"Who am I?"
Natsume tilted his head slightly and gave a light chuckle. "Naturally, the Sixth Hokage of Konoha."
Obito Uchiha went silent for a moment.
This guy was pretending to be clueless.
"Is that all the leader of Akatsuki can do?" Natsume asked, ignoring him and turning to Deva Path Pain.
"If so," he continued, "you won't make me feel the pain of losing Konoha."
Deva Path Pain remained expressionless, but Nagato, who was manipulating him from behind, had already turned grim-faced.
Beside him, Konan wore a deep look of worry.
The battle hadn't gone at all as expected.
She couldn't shake a sense of dread.
Without speaking, Deva Path Pain briefly brought his hands together.
The previously destroyed Human Path and Preta Path were dragged away by Naraka Path.
They were sure to revive, as always.
Asura Path detached his wrist from his arm, pulling out a string of missiles from the severed area and aiming them directly at Natsume.
But he didn't attack first.
He merely prevented Natsume from moving forward and disrupting Deva Path Pain's technique—
Chibaku Tensei.
An advanced sealing technique of the Rinnegan.
In terms of power, it surpassed both regular Shinra Tensei and Universal Pull.
A massive amount of chakra gathered, quickly forming a black sphere between Deva Path Pain's palms.
A shockwave rippled outward.
Deva Path Pain glanced at Natsume and Kaguya otsutsuki, who still hadn't moved, then snorted coldly.
So arrogant!
The black sphere automatically floated upward.
Following its normal trajectory, it would absorb everything nearby on a large scale while forming a massive rocky sphere around the enemy, leaving them trapped.
In the original story, Deva Path Pain had once used this move against Naruto Uzumaki.
Of course, in terms of effect, nothing could compare with Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei performed by the Sage of Six Paths, which created an actual moon.
Though they shared the same name, these two techniques were essentially no longer the same jutsu.
Natsume looked at the black sphere.
They were in the Forest of Death now.
If allowed to take full effect, it might even reach Konoha's borders.
That wouldn't be worth it.
Natsume clapped his hands together.
[Sage Art: Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees]!
However, this time no new trees appeared.
He poured all his chakra into the Forest of Death.
At the exact moment the black sphere emitted its suction force, countless vines and branches shot up toward the sky, wrapping around it.
In an instant, it was as if sealed, frozen in midair.
Deva Path Pain froze.
Although he still had a connection to the black sphere, he could no longer control it.
Natsume shattered his beliefs once more.
Doubt began creeping into his mind.
Am I truly a god?
Then why can't I even defeat a Hokage?
After consecutive defeats, Kakuzu and Obito Uchiha began to rethink their positions.
Kakuzu, being more pragmatic, started thinking whether he should flee if Deva Path Pain truly couldn't win.
Obito, however, gawked in disbelief. Weren't the Rinnegan supposed to be unbeatable? Were Madara and Zetsu just feeding him lies?
Obito Uchiha couldn't help but feel annoyed. How did it come to this?
Deva Path Pain regained his composure and quickly joined both hands.
The remaining Five Paths all collapsed, their chakra converging into one body, causing his aura to surge to an extreme level.
This sudden change immediately energized Kakuzu and Obito Uchiha.
As expected, the Rinnegan wasn't just that simple.
Once the Six Paths merged, Deva Path Pain could use Super Almighty Push—
It was regarded as one of the Rinnegan's ultimate abilities.
In the original story, it instantly reduced the entire Konoha Village to rubble.
It was practically unstoppable.
"You two hold him off for a moment while I deal with him."
Deva Path Pain immediately ascended into the air.
The power of Super Almighty Push truly was terrifying.
But he doubted whether it would be enough to defeat Natsume.
However, that wasn't his target anyway—his goal was Konoha Village.
As long as Konoha was destroyed, the mission would succeed.
Because of Natsume's extraordinary strength, Nagato had altered his strategy directly.
Kakuzu and Obito exchanged shocked glances.
You expect just the two of us to stop him?
Fortunately, Natsume didn't move at all, as if completely ignoring them.
Both felt somewhat insulted, yet helpless.
Neither wanted to fight Natsume head-on.
At this point, they could only rely on Deva Path Pain.
High in the air,
Deva Path Pain raised his hand, massive chakra gathered in midair.
Natsume saw this and clasped his hands together.
Kakuzu and Obito Uchiha noticed his movement, expressions shifted slightly, and they prepared to intervene.
But the next moment, unimaginable pressure spread outward in all directions.
Forced backward, their faces filled with horror.
What the hell is this?
Even facing tailed beasts, they'd never felt like this before.
As though they were mere ants—
Tiny and powerless.
[Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!]
Natsume narrowed his gaze.
A gigantic Senju Kannon avatar spanning across the sky appeared.
Obito Uchiha instinctively opened his mouth wide.
This has got to be fake! My Wood Release must have been a counterfeit!
A wave of doubt washed over him.
Back when he first obtained Wood Release, he'd actually felt quite pleased.
After all, everyone knew the legend of Hashirama Senju, the God of the Ninja World.
But soon, he sensed something was off.
Wood Release shouldn't be this strong.
Now he suddenly understood.
It wasn't that Wood Release was weak—it was that *he* was.
Oh…
The impact of the Senju Kannon before him surpassed even the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
He felt like his Mangekyo might not even be worth mentioning.
Would Kamui even be able to contain this?
It was utterly absurd!
Kakuzu swallowed hard.
Long ago, he'd fought against Hashirama Senju.
But more accurately, it had just been a spar.
Hashirama hadn't even used his full strength.
Even so, he nearly lost his life.
Now another Hashirama appeared.
He silently took a step back.
Deva Path Pain, suspended midair, was startled.
Suddenly, a gigantic Senju Kannon avatar appeared right in front of him, staring straight back.
It felt just like a scene from a horror film.
Deva Path Pain had seen the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path before, but now he was stunned to realize that the Senju Kannon avatar was just as formidable.
Judging purely by size, it gave him the exact same feeling.
Immeasurably vast.
He suddenly hesitated.
Would his Ninjutsu actually work?
But quickly, he gritted his teeth and released the technique immediately.
From him as the center, invisible waves radiated outward.
At that moment, the Senju Kannon avatar moved as well.
Todoroki!
[Super: Almighty Push] crashed into the Senju Kannon avatar's arms.
Infinite chakra surged like a tidal wave, converting into whirlwinds that spread outward in wave after wave.
Natsume's heart stirred.
The trees within the Forest of Death raised their barriers, blocking the shockwaves from reaching Konoha Village.
Deva Path Pain began falling downward.
The toll of [Super: Almighty Push] was immense.
It required the combined power of all six Paths and drained Nagato's own life force.
After using this technique, Deva Path Pain would be unable to use any Ninjutsu for a certain period of time.
In other words, this was his last resort.
If it failed, then he had no choice but to deploy his primary body.
However, the state of his original body remained uncertain.
When the dust finally settled, Deva Path Pain looked up and saw the Senju Kannon avatar completely unharmed, falling into a silence deeper than death itself.
(End of chapter)
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