‘Pain… or rather, Nagato…’
With the aid of his Mangekyō Sharingan, Fugaku could clearly see the man before him.
The black cloak embroidered with crimson clouds.
The pair of icy purple Rinnegan.
And that emotionless face that looked down upon the world like a god gazing at insects.
Surprise.
That was Fugaku’s first reaction.
This had genuinely fallen outside his plans.
According to the “future” he knew, the Akatsuki at this stage should still have been lying low, hiding underground like moles, quietly gathering funds, recruiting members, and accumulating strength.
His own damned son had even secretly helped them quite a bit.
So why was Nagato here?
And why had the Deva Path appeared personally?
Honestly, Fugaku was curious.
Surely this wasn’t just coincidence.
But in the end—
The reason no longer mattered.
Fugaku could clearly read Nagato’s lips.
“He is dangerous.”
“So… I will grant him death.”
By all logic, Nagato should have rescued Obito and left immediately.
Starting a war against him made little sense.
Of course—
Fugaku wasn’t afraid.
The reason was simple.
He had always been someone who planned three moves ahead.
The only time he hadn’t…
Was when he got hit by a truck and ended up reincarnated into this world.
Today’s battle had been against Obito Uchiha, one of the three ultimate bosses of the entire story.
There was no such thing as being “too cautious.”
How could he possibly not have prepared backup plans?
It was just that this version of Obito was weaker than expected, leaving all of Fugaku’s hidden preparations unused.
Which worked out perfectly.
Because now—
Those preparations could be used against Nagato instead.
Standing motionless where he was, seemingly waiting for the enemy to attack, Fugaku was actually contemplating something else entirely.
Could Nagato’s appearance—
Could Akatsuki revealing itself ahead of schedule—
Be turned into an opportunity?
Because before today, he had already been thinking deeply about his future path.
The good news was that after obtaining the Blade of the Underworld Mire Swamp, he had gradually formed a vague idea.
But it still lacked clarity.
Now, however—
The moment Nagato appeared…
The moment those Rinnegan locked onto him…
That idea finally became crystal clear.
So this battle—
Not only would he fight it—
He would also…
Win.
Meanwhile, Nagato’s Rinnegan remained fixed on Fugaku.
The Rinnegan possessed telescopic vision, magnification, and even penetrating sight by default.
Because of that, Nagato could clearly see Fugaku’s expression.
No fear.
No tension.
No hesitation in the face of overwhelming power.
Instead—
Nagato saw the exact same emotion reflected in Fugaku’s eyes.
A hunter looking at prey.
Nagato viewed Fugaku as prey because he threatened the tailed beast plan.
And Fugaku…
Was looking at Nagato the very same way.
At that moment, Nagato suddenly thought of Itachi Uchiha.
That conflicted young man who, for the sake of his so-called “peace,” had chosen to massacre his own clan.
A father capable of speaking words like “Unite everyone who can be united”—
How could such a man raise a son like that?
Honestly, Nagato could only arrive at one explanation.
Fugaku had never truly taught his son at all.
Or perhaps—
To conceal his true self, he had deceived even his own child.
All for the sake of leading the Uchiha away from Konoha.
No matter the reason, Nagato knew one thing for certain.
His decision today had been correct.
Because if he let this man continue growing—
One day he might face an even more terrifying enemy.
Nagato slowly raised his hand toward Fugaku.
Bansho Tenin activated instantly.
“BUZZZZ——!!!”
An invisible gravitational field exploded outward from the Deva Path’s palm.
Far away, Fugaku’s body suddenly stiffened.
It was as though an enormous invisible hand had seized him.
His feet left the ground instantly as he shot toward Pain at incredible speed.
Broken stones.
Chunks of dirt.
Charred splinters of wood.
Even scattered kunai and shuriken in the distance—
Everything was violently dragged toward Pain like metal drawn into a giant magnet.
“Dear!!”
“Fugaku!!”
Mikoto and Mei cried out almost simultaneously.
Both instinctively tried to rush forward—
Only to forcibly stop themselves midway.
Because—
“ROOOOAR——!!!”
A deep growl erupted like the roar of some abyssal beast.
The black mire beneath Fugaku’s feet suddenly boiled violently.
Countless torrents of viscous sludge exploded skyward, rapidly condensing and taking shape midair.
In an instant—
They transformed into a massive black dragon formed entirely from mud.
The sludge dragon moved even faster than Fugaku himself being dragged by gravity.
It spiraled around him protectively.
