I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Naruto's words silenced Nagato. Although the attack on Konoha and the manipulation of the Fourth Mizukage were the masked man's unauthorized actions, it was an undeniable fact that he was working for Iwagakure.

All of this is to deepen the conflict between the five great nations, make them suspicious of each other, and increase the probability of successfully capturing the tailed beasts.

After a moment of silence, Nagato tried to explain: "The attack on Uzushio Village was Orochimaru's unauthorized action. At that time, Uzushio Village had not yet been established; it was just a gathering place for wandering ninjas."

"As for other events, those are internal secrets of the Akatsuki organization and cannot be disclosed."

Naruto snorted coldly: "Isn't it just about collecting the tailed beasts and reviving the Ten-Tails? A few months ago, when the masked man contacted me, he told me about the Akatsuki's plan to collect the tailed beasts."

"The masked man actually told you all this!"

Nagato's expression changed slightly. These were all Akatsuki secrets. If they were leaked to the Five Great Nations, Akatsuki's plan to lie low would completely fail. And the other side knew more than just these secrets.

With this in mind, Nagato began to mobilize the remaining Pain members, attempting to take down the leader of Uzushio Village in front of him.

At this moment, Naruto continued, "Your Rinnegan speaks for itself, even without him telling you. The Rinnegan is the eye of the Sage of Six Paths, and its owner is certainly not content with being alone. This temporary hibernation is for the sake of greater ambitions."

"However, even if you possess the Rinnegan, I don't believe your plan will succeed."

While mobilizing Pain, Nagato asked with a puzzled look, "Why? Is the plan to create the Ten-Tails to intimidate the ninja world unreliable? This is the only means for a small country to face a large country."

Naruto dismissively said, "Jinchūriki are weapons of war for all nations. Your act of collecting the Tailed Beasts is itself a declaration of war against the Five Great Nations, and its scale is at least equivalent to a Shinobi World War."

"These are all temporary growing pains. After the Ten-Tails is resurrected, the ninja world will usher in true peace."

Nagato said expressionlessly that he had also considered whether collecting the tailed beasts would trigger a new round of ninja world war, but as long as it was done quickly enough, the ninja world would soon usher in peace.

Naruto glanced at Nagato indifferently, then said, "Besides peace, the nobles and daimyo are also the greatest enemies of the people in the ninja world. What do you plan to do then?"

"Keep those who obey, kill those who don't." Nagato gave a simple and decisive answer.

“Hahaha…” Naruto laughed and then said, “I’m glad we share the same view. That’s what I’m planning too. If we can’t eliminate the enemy mentally, then we’ll eliminate the enemy physically.”

"In that case, why don't we join the Akatsuki's cause together?"

Nagato breathed a sigh of relief and extended an invitation to Naruto, but Naruto shook his head and declined.

From the perspective of his past life, Nagato's approach wasn't too problematic. He used absolute violence to deter major powers from engaging in a war of ninja, thus maintaining a relatively peaceful world.

But it's clearly not normal for Nagato to want small countries to also master this weapon.

Moreover, the entire scheme to collect the Ten-Tails was a deception, a plot orchestrated by Black Zetsu, which even Madara Uchiha was kept in the dark about.

"Why are you rejecting me? Don't you endorse the deterrence theory?"

Naruto extended his finger and said in a low voice:

"First, the deterrence theory is very useful, but I don't trust you. How can you guarantee that you won't attack other countries after obtaining the Ten-Tails weapon? Second, your Ten-Tails weapon can't restrain the Five Kage-level ninjas. Otherwise, the existing tailed beasts and Jinchuriki would be enough to create a deterrent."

"And lastly, I won't let your plan to collect the tailed beasts succeed."

"Why not let the Ten-Tails plan succeed?" Nagato couldn't understand Naruto's thinking. The other party clearly approved of the Ten-Tails' deterrent plan, yet he wanted to prevent the Akatsuki from completing this feat. Did anyone not want peace to come?

But Nagato quickly sensed the tailed beast chakra on Naruto's body, and his expression darkened as he said, "This chakra... you're the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!? But wasn't the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki dead a long time ago? The current Jinchuriki is still a child."

