Shinju roared, his voice like thunder.
"Pain! Get out here right now!!!"
Below, the few remaining Amegakure shinobi trembled as they looked up at Shinju, towering like a god.
"Where is our god? Amegakure is suffering, why hasn't our god appeared yet?"
"Who the hell is this guy? Weren't all the Uchiha wiped out? How can someone still use Susanoo?"
"I heard there's still one Uchiha alive—Uchiha Sasuke. Could it be him? Did he come to Amegakure with Susanoo to take revenge on Itachi?" (꒪⌓꒪)
"Didn't you hear this guy shouting he wanted to see our god?!"
Not far from Amegakure's gates, Sasuke's face twisted in shock.
Th-this… isn't this overestimating him a bit too much?!
That wasn't him at all!!
"I'm saying, should we go help out?"
Beside him, Naruto suddenly spoke up anxiously.
His best friend was standing against an entire village alone. Even if he didn't join the fight, shouldn't he at least show some support?
"Can we even get involved in a battle at this level?"
Sasuke came back to his senses and shook his head.
While they were still talking, a figure appeared above Amegakure.
Shinju's vision was sharp. Even separated by several hundred meters, he could clearly see the man's face.
The man had short orange hair, three black piercings through his nose. Just as Fukasaku had described—it was Pain, the one who could manipulate attraction and repulsion.
"So, you're Jiraiya-sensei's disciple."
As Deva Path Pain appeared, his voice boomed. His violet Rinnegan fixed upon Shinju inside the Susanoo.
"And you think you have the right to speak Jiraiya-sensei's name?!"
Flames seemed to flicker in Shinju's Sharingan!
During his three years of traveling, he had heard Jiraiya speak of the time he had taken Nagato as his student.
It was precisely because he knew this that Shinju's rage toward the man who killed his master to prove his own "path" was even greater!!
But Pain's Rinnegan eyes carried no emotion. His tone was that of a god looking down with disdain upon ignorant mortals.
"Though you may have power, you are still nothing more than a human. Trapped by meaningless emotions. Someone like you will never reach the height of a god."
"And someone like you thinks you're fit to call yourself a god?" Shinju shot back coldly.
The next instant—
"Whoosh!"
The great wings of the Susanoo warrior flared, propelling Shinju straight toward Pain's position!
As he charged, the green warrior raised its Spiral Sword!
The tip of the Spiral Sword transformed into a high-speed spinning drill, thrusting directly at Deva Path Pain!
Pain swiftly raised his hand, a powerful repulsive force spreading out around him like a circular barrier.
"Shinra Tensei!"
"Shwaa!"
The immense repulsion stopped Susanoo's Spiral Sword just a few centimeters from Pain's body!
"Just as Fukasaku-sennin said… He can control attraction and repulsion. When he uses repulsion, no attack can get near him."
Shinju's brows furrowed inside Susanoo.
But…
He had one advantage—he never gave up until he tested things for himself!!
He wanted to see just how long this repulsive barrier could last!
"Whrrr—!!"
The Spiral Sword drill continued spinning at high speed, while Pain's hands remained outstretched, straining to maintain the shield!
The next instant, Shinju sharply noticed several missiles flying up from below!
With Susanoo active, nearly all physical attacks were nullified.
Shinju didn't even bother to look at the little missiles.
"Boom! Boom!"
As expected, the missiles exploded harmlessly against Susanoo's feet, failing to injure him at all!
Then, as Shinju pressed forward with the Spiral Sword, he sensed Pain's barrier weakening!
"Shwaa!" In a burst, Deva Path Pain's shield reached its limit!
Susanoo's warrior drove the spinning Spiral Sword straight through him!
"Splch!"
The strike pierced Pain's body clean through!
The Spiral Sword tore him apart into bloody fragments!
With absolute power, Shinju crushed Deva Path Pain. His mighty voice echoed across the skies above Amegakure:
"Anyone who doesn't want to die—get out of my sight!"
The native villagers, after witnessing Shinju's overwhelming might, didn't hesitate for a moment. They grabbed their families and fled in droves.
During this time, Shinju closed his eyes inside Susanoo, extending his sensory abilities across all of Amegakure!
Very quickly, he located five more Pains!
"There should be six. The real body is hiding."
Shinju frowned.
He had to admit—Nagato had hidden himself well, even managing to deceive his chakra perception!
"But I refuse to believe you'll stay cowering inside Amegakure forever."
Shinju's eyes went cold.
...
More than ten minutes later, everyone who could run had already fled Amegakure.
And during that time, Shinju obliterated the remaining five Pains with overwhelming force!
Though their abilities were indeed strange, in the face of absolute destructive power, they had no chance to even display them!
...
Outside Amegakure, Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a look.
"That's way too brutal! (°ー°〃)" Sasuke said.
Compared to Shinju's current display of power, the way he used to beat up Sasuke in the past… that was practically affection—gentle pats!!
"What's even scarier is his chakra! He's maintained this form for over twenty minutes already!" Karin said, her face flushed.
Sasuke nodded.
Susanoo was supposed to be the ultimate ability of the Mangekyō Sharingan, both offensive and defensive, but its chakra consumption was enormous!!
For Shinju to maintain it this long—it was terrifying!!
Suddenly, Naruto raised his hand in excitement, pointing toward Shinju.
"Look! Shinju's finally landing Susanoo's warrior!"
...
Inside Amegakure.
From within Susanoo, Shinju gazed down at the village built of steel and stone.
The next moment, he clapped his hands, directing Susanoo to slam its right hand down onto the ground!
"Wood Release! Deep Forest Emergence!!"
"Shh-shh-shh-shh—!!"
Massive trees burst up from beneath Amegakure's ground!
In no time at all, the entire village became a vast forest!
Through his Wood Release sensory, Shinju found the one person he had been seeking all along!
Dismissing Susanoo, he stepped onto a tree branch.
The branch, guided by his will, carried him directly into a chamber inside one of the high towers.
Inside, the room was already tangled with countless intertwining branches.
At the very center stood a strange machine. On it sat a red-haired man, gaunt and skeletal, his body pierced with black rods.
"So you're Nagato?"
Shinju asked.
But before he had finished the question, a shadow darted out from the side!
"Swish, swish, swish—!"
Countless paper shuriken flew at Shinju!
He raised a hand, and an ice shield materialized before him, blocking every single paper shuriken!
Then, he drew the Kusanagi sword from his waist.
"Slash!"
With one strike, he cut the shadowy figure clean in two!
As for who it was, or whether they survived—Shinju didn't care.
Right now, his eyes were only on Nagato.
"Yes."
Nagato answered Shinju's question, slowly lifting his head…