Chapter 38: Divine Punishment
"Almighty Push!"
On the chaotic battlefield, the Deva Path brought its hands together. An invisible shell of repulsive force erupted, enveloping it completely.
Thunder roared down from the heavens, striking the ground where the Path stood. But each bolt was deflected, ricocheting away as if hitting an impenetrable, unseen dome. Within the blinding flashes of light, a faintly shimmering circular barrier could be glimpsed around the Path, holding firm against the celestial onslaught.
Let's see how many seconds your Almighty Push can last against this, Uchiha Akira thought, a cold sneer forming in his mind. Nagato had only recently embraced his darker path; his mastery of the Six Paths was still immature, evidenced by him fielding only three Paths. But even if all six were here, in the heart of this rain-lashed, thunder-filled country, Akira held the advantage. This wave, this terrain, was his.
"Not good!"
Sensing the thunder's intensity growing exponentially, Nagato's heart lurched. His violet Rinnegan blazed as he poured a torrent of ocular power through the invisible link to the Deva Path on the battlefield.
"Hah!"
A fierce shout tore from the Deva Path's throat. Its eyes bulged, and a terrifying wave of repulsive force exploded outward.
For a moment, the dense, field-like barrage of lightning was forcibly blasted apart, creating a temporary safe zone over ten meters wide around it.
"Interesting," Uchiha Akira murmured, a genuine smile touching his lips.
Crackle-ZZZT...
The next moment, the sky went mad.
The lightning in the clouds convulsed, then descended not as individual bolts, but as a cascading, continuous waterfall of raw electricity. It poured from the clouds in a relentless, dazzling river of pure power.
"Damn it...! How can his Lightning Release control natural thunder this precisely?!" Nagato, safe in his distant cave, felt a cold sweat break out on his brow. There was no time for analysis. He channeled more Rinnegan power—the Deva Path, Yahiko's body, could not be lost!
"Hah... AAAAAH!"
Within the buckling repulsive barrier, the Deva Path's face contorted grotesquely, its usual impassive expression shattered. The river of thunder hammered down, compressing the Almighty Push barrier relentlessly until it was a mere two-meter sphere around the Path's body.
Strands of lightning now pierced the weakened defense, scorching the black cloak with red clouds, leaving blackened trails and raising wisps of acrid smoke from the Path's form.
"HAH!"
Another surge of power from Nagato. The Deva Path's Rinnegan flared violently, and a repulsive force far greater than before burst forth. For a moment, it actually managed to shatter the descending river of thunder, scattering it back into a chaotic storm of lightning that raged across the landscape.
Seizing the momentary respite, the Deva Path moved. It blasted forward at its maximum speed, a blur aiming to escape the devastating thunder zone. It had to get out of the area of effect, or it would be worn down and destroyed.
Seeing this, Uchiha Akira flexed the fingers of his outstretched right hand. The lightning in the clouds responded, coalescing into thick, branching bolts that connected sky and earth, crashing down with earth-shaking force around the fleeing Path.
For a moment, the Deva Path was in a wretched state. Even a body reinforced by Yin-Yang Release could not endure repeated direct strikes from nature's fury. The Animal Path and its summoned beasts dared not enter the thunder zone, lingering at its edges. It had abandoned the chase of Aburame Shiigo and Hyuga Kaoru. The survival of the Deva Path was now the absolute priority.
On a distant hilltop, Uchiha Obito watched the roiling thunderheads, his exposed scarlet Sharingan reflecting the cataclysm. A look of deep solemnity passed through his eye.
In his vision, the sky above Uchiha Akira's battlefield was a maelstrom of incessant lightning. Dazzling bolts gathered from all directions to converge there. The endless thunder rumbled with such power that even with Uchiha Madara's legacy, Obito could recall few ninjutsu of comparable scale and ferocity.
"This technique harnesses nature's own wrath. Even Madara in his prime could only meet it head-on," Obito muttered, his voice low. A jutsu of this magnitude, perfectly suited to the environment, was a nightmare for most. For him, with Kamui, it was manageable, but for others...
The speed of lightning was one of the fastest attacks in the natural world, impossible to evade under normal circumstances. While not truly the speed of light, it was far beyond any ninja's reaction time.
"The Deva Path Nagato created is about to be finished," Black Zetsu's raspy voice emanated from their shared form. He looked at Obito. "Obito, even your Kamui may be too slow now. The attack speed of that lightning is extreme."
"It's too early for such conclusions," Obito replied coolly. "Do not forget, Nagato can still summon the Gedo Statue. I doubt a statue that has already consumed the Six-Tails would be destroyed by an attack of this level."
"Heh..." Black Zetsu chuckled darkly. "This level of power is far from enough to harm the statue. Not even close."
"I do not wish the statue damaged regardless. It is essential for becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, the cornerstone of the Infinite Tsukuyomi," Obito stated, his gaze fixed on the distant storm.
"Have no fear," Black Zetsu said with confidence. "An attack like this will, at most, inflict superficial damage. As we capture more tailed beasts and seal them within, the statue will regenerate completely."
"The strength of this Uchiha Akira is not to be underestimated," Obito's eye narrowed, a flash of icy murderous intent within it. "I will find an opportunity to eliminate him later."
Back on the battlefield, the celestial phenomena underwent another, more terrifying change.
The roiling thunder convulsed and gathered as if something monstrous was gestating within the clouds. Dense, countless bolts of lightning surged and writhed, stabbing through the sky to pierce the earth.
The Deva Path, still trapped within the thunder zone, was in dire straits. Its black cloak was burnt and tattered, revealing a powerfully built torso. Its spiky orange hair was singed black. Within the domain, lightning fell like a rain of divine swords. It could only rely on preemptive intuition to move; dodging after the lightning was fired was impossible. The speed of thunder was half that of light itself—no ninja could react in time.
No...! Yahiko's body cannot be destroyed here! Seeing the ominous transformation in the sky, Nagato made a desperate decision. He knew the opponent's true finishing move was arriving.
A new, deeper roar emanated from the heavens. Within the coalescing lightning, the faint outline of a sword began to take shape—a sword forged entirely from concentrated thunder.
This lightning blade voraciously devoured the spreading electrical energy around it. It swelled in size, then condensed, then swelled again as it consumed more power. With each cycle, it grew more immense, more solid.
Finally, hovering in the sky above the battlefield, there materialized a lightning sword larger than a mountain peak. It radiated an aura of absolute, world-ending destruction, its light illuminating the heavens and casting the sodden earth below in stark, terrifying relief.
(End of Chapter)
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