The terrifying repulsive force slammed toward Uchiha Yorin. This was arguably the strongest defensive jutsu in the early Naruto era—maybe the strongest.
Even Lightning Cutter and kunai forged from special chakra metal were helpless under Shinra Tensei's crushing push, flung backwards with no chance of biting in—
Of course, batting away an attack that heavy wasn't free. Even for Shinra Tensei, the chakra cost was massive.
For a moment, Nagato found himself in that dangerous in-between state: the old burst spent, the new power not yet gathered.
And that was exactly when Uchiha Yorin struck—using Lightning Body Flicker. The fastest movement technique in the world blurred forward in an instant, so fast and so heavy it felt like even a mountain in his way would just be split apart by his twin lightning-flame blades.
Faced with that kind of monster, even Pain had no choice but to dodge—though he countered at the same time with a different technique.
If he used Shinra Tensei again here, Yorin's monstrous dual-sword strike might blow it apart, just like it had in their previous clash.
If he tried close combat instead—well, this wasn't sickly Nagato's real body, but the Yahiko Path's body had still taken damage; Nagato didn't want to risk it.
So this time, he chose a new card.
Chibaku Tensei.
Nagato might not care about his Uzumaki heritage emotionally, but the clan traits were still there. Their talent for sealing jutsu had simply taken on a different form in him.
This time, the gravity core wasn't thrown up into the sky. Pain embedded it in the air right in front of Yorin and defended it directly.
That close, the attraction field twisted Yorin's body, dragging him off-line toward the sphere like a sideways Banshō Ten'in.
If your body can't move the way you want, landing a fatal hit or crippling blow becomes trivial.
It looked like Nagato had really done his homework after their last fight—reviewing his failure and building a new gameplan.
"Surrender, Uchiha. You're no match for me!"
Nagato was certain of this strike—only to realize, a second too late, that he'd miscalculated.
When he burst forward to finish off the "captured" Yorin, he suddenly saw that the one being pulled into the gravity core was just a shadow clone.
The real Uchiha Yorin—
—was right behind him.
Flying Thunder God.
Sensing something was wrong at the last instant, Yorin had used Hiraishin to jump outside Chibaku Tensei's pull zone. When the gravity increased again, trying to drag him back, he simply hurled a Lightning-Cut kunai, nailing the core and destroying it.
At the same time, he reappeared behind the Deva Path and unleashed his finisher—
Uchiha Dual Blade Style: Fivefold Monster Strength – Lightning-Flame Sword Dance!
Thunder and fire roared down toward Pain's back. If that landed clean, the fight would be over.
At that distance, using Shinra Tensei was too risky. And even Nagato had to admit that in straight taijutsu, he wasn't winning that exchange. So instead, he called for help—
The one who stepped in was the toughest defender among the Six Paths: the Preta Path.
Even though Yorin's sword style dealt both physical and chakra damage—making it something the chakra-absorbing Preta Path couldn't fully nullify—it was enough. With the sword's chakra stripped away mid-swing, the blow lost its killing edge, and the Preta Path managed to block the impact.
"Two-on-one? That doesn't feel very fair," Yorin complained, slipping away with another Lightning Flicker to avoid the Preta Path's counterattack.
"We are one," Nagato replied calmly. "Whether it's six against one or six against a thousand, there's nothing to argue about in terms of 'fair.'"
As he spoke, he lobbed another Chibaku Tensei, and the Preta Path moved to cover yet another Pain body closing in on Yorin—
The Human Path.
The Human Path's raw stats weren't impressive, but he was a disgusting mechanic check: get grabbed, lose your soul. Even if Yorin's immense chakra reserves meant he wouldn't get one-shotted, a single instant of soul extraction-induced stupor was enough to decide a fight.
"So desperate to win, huh?" Yorin snarled.
With the Preta and Human Paths backing him up, Deva Path grew much bolder. He no longer feared Yorin's sudden rushes.
