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

Chapter 150 An evenly matched contest means I win.

After a polite invitation, all the spies within the Land of Waves were invited to the office for tea.

There were ninjas among them who wanted to cause trouble, but they were all forcibly suppressed by Shisui. In his normal state, Shisui also possessed strength far exceeding that of an ordinary Jonin, and was able to crush most of those who dared to disobey.

After leaving the office, Shisui sensed the two chakra clashing in the distance and sighed softly.

In terms of the entire ninja world, his strength was among the top, but even when he possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan, he was no match for these two.

These two are stronger than the Sannin and even surpass the Five Kage who dominate the ninja world.

In a sense, the course of this battle will change the future of the ninja world, and all he can do is stand firmly behind Menma-sama.

At this moment, Zabuza also left the office. Noticing the commotion in the distance, he said, "Shisui, who do you think is stronger, Menma or the Akatsuki leader? What will be the outcome of this battle?"

As a newly recruited member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Zabuza understood the true nature of these spies who possessed the strength of Jonin.

The reason he gave up resisting was not because of his own strength, but because of the two huge chakra auras that erupted in the distance; he was just a fox borrowing the tiger's might.

Shisui gazed into the distance and said in a low voice, "Lord Menma will definitely not lose, but in any case, after this battle, the names of Lord Menma and the leader of Akatsuki will resound throughout the ninja world."

Zabuza paused for a moment, then nodded.

Judging from the number of spies drinking tea in the office, today's events are destined to be known throughout the ninja world, and may even change the current landscape of the ninja world.

However, the role that Wuyin played was not honorable, so it's best not to let too many people know about it.

Turning his gaze away from the distance, Shisui said to Zabuza, "Don't overthink it. Go back to work. We've invited guests from various villages for tea, but the most threatening guest is still missing."

After a pause, Shisui added, "Tell Haku to be careful too. That guest is very fond of bloodline limits."

Zabuza laughed and said, "Don't worry, I already had Haku hide. He's not that weak. He can still protect himself against a Jonin."

Shisui shook his head helplessly, then continued to patrol the surrounding area.

……

Orochimaru, whom Shisui was keeping an eye on, had already left the company street.

Compared to Ice Release and Sharingan bloodline limits, he was actually more concerned about the battle between Menma and Pain. If the two were to be severely injured, he might have a chance to obtain the Rinnegan.

He had long coveted those eyes that the Sage of Six Paths once possessed.

With a loud bang, Orochimaru was unfortunately hit by the aftershock of Shinra Tensei and fell to the ground.

After getting back up, Orochimaru's eyes became even more fanatical.

For him, the stronger the Rinnegan's performance, the greater its research value, as it might contain the ultimate secret of ninjutsu.

As Orochimaru approached, Nagato and Naruto, who had maximized their sensory abilities, also noticed Orochimaru's presence and unleashed a barrage of ninjutsu into the forest in perfect unison.

They want to determine who is better, but they don't want anyone else interfering in the fight.

After dodging attacks from wind blades, rolling stones, and repulsive forces, Orochimaru was then attacked by missiles and lasers.

At first, Orochimaru thought it was just bad luck, but he gradually realized that he might have been exposed to Naruto and Nagato's perception range and was being attacked by the two of them.

Left with no other choice, Orochimaru temporarily gave up on approaching the two and hid in a crevice in the rocks, lying low for the time being.

After all, neither Menma Uzumaki nor Pain were enemies he could defeat.

Unless the forbidden technique currently under development is used, but the development of the forbidden technique is not stable at present and there is always the possibility of backlash, and a lot of experiments are needed for improvement.

……

On Naruto and Nagato's side.

After sensing Orochimaru's chakra disappearing, Naruto dodged the Human Path's sneak attack and looked at the distant Pain Path with a smile, saying, "It seems we both have a good understanding, knowing that we can't let others reap the benefits."

"..."

Nagato did not allow Pain to reply, and was manipulating the Six Paths of Pain with his power.

After all six Paths of Pain joined the fray, he finally gained some control over Naruto. He only needed to wait for the right opportunity to unleash the Planetary Devastation Technique to completely seal him away.

