Boom!!
One explosion after another ripped through the cavern, and the entire underground space collapsed in on itself.
Terumi and her squad had barely escaped before the tunnel behind them was swallowed by falling stone.
"Shigure!"
Terumi froze, instinct telling her to rush back in—but her guards held her firmly.
"Fifth Mizukage, please! Lord Shigure will be fine!"
"Don't worry!"
But Terumi could not let herself relax.
Shigure's power was overwhelming—yes—but that also meant the slightest instability could become catastrophic. He had released both the One-Tail and Two-Tails simultaneously, and to her eyes, it looked like he had briefly lost control of their chakra.
Something unexpected had definitely happened.
And that terrified her.
If Shigure was in danger… it could spell disaster for everyone here.
Obito emerged from the debris, breath ragged. He glared at the scattered Mist-nin.
"Kirigakure…" he growled darkly. "You've ruined years of my plans. I won't forgive this."
He couldn't take Obito's vessel away now. Everything had fallen apart—Nagato was unstable, and Konan had been captured by Terumi. Obito didn't even need to warn Nagato.
Because at that very moment—
Nagato felt Konan's chakra fading.
And he snapped.
He tore through several Mist-nin with a single strike, then shot forward like a crimson bolt, heading straight toward her.
"Someone's coming!" Terumi warned sharply.
A heavy crash echoed as Nagato landed before them.
His eyes locked on Konan, limp in Yukio Nami's arms. Her breathing was weak, her body pale.
"Give her back to me… now."
Nagato raised his hand.
Banshō Ten'in.
Konan's unconscious body flew straight into his arms.
"Konan! Konan!"
No response.
Nagato's expression twisted, grief turning instantly to rage.
He turned toward Terumi and the others.
"You dared to harm her… You all deserve to die!"
His Shinra Tensei blasted outward in a violent shockwave.
Hiroshi, Yumiko, and Kage moved instantly, flooding their bodies with tailed-beast chakra to shield Terumi.
The mist-nin skidded back—but held their ground.
Nagato's lips curled.
"Good. So you are Kirigakure shinobi. That makes this simple."
His chakra surged. "I'll take you all."
But before he could attack—
A deafening roar burst from beneath the rubble.
Two enormous shadows erupted from the ground, stones flying in every direction. Nagato flicked his arm, effortlessly blocking the debris. Terumi's group shattered the pieces flying toward them.
They looked up.
"Is that… Shigure?" Terumi asked.
But when the dust cleared—
It wasn't Shigure at all.
It was—
Shukaku, the One-Tail.
Matatabi, the Two-Tails.
Both stood above ground, eyes glowing an enraged crimson.
The shockwaves from the cavern collapse had jolted them violently free—now they were in a full bijū rampage.
"This is bad!" Terumi hissed. "They're in a berserk state!"
Even weaker tailed beasts, when enraged, could raze a village.
Matatabi slashed through a row of buildings with a single swipe.
Shukaku inhaled deeply, gathering a vortex of chakra in its maw.
"He's forming a Tailed Beast Bomb! Stop it—quickly!"
Terumi moved, only for Nagato to grab her arm.
Banshō Ten'in activated again—dragging Terumi toward him.
"Are you serious—now!?"
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
Scalding magma erupted around her, blasting toward Nagato.
Nagato frowned.
His Rinnegan rippled.
Preta Path—Absorption.
Her lava vanished instantly.
Terumi twisted free during the brief stall—but she had no time to face Nagato.
She turned to strike Shukaku before it fired the Tailed Beast Bomb.
But Nagato wasn't letting her go.
He set Konan gently on the ground—
And then launched himself forward, accelerating straight toward Terumi.
"Give me… die!"
Nagato lunged toward Terumi—but before he could strike, Kagera flashed in with twin ninja blades, slashing in a desperate attempt to intercept him.
He never stood a chance.
Shinra Tensei exploded point-blank.
Kagerō was blasted away, crashing into the stone with a thud that stole his breath.
Nagato didn't slow for even a heartbeat. He burst straight toward Terumi, fist drawn back, intent on crushing her—
But Terumi was focused entirely on her Water Release, trying to interrupt Shukaku's preparations for a Tailed Beast Bomb.
She had no space—none—to defend against Nagato's attack.
And then—
A thunderous crack split the air.
Bang!
A massive, blazing claw smashed into Nagato mid-charge, sending him flying into the side of a building.
Nagato slid to a stop, head snapping upward.
Matatabi, the Two-Tails, loomed above him, its chakra burning in violent blue flames, eyes blood-red with rage.
"You dare get in my way…? You damn beast!"
Nagato's chakra erupted.
The cloak of the Eight-Tails flared to life around him—raw, crushing power.
He thrust out his hand.
Banshō Ten'in
Matatabi was wrenched forward through the air—yet the raging Two-Tails showed no fear, only feral hostility.
It opened its jaws and hurled a blazing fireball.
Nagato raised his cloak-covered arm; the flames washed over it harmlessly.
With a cold expression, he flicked his wrist—
A volley of black receivers shot out, stabbing into Matatabi's body. The beast howled in fury, growing even more frenzied.
Its flames detonated outward, swallowing half the battlefield in a sea of blue fire.
Terumi, startled, redirected her prepared jutsu toward Matatabi instead.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Water surged forward, clashing with the flames. Steam erupted violently as the two jutsu canceled each other out.
But Shukaku was ready.
The One-Tail fired its Tailed Beast Bomb straight toward Terumi, Nagato, and everyone nearby.
A sphere of condensed destruction tore across the landscape.
Terumi's breath caught.
There was no time.
She couldn't stop it.
But Nagato moved.
He stepped in front of the blast, thrusting out a single hand.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The impact detonated like a thunderclap.
Tailed Beast Bomb and gravitational force collided in mid-air, locked in a vicious struggle. For several agonizing seconds the two forces warred—
And then Shinra Tensei pushed through.
Cracks rippled along the surface of the Tailed Beast Bomb—
Bang!!
It was blasted aside, sent spiraling into the distance.
"He… he blocked a Tailed Beast Bomb…?"
Hong stared, stunned beyond belief.
The combined power of the Eight-Tails' chakra and the Rinnegan was terrifying—all the more so when wielded by someone as naturally destructive as Nagato.
Buried beneath tons of stone, Shigure felt the shockwave.
Not bad, Nagato. Truly not bad.
But he could not move—not yet.
The chakra inside him was still fusing…
changing…
reshaping itself into something new.