"Tobi, how can I restore your strength?"
Rushing toward the battlefield with Shunshin speed while getting used to his new body, Nagato posed this question as he traveled.
Because he had clearly felt Tobi's power and importance.
If he were to remove Tobi, Nagato suspected he would have to relearn how to walk from scratch, like a small child.
But wearing Tobi as a sort of armor, Nagato now felt brimming with vitality. Even though he wasn't a taijutsu specialist, he could move as fast as a violent gust of wind, hardly any slower than a typical Body Flicker Technique.
After absorbing Tobi's chakra, Nagato sensed that his already enormous chakra was like a vast ocean, immeasurably abundant.
Even his newly awakened Wood-Style—derived from injecting Hashirama's cells—now felt astonishingly augmented.
All these benefits came from Tobi.
Nagato could hardly imagine just how powerful they would become if Tobi returned to his former strength, coupled with Nagato's current might.
Moreover, to the being who had helped him this much, Tobi, Nagato—who also possessed Hashirama's cells—harbored not the slightest wariness that he felt for 'Madara', only a deep sense of gratitude.
"Boss, my power can only be restored by absorbing Yang Release chakra and Wood-Style chakra," Tobi stated openly. "Right now, there are only two ways to do that. First, let me absorb your chakra, exactly like you just absorbed mine. Second, you can use the Preta Path to help me absorb Tailed Beast chakra—because Tailed Beast chakra is the purest of all, and Tailed Beast Bombs themselves consist of Yin–Yang chakra."
"Tailed Beast chakra, huh? Got it."
Nagato nodded and silently picked up speed.
Before long, he had left Amegakure.
During that short time, he had already gotten a handle on his new body.
So instead of continuing with Shunshin leaps, he shot straight upward into the air.
Since repulsion is a rule-type power and can't provide thrust for flight like Wind Release, Nagato directly employed the Asura Path's ability, causing both arms to transform into cannon barrels, blasting out rings of fiery jet thrust—like a jet engine—rapidly propelling him toward the battlefield.
Just like Izayoi (the "Toneri" figure) with his moonlit chakra overshadowing all else the moment he appeared, Nagato's immense chakra arriving so swiftly immediately caught the attention of every keen sensor on the field.
"Wh-what is that?"
"Is he the leader of Akatsuki? But… he's not coming from that direction!"
"Such terrifying chakra—like a Tailed Beast. Amegakure… has such a monster?!"
"Could he be the real leader of Akatsuki?!"
"…"
All eyes of Kumogakure's forces and the various nations' spies turned in shock. Those with poor mental fortitude were already breaking out in cold sweat.
Even the Akatsuki members wore grim expressions, eyes full of caution.
"Does our Akatsuki even have someone like that?"
"Chakra on this level… even our 'leader' can't surpass it!"
"Wait—Pain is always covered in black rods. This man doesn't have any rods, yet he has Rinnegan eyes. Could he be our true leader?"
"…"
All the various pairs or trios conversed, but only Konan—who hovered in midair—raised her trembling hand to her mouth, tears welling up, rolling down her cheeks.
"Nagato… that's wonderful!"
Her voice choked with sobs but was filled with joy.
As if hearing Konan, that fiery tail of thrusters soared close, halting right in front of her.
"Konan, you've done well. Let me take over from here," Nagato said with a confident smile.
"Mm!"
Konan nodded firmly, flapped her wings, and promptly left the battlefield.
Because she knew perfectly well that she was Nagato's sole weak spot.
As long as she wasn't on the battlefield, Nagato would be invincible.
Watching Konan fly away, Nagato looked down across the battleground. Though his voice was youthful, it carried the weight of authority:
"I'll be taking over this battlefield from here. All Akatsuki members—withdraw."
"Looks like he really is our boss! Didn't think the true Pain would be a young guy, just like that Tenseigan brat."
"That's a chakra befitting someone said to wield the Sage's eyes."
"Still, with that hair color, our leader must be an Uzumaki."