Naruto withdrew the Nine-Tails' chakra and shrugged, saying:

"Now you know the real reason, right? I am a Jinchūriki. It's impossible for you to get me to support your plan, and you definitely can't defeat me because I am the perfect Jinchūriki."

"The perfect Jinchūriki..."

Nagato stared intently at Naruto, feeling the vast, ocean-like chakra within him.

Judging from Naruto's fighting performance, the other party was right; he wasn't confident he could defeat them.

After a brief pause, Naruto said in a mocking tone, "No matter which tailed beast you plan to start collecting from, I will announce the Akatsuki's plan to the world and make the Akatsuki the public enemy of the ninja world."

"Since your plan is doomed to fail, what are you planning to do next?"

"Should we have a great battle here, raze the Land of Waves to the ground, and then continue our attack on Uzushio Village to take me, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, or should we stop here and let Akatsuki return to its original peaceful form?"

"My beloved kinsman, Nagato Uzumaki, the leader of Akatsuki..."

He knows my true identity... Nagato stared wide-eyed at Naruto in disbelief.

Since creating the Six Paths of Pain and choosing to become Pain, he has never been as passive as he is today. Both the Akatsuki's future plans and his true identity have been completely exposed.

When exactly was it exposed?

Besides Konan, only the masked man in the Akatsuki organization knows his true identity.

Konan couldn't possibly betray me. The masked man wasn't trying to use me to collect the tailed beasts, so he shouldn't have leaked the information. Could it be Orochimaru and Jiraiya?

At this moment, Naruto had already gotten up and left the shop, heading towards the coastline:

"Let's go for a walk on the beach. Although the Land of Waves has only just come under my control, it is still part of my property. If ordinary people are caught in the waves and die, it will be a considerable loss."

Chapter 149 The opponent's strength far surpasses Hanzo's.

After a moment's hesitation, Nagato followed in Naruto's footsteps.

If the other party is willing to fight one-on-one, he will not deliberately choose to fight in a crowded place. Casualties are inevitable in the process of carrying out the Ten-Tails Plan, but it is better to kill as few people as possible.

Before long, the two arrived at a deserted bay, surrounded by sand and sea.

After looking around, Naruto nodded slightly: "How about we fight here? No one is watching us from the shadows, and no one will disturb our battle."

Compared to Naruto's casual demeanor, Nagato's expression was much more serious.

From the moment they met, he was in a passive position. Whether it was the other party revealing his identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki or pointing out that he was Nagato, he felt the crisis of the information gap.

Could it be that the Six Paths of Pain also have their abilities under the control of the other party?

Thinking of this, Nagato manipulated Pain's Deva Path towards Naruto and shouted, "Shinra Tensei!"

The repulsive force in the palm of the hand erupted in an instant, compressing the surrounding air at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, and ripples and repulsive force spread outwards.

Naruto was struck head-on by Shinra Tensei, and his figure was thrown back dozens of meters, leaving long scratches on his feet.

Despite feeling the pain in his chest, Naruto didn't change color; instead, he became excited.

Naruto channeled the Nine-Tails' chakra within his body, covering his skin with a tailed beast cloak. He slammed his toes into the ground and charged forward like a cannonball, instantly closing in on Pain.

Pain calmly extended his palm and unleashed Shinra Tensei once more.

This time, Naruto was only knocked back a few meters. He quickly turned around and launched an attack on Pain. He condensed the Rasengan in his hand and smashed it hard into Pain's head.

At this moment, the Preta Path, which had been lurking in the shadows, revealed itself and reached out to absorb the Rasengan.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Heavenly Path pulled out its black rod and aimed it at Naruto's hands and feet, but it was blocked by the fox tail that appeared behind Naruto. It had no choice but to change its battle strategy and quickly create distance.

After a brief probing, Nagato's expression changed from the shadows.

This was his first time fighting a Jinchuriki, and he didn't expect the Jinchuriki to be so difficult to deal with. Not only did his speed and power increase significantly in Tailed Beast Mode, but the effect of Shinra Tensei was also greatly reduced.

Although the Hungry Ghost Path can absorb chakra, it is completely helpless against pure taijutsu attacks.

Naruto also expressed his fear of Pain. The Preta Path's abilities were too troublesome. Without mastering Sage Mode, the Preta Path was almost immune to all ninjutsu attacks. He didn't know if the Rasengan would be effective.

