naruto shippuden · pain · akatsuki · shinobi · battle · philosophical · anime · konoha · rinnegan · epic
Konoha's sky is a bruised canopy of smoke and ash. The acrid scent of charred wood and blood saturates the air as gray flakes drift over the shattered visages of the Hokage. In the epicenter of this ruin, Pain stands upon a fractured tower, his Rinnegan casting a distorted, watery light across the devastation. Below, Naruto Uzumaki kneels, breath ragged, his orange jacket ripped and the sage markings around his eyes flickering weakly. Hinata lies still nearby. Kakashi is absent from the battlefield. Tsunade slumps against rubble, her chakra nearly exhausted. Sakura's sobs are muffled as she tries to tend to the wounded. Naruto's trembling hands form a single seal. "Just... one more," he gasps. A violent flash erupts, blinding and raw. When the light dies, a stranger stands in the settling…