"Nagato…"
Konan's voice trembled slightly.
She had seen everything just now.
From the outside, it was painfully clear.
The Animal Path's summons.
The Asura Path's mechanical assaults.
They looked fierce—overwhelming, even.
But in front of that man, they were no different from a toddler swinging his fists at an adult.
The gap wasn't just large.
It was dimensional.
For the first time, Konan felt her confidence in Nagato waver.
---
"Damn it… damn it… damn it!"
Not far away, Obito stared at Kira, his voice low and venomous.
He had just reconfirmed it.
That overwhelming presence.
That crushing pressure.
It was exactly the same as the nightmare etched into his mind.
"Obito, what are you going to do?" Black Zetsu asked.
"We have to test his limits this time," Obito replied, eyes blazing with a twisted light. "If we don't, there won't be another chance."
Extreme fear had turned into reckless defiance.
If despair reached its peak, what was left to fear?
---
"I am the god of the ninja world!"
Tendo Pain slowly rose into the air.
The Rinnegan in his eyes flared with powerful chakra.
Under the swelling force flowing through his body, his confidence surged back.
"Before these divine eyes, no one can defeat me!"
He thrust out his palm.
"Almighty Push—!"
An overwhelming gravitational force erupted instantly.
Naruto's body was pulled toward him.
Naruto raised a brow.
"Oh? So this is what the Rinnegan can do? Not bad."
The casual tone made Pain's expression darken.
Pain lunged forward, a black rod forming in his hand, stabbing straight for Naruto's eye.
"You're ruthless," Naruto said lazily.
He caught the rod with one hand.
Crack.
It shattered inch by inch.
Pain vanished, reappearing behind Naruto. The rhythm of gravity shifted suddenly—a calculated move meant to disrupt balance.
Another black rod thrust toward Naruto's neck.
For ordinary shinobi, that sudden gravitational shift would create a fatal opening.
Two fingers appeared.
They caught the rod.
Crack.
It broke again.
Naruto pressed forward slightly.
The air around Pain grew heavy, as if space itself had solidified into iron.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A violent repulsive force burst outward.
Naruto paused—
Then remained unmoved.
Pain's eyes widened.
"…Fine. I'll give you some face."
Naruto lifted off the ground and slid back ten meters.
Pain was momentarily stunned.
Naruto stopped easily.
"What else you got? Use everything. Convince me."
---
"Almighty Pull!"
Nothing happened.
Naruto didn't move.
Pain flew forward himself.
Black rods flashed in relentless succession.
He attacked faster and faster, movements becoming almost invisible. The ground fractured for hundreds of meters under the shockwaves.
Naruto only defended.
Casually.
Effortlessly.
Immovable as a mountain.
No matter how violent Pain's assault became, Naruto stood like an iron wall.
Why… no flaws?
Despair crept into Pain's eyes.
Even after absorbing the chakra of the other Paths, even at his peak—
He couldn't shake Naruto in the slightest.
Worse, he could feel it.
Naruto wasn't even serious.
---
Pain's mind raced.
Almighty Push… insufficient.
Super Shinra Tensei… too broad, not decisive.
Taijutsu… meaningless.
Only one move remained.
He retreated suddenly.
"Almighty Pull!"
A hill-sized boulder tore from the earth and hurtled toward Naruto.
"Almighty Pull!"
Another.
And another.
Massive rocks crashed down like falling meteors.
The earth shook violently.
Even miles away, the Hidden Rain Village trembled.
Villagers stepped outside in alarm, old war memories surfacing in fear.
Naruto punched.
Boom.
Each boulder shattered into dust.
"Not bad! Keep going!"
---
"Wood Style: Cutting Sprigs Jutsu!"
A hoarse voice rang out.
Obito.
Gigantic thorn-covered trees spiraled upward around Naruto, twisting and compressing, binding him tightly like a colossal serpent.
"Pain! Now!"
Obito roared, pouring chakra into the technique.
He knew it wouldn't truly harm Naruto.
But even one second of restraint was enough.
Pain formed seals rapidly.
Chakra surged violently.
"Ninja Art—Planetary Devastation!"
A small black sphere shot into the sky.
Instantly—
The ground began to rise.
Stones.
Trees.
Soil.
Everything tore free and flew upward.
Obito shattered his Wood Style himself, allowing the massive trees to be pulled into the growing sphere.
Naruto was dragged upward with them.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
More debris joined.
The sphere swelled—
Like a newborn moon.
"Not enough!"
Pain gritted his teeth, forcing more chakra out.
The mass thickened another hundred meters.
Finally—
"Planetary Devastation… complete!"
Pain swayed, nearly collapsing.
Konan caught him, face pale.
They all looked up.
Hope.
Desperation.
Silence.
Then—
A voice echoed from within the massive sphere.
"So this is Planetary Devastation? The sealing power is impressive."
Curious. Calm.
Almost admiring.
No fear.
No panic.
Just interest.
Pain.
Obito.
Black Zetsu.
Konan.
Their hearts froze.
Like falling into an ice cellar.
Despair filled their eyes.
-------------------------
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