Its enormous body coiled around Fugaku while its head rose proudly into the air, the Blade of the Underworld Mire Swamp clenched within its jaws.
Its crimson eyes locked directly onto Pain.
That alone proved one thing.
Fugaku still had the ability to fight back.
The dragon had reached him before the pull could fully drag him away.
That was proof enough.
So neither woman rushed forward again.
Even the Hidden Mist shinobi were stopped by Mei with a single command.
“All forces, fall back!”
Mei’s voice was calm and decisive.
“This isn’t a battle we can participate in.”
Not a single shinobi argued.
After witnessing Konoha’s barrier technique…
After seeing Pain’s unimaginable power…
Everyone understood.
Those abilities were beyond them entirely.
The destruction they caused seemed even greater than the Fourth Mizukage’s Tailed Beast Bomb.
In Hidden Mist history, the last shinobi who possessed power on this level was the long-dead Gengetsu Hozuki.
Against monsters like these—
Two or three hundred shinobi meant nothing.
There was already historical precedent for this.
During the Third Shinobi War, Third Raikage had single-handedly held off ten thousand Iwa shinobi to protect his retreating forces.
He fought for three days and three nights before dying from exhaustion.
And despite ultimately killing him, Iwagakure had reportedly lost at least five thousand shinobi, including huge numbers of elite ninja.
Because the Third Raikage had never intended to survive.
He spent his final moments hunting only the strongest enemies.
In the blink of an eye, Fugaku was pulled directly in front of Pain.
Yet—
Just two meters away—
He stopped abruptly.
Because the black mud dragon wrapped around him had fused part of its massive body into the earth itself.
The surrounding land within dozens of meters tilted and bulged upward as though the entire terrain were being uprooted.
The ground strained violently toward Pain—
But ultimately held its position.
The gravitational pull was neutralized.
Seeing someone resist Universal Pull, Pain’s expression remained emotionless.
He simply raised his other hand.
“SHING——!”
A black metal rod shot from his palm like a bolt of lightning.
Straight toward Fugaku.
“CLANG——!!!”
The mud dragon suddenly opened its jaws and spat out the Blade of the Underworld Mire Swamp.
The blade traced a black arc through the air—
And intercepted the rod perfectly.
For the first time, surprise flashed across Pain’s eternally calm Rinnegan.
Even shock.
“Glorp… glorp…”
A disgusting sound echoed through the battlefield, like a swamp devouring prey.
The black blade suddenly liquefied into viscous mud.
The sludge rapidly crawled along the rod, swallowing it whole.
That black receiver—
A weapon capable of suppressing even jinchūriki—
Melted away before Pain’s eyes.
Completely consumed by the mire.
Then the sludge flowed back through the dragon’s body before reforming into the ancient blade within Fugaku’s hand.
Fugaku smiled faintly.
With a twist of his wrist, he spun the sword through a graceful flourish.
Then—
He stomped downward.
BOOM!
The black dragon exploded with terrifying force, launching Fugaku forward like a cannon shell.
He became a streak of black rushing straight toward Pain.
Pain remained expressionless.
Flipping both hands outward, he drew two black rods and charged forward as well.
Blade met rod.
A deafening metallic explosion erupted across the battlefield.
Visible shockwaves exploded outward from the collision point, flattening the already ruined ground once again.
Using the recoil force, Fugaku advanced instead of retreating.
He unleashed a relentless barrage of slashes.
Every strike tore through the air with shrill screams.
Each blade arc carved massive trenches into the earth while shattered stones flew like bullets in every direction.
Against such savage attacks—
Pain, who also lacked true close-combat mastery, could only rely on the overwhelming visual prowess of the Rinnegan to react and counter.
How should one describe it?
To the observing Hidden Mist shinobi—
Neither of these men deserved to be called masters of swordsmanship or staff combat.
But if any of them personally stepped into that battlefield—
They’d probably be hacked apart within three strikes.
Or smashed into meat paste after two blows.
The reason was actually pretty simple.
Fugaku’s blade was fast and powerful.
Pain’s black rods were powerful and fast.
“CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLAAANG——!!!”
As the battle intensified, the sound of blade and rod collisions became increasingly frantic, like torrential rain battering the earth.
Neither fighter remained rooted in one place anymore.
They flashed across the battlefield at terrifying speed, weaving through ruins and collapsing structures.
The fortress that had originally been built to resist Konoha had already endured Black Hoe Raiga’s heavenly lightning and Pain’s Shinra Tensei.
Now—
It finally collapsed completely.
Meanwhile—
Another wall shattered beneath Fugaku’s slash.
