"You want to unify the entire ninja world?"
At this moment, Pain's Deva Path opened his eyes—the Rinnegan pattern glowing ominously—as he stared at Leo, who stood tall inside the colossal Susanoo: Third Stage.
Leo remained silent, unfazed by the question.
Pain continued, voice deep and resolute.
"What happens after unification? People will still fail to understand each other. The only way… is to make them feel the same pain."
He slowly raised his hand, a black core materializing in his palm.
Konan's eyes widened. "That's…"
"Nagato, no!" she gasped. "You can't use that jutsu in the village!"
But the Deva Path was firm. "If this man truly is the legendary Uchiha Madara... If his power is real... Then we have no choice. He must feel true pain!"
Off to the side, Uchiha Sasuke watched with growing unease.
"What's that man with the legendary eyes trying to do?"
"Planetary Devastation?" Leo muttered nonchalantly from the head of his Susanoo, arms folded across his chest.
His calm voice cut through the tension like a blade.
"You know about Planetary Devastation?" Konan turned toward him, shocked.
That technique—Nagato had barely used it even once. How did this man, supposedly Madara, know of it by name?
"Feel the pain!!" shouted Pain's Deva Path.
With that, he hurled the black core into the sky.
"Nagato!!" Konan's voice trembled.
How could he really use Chibaku Tensei here, in the middle of Amegakure? Innocent shinobi and civilians still populated the area.
Was Leo truly powerful enough to force Nagato to go this far?
Whoosh—!!
As Konan's thoughts raced, the black core began to pulse in the sky. Tremendous gravitational force erupted from it.
Below, steel buildings groaned, tearing apart from their foundations.
Even the massive debris sliced apart earlier by Leo's Susanoo was pulled upward.
"What the—?!" Sasuke felt his feet lifting off the ground. With effort, he reinforced his chakra to anchor himself.
Konan took flight using her paper wings, barely avoiding the growing pull.
Farther away, unaware Rain ninja and civilians looked toward the glowing sky with awe.
"What's that light? What is Lord Pain doing?"
They had no idea… that death loomed above.
If Leo had stayed passive, Chibaku Tensei could have destroyed the entire village.
But—
"I told you," Leo said, his voice calm but full of disdain. "The Rinnegan may be a god's power… but it still depends on the person using it."
He looked up at the black core with a pair of scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan, his gaze unwavering.
"The one called Nagato…" he said coldly.
"You say you want me to feel pain? Heh. I'll show you despair instead."
He slowly closed his eyes.
Then, when they opened again—
Zheng—!
The Mangekyō transformed.
Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
At the same time—
"Susanoo: Complete Form!!"
Boom—!!
Terrifying chakra exploded outward as the aura around him intensified. The towering armored figure rose higher—over 200 meters tall—radiating an overwhelming presence.
The true complete form of Susanoo had arrived.
From across the village, shinobi and civilians stood frozen.
"Is that… is that the enemy?"
Even hardened ninja who had fought for years were speechless.
"So that's the power of a perfect Susanoo…" Konan murmured from the sky, disbelief in her voice.
Inside Susanoo's crystal forehead, Leo stared directly at the black core of Planetary Devastation. A plan formed in his mind.
Without hesitation, he reached out.
Crash—!!
The giant Susanoo grabbed the black core with both hands and, with ease, crushed it.
The fragments of the shattered core rained down along with the debris that had been pulled into the sky.
"Planetary Devastation… just like that…" Konan stared blankly.
Even Nagato, remotely controlling Pain's Six Paths, couldn't hide his surprise.
"Impossible… Even Planetary Devastation failed?"
"Teacher…" Sasuke, behind the Susanoo, looked on with admiration, awe etched across his face.
He felt the same sense of reverence that had gripped him back in Konoha.
This was the pinnacle of Uchiha power.
...
"Will you surrender now?" Leo's cold voice echoed from within Susanoo's head.
But instead of an answer—
"Summoning Jutsu!!" the Animal Path yelled.
Poof—!!
Suddenly, several massive, three-headed hellhounds appeared and lunged at Leo.
"Foolish resistance," Leo muttered.
Then—
Whoosh—!!
He calmly extended a hand, and as the beasts approached, they were sucked into a spiraling vortex one by one.
Kamui.
The legendary space-time ninjutsu.
But Leo wasn't done yet.
Clang—!!
Susanoo raised its blade and slashed downward.
BOOM—!!
The village trembled as an unfathomable force tore through it.
A massive abyss—thousands of meters long—split the Rain Village in two.
A carbon copy of what had happened to Konoha.
"Ahhh!" Konan cried out, blood spurting from her lips as she was blown back by the shockwave, crashing into a steel structure.
Even that residual force had left her badly wounded.
"It's the same as before…" Sasuke's voice was hushed. He stared at the destruction, recalling the devastation wrought upon Konoha not long ago.
Meanwhile—
"Pain…!" Konan coughed, struggling to get up from the rubble.
Just then—
Shua—!!
Leo teleported out of Susanoo's head and appeared before her.
He had used Kamui again to move instantly.
Konan looked up in horror, only to see his eyes—
"Rinnegan…"
The same rippling lavender rings as Nagato's.
Her shock deepened, but she had no time to react.
Crack—!!
"AAAHH—!!"
Four black rods suddenly impaled her limbs, nailing her to the ground.
"A fallen angel," Leo said, walking forward with his lavender Rinnegan still glowing.
Thud—!
His foot stomped directly on Konan's head, pinning her down.
"You…!" Konan glared at him, trembling with fury and humiliation.
"Shinra Tensei!!"
A sudden blast came from the abyss—Pain's Deva Path had returned and used the same force technique against Leo.
"Shinra Tensei." Leo raised his hand and mirrored the technique with his own Rinnegan.
Boom—!!
The shockwaves collided—but only Pain was sent flying, crashing into the ruins of his own village.
"Pain…" Konan whispered in pain, limbs pinned and heart full of dread.
Click—
Leo extended a hand down toward her again, a black rod slowly forming in his palm.
"How about it, Nagato?" he said with a smirk.
"Will you watch this 'beautiful angel' die?"
His voice was casual, mocking.
"You… as the legendary Uchiha Madara… how can you—urgh!" Konan began, but Leo stomped down harder on her head, silencing her.
"You… bastard!!" she screamed in her mind.
Elsewhere—
"Konan…"
In a hidden chamber, the real Nagato's frail body trembled.
"I already failed Yahiko… I can't lose her too. I can't…"
His voice broke.
Just then, the Deva Path stumbled back toward Leo.
"Let her go."
The tone was different now—there was no fight left in him.
Leo raised his head, satisfied.
"Very good," he said. "Looks like you've finally accepted reality."
His Rinnegan eyes gleamed, and a smirk played across his face.