"So is the Rinnegan actually some hidden kekkei genkai of the Uzumaki clan?"
"We're pulling out—I have a hunch the next fight will be epic."
"…"
At once, the Akatsuki members sped off in afterimages, exiting the battlefield.
Not only had they sensed danger: when the Fourth Raikage recognized a man with no black rods on his face but Rinnegan eyes, he too felt a bad omen.
Without hesitation, he roared:
"All forces retreat immediately! Return to the Land of Lightning!"
"Yes, Raikage-sama!"
These were all elite ninja, discipline at maximum. With no delay, they became streaks of color fleeing the scene. High-level jōnin or special ops also guarded weaker allies, launching jutsu at the puppet forces so they wouldn't get sniped from behind.
But soon they realized they'd worried too much:
Those human-puppets vanished without warning, each teleporting away with the Flying Thunder God.
Seeing this, the Kumogakure ninja were startled rather than relieved, hastening from the field. Even the puppet forces had abandoned the fight, signifying that the true battle about to unfold was on another level.
Watching as Kumogakure's forces and the human-puppets left, the last surviving White Zetsu clones also disappeared underground.
Very soon, only five figures remained.
They were Nagato—floating in the sky—Izayoi on the ground, and the AB Combo plus Yugito Nii forming a triangle around Izayoi.
Even so, Izayoi paid no attention to the AB Combo or Yugito, focusing solely on Nagato up in the air.
Clusters of "bubbles" no one else could see drifted around Nagato.
Before Izayoi could identify the text within those bubbles, Nagato dropped down from the sky.
A thunderous boom rang out as if some heavy object had landed, sending up clouds of dust.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
He hadn't even stepped out of the dust, yet his voice carried to the four. Hearing the name of that jutsu, the minds of the Kumogakure trio conjured images of that bizarre, pull-like gravitational force.
But that strange gravity did not rip Izayoi off the ground.
The one pulled from the earth into the dust was—Killer Bee.
"Bee!"
The Fourth Raikage's face grew alarmed, reflexively suspecting a trap: that the Akatsuki and this so-called "Ōtsutsuki Toneri" might all be on the same side.
After all, they presumably shared a common enemy—didn't that make them temporary allies?
Yet Nagato had attacked them first, not Izayoi. It was hard not to think it a conspiracy to wipe them out.
But seeing Nagato seize his younger brother, the Raikage instantly increased his chakra flow, flashed like lightning into the dust, successfully severing that gravitational hold.
The next moment, as expected, he was blasted back outside, the dust swirling away with him.
Whoosh—
From Nagato's arm shot a huge laser beam that flew at the still airborn Killer Bee, too fast to dodge.
Without hesitation, Bee half-transformed into tailed beast form, spewing an orange-red energy beam to collide with Nagato's laser.
Boom—
A roaring explosion ensued, echoing in the ears of both departing Kumo nin and the distant Akatsuki. It almost sounded as if it had erupted right beside them, spurring the Kumo nin to race faster from the field.
The Akatsuki members halted, perched on mountaintops or afloat on Deidara's white bird, gazing at the mushroom cloud rising from the battlefield.
"Bee, watch your feet!"
Amidst the mushroom cloud, Bee had not used his sensing, so he couldn't locate the enemy. But at that moment, he heard the Hachibi's shout.
Glancing down, he saw wooden tendrils sprouting from the ground, thickening into branches.
Transformed into a humanoid beast, Bee leapt nimbly over ten meters. The next instant, he was drawn even faster back down.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
The eerie pull yanked Bee to the earth. Before he could go fully Tailed Beast Mode, branches bound him like rope, wrapping him like a dumpling. A mocking voice piped in his ear:
"Hello… Checkmate. Wood Style—Silent Strangling Binding!"
Right afterward, Nagato's voice came:
"Hachibi Jinchūriki, I'll be borrowing your chakra!"
Blood-red Tailed Beast chakra drained from Bee, traveling through the branches into the swirling dust. In the blink of an eye, he regressed from half-Beast form back to normal.