After a brief moment of hesitation, a new round of battle began.

Then, the Animal Path emerged from the forest in a grand procession, accompanied by a large number of summoned beasts. These ferocious beasts, each over ten meters tall, surrounded Naruto and pounced on him.

Am I surrounded?

Naruto shook his head slightly, and with the aid of Tailed Beast Mode, he easily dodged the attack of the summoning beast army. At the same time, he formed hand seals and completed the Wind Release technique.

"Wind Release: Tornado Technique!"

"Wind Release: Kamaitachi Technique!"

After a soft shout, a tornado appeared out of thin air, swept past the summoned beast army, and blew all the weaker ones into the sea. The remaining large summoned beasts were torn to pieces by the aura of the Kamaitachi.

Just a dozen seconds later, most of the summoned beast army was wiped out, leaving only a few troublesome split dogs.

These splitting dogs, capable of splitting, begin to split when they suffer a fatal injury; their sharp, weasel-like aura, ironically, only increases their size.

Upon seeing this, Naruto used the hurricane to carry him into the sky, and after gathering the Spiral Wheel in his palm, he released it.

The spiral wheel bloomed in mid-air, its dazzling light like a second sun. While clearing away all the split dogs, it also created a semi-circular crater on the ground, with seawater constantly flowing backward.

Protected by the Hungry Ghost Path, Pain and his companions suffered little harm, but Nagato's expression in the shadows was noticeably different.

Menma Uzumaki is a far more powerful opponent than Hanzo. Two or three Pains would probably not be able to defeat an enemy of this caliber; it might require all six Paths of Pain to join the fight.

……

Inside the company's main street.

The Jonin from Iwagakure and Kumogakure were listening to reports from their respective subordinates. Although they belonged to different villages, they all had a common mission: to investigate the strength of Uzushio Village, which had occupied the Land of Waves.

If we are weak, we can take the opportunity to annex the Land of Waves and Uzushio Village.

If our strength reaches the level of Kusagakure and Tsurugakure, we can seek cooperation to restrain Konoha, which is separated by the sea.

"Jonin-sama, Uzushio Village doesn't take Kumogakure seriously at all. Their leader kicked us out directly, and the Uzushio Village leader is accompanied by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. They should be a subordinate force of Mistgakure."

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, the Cloud Village Jonin's expression changed.

If it were just a small, unknown ninja village like Uzushio Village, a Jonin like him could still make decisions.

But adding Kirigakure changes everything. Although Kirigakure is not as powerful as Kumogakure or Iwagakure, it is still a large ninja village with thousands of ninjas. It involves power struggles between high-ranking officials, so it cannot be acted rashly.

Just then, a dazzling light flashed outside the window, and the furniture began to sway.

Upon noticing the commotion, the Cloud Village Jonin frowned. With the abilities of a ninja, one is naturally not afraid of natural disasters such as volcanoes, tsunamis, and earthquakes, but if the commotion is caused by a ninja, then it is a different story.

Using the Body Flicker Technique to reach the rooftop, the Cloud Ninja sensed the chakra fluctuations in the distance and their expressions became extremely solemn.

The presence of chakra fluctuations almost certainly indicates that the earthquake-like commotion was man-made, and the ninja capable of causing such an event must be nearly at the level of the Five Kage, if not quite.

What worries him even more is that ninjas don't fight for no reason.

An enemy capable of causing such a commotion for a Kage-level powerhouse must be at least a powerhouse of similar strength.

What right does the tiny Land of Waves have to provoke such a powerful force to wage war?

At that moment, Shisui, dressed in the uniform of Uzushio Village, appeared before the Cloud Village Jonin and said with a serious expression, "Outside ninja, come with the Uzushio Village enforcement team."

The Cloud Village Jonin was naturally unwilling, but after seeing Shisui's Sharingan, he nodded nonetheless.

It's one thing to be a Jonin from Kirigakure, but how did the Uchiha clan get involved? The Land of Waves is more dangerous than I imagined. I hope I can make it back to the village alive this time.

Meanwhile, the Jonin from Iwagakure also encountered Zabuza and the Uchiha forces, and similarly chose to obey.

What shocked them was not just the strength of Zabuza and Shisui, but more so the commotion of a battle between Kage-level powerhouses.