Beneath a sky choked with gray clouds, the wind howled even fiercer.
As they spoke, the giant creature, molded from flowing mud and stone, had already lifted into the air. Its long body coiled and twisted like a dragon or a snake, instantly ascending to higher skies.
Nagato looked up, meeting those golden eyes. The colossal shadow seemed to press down, carrying with it the fury of the storm.
'Do I still have to keep fighting?'
Orochimaru's question echoed in Nagato's mind, scattering his thoughts and burdening him with worries.
In the past, whether for survival or various goals, he had no choice but to fight. But now, Nagato questioned the meaning of this battle.
Was it merely to vent his anger?
Despite his reluctance, Nagato had to admit that the future of the ninja world had already changed. For a ninja of his level to interfere in the world now, sheer military might wouldn't be enough.
Looking at Orochimaru's current performance, his size far surpassing that of the Tailed Beasts and his power at the level of a natural disaster, if he were to fight with all his might, the Hidden Rain Village nearby would undoubtedly be destroyed, and this was clearly not Orochimaru's limit.
If two of such power clashed, the outcome would bring immeasurable destruction to the ninja world.
But if not through force, what methods would he use in the future?
The Akatsuki's goal was to destroy all ninja villages, to control the world with a unified force of mercenary ninjas. The foundation for achieving this was absolute military power.
But the problem was that military power was not absolute now. There were ninjas in the world he couldn't eliminate, villages he couldn't destroy. How could he achieve his goals?
In the past, it would have been fine. He could just continue to improve his strength, or even use other means. But now, he had to consider another matter: the cost of eliminating Orochimaru.
"Why has it come to this…"
Had all the hardships he endured ultimately led to nothing?
"No, it absolutely can't be like this!"
Nagato's eyes blazed, clear and sharp.
Even if he couldn't advance in the same direction as before, the goal of achieving world peace was undoubtedly right. Before finding a new path, he absolutely could not hand the ninja world over to Orochimaru.
Right now, he couldn't afford to end up in a weaker position. At the very least, he had to defeat the mud-and-water snake in the sky.
Nagato glanced at the Iron City hidden in the mist, a flicker of apology in his eyes, which then turned firm. He reached a hand towards the sky, and a tremendous pulling force erupted.
Beneath the dark sky, the dancing dragon-snake froze. Orochimaru instantly felt the extension of his body become rigid, unable to move forward or backward.
This state clearly wouldn't last long, but Nagato's all-out effort to control his body clearly had another motive.
"Nagato… it looks like he's going all out."
This situation was somewhat beyond Orochimaru's expectations. Based on the information he got from Jiraiya and Nagato's usual behavior, with the world changing so drastically and his illusion suddenly shattered, he would most likely hesitate and be lost in the current situation.
Genie Lamp said that Nagato lost his friend Yahiko because of this reason in the past.
And even if Nagato had grown now, after both sides had revealed comparable strength, it was highly probable he wouldn't choose to turn hostile. Especially now, when he wasn't at his full power.
With this current display, if a battle were to erupt between them, at least half of the Hidden Rain Village would be destroyed.
"Looks like this won't be an easy win…"
Orochimaru felt a pang of regret. It was a shame to encounter such a good opportunity.
If Nagato had backed down this time, even if they had equal strength, the other party would never be able to stand tall again, and the subsequent series of tactics would be easier to implement.
"However, if you want to fight, then let's fight."
Nagato had made up his mind, and he would naturally respond with an even more resolute attitude.
Even if this place were Konoha, Orochimaru wouldn't retreat an inch, let alone this place which didn't restrict him from going all out.
"Roar!"
Winds from all four directions, clouds from all eight moved. Above the dark shadow, a pair of golden eyes shone ever brighter.
As Orochimaru struggled against the immense pulling force, his gaze pierced through the cloud cover, looking towards the higher skies.
In the distant heights, just within the reach of his senses, another pulling force from Nagato was descending fiercely towards him.
"It's a meteor…"
Orochimaru realized. To destroy his current body with a single blow, a meteor of comparable size, capable of using gravity to its advantage, was undoubtedly an excellent choice.
