A special thank you to my patrons:
—Jacob Mooe, kevin Williams, Archer, Acedia, kurtis newman, Nhoxious Little Sand, sediaz.
You can read 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
-------------------------------------------------------------
"So... what will you do now?"
Kagaya stared coldly at Pain as he spoke.
This was a warning to Pain.
The Naraka Path was now gone. That meant Kagaya could kill freely. Among the five remaining Paths of Pain, Pain couldn't possibly protect them all. While the Naraka Path was alive, Kagaya's wanton killing wouldn't matter—no matter who he killed, it was useless as long as the Naraka Path lived. But now that the Naraka Path was dead, any further Paths of Pain that fell... would be dead for good. No more resurrections.
Pain still wore that same dead man's expression, utterly devoid of any emotion. Or rather, Pain's body was a corpse to begin with, making it difficult to display any other expression.
But deep inside, Pain was genuinely panicking. Not only was this person before him absurdly powerful, but he also seemed to possess an extremely deep understanding of the Six Paths of Pain. Facing this man, Pain could scarcely see any chance of victory.
In another tall tower, the emaciated, skeletal Nagato, ensconced within a massive machine, suddenly lifted his head. His eyes opened. The purple Rinnegan was revealed.
"Uchiha Kagaya... as I thought... I have no choice but to use that technique..."
"Nagato!"
Konan, standing nearby, spoke with intense worry. After leaving Pain's side, she had immediately rushed to where Nagato's real body was located, to watch over him.
Nagato closed his eyes again. He seemed utterly exhausted.
"Konan... you know as well as I do. That man is simply too powerful. I can no longer hold back my strength. The Tailed Beasts are vital instruments for us to achieve peace. They absolutely cannot be surrendered. I... I must realize the peace that Yahiko envisioned! Even if the process isn't what Yahiko would have hoped for... I must still achieve the result Yahiko hoped for."
Konan looked at Nagato with a face full of sorrow. She, of course, knew exactly what Nagato intended to do.
"Nagato... your body won't be able to withstand it."
Just how frail Nagato's body was—there was truly no need to elaborate. One glance at Nagato's real form said it all. He was utterly emaciated, skin and bones. At a single look, he seemed steeped in the aura of death, as though he might pass away at any second.
Among all the current top-tier powerhouses of the shinobi world, Nagato was probably the only one whose physical body was even worse than Kagaya's.
Nagato lowered his head, submerging his face once more into the shadows. His consciousness fully concentrated onto the Paths of Pain.
"My body... my lifespan... none of it matters anymore. Konan... I have never expected to live long. I only hope... that within my lifetime... I can see... see... cough, cough, cough..."
Toward the end, Nagato broke into violent, wracking coughs. Paired with his emaciated frame, it truly seemed as if he was about to die.
Yet, in this very moment—just this single moment—that frail man, usually so steeped in the twilight of death, suddenly shed much of that deathly aura. He seemed, for an instant, to have become young again. Like the youth who had once chased his dreams. Even though his head was lowered, even though his face couldn't be seen, in this moment, Konan could clearly sense it—he was smiling.
He swept away the deathly aura from his body. He suppressed his coughing. And he traced the faint outline of a smile.
These few actions drained all the strength from his entire body. But he absolutely had to do them. He had to use his very best state to speak those words.
"...see true peace!"
This was Nagato's lifelong pursuit. He had already lost far, far too much. The death of his dearest friend. The collapse of his own body. Looking back over his life, Nagato always seemed to be accompanied by tragedy. But fortunately, the heavens had not entirely abandoned him. He had met a best friend named Yahiko. He had met a best friend named Konan. He had met a teacher named Jiraiya.
They were surely the best of friends, surely the best of teachers.
They had taught Nagato what "peace" was. To this very day, he had left his teacher, and one of his dearest friends had died. But what had never changed was the yearning for "peace" that Nagato had inherited from them. Perhaps the methods differed. Perhaps the means were too extreme. But that youth bearing the Rinnegan—his dream, from beginning to end... had never once changed!
Peace!
Grant me strength, Yahiko.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
One after another, the Paths of Pain collapsed to the ground, as if they had lost every ounce of strength. In the end, only Pain remained standing before Kagaya.
Kagaya's brow was tightly furrowed. In his perception, all the Paths of Pain had lost their chakra. Every last drop of chakra was now concentrated to an extreme degree within Pain's body!
This was...
An almost imperceptible bead of cold sweat trickled down Kagaya's forehead. In this moment, he genuinely, unmistakably felt a sense of crisis. In the current era, there were truly very few individuals who could instill a sense of crisis in Kagaya. He had to admit—was this the Rinnegan's power after all?
"Hey! Karin, Haku, and Ajisai—get close to me!"
Having shouted this, Kagaya fixed his gaze dead on Pain. He had no attention to spare for Karin and the others' reactions. All his focus was now trained on Pain.
Pain brought his hands together, then parted them. A tiny black dot appeared in his palm. An extraordinarily profound, deep black. It seemed as if all creation would perish within it. Even the space around it was faintly distorting.
