How much chakra does Yami have?
This thought surfaced in Nagato's mind.
Just from a single glance at the Wooden Golem technique, one could tell it consumed an immense amount of chakra. Yet he could summon multiple clones, six at a time, each controlling one.
Nagato suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
But that didn't mean he would give up.
The Six Paths of Pain were now attacking at full strength.
The Human and Naraka Paths had relatively limited attack options. They could only rely on black rods and engage in close combat with the Wood Clones. Shurado Path, with its body full of weapons, bombarded the incoming fists with a hail of firepower.
Hungry Ghost Path grabbed the ankle of a Wooden Golem, trying to absorb its chakra, while Animal Path summoned several giant beasts to act as meat shields.
Tendo Pain ascended high into the sky, engaging in a fierce aerial battle with Yami.
Yami, who hadn't used a sword in a long time, drew the Kusanagi Sword. With a wide sweep, his vast chakra condensed into sword energy that howled through the air.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A powerful shockwave clashed with the sword energy. After a brief stalemate, the sword wave was crushed, but Yami withstood the pressure. The moment the force dispersed, he threw a kunai straight at Tendo Pain.
Swish—!
A flash of Flying Thunder God.
Yami appeared beside Pain, unleashing a powerful spinning kick.
Bang!
Pain reacted, raising his palm to block, but the overwhelming force launched him like a cannonball. He crashed into the ground, smashing through a large courtyard.
"You can do a lot in five seconds."
Yami formed a hand seal. The Wooden Golem's massive fist came crashing down again, like the collapse of heaven and earth.
"Haaa!"
The howling wind turned into a pressure wave, deepening the crater on impact. Tendo Pain raised both hands and released another Shinra Tensei, the repulsive force toppling the Golem.
But… it was just a Wooden Golem.
While Pain was struggling, one of Yami's Wood Clones, together with another Golem, had already crushed the critical Naraka Path into debris.
Without the Naraka Path, the other bodies could no longer be revived infinitely.
At the same time, the Human Path was also destroyed. Its soul extraction technique had no effect on Wooden Golems or Wood Clones. At best, it was just an elite jōnin with a slightly tougher body.
Just as Yami was about to eliminate the remaining puppets, Hungry Ghost Path, Animal Path, and Shurado suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Tendo Pain's chakra spiked dramatically. He clapped his hands together violently, and a wave of power tore his robe to shreds.
"Super Shinra Tensei!"
A blinding white light erupted from Tendo's body, followed by an earth-shaking repulsive force that swept outward. Everything in its path was pulverized and thrown aside.
The Wooden Golem spread its arms wide, desperately trying to resist the blast. Its legs dug deep furrows in the ground as it crashed into steel towers and buildings.
Massive structures began to collapse. Thunderous rumbling and thick dust filled the air.
When the light finally faded, the once-mighty central district of Ame had become a massive crater. Even the surrounding outer sectors were severely damaged.
While the scale wasn't comparable to the destruction of the original Konoha, this time the range of Super Shinra Tensei was concentrated and the repulsive force intensified, making it even more devastating.
Inside a tree reinforced by paper jutsu, Nagato coughed up blood.
"Nagato!" Konan cried out in worry.
"I... I'm fine. The battle's not over yet."
Nagato gasped for breath. His already light pink hair had turned even paler, nearly white.
Yami was without a doubt the strongest opponent he had ever encountered.
The oppressive presence of Wood Release was suffocating.
Most of the Rinnegan's abilities had little effect.
Rather than waste chakra, it was better to focus it all on Tendo, allowing for better precision and control.
"Even Super Shinra Tensei didn't work...?"
Konan clutched her chest. A growing unease gnawed at her heart.
If the fight continued like this... could Nagato really endure it?
She opened her mouth to speak, but Nagato had already focused everything on the Tendo Path. In the end, she could only sigh helplessly.
On the battlefield, the dust gradually cleared.
