One-Tail. Four-Tails. And now, the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki as well.
And all of them possessed the Rinnegan.
The implication was obvious—
this was a new version of the Six Paths of Pain.
The existence of the Six Paths of Pain—six separate bodies—was already common knowledge throughout the shinobi world.
Sure enough, after several explosions echoed across the battlefield, two more figures appeared.
The Three-Tails Jinchūriki, and the Six-Tails Jinchūriki.
The Three-Tails' host was none other than Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage.
"Shinra Tensei."
A familiar voice rang out.
The Deva Path of Pain descended upon the battlefield, unleashing Shinra Tensei and blasting several shinobi away in an instant. A massive vacant zone—over a hundred meters in diameter—was carved out of the battlefield.
The Deva Path was still Yahiko—
the companion who held special meaning for both Nagato and Konan.
"Except for the Deva Path, the other five Paths all contain the power of tailed beasts!"
Neji spoke immediately, revealing Pain's secret.
And that revelation carried terrifying implications.
The Six Paths of Pain had undergone a complete upgrade.
What the Allied Shinobi Forces were facing was no longer just the power of the Rinnegan—but the combined might of five tailed beasts as well.
"Naruto, fall back!" Neji shouted. "Their real target is you!"
Uchiha Rokuro charged forward at that moment, instantly manifesting Second-Stage Susanoo—the same terrifying form Madara once used to slaughter shinobi across the battlefield.
Rokuro was among the first to participate after Rokuro publicly revealed the secrets of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Because of that, aside from Rokuro himself and Uchiha Izumi, Rokuro was the earliest—and most proficient—user of the Eternal Mangekyō's power.
His strength stood at the top.
Not only could he summon Susanoo, he could even activate his exclusive dōjutsu abilities.
And it wasn't just Rokuro.
With the appearance of the Six Paths of Pain, several other Uchiha who had awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan rushed onto the battlefield.
A high-level clash erupted instantly.
Yet Naruto did not retreat.
After following Rokuro for three years, his combat experience—and his understanding of the world—had grown tremendously.
He knew very well that sometimes, the most dangerous place was the safest one.
The battlefield ahead was filled with top-tier combatants—but precisely because of that, staying here meant he would be protected by multiple elite Uchiha.
If he moved away instead, he risked being ambushed.
Neji had initially intended to pull Naruto back, but after hearing Naruto's reasoning, he found it hard to refute.
"You're right," Neji said thoughtfully.
"I've heard that Uchiha Obito possesses a space-type Mangekyō ability—Kamui—that can pull people into its own dimension. Even our teacher was nearly caught by it back then."
"If you move away from here, Obito could easily ambush you. In that case… staying here really is the safest choice."
"Haha! Exactly," Naruto laughed.
"So not only can we not retreat—we should actually join the fight."
"Neji, we're facing the Six Paths of Pain, the ones said to be able to go head-to-head with Rokuro."
"I've even heard they nearly killed my grandmaster back then."
Naruto's "grandmaster" was, of course, Jiraiya.
Over the past few years, although Jiraiya and Tsunade had tacitly accepted Naruto as Rokuro's disciple, neither of them had given up on maintaining a close relationship with him.
After all, Jiraiya was Minato Namikaze's teacher.
With that connection, his relationship with Naruto—while not reaching the "teacher-and-friend" bond of the original timeline—was still very close.
Neji nodded slightly, then raised his hand and pointed toward the Deva Path.
"We've already gathered a great deal of intelligence on the Six Paths of Pain."
"That one should be the strongest. His Shinra Tensei controls repulsive force, allowing him to repel everything—people and ninjutsu alike."
"He can also manipulate attraction, pulling objects toward himself."
"It sounds simple, but in practice, it's nearly impossible to counter."
"However, during previous battles, we confirmed that Shinra Tensei has a five-second cooldown. If we want to defeat him, we have to exploit that weakness."
Neji and Naruto knew this.
And naturally, so did the Uchiha elites.
They prepared to act the moment the five-second window appeared—
But after the Deva Path blasted a Susanoo away with Shinra Tensei, only one second passed before he fired it again.
The five-second cooldown was gone.
Neji and the others were stunned.
At the same time
Several kilometers away, within a dense forest, Nagato was concealed atop a massive tree, hidden beneath Konan's Paper Release camouflage.
To control the Six Paths of Pain effectively, Nagato needed to occupy high ground to maintain signal clarity.
Compared to the original timeline, Nagato appeared noticeably younger.
His complexion was healthier.
And most importantly—
There was tailed beast chakra within his body.
Konan gazed at him quietly and let out a silent sigh.
Yes.
In this world, Nagato was also a Jinchūriki.
Compared to the original timeline, the Allied Shinobi Forces here were far stronger—especially with the emergence of so many Uchiha wielding the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
The pressure on Nagato was immense.
Because of that, he no longer proclaimed himself a god at every turn, nor did he believe himself invincible.
Otherwise, with the power of the Rinnegan, suppressing one tailed beast—
or even several
or even becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki
All of that would have been entirely possible.
In terms of talent—especially talent for becoming a Jinchūriki—Nagato far surpassed Obito.
Obito managed to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki with only one Rinnegan.
Nagato, with both Rinnegan and the Uzumaki clan's physique, would have done so with far greater ease.
After weighing the balance of power, the Nagato of this world chose not to posture.
Instead, he lowered himself and became the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki.
And it was precisely because of that tailed beast power that his strength increased dramatically.
The cooldown of Shinra Tensei had now been reduced to one second.
And this was only when controlling the Deva Path remotely.
If Nagato used it with his own body, there would be no cooldown at all.
"Nagato," Konan asked softly. "Do you want me to intervene?"
"There's no need," Nagato replied calmly.
"Konan, your task is to keep watch for Uchiha Obito."
"Ever since the general assault began, he's vanished. He's our real threat."
"I understand."
Konan nodded slightly, then activated her Paper Release, blanketing the entire forest in paper.
With this, anyone who stepped inside would be detected immediately.
The tree hollow where Nagato was hidden became the core of the defense.
Even if Obito used Kamui to appear suddenly, he would be sensed instantly—
there would be no chance for an ambush.
Both Nagato and Konan knew Obito harbored ill intentions.
But they also understood something else
To control the tailed beasts, one needed the Gedō Mazō.
And to control the Gedō Mazō, one needed the Rinnegan.
As long as the Rinnegan remained in Nagato's eye sockets, Obito would never truly be able to act freely.
What Konan didn't know—
Was that the moment she spread her Paper Release across the forest, Black Zetsu noticed it almost instantly.
He immediately informed Obito.
Obito let out a low, mocking chuckle.
"So I'm being underestimated, huh…"
"But Nagato will never realize this—
I'm not planning to attack him at all."
"Because he won't get past Uchiha Rokuro anyway."
"Black Zetsu, go prepare."
"The moment Nagato is killed, retrieve his eyes immediately."
"Understood."
Black Zetsu melted into the trunk of a nearby tree and began silently moving toward Nagato's location.
As Black Zetsu departed, a cold glint flashed through Obito's eyes.
"Black Zetsu…"
"Your true master is probably already near this battlefield, isn't he?"
"After you obtain the Rinnegan—
will you really hand them over to me?"
END OF CHAPTER
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