However, he always suspected that Naruto still had some strength left, and that the other party seemed to be waiting for Planetary Devastation.

After continuing to control the Six Paths of Pain and limiting Naruto's movement to a range of about ten meters, Nagato relinquished control over the remaining Pain and focused all his efforts on manipulating the Deva Path, releasing a black sphere that rose upwards from his palm.

The moment the black sphere appeared, Naruto smiled and resonated with the Nine-Tails' chakra.

Having entered full tailed beast form, a tailed beast ball instantly condensed and was launched directly at the black sphere.

In the violent explosion, the gravity sphere used to unleash Planetary Devastation was destroyed, and Naruto also resolved his Tailed Beast transformation, allowing the Nine-Tails' chakra to form a Tailed Beast Cloak, and thus entered Dark Kurama Mode.

In this state, Naruto exudes a dark aura, making him even more eerie than Pain.

"Is this all the power the Rinnegan can offer? With this little bit of strength, you dare to carry out the plan to collect the Tailed Beasts? Nagato, aren't you being a little too naive?"

Pain stared at Naruto expressionlessly, while Nagato's expression behind him also became uncertain.

He never imagined that after going all out, he wouldn't be able to defeat the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Wasn't this the Sage of Six Paths's vision...? Wasn't he Pain, the savior of the world?

Naruto walked step by step toward Pain, saying with a contemptuous tone, "I heard that Pain is also known as a god in Amegakure. It seems that your title of god is just as undeserved as the former 'demigod'."

Hearing this, Nagato was greatly shocked, but Pain still insisted, "Uzumaki Menma, I can't defeat you, but you don't seem to be able to break through Pain's defense either. Neither of us can do anything to the other."

Naruto stopped in his tracks, staring intently at Pain.

Pain was right. Pain couldn't do anything to him, and he couldn't do anything to Pain either.

Without Sage Mode, he was unable to control the Preta Path's ability to absorb chakra, and his taijutsu attacks would be blocked by the Deva Path's Shinra Tensei. In reality, they were evenly matched.

At first, Naruto didn't think he was a match for Pain. He could only say that the Nine-Tails' power was beyond his imagination, and this was only half of the Nine-Tails. The complete Nine-Tails would be even stronger.

After a moment's hesitation, Naruto revealed a triumphant smile:

“I cannot defeat you, but your plan to collect the tailed beasts has also failed completely. From today onwards, the world will know that there are two powerful figures in the ninja world who are comparable to or even surpass the Five Kage, and one of them is after the tailed beasts.”

"Do you think the Akatsuki organization can still collect the Tailed Beasts so easily, even with the ninja villages doing everything they can to protect them?"

After a pause, Naruto picked up the black rod from the ground, looked in the direction of Nagato, and slowly said:

"So I'm very curious, after the failure of the plan to collect the tailed beasts, will your Akatsuki organization continue to collect the tailed beasts, or will you carry out other plans to restore the original Akatsuki organization?"

Upon hearing this, Nagato fell into a long silence, unable to respond for a moment.

Chapter 151 Each Other's Ideologies

The original Akatsuki was an organization created by Yahiko, Konan, and himself, combining the ideas of Jiraiya.

The organization believes in winning without violence, and that world peace can be achieved as long as people trust each other. Over time, more and more people have come to accept this idea and joined the Akatsuki organization.

However, after Hanzo colluded with Danzo to set up an ambush, killing Yahiko and other members of the first Akatsuki.

Nagato no longer believed in this idea and transformed into Pain, who made others understand his pain. Since people's hearts could not be trusted, he would use absolute violence to suppress the ambitious people who were eager to make a move.

In the process of realizing this ambition, they will not hesitate to provoke war or disrupt peace.

This was the philosophy of the god Pain, and it was also the practice that Nagato had always adhered to, until he landed in the Land of Waves and encountered a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of comparable strength.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is not only as strong as him, but has also become the biggest obstacle to the Tailed Beast Project.

It can be said that the Tailed Beast Plan failed the moment he was unable to gain an overwhelming advantage, unless he could gather other members to launch a siege, but the other five great ninja villages would also be on guard.