Three of the six Wooden Golems were completely destroyed. The remaining three were badly damaged. As for the thirty-six Wood Clones... not a single one was missing.
Tendo Pain stared at the best-preserved Wooden Golem, which had lost only its arms and head. Yami stood atop it, completely unharmed.
In the next moment, Yami moved.
As he formed seals, a rumbling echoed. The three damaged Wooden Golems began to fuse.
Originally about thirty to forty meters tall, the new fused Golem now stood over fifty meters high.
Its dual faces bore solemn expressions, one looking left, the other right.
Yami sat lazily on top of the Buddha-like statue.
Even from afar, Pain could see the calm indifference in his eyes.
"Not bad. Looks a little divine."
A clear voice drifted over with the wind. "If you work harder, maybe I'll have to use more techniques. But if this is all, I'm disappointed."
In truth, Yami wanted to say: Just summon the Gedo Statue already. You're wasting both our time.
But saying that aloud might scare Nagato off.
As for his own Rinnegan...
Unfortunately, perhaps because he wasn't of Kaguya's lineage, he couldn't summon the Six Paths Golem native to the shinobi world.
It began to rain again.
But this time, it wasn't due to the Rain Tiger at Will Technique, but a natural downpour.
Tendo Pain stared coldly at Yami. "You are indeed powerful... but my pain is greater than yours!"
The devastation of Ame deepened the chill in his heart. He took a deep breath and clasped his hands.
A black sphere of highly concentrated chakra floated into the air.
As it quickly rose, Tendo Pain roared:
"Planetary Devastation!"
An overwhelming gravitational force erupted from the black sphere, drawing in everything.
Crack! Crack!
Ruined steel, shattered earth, and all nearby plants and trees were pulled upward toward the sphere.
The very ground began to crack apart under the strain. Layers of earth broke loose and soared skyward.
In mere moments, the black sphere grew from the size of a fist to over fifty meters in diameter. The more mass it absorbed, the stronger its gravity became.
This sealing technique was one even Tendo Pain alone could not perform. It required full support from Nagato. Even the Nine Tails likely couldn't escape this fate.
The massive Wooden Golem was also pulled skyward, along with the earth beneath its feet.
Seeing this, Pain grew more excited and poured in even more chakra. His expression grew inhuman.
He also watched carefully for any Flying Thunder God marks to prevent Yami from escaping.
Finally, the Wooden Golem was drawn into the surface of the growing sphere. Layers of rock sealed it in.
Only then did Tendo let his trembling hands drop.
"It's over..."
In the distance, Nagato coughed violently. His ribs were visible with each breath, but his face lit up with ecstatic joy.
"Konan... Shimura Yami has been sealed. I won!"
"So what if he has Wood Release and Flying Thunder God? A mortal is still a mortal. God is—"
Nagato's words abruptly stopped.
Because the Planetary Devastation in the sky changed.
A blinding white light erupted from its center. It was as if a second sun had appeared.
Then, under the illumination of that light, the massive sphere—over one kilometer wide—began to collapse, break apart, and finally disintegrate into its most basic molecular components.
It vanished completely.
Under Pain's disbelieving gaze, Yami deactivated the Dust Release in his hand and gracefully landed on the ground, a faint look of reflection on his face.
"So this is what it feels like to be sealed... not just your body, even your mind goes numb. But there's still awareness. It's like being locked in a pitch-black room."
The reason he waited until the final moment to escape was because he wanted to understand what Kaguya felt, sealed for a thousand years—so they could talk when they met.
Now that he understood, he suddenly realized why Kaguya hated her sons so much after being released.
If it were like sleep, where you didn't feel time pass, fine. But being awake, trapped in a small dark space for a thousand years...
It's a miracle she didn't go insane.
Returning to the moment, Yami used Wood Release again. A vast forest spread across the ruins. Sharp thorns shot from the trees toward Pain.
"Use whatever you've got left. I'm out of patience."
