of handling that situation himself."

"It has nothing to do with the size of one's strength."

Pain shook his head slightly: "Back then, I had just arrived on this continent. If it weren't for Miss Emilia's help, I would have had a real headache dealing with this... You helped me then, and now I'm helping you... Every action has its consequence... Perhaps this is our destiny."

Emilia nodded, seemingly understanding, "Mr. Payne knows a lot."

"I don't quite understand it, but it seems very profound!"

"Oh, right!"

Emilia glanced at the almost invisible sunset on the horizon, and remembering Pain's statement that he wasn't from this continent, she said, "Mr. Pain, you probably don't have anywhere to stay right now, do you?"

"If you don't mind... you can stay at my place."

Emilia thought that since the other party had helped her so much without asking for anything in return, she should do her best to be a good host and treat the other party well.

Pain did not immediately agree to Emilia's request, but instead asked, "If I am not mistaken, that badge should be held by the royal family of this country."

"Mr. Payne is very perceptive," Emilia praised, then hesitated slightly before unfolding the badge in her palm, saying, "I don't want to deceive you; this is indeed a royal item."

"The reason I'm so nervous about this... is because this thing is proof of my status as the chosen one..."

To be honest, only Emilia could be so naive; she truly deserves to be called the upright, kind, and naturally innocent female protagonist.

"I am a ninja..."

Pain suddenly spoke, his tone becoming serious.

Emilia didn't know why Pain suddenly brought this up, and for a moment she didn't react. She subconsciously said blankly, "Uh-huh, I know, that's Mr. Pain's profession."

"A ninja's duty is to carry out missions."

Pain looked at Emilia seriously and said, "So, Miss Emilia, you want to hire me?"

"Huh?! A maid? Me?"

Emilia was completely taken aback by Pain's words and was momentarily at a loss for words.

Pain asked again, "Miss Emilia doesn't actually have many people she can rely on, does she?"

？ ！！

Emilia asked again, still dazed, "Why did Mr. Payne say that?"

"As a royal candidate, normally even if she doesn't travel with a large entourage, she should have quite a few guards accompanying her... But apart from Mr. Cat, Miss Emilia doesn't have a single guard with her. No matter how you look at it, this doesn't seem normal..."

"Even royal credentials were stolen so easily... If there's no one else available, I can't understand how else to explain this..."

Emilia nodded. She really didn't have many people to use. She was only persuaded to participate in the so-called royal selection. She herself had no interest in it.

"This continent is completely unfamiliar to me. My arrival here was purely accidental. To survive and thrive in a strange place, I need the support of the local powers. Rather than relying on people I don't know, I'd rather find someone whose character I understand..."

Emilia nodded subconsciously to every word Pain spoke, which made no logical difference.

She was almost convinced.

"But you're my benefactor, hiring you...it feels weird...and there's also the financial aspect..."

Emilia stammered.

To be honest, although she is one of the chosen ones, she doesn't even have her own place to live and is currently staying in the homes of her supporters.

"Money is certainly important... but sometimes what you give isn't money; it can be something else."

Pain shook his head as he spoke, then held up a finger to Emilia, saying, "Resources, magic, connections—these can all be considered as compensation, or as my investment. I'm investing in you becoming the king of this country, and the moment you ascend the throne will be the greatest reward for me..."

"I think... I'm pretty good at venture capital."

Pain finally revealed his purpose.

Emilia nodded again, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Although Emilia is theoretically over a hundred years old, she has actually been frozen for a full hundred years, so she has practically no life experience.

Anyway, her intuition and the facts told her that Pain was trustworthy.

...employment established...

Surely no one thinks that Pain only went through the storyline because he liked it, right?

Going through all that trouble just to capture a puppet for Scorpion would be a huge waste.

Mana (the magic of the RE0 world), buffs (a unique world buff in the RE0 world), and even gold, monsters, and various resources are all things that Pain desires.

With his contribution of helping Emilia ascend the throne, Pain, the Deva Path, will find many things much easier to do.

Especially since Emilia, as one of the chosen ones, was penniless at this time, compared to other powerful and resource-rich heir candidates, her only supporter was the border Count Roswaal L. Mezas. Crucially, Roswaal himself wasn't genuinely interested in helping her ascend the throne...

The ultimate goal is to seize available resources and continuously strengthen oneself.

Nagato is not the original version of someone who merely claimed to be a god but lacked the strength to match it.

The trials and tribulations required to transform from a human into a true god are not just empty words.