His own chakra, along with the Hachibi's, was draining away so fast that resistance was futile.
Moments later, that clownish voice echoed again from the dust:
"All fed, all fed… Tobi is back to full HP!"
A formless gale whirled forth, scattering the mushroom cloud.
"Bee!"
The Fourth Raikage's worried, furious shout rang out.
Before he could flash-step over, Nagato flung the wood-bound Bee at him, severing the Wood-Style connection. The Raikage hurried over, catching Bee. In fury, he locked eyes on Nagato, whose expression remained calm and collected.
Nagato didn't even look at him, instead gazing unwaveringly at Izayoi, who had never once tried interfering. In a quiet tone, he directed a warning to the three Kumo ninja:
"Withdraw. The fight to come is beyond your league."
Nagato was avoiding accidentally killing the Matatabi and Hachibi Jinchūriki, or else the Tailed Beast Plan would face a new delay.
"Hmph! You think you know who you're talking to? I am a Kage!"
The Fourth Raikage, as if stung by indignation, tossed Bee to the partially transformed Yugito.
"Yugito, you carry Bee away. I'm going to settle things with them."
"Yes, Raikage-sama!"
With that, Yugito—also ever efficient—carried Bee and sped from the battlefield.
So in the blink of an eye, only Izayoi, Nagato, and the Raikage remained.
But unfortunately, whether Nagato or Izayoi, neither paid any attention to the nearby Raikage.
They simply locked eyes, both meticulously sizing each other up.
Nagato employed the Rinnegan's chakra vision, estimating Izayoi's chakra and ocular might.
Izayoi probed the "status entries" drifting around Nagato, delighted by what he saw.
He had discovered that Nagato's "trait entries" were extremely luxurious:
[ Rinnegan (Gold) ]
[ Super-Kage Aptitude (Gold) ]
[ Chakra Control (Gold) ]
[ Kekkei Genkai: Wood-Style (Blue)(Gold) ]
[ Ninjutsu Master (Purple) ]
[ Uzumaki Bloodline (Purple) ]
[ Senju Bloodline (Purple) ]
[ Ōtsutsuki Lineage (Purple) ]
[ Summoning Master (Purple) ]
[ Sealing Prodigy (Blue) ]
[ Medical Prodigy (Blue) ]
[ Puppet Prodigy (Blue) ]
[ Genjutsu Prodigy (Blue) ]
[ Taijutsu Prodigy (Blue) ]
Four gold, five purple, and five blue, totaling fourteen. Apart from his own, it was the first time Izayoi had seen someone's "trait entries" reach double digits.
Though not as crammed with red or purple plus gold entries like his own, that board alone made it obvious just how formidable Nagato was.
After all, many of Izayoi's traits weren't yet fully realized, while most of Nagato's had already translated into real strength. He truly was that mid-story "ultimate boss," a paragon at that arc's top level.
During this examination, Nagato's Rinnegan and Wood-Style also seized Izayoi's notice. And yet, Izayoi wasn't so fixated on "Rinnegan's rank" as he was on the fact that Nagato's Rinnegan lacked any prefix—clearly indicating it had been transplanted rather than awakened.
As for Nagato's Wood-Style, it dazzled Izayoi's eyes: He had never before seen a dual-color trait line. Possibly it was due to wearing Tobi or harnessing Tobi's Mokuton chakra.
Izayoi also had vivid memories of Tobi. Not from the original story alone, in which Tobi took over Yamato's body and stalled an entire Allied Shinobi Force, but also because even after the Infinite Tsukuyomi ended, Tobi had tried to attach itself to Yamato again, tenaciously clinging on. If it hadn't been drained by the infinite dream and Divine Tree Descending, it might have succeeded.
"Your eyes aren't Rinnegan—so how do you know of the Gedo Statue?"
Fixing his gaze on the "Ōtsutsuki Toneri," a youth presumably younger by ten or twenty years, Nagato abruptly tested him:
"Earlier you mentioned your mission here is retrieving the Gedo Statue. So was the Gedo Statue stored on the moon? In that case, do you know what powers the Statue holds?"
