Nagato stared at Naruto with cold, indifferent eyes.
In the next instant, golden light bloomed around Naruto, causing Nagato's expression to shift slightly.
Naruto had entered Sage Mode in less than a second.
A terrifying aura surged outward.
This was not Jiraiya's incomplete Sage Mode.
Nor was it the Sage Mode Naruto once used in the original timeline.
This was a level of Sage Mode that could only be compared to Senju Hashirama himself.
Hashirama's strength came from his immense chakra reserves, the perfect fusion of natural energy, and the unparalleled might of Wood Release—a combination that made him nearly invincible.
Yet the Naruto standing here now was in no way inferior to Hashirama.
However, Pain—acting as Nagato's puppet—failed to fully grasp Naruto's current level. All he sensed was that Naruto's strength had increased dramatically.
"So this is the legendary Sage Mode?"
Pain's voice was calm and dismissive.
"It looks somewhat impressive… but that's all."
Far away, Black Zetsu's eyes widened in shock, his composure cracking for the first time.
Impossible… Has this Uzumaki brat already awakened Ashura's power?
That shouldn't be possible!
He could never have imagined that Naruto was someone who didn't follow the rules at all.
Black Zetsu's expression turned ice-cold.
"I can't wait any longer," he muttered. "Uchiha Madara must be revived immediately. Mother… don't worry. I will revive you!"
With that, his body dissolved into a black shadow and vanished from the battlefield.
Pain was the first to move.
With a wave of chakra, countless Summoning Beasts appeared, their massive bodies shaking the ground. Every one of them bore the Rinnegan in their eyes.
Any creature summoned through the Rinnegan carried that unmistakable mark.
These were not ordinary beasts—many of them were rarely, if ever, seen in the shinobi world. Whether Nagato had acquired them elsewhere or whether this was an innate ability of the Rinnegan itself was unknown.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, calmly sensing the distortion of space around him.
What surprised him the most was the Asura Path.
Its body was no longer human at all, having been completely transformed into a mechanical construct. Weapons unfolded from its limbs, and advanced mechanisms activated in rapid succession.
Even miniature missiles were launched.
"The Rinnegan really is something else…" Naruto murmured.
The Rinnegan originated from the Ōtsutsuki Clan, beings from beyond this world. The existence of advanced technology in space didn't surprise him—but the way the Rinnegan could summon mechanical creations, almost like forming contracts with summoning beasts, was truly bizarre.
There would be time to study it later.
Right now, he had more pressing matters.
Overwhelming attacks descended all at once.
Explosions erupted continuously, tearing the ground apart as shockwaves rippled across the battlefield. Smoke and dust swallowed everything in an instant.
At that moment, Umbrella's reinforcements finally arrived.
The moment they saw the battlefield, they froze.
The land was completely ruined—massive craters, scorched earth, and lingering chakra fluctuations filled the area. What stunned them most were the terrifying chakra signatures still clashing within the smoke.
"Stand down. Evacuate the battlefield!"
The voice echoed from every direction.
It was Naruto's.
"That's Leader Naruto's voice!"
A shocked shout rang out. At the front stood Zabuza, his expression grim.
"Retreat!" he ordered sharply.
"But Lord Zabuza—!"
Before the shinobi could finish speaking, Zabuza cut him off.
"Did I not make myself clear?" Zabuza snapped. "This is no longer a battle we can participate in!"
The shinobi stiffened immediately.
"Yes! Lord Zabuza!"
Without hesitation, the group withdrew, retreating to a safe distance to observe from afar.
In truth, Zabuza himself was deeply shaken.
If not for maintaining his authority, he would have shown his shock openly.
But precisely because of that shock, he understood something very clearly—
This was no longer a fight that numbers could solve.
Even large-scale military formations were useless here. Such tactics were meant for war, not for confronting monsters who stood alone at the pinnacle of power.
Even if they could resist briefly, victory was impossible.
After all, Nagato's Rinnegan was a power once wielded by beings at the Six Paths level. Even without its original owner, the abilities he displayed already reached the mid-tier Super Kage level.
As the smoke gradually dispersed, Pain's eyes narrowed.
Naruto stood there, completely unharmed.
Pain had expected Naruto to survive—but the sheer ease with which he did so made his heart sink.
"Is that all the power you have?"
Naruto spoke slowly, his presence swelling like an unstoppable tide.
"Then it's my turn."
He extended one hand.
Chakra surged violently, spiraling and compressing as natural energy flooded into it.
Naruto's gaze locked onto Pain.
"Sage Art—Rasenshuriken!"
Empowered by immense chakra, the Rasenshuriken erupted the moment it took form, whipping the surrounding air into a violent hurricane.
Naruto could precisely control this technique—compressing it, stabilizing it, even shaping it like a Rasengan if he wished.
But there was no need.
He simply threw it.
The brilliant, spinning Rasenshuriken tore through the battlefield like a divine weapon of destruction. Wherever it passed, the land was annihilated—earth split apart, trees were shredded, and not even a single blade of grass remained intact.
Pain's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Victory can only belong to me!" he roared.
"Shinra Tensei!!"
A terrifying repulsive force exploded outward, ripping the ground apart and flinging debris in every direction. The invisible pressure surged forward and collided head-on with the incoming Rasenshuriken.
For a brief moment—
The world seemed to freeze.
Then an ear-splitting roar echoed across the battlefield.
A violent tearing sound followed.
This time, the ever-reliable Shinra Tensei did not instantly erase Naruto's attack as Pain had expected.
Instead, the two forces entered a deadlock.
Pain's expression finally changed.
For the first time, he felt it—
The repulsive force of Shinra Tensei… was being overwhelmed.
Impossible…!
Bang!!!
Like shattered glass, the invisible repulsive field collapsed completely. Shinra Tensei broke apart under the pressure, and the Rasenshuriken surged forward once more.
At that instant, the Asura Path stepped in front of the Deva Path, blocking the attack without hesitation.
A violent explosion erupted.
Wind Release chakra detonated outward, unleashing countless razor-sharp cutting currents that filled the air with blinding flashes of light.
The Asura Path's mechanical body was torn apart instantly, crashing to the ground like a broken puppet.
Without pause, the Naraka Path summoned the King of Hell.
The shattered Asura Path was thrown directly into the gaping mouth of the Hell Gate.
Moments later—
A completely restored Asura Path emerged, standing once again before Naruto.
"…Interesting."
Naruto watched the scene with genuine curiosity.
The Rinnegan truly possessed the power to blur the line between life and death. If such an ability could be controlled… he wouldn't need to worry about reviving his parents in the future.
In this world, life and death were never absolute.
Only strength mattered.
At that moment, Pain acted again.
Without hesitation, he unleashed his strongest technique.
"Chibaku Tensei!!!"
A small black sphere formed in Pain's hand and floated into the air, radiating a terrifying gravitational pull.
Everything except Pain and the Six Paths began to rise toward the sky—rocks, trees, chunks of earth, and even Naruto himself were dragged upward by the overwhelming suction.
"The larger the mass…" Naruto murmured calmly,
"…the stronger the gravity."
For now, he was still able to maintain his footing.
But the surrounding terrain was rapidly collapsing, ripped from the ground and drawn into the forming celestial body.
The sudden, catastrophic change stunned the onlookers in the distance.
Zabuza's face paled.
"Everyone—leave this place immediately!!" he shouted decisively.
(End of Chapter)
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