Pain instantly retreated several meters, creating distance for the first time since the close-quarters clash had begun.
His Rinnegan glanced briefly toward the black rod in his hand.
During that short exchange alone—
He had already gone through three rods.
And the current one had less than half remaining.
After a brief silence, the Deva Path absorbed the damaged rod back into his palm.
Then he slowly raised his hand toward Fugaku, who was charging at him again.
“Shinra Tensei…”
The calm voice echoed out.
BOOOOM——!!!
An overwhelming repulsive force exploded outward once more from Pain’s body like an invisible hammer smashing into the world itself.
It slammed directly into Fugaku.
Almost simultaneously—
Another black mud dragon burst upward from underground, coiling protectively around Fugaku.
Its enormous body fused tightly with the earth below.
“THOOOM~~~”
A heavy, elastic impact rang out.
The force of Shinra Tensei crashed into the dragon’s massive body.
Fugaku and the dragon were blasted backward together—
Yet the dragon’s tail remained deeply embedded in the ground, carving a massive trench through the earth as it dragged backward.
The dragon forcibly dispersed the impact little by little.
SPLASH…
Mud scattered everywhere.
Fugaku calmly stepped out from behind the collapsing dragon.
Not even dust clung to his clothes.
Using that brief opening, Pain suddenly extended his right hand toward the distant forest.
“Universal Pull.”
WHOOSH!!
In an instant, another figure was violently dragged across the battlefield.
The newcomer wore the same black cloak with red clouds as Pain and landed beside the Deva Path without hesitation.
“Summoning Technique!”
BOOM!
A gigantic crab appeared instantly.
It was roughly the size of one of Jiraiya’s giant toads.
The Animal Path…
Fugaku immediately recognized it.
According to the original story, Nagato had once explained why the Six Paths of Pain existed at all.
Because his crippled body could no longer fully wield the Six Paths powers himself, he had been forced to divide those abilities among six corpses through the Rinnegan and black receivers.
Each body specialized in only one path.
And the one proficient in summoning techniques—
Could only be the Animal Path.
As Fugaku narrowed his eyes in thought, the giant crab slowly rose to its feet, carrying both the Deva Path and the Animal Path atop its shell.
Towering over the battlefield, Pain clearly had no intention of giving Fugaku time to think further.
“BOOOOM——!!!”
The massive crab charged forward like a moving mountain.
Each of its eight thick legs shook the ground violently every time they struck the earth.
Facing the gigantic creature, Fugaku’s gaze sharpened.
The black mire beneath his feet erupted once again.
A mud dragon even larger than before burst upward.
The colossal dragon wrapped around the giant crab like a massive serpent.
Sticky black sludge instantly coated the crab’s shell and legs.
Then—
It tightened.
Compressed.
Restricted movement completely.
At the same time, the black mire began spreading outward across the crab’s body, clearly attempting to fully envelop and seal the summon.
However—
Just as the sludge covered most of the crab—
“GLOOP… GLOOP GLOOP…”
The crushed portions of the crab suddenly began regenerating.
New crab heads grotesquely sprouted from the shattered areas, bubbling and twitching hideously beneath the dragon’s pressure.
The Animal Path formed hand seals.
“Water Release: Wild Bubble Wave.”
“FWOOOSH——!!!”
Every mutated crab head opened its monstrous mouth at the exact same moment.
Then—
An absurd quantity of bubbles erupted outward.
Literal floods of them.
Like a dam collapsing.
The sheer volume surpassed the combined Water Release assault of the two hundred Hidden Mist shinobi earlier.
In mere moments, the entire battlefield around them transformed into a massive churning lake of murky foam-filled water.
The water level rose visibly by the second.
Bubbles exploded everywhere under the torrent’s violent pressure, scattering through the sky itself until it seemed the heavens had been swallowed by foam.
But the truly terrifying part—
Was the nature of the water itself.
The black mire created by Fugaku’s Yomi Swamp possessed strange adhesive and sealing properties.
Yet the instant it touched the bubble-filled water—
It was as though it had encountered its natural predator.
The sticky sludge rapidly dissolved and diluted.
Its eerie pulling force vanished.
Its cohesion collapsed.
The mire quickly degraded into ordinary murky black water, dispersing uselessly across the battlefield.
Most shocking of all—
The enormous mud dragon itself, despite being nearly as massive as the crab, began melting visibly like wax dropped into boiling water.
Its body dissolved and collapsed in chunks.
Then—
For the third time—
The Deva Path slowly raised his left hand toward Fugaku.
“Universal Pull.”
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