What followed was a proper high-level ninja duel: both sides constantly shifting positions across the misty hills, trading devastating long-range jutsu.
To avoid civilian casualties, they didn't keep brawling inside the capital. Their fight drifted outward, toward the wild outskirts of the Land of Water.
Even the Land of Fire, richest of the Five Great Nations, has huge swaths of untouched wilderness. For a smaller, poorer country like the Land of Water, there were even more foggy, undeveloped ridgelines—perfect terrain for a final clash.
"Thank goodness. Those two monsters finally left."
"If they'd kept fighting in the city, the whole capital would've been leveled."
As the two figures shrank into the distance, still clashing while they moved, a lot of people finally exhaled.
The battle hadn't lasted long—just a handful of rounds—but with Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei flying around, the damage was insane.
Whole stretches of noble estates lay in ruins. A few unlucky aristocrats who hadn't run fast enough had been caught in the crossfire and died on the spot.
Of course, everyone knew who to blame: the evil "Pain" (Rinyo). The righteous Uchiha Yorin was blameless by default.
Quite a few nobles who'd heard Pain's earlier speech were still shaken.
They'd already made up their minds: once this was over, they would press the daimyo to lock down the shinobi class. They had to be kept loyal—no matter what.
If even a fraction of the shinobi world were inspired by Rinyo and decided to build some "Shinobi Empire," things would go very badly for the nobility.
"Let's use Uchiha Yorin as our entry point," some of them thought. "He's overwhelmingly strong, seems easy to talk to, and he's Konoha's Kage Assistant. He defeated this Rinyo traitor. If we work his status and pull the shinobi class onto our side, we might ride out this crisis.
And how do we win him over? Well… I've heard he's insanely lecherous, hasn't he? Daimyo may lack many things, but not 'beautiful daughters.' If he'll guarantee our dynasties and our lands, what's a hundred or so daughters for him to… 'enjoy'?"
…
Uchiha Yorin, for the moment, had no idea that the nobles had started drawing up recruitment plans targeting him.
If he did know, he'd probably freeze with a strained smile and insist, "I'm a professional. Nothing can make me laugh."
For now, the fight still had to be resolved, so none of that mattered.
And beyond the battlefield, even though the fight had moved into the countryside, everyone could still watch it live on TV.
All thanks to some very brave cats.
The Uchiha clan's ninja cats lugged cameras through the chaos, following the two combatants into the wilderness to bring the spectacle to the world.
Alongside the camera-cats, there were lighting-cats and a host-cat. It was the same crew that had filmed Yagura's "I hereby dissolve Kirigakure" tape last time.
Unlike that limited local broadcast, this was live, global coverage. The tapes and broadcast rights were already being shipped to every corner of the world—turning a profit and selling a whole lot of Uchiha-brand TVs in the process.
Ninja Cat Host #1:
"We're right here on the front line, risking our lives to bring you this live report!
Look, everyone—our great Master Yorin is battling the most terrifying, dangerous enemy the ninja world has ever known in a duel to the death!
Both fighters are moving ridiculously fast. Our great Master has turned into a streak of lightning in the mist—but the enemy is shamelessly fighting six-on-one! On top of those three bodies from earlier, three more have joined the field. The air is thick with tension, lasers, missiles, and shuriken—ah, ah, that's a summoning jutsu! So many gigantic summoned beasts joining the gang-up on Master Yorin!
It's outrageous. Absolutely unfair. I can barely stop myself from jumping in to help him. Don't look at me like that—back home among the ninja cats I'm actually really stron—WAAH!"
Ninja Cat Host #2:
"I regret to inform everyone that Host #1 has… uh… failed his saving throw and died horribly after rushing into the super-shadow fight. I, Host #2, will be taking over the broadcast!
Please look!
Even though Rinyo's being scum and fighting six-on-one, our great Master Yorin is still holding firm!
Under his Merit Wheel Kunai barrage, all those extra summoned beasts have been wiped out. That so-called Animal Path is already dead and gone.