Kagaya's eyes instantly flew wide open. He truly hadn't expected that Pain could actually bring himself to use this technique within his own village!
On pure reflex, Kagaya prepared to use the Flying Thunder God to escape this place with Karin and the others.
He had absolutely no desire to clash head-on with the Planetary Devastation. A technique of this caliber—the chakra required to break free from it was unfathomable. If he could escape, why would he ever choose a direct confrontation?
It was precisely at this moment that the tiny black dot left Pain's hand and slowly drifted toward the sky.
Kagaya froze. He looked around him. The scenery hadn't changed. The figures hadn't changed. Pain was still there. The tiny black dot was still there.
The Flying Thunder God... had failed?!
What was going on?!
He tried again!
Useless... useless... still useless!
Kagaya think hard. It seemed... he would have to face the Planetary Devastation head-on.
The tiny black dot of the Planetary Devastation emitted a terrifying gravitational pull that severely disrupted the surrounding space. Kagaya simply couldn't use space-time ninjutsu to escape!
Come to think of it... Kagaya suddenly remembered. Kaguya also seemed capable of using space-time ninjutsu. And hers was even more advanced, directly possessing several personal dimensions. Yet, Kaguya had still been sealed by the Planetary Devastation.
Looking at it this way, it made perfect sense that the Planetary Devastation could suppress space-time ninjutsu. Otherwise, it could never have sealed Kaguya in the first place.
But... understanding this now was utterly useless!
The Planetary Devastation was absolutely incomparable to the Asura Path's earlier attacks. It was one of the relatively more powerful abilities of the Rinnegan. Although it seemed to be Pain's single strongest technique, it was still more than enough to give Kagaya a world of trouble!
The Rinnegan was, and always would be, the Rinnegan. It wasn't something the Eternal Mangekyo could compare to!
After sending the tiny black dot out, Pain drew a deep breath, then shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Planetary Devastation!"
The moment these words fell, the devastation began!
Gravitational force fully radiated from the tiny black dot. The tall towers of the Hidden Rain Village were ripped apart one after another, torn from their foundations and hurled into the sky.
Kagaya's Susanoo was no exception. It was directly pulled toward the heavens by the immense gravitational force.
Kagaya raised the sword in his Susanoo's hand and slashed directly at Pain, aiming to cut him down.
But Pain had long since prepared for this. He swiftly leaped aside, evading Kagaya's attack.
Gradually, Kagaya was pulled higher and higher. The buildings rising from the Hidden Rain Village's surface obscured his vision, preventing him from seeing Pain. If he couldn't see Pain, it meant Kagaya's sword couldn't strike him across the distance.
Kagaya swung his sword continuously, cleaving apart the buildings that blocked his line of sight. But there was no helping it—the Planetary Devastation's gravitational pull was ever-present. Buildings rose from the ground one after another. Obstacles blocking Kagaya's vision were constantly present. There was simply no end to them—he couldn't cut them all down!
At this very moment, chaos began to erupt among the residents of the Hidden Rain Village.
"H-Hey! Wh-what's going on?!"
"Why are the buildings flying into the sky on their own?!"
"Not good! I can feel some strange force too! It's not going to suck us up as well, is it?!"
"Run!!!"
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! What the hell is happening?!"
There were those who remained calm, those filled with terror, and those raging in helpless fury. In an instant, the entire village descended into chaos due to the appearance of the Planetary Devastation.
"Everyone, get down!"
An authoritative voice boomed from high above. The crowd looked up and saw a man clad in a black robe patterned with red clouds.
"Ah! It's Lord Pain!"
"It's Lord God!"
"We're saved! Quick, get down!"
"Get down! Get down!"
Pain hovered in midair, looking down at the masses of people throwing themselves to the ground below. His expression was utterly blank.
Right now, he needed to exert every ounce of his strength to suppress the Planetary Devastation's gravitational pull, preventing it from affecting the people at the very bottom.
Although the Planetary Devastation would destroy many structures in the Hidden Rain Village, Nagato had no desire to kill a single innocent civilian of the village in the process.
Even if doing so cost even more of Nagato's lifespan.
As it was, for Nagato to execute a technique of the Planetary Devastation's caliber was tantamount to burning his very life away. Every single second drained his lifespan. This was why Nagato had said earlier that he had never expected to live long. The very moment he decided to unleash the Planetary Devastation, it was destined that Nagato would lose a massive amount of his remaining life. This was also why Konan had tried so desperately to stop him.
In the sky above.
Golden Susanoo was now completely plastered with rocks and debris on all sides. Kagaya had tried numerous times to break free, only to find that escape was utterly impossible. Every time he shattered the rocks around him, even more rocks came surging in.
The speed at which he destroyed them couldn't keep up with the speed at which the Planetary Devastation drew them in!
And moreover, as the rocks and debris clinging to Kagaya's surroundings grew more and more numerous, the chakra he could command was also growing less and less!
This Planetary Devastation... it could also suppress chakra.