"But no matter how powerful an attack is, if it doesn't hit, it's useless. What makes you think…"
He was about to utter a customary taunt when he met a pair of blood-red eyes. On that face, which showed little emotion, was a very clear stubbornness.
Orochimaru became slightly serious, his golden eyes flashing. He intended to stage a diversion.
Although this temporarily created vessel was powerful, it was ultimately not his true body and was unharmed. There was no need to pay too great a price to protect it.
This was a simple cost-benefit analysis. He wasn't the Nagato opposite him, and there was no need to fight for pride.
As this thought crossed his mind, before Orochimaru could act, he suddenly felt the body lighten. The pulling force on him vanished. Almost instinctively, his body began to dodge, retreating into the clouds.
A while later, a meteor with a diameter of a hundred meters finally arrived, falling from the sky.
Boom!
On the lake, a water pillar over a hundred meters high erupted, sending vast waves rippling outwards in all directions.
Orochimaru looked down at the lake surface gradually returning to normal, then turned his gaze to the stunned Nagato. Deep confusion filled his snake eyes.
He could feel that it was far from Nagato's limit just now. And even if he were to concede, the body he himself had personally strengthened was definitely not capable of only this much.
As this thought crossed his mind, Orochimaru didn't hesitate. Controlling his snake form, he lunged forward.
In the blink of an eye, he had closed the distance to Nagato. His snake jaws opened wide, revealing rows of terrifyingly fine teeth. Falling into this mouth, one would be torn to shreds in an instant.
But at that very instant, a bright blue projection shot out from Nagato's body. Orochimaru felt as if he had hit a wall of iron.
The next moment, his snake tail was seized by a powerful hand and flung away forcefully.
Amidst the roaring wind, Orochimaru created distance, stabilized himself, and as he looked back towards Nagato's direction, deep surprise filled his eyes. "This is… Susanoo?"
With wings on its back, clad in heavy armor, wearing a Tengu mask… this humanoid warrior form holding a long sword was undoubtedly the form of Susanoo.
The difference was that this blue projection in front of him was nearly two hundred meters tall, far more imposing than Shisui's.
Orochimaru showed a hint of confusion. "He can actually use Susanoo…"
On the other side, after Nagato had averted the crisis, he didn't press his attack any further. Instead, he stood in place, examining the warrior projection surrounding him.
Susanoo… the ability of the Uchiha Clan's forbidden eyes.
As a fellow eye technique user, Nagato was no stranger to this information. But he never expected that one day he himself would be able to use such an ability.
Could it be that his Sage Eyes had some connection with the Uchiha's Sharingan?
"No, absolutely impossible. My mother is from the Uzumaki Clan, and my father was just an ordinary person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have died so easily. He…"
Nagato's expression grew complex. He suddenly recalled his father's black hair and black eyes.
Unlike the Byakugan, the Sharingan was not something every Uchiha awakened. In other words, based on appearance alone, there was no way to tell them apart.
"No, that's not right. Perhaps eye technique users, once they reach a certain level, can all learn this Susanoo."
This possibility wasn't out of the question. With Nagato's current eyesight, it wasn't difficult to see that Susanoo was the materialization of spiritual energy. And there were no weak spiritual energy users among eye technique users. Possessing eye techniques was already an indication of strong Yin Release.
His Sage Eyes clearly surpassed the Mangekyo Sharingan by an immeasurable amount. It wasn't strange that he could materialize spiritual energy.
"Yes, it must be like this."
Although there were still many unusual aspects, such as why the materialized form was identical to that of the Uchiha Clan, Nagato already leaned towards this possibility.
His parents were mistakenly killed by Konoha ninja. His teacher was one of the Konoha Sannin. His companion died because of a Hokage advisor… He was already too entangled with Konoha, and he couldn't add any more.
Shaking off the杂念 in his mind, Nagato's body merged into the hexagonal gem on his forehead. His gaze shifted towards the monster's silhouette, which was faintly visible in the gray clouds.
Earlier, using all his strength, dividing his attention to control Orochimaru while also pulling the meteor, was ultimately just a temporary measure.
Now that he had Susanoo, he no longer had to worry about confronting Orochimaru.
With a decision made, Nagato flapped his wings and flew, controlling Susanoo, straight towards Orochimaru.
The long sword in his hand shone brightly. A beam of azure lightning, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, slashed down heavily towards the snake's head.