Next up is the so-called Naraka Path. It got smashed to bits earlier—now it's totally out of commission!
It was that Naraka Path that summoned a creepy Hell King earlier to repair the shattered Asura Path. So naturally, Master prioritized deleting Naraka, and rightly so!"
…
Hearing Host #2's commentary, people across the world finally started to relax a little.
Good. Really good. Two of the six Pain bodies down meant the momentum was clearly in Yorin's favor.
That practically guaranteed his victory.
Those who could afford a TV weren't nobles, exactly, but they weren't peasants either. They were the little asset-holders—the urban middle class. They might hate nobles, and they might think nobles were all scum, but they still craved stability and peace.
They were the most sensitive to chaos, and the most terrified of it. Which made them the least likely to revolt, and the most desperate for Uchiha Yorin to win.
Their support probably didn't matter much, but they all felt it deeply anyway.
"So?" Nagato called out above the roar of another Shinra Tensei, batting away Yorin's Rasengan. "Did you get what you wanted?"
Thanks to the lack of chakra-broadcast, they didn't have to worry about every word being heard in the capital. They could talk more casually now.
"The propaganda effect is about what I expected," Yorin replied. "Loud thunder, light rain. But it's better than nothing."
He said this as he split off another shadow clone and launched a double Lightning-Flame Sword Dance.
It looked impressive as hell, but it wasn't enough to end the fight.
Even down two bodies, the remaining four Pains covered each other perfectly, with almost no openings. In a drag-out brawl, the tempo didn't favor Yorin.
Nagato warned him: "Just a reminder—if this turns into a war of attrition, the one who loses will be you."
"Oh? You really think so?" Yorin grinned. "You actually spotted one of my flaws. I'm impressed, Brother Nagato."
"Don't think you're the only one who's been improving," Nagato answered.
As they talked, they kept trading blows, turning vast stretches of wilderness from "wild and foggy" into pure cratered desert.
"So be ready," Nagato said. "Once you're beaten, I'm going to laugh my head off."
"Nice joke," Yorin replied. "But you're not going to get the chance."
As he spoke, his body started to glow.
It wasn't the harsh glare of Lightning Release chakra, but a soft, twin-colored gold-and-silver radiance that matched the light in his eyes—like sun and moon intertwined.
Had his Sharingan finally evolved? Into Rinnegan, maybe, or the Tenseigan, or a six-tomoe god-tier Sharingan?
No. Not yet. Yorin was leveling up, but not that fast.
This was natural energy.
From the sky, from the earth, from the ocean—from all of nature. All that power poured into Uchiha Yorin's body at once, making his strength climb, soar, explode upward—only the legendary First Hokage could compare.
Could compare.
No—by now, Yorin might already have surpassed the old legend. At least, that's how he felt about it.
"You really think you need a contract with one of the Three Great Sage Lands to use Sage Mode?" he shouted, laughing wildly. "What a joke. I refuse to be limited by 'canon setting' or 'tradition'."
Terrifying natural energy flooded into his armor. The youthful Takemikazuchi-class Susanoo he'd been using began to swell, rapidly expanding in scope and density.
First came the skeleton. Then chakra armor and "flesh" knitted over bone, molding into the form of a fully-armored, perfectly-shaped warrior.
Most Susanoo wielded the classic Three Sacred Treasures—mirrors and magatama and spiritual weapons. Yorin's fully-realized Susanoo held only one thing: swords. Eight massive nodachi, each tens of meters long, one in each of its eight arms.
It existed for one purpose: to let Uchiha Yorin bring his twin-blade style to its absolute peak.
No Mangekyō eye strain needed—just raw natural energy, pulled from sky, sea, and earth, and rammed into the construct. It became not just a Susanoo, but a Sage Mode Susanoo.
This was the true "invincible form."
Perfect Susanoo – Sage Mode.
"…This power…" Nagato whispered.