Pain snapped out of his daze, shook off the thorns, and used his final technique.
"Summoning Jutsu: Gedo Statue!"
A massive cloud of smoke exploded. A terrifying humanoid monster appeared.
Its body was like a dead tree. Ten thick stakes protruded from its back.
Its hideous face bore nine eyes—five open, four shut.
Five?
Yami narrowed his eyes slightly. Did he already gather Eight Tails' chakra?
"Roar—!"
The Gedo Statue's regained tailed beast chakra stirred. Its consciousness was starting to awaken.
Its roar turned into shockwaves, kicking up clouds of dust.
Even without Nagato's control, the Gedo Statue locked onto Yami on its own.
It was... instinct.
Ding!
A beautiful system notification sounded in Yami's mind.
[Host has formed Stage Two Greedy Bond with Gedo Statue. Reward: Ten Tails Shell (Adolescent)]
Yami couldn't help but smile.
He finally obtained it.
The Gedo Statue was the husk of the Ten Tails. It was essential for absorbing the chakra of the tailed beasts and converting it into higher-level energy.
Without it, even gathering all the tailed beasts wouldn't be enough.
As the summoner, Pain also noticed the Gedo Statue's hostility toward Yami. Though he didn't understand why, its instinctive aggression helped him tremendously.
The Gedo Statue opened its massive mouth. In just two seconds, a black chakra sphere, far larger than a typical Tailed Beast Ball, condensed and fired.
A giant arm emerged from the trees. Then the entire Wooden Golem rose, catching the sphere in its hands. Wood shattered instantly.
But with Yami pouring in more chakra, overwhelming force surged forth.
He forcefully pressed the black sphere back toward the Gedo Statue.
Boom—!
The explosion blew Tendo Pain backward. Yami clapped his hands.
"Sage Art: Buddha's Hands!"
Several giant hands emerged from the ground, grabbing the Gedo Statue's limbs and head.
"Sage Art: Myojinmon!"
Several red torii gates dropped from the sky, pinning the Gedo Statue in place.
The Wooden Golem advanced, grabbing its head and beginning to devour the tailed beast chakra within.
A Flying Thunder God kunai streaked toward Pain. With this speed and distance, he could've dodged, but he used Shinra Tensei to deflect it anyway, fearing Yami might teleport close.
But the deflected kunai was met midair by another kunai, changing direction and spinning back toward him.
"Uchiha's throwing technique!" Pain's pupils contracted. Just as he raised his hand, Yami teleported.
"Raikiri!"
With piercing lightning, Yami's arm shot through Tendo Pain's chest.
Though the puppet body had no heart, the lightning's magnetic field dislodged most of the black rods from his body.
Without them, chakra transmission became unstable. He couldn't move, and could only barely retain consciousness.
Bang—!
Another puff of smoke.
The Gedo Statue broke free from the torii gates and vanished without a trace.
Yami didn't care. He sat casually on the remains of the broken stakes.
That brief draw just now had granted him a portion of Three Tails, Four Tails, and Seven Tails' chakra.
Now, only Eight Tails remained.
"Pain, by your logic, my pain should be greater than yours."
Yami smiled down at the immobile Tendo. "Want to get stronger? I can make you suffer more. For example... I could massacre the entire Rain Village, destroy Yahiko's corpse, and take your 'angel' too. Tch... women like Konan are rare, after all."
Pain's expression twisted into fury. His eyes screamed murder.
Everything Yami said struck his deepest nerves.
But soon, the light in the Rinnegan dimmed again.
Far away.
Nagato raised his head with great difficulty. "Konan... hurry and run... I'll protect Yahiko's body..."
Pshh!
Before he could finish, a hand pierced through Nagato's chest from behind.
"Nagato!"
Konan screamed.
A masked man stepped out of the void.
"Nagato... you really let me down."
"In that case, I'll be taking back these Rinnegan eyes..."
(To be continued.)
***
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