Without further thought, Nagato stared at Naruto with a grave expression and sneered:

"The First Akatsuki, it seems you know more than I thought, but the First Akatsuki's ideology has been proven wrong. Only by using absolute force to deter others can the ninja world maintain lasting peace."

Naruto looked at Nagato and suddenly laughed, "From complete trust to no longer believing in any humanity, isn't your Akatsuki organization a bit too extreme and idealistic?"

"Moreover, even if your Tailed Beast deterrence plan succeeds and brings peace to the ninja world, what will the people of the Land of Rain behind you gain? They will still live in the Land of Rain, which is cold and damp all year round, and will still lead a life of poverty. They will still become a dumping ground for goods from the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth."

Nagato frowned: "That is not a reason to reject peace. Absolute peace can bring absolute order."

Naruto gently shook his head: "That's the difference between you and me. I'm not the Sage of Six Paths. I don't seek absolute peace. It's enough for the people around me and those who follow me to live well."

"Moreover, even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't guarantee lasting peace. You merely inherited the Sage of Six Paths' eyes, so what makes you think you can expect that?"

Nagato remained silent for a moment. Since Yahiko's death, very few people had explained these things to him.

Perhaps, ever since he became Pain and proclaimed himself a god, he has been unable to accept the opinions of others. Only a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki with equal strength to him can make him sit down and accept opinions calmly.

"Is this why you annexed the Land of Waves? How are you any different from the other five great nations?"

Naruto nodded slightly and frankly admitted, "I am indeed no different from the Five Great Nations, but the people under my command will live better than the people of the Five Great Nations, and that is enough."

"Moreover, as long as I continue to maintain this level, the talents of the five major powers will naturally be put to my use. At that time, the five major powers will have no choice but to change, otherwise they will be abandoned by the times. This is my philosophy."

Nagato fell silent again, not because of Naruto's talk-no-jutsu, but because he remembered his experience as a guest in the village of the Land of Rain.

When he implemented a policy of isolationism and focused his attention on the Akatsuki organization, he indeed neglected the people of the Land of Rain under his command, causing their lives to remain almost unchanged for nearly ten years.

After a moment of contemplation, Nagato continued, "If that's the case, why did you take the initiative to find me and reveal your identity as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Shouldn't you have continued to conceal your identity and develop your power slowly?"

Naruto smiled and said, "Because engaging in a battle with you is part of my plan. I need an opponent of sufficient stature to demonstrate my strength, which can avoid some unnecessary covetousness."

"Moreover, for my own life, I must stop the Akatsuki's plan."

"But after I risked my life, I didn't expect that you, Nagato, were not as strong as I had imagined, which made me a little disappointed."

"I'm so sorry to have disappointed you..."

Nagato paused for a moment, then gave a helpless smile: "I didn't expect the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to be so strong. If all the other Jinchuriki were this strong, my plan would fail sooner or later."

At this moment, Naruto extended his hand and said, "Have you considered joining Uzumaki Village? I can make you the vice-head of the Uzumaki clan. If we join forces, we will be the strongest force in the ninja world, enough to sweep across all countries."

Nagato shook his head slightly: "Let's forget about it. The Land of Rain and the Land of Whirlpools are two different countries. I also gave up the surname Whirlpool a long time ago. After all, I am not a true Whirlpool ninja."

"You're talking about someone like they're some kind of orthodox Vortex..."

Naruto smiled nonchalantly, then inserted the black rod into his arm and, using his sensory abilities, located Nagato's main body, which was lurking nearby.

Upon sensing Naruto's gaze, Nagato's expression changed.

He then formed hand seals, summoning all six Paths of Pain back to him. After summoning a sea beast, he took the six Paths of Pain and entered the sea beast's belly, disappearing into the depths of the sea.

Naruto showed no mercy, unleashing his Spiral Wheel and locking onto Nagato's location.

After the spiral wheel entered the sea, it quickly triggered an explosion. The seawater was squeezed and formed tsunamis that were more than ten meters high, carrying the stunned seafood towards the shore.

The Spiral Wheel Technique could not possibly defeat Nagato; it was merely a farewell gift for him.

If possible, he certainly wouldn't mind dealing with Nagato here, as Nagato's Rinnegan was always a huge threat. However, he ultimately chose to retreat rather than continue the fight.