"Just in time." Orochimaru's body shrank, avoiding the slash as his snake coils became like a spring.
The next moment, his body shot out like an arrow, smashing heavily into Susanoo's face. The latter retreated over a hundred meters under the immense impact.
But Orochimaru only glanced at it before knowing it was unharmed. "Tch… Purely physical attacks aren't very effective."
Despite being a product of materialized spiritual energy, it reacted well to physical attacks.
"Then, how about this…"
Orochimaru's golden eyes flashed, and he raised a hand to push. The clouds around Susanoo surged wildly, above and below.
Rumble…
Nagato, not understanding what was happening, had no time to react when a purple lightning bolt flashed, striking the massive Susanoo.
Even with the thick layers providing cover, Nagato felt an intense paralyzing sensation. If he took a few more hits, he might lose control and fall from the sky.
Enduring the discomfort in his body, Nagato flapped his wings to dodge, raising his long sword and breaking through the mist below, moving away from the thunderclouds in the sky.
"Heh… Running to where?" Orochimaru's lips curled into a slight smile as he watched Nagato's lightning rod-like posture, continuing to gather clouds to create heavenly lightning.
Rumble, rumble, rumble! The sea of clouds and lightning intertwined, illuminating the entire Daichi.
After Susanoo was hit twice more, Nagato finally grasped some of the details. He simply landed on the ground, using his long sword to attract and conduct the lightning, thus avoiding the tremendous heavenly might.
At the same time, Nagato divided his attention. He used the Rinnegan's eye technique to tug at Orochimaru's body, disrupting its actions, aiming to pull it to the same level before engaging in a duel.
Beneath the dark sky, lightning flashed, the lake water churned, and two giant monsters stirred up a tempest, each using their abilities. The battle grew fiercer.
Obito, who was watching from the sidelines, retreated another five hundred meters and landed on a treetop. The crimson eyes reflected the white-hot duel, but his pupils held no spark. He was still immersed in the shock of Nagato using Susanoo.
Frankly speaking, this ability wasn't uncommon. Every pair of Mangekyo Sharingan could use it. Some only differed in color, weapons, and the completeness of their form.
Susanoo wasn't so powerful as to be comparable to the other abilities of the Rinnegan. It only offered a slight advantage when fighting large-bodied enemies…
But despite its many flaws, Susanoo was undeniably one thing: it was the Uchiha Clan's signature ability.
No matter how powerful Nagato had been before, whether it was the Rinnegan's supreme eye techniques like 'Chibaku Tensei,' 'Shinra Tensei,' or even the resurrection Jutsu 'Gedo: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu,' Nagato could absolutely not use Susanoo.
Obito's eyes were hollow. The information Uchiha Madara had imparted to him upon his death swirled in his mind.
Because Susanoo was the Uchiha Clan's symbol, when Uchiha Madara gave the Rinnegan to Nagato, he had imposed a certain restriction, preventing him from using or even perceiving this ability.
These were Uchiha Madara's own eyes, containing a large amount of his spiritual energy and even fragments of his soul. Of course, he could do something like this.
In other words, Nagato's successful use of Susanoo now meant he had broken through the Rinnegan's restrictions. Even more so, after collecting all the Tailed Beasts, he might even qualify to activate the 'Moon Eye' plan.
The thought sent a wave of fear through Obito.
What he had now, more than Nagato, was only the knowledge and information inherited from Uchiha Madara. And all this information might not be traceless.
Especially now, with the pressure of Orochimaru on Nagato's head, he would never be as passively idle as before. Instead, he would unleash all his power to defeat this formidable enemy.
So how long could this information remain hidden from this man?
Obito clenched his fists, his face ashen, bloodshot veins faintly visible in his crimson eyes.
He wasn't entirely clear why the situation had changed so rapidly. It had only been a few months since Nagato and Orochimaru clashed in Konoha.
Not only had he emerged from the basement, but his strength had also improved drastically. He had even completely mastered the Rinnegan.
Could he still fulfill his wish, use Nagato, and then cast him aside?
It probably wouldn't be that easy. Just the eye technique called 'Rinbo: Hengoku' alone greatly increased the difficulty.
What could he do to regain the advantage?