Nagato feared that if Izayoi knew the Gedo Statue could seal Tailed Beasts, then if Izayoi failed to reclaim it, he might simply go after jinchūriki, sabotaging Nagato's Tailed Beast Plan.
Before Izayoi could respond, Tobi—afraid this moon-dweller would reveal that the Gedo Statue was actually the Ten-Tails—rushed to interfere:
"Boss, why chat him up? Just capture him with the Human Path and read his soul, no?"
And with that, Tobi seized control of Nagato's arms, clapping them together.
"Wood Style—Nativity of a Sea of Trees!"
The earth rumbled, fissures spreading, as serpentine green vines sprouted out in droves, leaves blooming and tangling, swelling into a verdant tsunami surging toward Izayoi.
Already fully ready for battle, Izayoi gave no nonsense. He simply raised his hand, unleashing a tremendous repulsion blast.
In an instant, an astonishing scene took shape:
That sturdy wave of greenery, even resistant to fire, simply burst apart like bubbles into a hundred thousand fragments.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Nagato answered with a shockwave of his own.
Unlike earlier, when Tendo Pain was quickly annihilated, Nagato was now in perfect form, at the same power rank as Izayoi in terms of chakra control.
The chakra both unleashed simultaneously was nearly equal, meaning neither could blow the other away with Shinra Tensei alone.
Hence, the Fourth Raikage was the one who suffered. The collision of two invisible storms became a swirling avalanche of air, forming a dome of transparent white that expanded outward.
Because it surged so rapidly, it resembled a light-speed moving wall, knocking the Raikage far away at once.
Anything inside that bubble—Nativity of a Sea of Trees, the surrounding mountains—was merely brushed by that warped airstream and instantly pulverized into dust.
Having tumbled who knew how many meters and crashed into a peak, the Raikage sprang off a broken slab of rock to keep away from that white bubble until the shockwaves ended. Only then did he come to a halt.
When he turned to look back, his gaze trembled, pride and self-respect now shattered mercilessly.
He saw that Izayoi and Nagato were little more than two dark silhouettes in the distance, and the entire surrounding had become a desolate plain.
Those mountains, corpses, puppets everywhere…all had been shoved to the horizon by that transparent white expansion.
Before these two individuals…
The mighty Fourth Raikage—until recently the leader of the strongest village and famed among the world's top ninja—wasn't even worthy to stand close and observe.
"So this is what it was like for my grandfather's generation, confronting the First Hokage and the Shura of the Ninja World (Madara)?"
At that moment, the Raikage realized how the prior Five Kage had felt, and why the stories of the God of Shinobi were so dramatic.
Because in the face of super-tier strength, the Five Kage could scarcely compare to ordinary bystanders.
"What the hell… This is too insane!"
"So this is the leader's real power—besides the Sage eyes, he even has Wood-Style hidden away? No wonder he calls himself a god!"
"A very similar strength—that so-called Tenseigan must indeed be another Sage Eye."
"Are we witnessing a new Final Valley showdown?"
"…"
The Akatsuki members felt no better than the Raikage. Even the arrogant Hidan, stunned, turned to Kakuzu:
"Kakuzu, you fought the First Hokage—how'd you survive…?"
"…"
Kakuzu just fell silent.
Whoosh—
Back on the battlefield, Nagato and Izayoi had already clashed fiercely.
The moment after their dueling shockwaves canceled, Nagato had unleashed that bizarre gravitational pull again, yanking Izayoi off the ground toward him. Meanwhile, from Nagato's other arm came a mechanical transformation that fired a huge laser to probe whether Izayoi's "Sage Eye" possessed the Preta Path's absorption.
For those at the super-Kage level, mere stats crush any Kage, no intelligence needed. But if the foe equals yourself, ninja battles revolve around intelligence.
That laser had barely shot forth when Nagato's legs also lifted, letting him zoom forward at Izayoi. Yet Izayoi likewise raised one hand, releasing a twisted pull, forming a water-spear with the other and hurling it at Nagato:
"Water Release—Hard Whirlpool Cutter!"