Gradually, Kagaya could no longer even maintain his current Susanoo, let alone expand it.
So this... was the Rinnegan?
Cold sweat streamed down Kagaya's forehead. He had been far too careless. If he had gone all out from the very beginning, disregarding everything and activating his fully formed Susanoo, he likely could have shattered the Planetary Devastation.
But his momentary hesitation had allowed the Planetary Devastation to continuously suppress his chakra. Now, he no longer had the ability to manifest his fully formed Susanoo!
If this continued... he would truly be sealed!
Disrupting space, suppressing chakra. Come to think of it, the Planetary Devastation wasn't an offensive ninjutsu at all. It was a sealing technique—and a Six Paths-level sealing technique at that!
If used by Six Paths-level figures of Asura and Indra's caliber, it could even seal Kaguya!
Kagaya panted slightly, frantically racking his brain for a solution. As time passed, even mobilizing his chakra was now becoming difficult!
As long as Kagaya remained inside the Planetary Devastation, he would be continuously weakened. Until the very end, he wouldn't be able to muster even a single wisp of chakra!
What to do?
What to do?!
In the sky, Pain was also panting heavily, gasping for breath, watching the Planetary Devastation gradually take shape above.
Executing this technique hadn't been easy for Pain either. His current condition was no better than Kagaya's.
Pain and Kagaya—one outside the Planetary Devastation, one inside. Separated by thick layers of rock, yet both seemed able to see the other. This was their final standoff!
Both of them understood clearly: once the Planetary Devastation was fully formed, Pain would be the victor.
And if Kagaya broke free before the Planetary Devastation was fully formed, Kagaya would be the victor.
Once the Planetary Devastation was complete, Kagaya could never break free.
If Kagaya broke free before it was complete, Pain, in his current state, would have no strength left to resist.
Thud! Thud!
Rocks, one after another, filled into the Planetary Devastation, like the tolling of a death knell by the Grim Reaper, relentlessly reminding Kagaya.
The Susanoo began to shrink. From six meters, to four meters, to three meters... until finally, only a ribcage barely enveloping Kagaya remained.
At long last... a shade of purple eyeshadow materialized at the corners of Kagaya's eyes!
Kagaya clenched and unclenched his fist, feeling the power within his body. Just as he thought—the Planetary Devastation could suppress chakra, but it couldn't suppress natural energy. Or rather, its suppressive force wasn't as strong against natural energy as it was against chakra.
However, when Kagaya used Senjutsu to activate his Susanoo, he found that it still wasn't much use. Relying solely on Senjutsu, he still couldn't sustain a sufficiently powerful Susanoo.
If Kagaya had learned Ryuchi Cave's Inorganic Reanimation, perhaps there might still have been hope. But the problem was... the current Kagaya only knew Senjutsu. He didn't know any Senjutsu techniques.
At this point, Kagaya truly began to feel a sense of despair. Was he really going to be brought down by a single Planetary Devastation?
Thud. Thud.
Rocks, one after another, surged onto the Planetary Devastation. The Grim Reaper's tolling never once ceased.
Finally, as the last "toll" fell...
The Planetary Devastation... was complete!
Kagaya had utterly lost any hope of breaking free from the Planetary Devastation.
In the sky, Pain let out a slight sigh of relief. This standoff... he had won.
In a certain corner, Nagato, whom Konan had moved to the ground to avoid the Planetary Devastation, also lifted his head and smiled.
"Although he was very strong... in the end, he still couldn't surpass the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths."
Konan, however, paid no mind to the fact that they had defeated Kagaya. She simply looked at Nagato with concern.
"Nagato... you can't keep pushing yourself like this!"
Nagato nodded.
"I will, Konan. Alright... let's finish off Uchiha Kagaya. He's far too powerful. To prevent him from obstructing peace, we must kill him."
Konan nodded. Wings sprouted from her back, and she soared high into the air, preparing to kill the now-defenseless Kagaya within the Planetary Devastation.
BOOM!
The earth suddenly shuddered violently.
Nagato jolted in alarm. He lifted his head and looked at Konan in the sky. He opened his mouth, about to ask Konan what had happened.
But before Nagato could even voice the question, he saw it. Vast swaths of white appeared, obscuring his vision. An enormous, colossal shadow loomed over Nagato—loomed over the entire Hidden Rain Village!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The earth trembled without cease, like the unbridled fury of nature itself.
A titanic white beast emerged out of nowhere. Its dolphin-like head bore a massive horn. Its body possessed the sleek, flowing lines of a white steed. Behind it trailed five enormous tails.
This colossal white beast, using its horn, without the slightest shred of hesitation... rammed its head straight into the Planetary Devastation, smashing it open!
In an instant, shattered rocks flew in all directions. Kagaya, who had already fallen into despair, suddenly felt his body lighten. His suppressed chakra began rapidly recovering.
The very moment he broke free, Kagaya saw that gargantuan white beast.
The white beast also saw Kagaya.
One human. One beast. Their gazes met.
The white beast smiled gently.
"I remember... those eyes of yours."