Ripples in the rain-slicked surface. A boy in a straw hat and raincoat rose.
Fizz. The curse-mark gills on his face and the fins on his back faded away.
Beneath the hat's brim, Sharingan eyes scanned the cold, washed-out structures looming in the endless downpour.
Sasuke murmured, "Amegakure. Infiltration successful… But." He opened his palm, catching the relentless tap-tap-tap of the rain. A faint, pervasive chakra coated his skin. His mind clicked. "The Rain Tiger at Will Technique. I'll need to choose the battlefield carefully. Can't drag civilians into this."
Swish!
He shed the rain gear. Light, fast, he skimmed across the water's surface, heading for the most deserted district he could find.
He wasn't here for intel. Didn't need it.
He'd come to Amegakure for one reason: to settle the score with Pain. With Nagato.
Their sixth battle.
The central tower of Amegakure.
"!" Pain's head tilted slightly.
Konan stepped forward. "What is it?"
"My rain was blocked. The chakra signature… substantial." Pain strode onto the tower's outer sculpted ledge. "Konan. Once I stop the rain, use your technique to locate the intruder."
Konan brought her hands together in a seal before her chest. "Leave it to me."
Clap!
Pain clasped his own hands. "Now."
Whoooosh…!
Konan's arms spread wide. She tilted her head back. Her Akatsuki-cloaked body disintegrated into a storm of countless paper sheets, each one a conscious fragment of her will. They folded mid-air—transforming into a flock of elegant, darting paper shikigami that scattered across the entire village.
Ten minutes later, the flock reconvened at the tower, coalescing back into Konan's form. "It's Sasuke Uchiha."
"I see…"
Pain didn't seem overly surprised. "From Sasori, to Kakuzu… Whether by intent or accident, he has thoroughly disrupted my plans. I never intended for him to live long enough to meet Itachi. But because 'Madara' sees value in him, I turned a blind eye."
"Now, however… The hunt for the Eight-Tails is imminent. The Nine-Tails is already within our grasp. The point of divergence approaches."
"Madara's 'Eye of the Moon Plan' seeks to grant all humanity happiness within an eternal dream. But…" Pain's voice hardened. "…I want the world to know pain. What use is a dream? What I desire are tailed-beast weapons capable of wiping nations from the map! The clash between our ideals and Madara's… it will erupt soon."
"Sasuke Uchiha. This entity Madara is so eager to recruit… I won't simply hand him over."
"Since he delivered himself to our doorstep, I have no reason to let him leave."
Konan's orange eyes glinted. "My thoughts exactly. But before you arrive, let me test his capabilities."
"Go. If you can eliminate him, do so."
Pain turned, walking toward a hidden chamber behind the wall. The Deva Path body of Yahiko—Pain's primary vessel—lay back down in its coffin and closed its eyes.
Fizz. Fizz. Fizz.
In the three coffins lined up beside it, six Rinnegan eyes snapped open all at once.
A subterranean facility, a maze of massive drainage pipes.
Sasuke wrung the water from his cloak.
Whoosh—!
A hurricane of paper sheets screamed toward him!
Sasuke flashed back, watching as the papers coalesced mid-air into the form of a precise, beautiful woman with vast paper wings.
Sasuke's voice was flat. "Paper manipulation. The shikigami that tailed me before was your work. And that red-cloud cloak… You're a member of Akatsuki. Akatsuki operates in pairs. You're Pain's partner."
Shink! Konan's cold gaze fixed on him. The papers swirling around her twisted, sharpened—transforming into a hail of razor-tipped spears. Her hand rose.
—"By the will of God, you die!!"
Sasuke's hands flew into a seal.
—Wood Release: Wood Dome Wall!
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Wood erupted around him in a ring, curving inward and sealing shut above him—a perfect dome. The barrage of paper spears hammered against it, shattering on impact!
Crack!
The dome's apex split open. A white blur shot out.
Konan's eyes widened. "Too fast—!"
Shwoom…!!!
The blur materialized behind her. CRACK!!! A spear of shrieking, condensed lightning erupted from her chest!!!
Konan's form didn't bleed. It rippled. "The Chidori. Your signature lightning-piercing technique. I have some understanding of your abilities…"
WHOOSH!
Her body exploded into a blizzard of paper, flooding the space and cutting off every angle of escape! The swarm enveloped Sasuke in a crushing, tightening sphere!!!
Trying to crush me?
—"NO! TO PIERCE YOU!!!"
SNIKT! SNIKT! SNIKT!
The paper comprising the sphere instantly morphed back into countless spears, stabbing inward from all directions—turning the sphere into a porcupine's hide of lethal points!
"It seems… Pain's intervention is unnecessary."
Fwoosh.
But the pierced body within dissolved… into black flames.
—Blaze Release Clone!
The inferno ignited Konan's paper swarm!!!
"Damn it…!!!"
Her paper transformation broke. The flames caught her real body. She fell from the sky, a burning, crumpled shape.
Creeak.
Nearby, the wooden dome parted. Sasuke stepped out calmly. "One down…"
THUD!!
A shadow landed beside Konan—a bloated, corpulent man. He stretched out his hands, a translucent barrier shimmering around them. Shoop! The Amaterasu black flames clinging to Konan were forcibly peeled away and sucked into his palms!
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Direct absorption of my Blaze Release. That's the Preta Path of the Rinnegan."
Konan crouched, her cloak and clothes in tatters. Angry red burns marred her bare shoulders and back. She seemed less concerned with her injuries than with the two other figures now standing imposingly on higher ground.
"You brought three of the Paths…"
The Preta Path's voice was a dull rumble. "He has a record of killing multiple Akatsuki members. He even defeated Itachi. This is the prudent approach."
"Nngh…" A sharp flinch of pain escaped Konan as she tried to stand.
The Preta Path spoke quietly. "Konan. Return to my main body's side."
"…Understood."
She nodded, abandoning stubbornness. Paper wings flared, carrying her swiftly away from the battleground.
"I don't think so."
Sasuke's gaze sharpened. A skeletal, purple ribcage—the first stage of the Susano'o—manifested around him. A massive arrow of chakra formed and shot after the retreating Konan!
"DON'T GET CARRIED AWAY!!!"
POOM…!!!
A monstrous, multi-headed canine burst from a cloud of white smoke, descending with a roar. Its steel-like fangs clamped down on the chakra arrow, shattering it mid-flight. Konan vanished into the rain.
Sasuke's eyes lifted, tracing the creature to the man with the ponytail standing atop a giant lizard's head. "The Animal Path…"
Then, from the highest platform, the long-haired Path, his locks flowing like banners, planted a hand on his hip and declared, his voice echoing through the chamber: "Sasuke Uchiha! We are your opponents now!"
Sasuke's mind raced, analyzing. "The long-haired Path's ability is unknown. He didn't deploy all six Paths. He's holding back." A cold smirk touched his lips. Not that I'm being arrogant… but I'm really being looked down on here.
The Animal Path formed a seal.
—Summoning Jutsu!
POOM…!
From the smoke, a grotesque, spear-beaked bird dove, its sharp beak aimed like a lance at the Susano'o's skull!
Sasuke's Susano'o moved. A massive chakra sword swept upward in a punishing arc!
SCHLICK…!!
Blood and feathers misted the air. The bird was gone.
"Not bad…"
Shwoop!
The giant lizard's tongue shot out, scooping up the Animal Path before both vanished from sight.
The Preta Path stood ready, a gluttonous shield. The long-haired Path—the Human Path—leaped down from his perch, landing with a heavy thud.
—The sixth battle… began.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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