Facing the flying spear, Nagato immediately cut off his Asura-laser and switched repulsion back on. A transparent wall of air shattered the spear, continuing on to crash into Izayoi.
Izayoi did the same, repulsion instead of attraction. Their collision once more caused a swirl in the air, swelling into a translucent white bubble expanding. Unlike earlier, it soon vanished.
As each landed, both gleaned uncertain data needing further proof.
Nagato could simultaneously harness Deva Path plus Asura Path, but apparently not Deva plus Preta Path. Absorbing ninjutsu into chakra was more optimal than simply blasting away with Shinra Tensei.
As for the Tenseigan, it might not have Preta Path's effect— or perhaps Izayoi simply disdained using it.
With those thoughts, Izayoi and Nagato, as if by tacit agreement, rushed each other again.
Simply flinging Shinra Tensei around would be endless; they needed other methods to subdue an equal.
Using Rinnegan or Tenseigan to see each other's chakra, as soon as one tried to mold nature transformations for ninjutsu, the other would notice instantly. Observing no such moves, they closed in for a taijutsu showdown.
Bolstered by Asura Path and Tobi, Nagato launched a solid straight punch. Izayoi's Tenseigan, almost able to peer a fraction into the future, saw through it. He refrained from meeting it with monstrous strength, instead feinting a strike and flickering aside, leaving just an afterimage.
Nagato's fist extended serpentine branches that merely penetrated Izayoi's afterimage.
Izayoi appeared behind Nagato, not striking him physically but raising a hand crackling with lightning, forming a bolt-lance that fired.
"Lightning Release—Chidori Sharp Spear!"
It was swift but failed to pierce Nagato. Just before striking him, it collided with a translucent white barrier.
Unlike a normal Shinra Tensei's repulsion, this barrier seemed to absorb, reducing the lance back to pure lightning chakra that fed into Nagato's body.
Moreover, Nagato's back rippled, his clothes whitening and sprouting what looked like countless little mouths that spat out a barrage of wooden spikes:
"Wood Style—Cutting Technique."
At such short range, and with only partial intel, even Izayoi was nearly caught. Seeing the spikes magnify in his sight, he instantly launched Shinra Tensei.
A moderate repulsive wave easily flung the wood spikes away, also sending Nagato airborne.
But while Nagato tumbled away, he had somehow formed a seal with both hands. Spinning midair, he fired a black orb at the heavens.
"Chibaku Tensei!"
That black sphere froze up high like a tiny black hole, unleashing monstrous gravity. The ground cracked beneath. Boulders large and small rose into the air.
Izayoi unleashed a repulsive shockwave to shatter the floating debris, then aimed it at that black orb. It merely wobbled upward slightly, still radiating powerful pull.
Clearly, that shockwave alone couldn't destroy the same "rule-based" gravitational core. With limited altitude and time, he also couldn't charge an even bigger wave. And Nagato wouldn't just stand by letting him.
At the edge of the gravitational field, Nagato had already landed with two Shadow Clones by his sides, each unleashing a different-colored chakra. Five sorts of elemental chakras, their colors distinct, spewed forth like pillars, merged, then erupted into a swirl of multi-hued waves that, aided by Chibaku Tensei's upward pull, rushed Izayoi from below.
With Chibaku Tensei above and the Five-Element combo below, even if Izayoi's shockwave scattered the multi-element surge, the black hole overhead would seal him. Under these conditions, it looked like his only choice was to flee with Flying Thunder God.
Yet, with a slight smile, he simply extended his hand at Nagato in the distance.
Next second, the real body of Nagato was yanked off his feet, pulled into Chibaku Tensei's range, swiftly flying at Izayoi.
"Impossible—why is his Banshō Ten'in so huge?!"
Nagato finally looked startled. Even at full capacity, he couldn't pull at that distance.
Making matters worse, his four clones on the outskirts tried to use Banshō Ten'in to pull him back, to no avail. Their attraction was dwarfed by Izayoi's.