Even someone who wielded the Rinnegan—who'd touched pseudo-Six Paths-level techniques himself—felt his soul tremble.
Unlike Yorin's other cobbled-together move sets, this was a pure, terrifyingly clean technique.
It wasn't just stronger than a normal Mangekyō Susanoo, or even an Eternal Mangekyō's Perfect Susanoo.
This thing was a genuine, fully-fledged Six Paths-tier technique—on par with the kind of moves Kaguya Ōtsutsuki herself had used.
After conquering Iwagakure and attuning himself to earth-aspected natural energy, Yorin had completed his set: sky, sea, and land. He'd thought that might just let him upgrade his Thunder-Cloud Titan into some kind of primordial titan.
Reality proved even kinder: he'd stepped into Sage Mode, and not just any Sage Mode—Hashirama's Sage Mode.
The outlandish power to reshape mountains and seas had finally reappeared in the shinobi world, in Yorin's hands.
He was still a notch below peak Hashirama—for now. But given time, and combined with his Uchiha eyes, it wasn't impossible that he'd one day surpass even the God of Shinobi.
Who needed "Susanoo riding the Thousand-Hand Buddha"? With this, he alone was enough.
"This feeling… it's Brother's power," Tobirama murmured, stunned. "Uchiha Yorin… too terrifying… But why is he using my brother's techniques?"
Sensing that familiar aura, Tobirama shivered.
Could Yorin be… a Uchiha–Senju hybrid? If so, his push to merge the two clans suddenly made perfect sense.
If that was true…
Then maybe—just maybe—Tobirama could forgive being resurrected as a research assistant.
"If he can really revive Hashirama's greatness," Tobirama thought, "if he can truly unify the shinobi world and make Konoha prosper… then this 24/7 death-employee gig… might not be the worst thing."
"I have to confirm this," he muttered.
…
Up in the air, oblivious to Tobirama's mental gymnastics, Yorin advanced, Sage Susanoo towering over the landscape.
This was the trump card that made him confident he could beat Nagato even in a straight-up fight.
"Be honored," Yorin called. "This is the very first time I've used this technique—and I'm using it on you, Rinyo."
Head held high, aura blazing, he looked every bit the unhinged Uchiha who believed the world itself owed him an answer.
"Be careful," he added, voice dropping. "If you aren't, you really will die."
That warning wasn't just theatrics; Nagato could feel the sincerity behind it. If he slipped up now, if he didn't give this everything he had… Yorin really would kill him.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Faced with that looming, eight-bladed titan, Nagato's own pride ignited. As long as this wasn't some cheap Flicker/Hiraishin rushdown, he wasn't afraid.
If it came down to big moves with wind-up, then he had a card too.
Sure, he was down to four Paths, but his next Shinra Tensei—pushed with everything he had—would be close to a scaled-down Super Shinra Tensei. Fourfold Shinra Tensei, layered together.
The only question was: could Yorin's Perfect Sage Susanoo withstand it?
Nagato wanted to know.
He wanted to see whose ultimate strike was stronger: the Sage body, or his pseudo-Six Paths gravity.
He gathered power.
Yorin gathered power.
"Ready?" Nagato roared.
"Come on, then!" Yorin shouted back.
Sage Art: Uchiha Dual-Blade – Lightning-Flame Sword Dance ×4
VS
Shinra Tensei ×4
Four titanic slashes, each strong enough to split mountains and tear the sky, crashed into an explosion of repulsive force that seemed like it could crush heaven and earth.
And in a single instant, the "invincible" Shinra Tensei shattered.
Shattered. Shattered. Shattered—and then was annihilated.
After all, as close as the fourfold Shinra might be to a Super Shinra Tensei in raw pressure, it still wasn't a true Six Paths technique.
The Lightning-Flame Sword Dance, amplified through Perfect Sage Susanoo, was.
There was no stalemate, no delicate balance.
Just a clean, overwhelming crush.
The storm of lightning and flame swallowed Nagato whole.