"Boss, what a chance—close in!" Tobi's excited voice resounded in Nagato's mind.
Remembering Tobi's sealing of Killer Bee, Nagato let the foreign pull haul him in. Quietly, he readied himself to cast a repulsion wave in case Izayoi unleashed Shinra Tensei.
But the next move Izayoi made widened Nagato's eyes—and also caught Tobi unprepared. Izayoi puffed out his cheeks, spitting a mouthful of dust, swirling out like black haze.
A Fire Release technique known as the Hiding in Ash and Dust.
Using dust to obscure vision or ignite into a wide fire attack.
Against Rinnegan's sight, that was worthless. And even if it ignited in a chain reaction, that would be weaker than the Five-Element synergy below.
Nagato stayed on guard—someone this strong wouldn't do meaningless acts.
Sure enough, a small flame lit within the dust, forming an orange glow but not igniting the entire cloud into a full-scale fire explosion. Then, four more flame glows of various colors flickered around the orange glow, orbiting and colliding into it.
Five colors merged. They briefly cycled in a kaleidoscope, turned purple-black, then radiated a piercing white brilliance.
BOOOOM—
A thunderous blast shook the skies. The distant watchers—Akatsuki, Kumogakure, and hidden scouts alike—shielded their eyes, squinting at the brilliant white orb shining like midday sun.
Sensor ninja's eyes widened with dread:
"What monstrous elemental fusion…what jutsu is that?!"
"Its chakra is on par with a Tailed Beast Bomb…"
"Is that sphere going to expand enough to reach us?"
"Look, it's shrinking—thank goodness!"
"…"
The white sphere, before it could expand fully, shrank like a balloon losing air. When it had shrunk to about human size, a black silhouette appeared within. Eventually the dazzling glow condensed into a translucent white barrier, revealing Nagato inside, now in Preta Path mode.
As for Izayoi, the Chibaku Tensei, and the Five-Element ocean on the ground? All gone.
Having absorbed two giant elemental ninjutsu, Nagato's chakra not only remained undiminished, it felt even stronger. Yet his expression grew heavier.
He set foot upon the earth again, raising his gaze to the sky.
A sky without rain, but black as pitch. At some point, the dense clouds had glowed a fiery orange.
Moments later, meteorites rained down like a storm of fire.
In the distance, the three groups saw orange-red "shooting stars" streaking from above. The Kumogakure troops—especially—recognized the scenario all too well, shuddering in memory and hate.
Simultaneously, fear overtook them:
"Is this… the end of the world?"
"This can't still be ninjutsu… how can shinobi do that!?"
The spies from other nations likewise froze, dumbfounded.
Even the Akatsuki were jolted. Only Deidara cackled with delight:
"Sasori-bro, look—that guy is summoning meteors again, except now it's a whole shower. So artistic! So beautiful!"
"Idiot—who do you think you're cheering for?" Sasori snapped, though his own eyes betrayed appreciation for Izayoi's artistry. Whether an eternal beauty or a fleeting momentary one, Izayoi had achieved both extremes.
"Tobi, can you block all that?" Nagato asked, gazing at the falling meteor shower.
"If Boss and I do it together, we sure can!" Tobi's comical tone soothed Nagato, who laughed, "What do I need to do?"
"Boss only has to keep pouring out the chakra!"
With Tobi's final word, Nagato clapped his hands again, converting his chakra into abundantly vibrant Wood-Style energy.
Then Nagato and Tobi's overlapping voices shouted out the technique with which the God of Shinobi once ended an era:
"Wood Style—Deep Forest Emergence!"
Rumble…
In the watchers' eyes, countless vines swirled upward like enormous green serpents. The descending meteors and the ascending sea of green crashed in a red–green mosaic of warring blasts—like a pair of giant hands, or heaven and earth colliding.
For those spectators, it was as though they witnessed the end of days.
Hence, they truly felt the might of super-Kage level—the same "God of Shinobi" realm.
~~~
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