Chapter 215 – You Haven't Changed at All
BOOM——!
The Rasengan infused with planetary force clashed violently against Nagato's Super Shinra Tensei. The collision unleashed a cataclysmic shockwave, tearing the earth apart and birthing a mushroom cloud that devoured everything in its wake.
Even Nagato, for all his might, was sent hurtling back, his body battered by the destructive energy he could barely withstand. He tumbled across the ground before managing to plant his feet firmly, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath. His robes hung in tatters.
Across the battlefield, Kitagawa Gen was nowhere to be seen. Only when the storm of power subsided did his figure flicker into existence atop a ruin, completely unscathed.
"Not bad," Gen said with a faint smile. "I'll admit, you've improved."
"Hmph."
Nagato scoffed coldly, though the sight of Gen's unharmed body made his heart tighten. He knew this man's strength better than anyone, and though he calmed himself quickly, he couldn't shake the unease.
"So it's the Flying Thunder God… no wonder you can slip through everything unscathed. That space-time ninjutsu really is troublesome."
To Nagato, Gen's survival owed everything to his teleportation—but even he couldn't deny the terrifying power behind that strange Rasengan, which had clashed head-on with his Super Shinra Tensei.
But what was that energy? Nagato wondered, unsettled. He had no time to dwell on it, however. Gen was already moving.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees."
With hands clasped together, countless vines erupted from the ground, weaving into a forest of colossal trees. Their buds swelled with ominous flowers, and with Gen's chakra surging, a gigantic wooden golem roared as it rose to the heavens. Gen stood upon a wooden dragon that coiled beside the golem like a guardian beast.
"Nagato," Gen said with a casual chuckle, "you're not the same as three years ago."
His eyes sharpened. "And that means you're no mere thug anymore. I'll have to go all out!"
Nagato frowned. What does he even mean by that? But instinct told him this was no time to hesitate.
"Fine. Only by crushing you can I clear the path to Ōtsutsuki Genshiki!"
With a roar, his chakra surged once more, and he hurled himself at the towering wooden titan.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The battlefield quaked as their powers collided again, the ruins splitting further apart.
Not far away, Black Zetsu's figure emerged from the shadows, his gaze fixed on the clash.
"…Such terrifying power," he muttered.
Beside him, White Zetsu trembled violently, barely able to endure the oppressive chakra. "That Kitagawa Gen… he's incredible! Even Nagato can't shake him!"
"I know."
Black Zetsu's eyes gleamed. Gen's strength was growing beyond expectation—yet that only confirmed his suspicions. Ordinary humans, no matter how gifted, had limits. Without a powerful bloodline, one could never transcend those bounds. After all, all chakra originated from his mother.
"Unless… one takes that nearly impossible path—fusing the Kekkei Genkai into the Kekkei Mōra."
He clenched his fists. "Gen's mastery of so many bloodline abilities, his endless growth… perhaps my guess was right. Perhaps he carries the blood of the moon—and it's already awakened."
His breath quickened. "If that's true…"
"Um… Blacky," White Zetsu stammered nervously, "shouldn't we… move further away? It's getting way too dangerous here!"
Black Zetsu snapped in irritation. "Tch. What are you afraid of? If it gets bad, we leave. You weren't this scared in Konoha!"
"That's different!" White Zetsu whined. "Back then we were just planting fakes—no real fighting! This… this is a death zone!"
"Shut up! And don't speak of that again!" Black Zetsu growled, silencing him.
But even as he tried to ignore him, his eyes were drawn back to the battle—just in time to see Nagato overwhelmed.
The forest pressed in on all sides. Vines lashed at him like whips, the wooden golem and dragon constricting his space. And Gen's Flying Thunder God made him utterly unpredictable, striking from every angle without warning.
Nagato gritted his teeth, forced to repeatedly unleash Super Shinra Tensei just to keep from being crushed.
"Damn it… this drains too much chakra, and the poison in the air…"
His eyes narrowed at the endlessly regenerating forest. "Is he planning to wear me down completely?"
High above, Gen looked down from the dragon's head, his gaze cold.
"Is this truly all you've got, Nagato?"
"Damn you…"
Nagato snarled. Before his pushback could even activate, Gen flashed before him, sending him crashing through a ruin.
Gen's voice drifted from afar as he reappeared atop the wooden dragon once again.
"You haven't changed, Nagato. You're still the same as before."
Those words cut deep. Memories flooded Nagato—memories of their past battle, when he had been just as helpless. Even now, years later, he was being suppressed again.
"I… I won't accept this!"
With blood streaming down his face, Nagato rose from the rubble, his voice thundering with defiance.
"My fate isn't finished! I haven't retraced the Sage of Six Paths' steps! I will not fall here!"
His chakra erupted wildly, and in his palm, a black sphere formed—dense with eerie, crushing power.
The ground trembled as an immense gravitational pull spread outward, devouring everything. The black sphere shot into the sky, swelling as its pull intensified, warping space itself.
"You wanted to see my change? Then look well!"
BOOM——!
The sphere expanded madly, dragging ruins, shattered trees—even Gen's wooden constructs—into its core. The heavens darkened beneath its shadow, as though another moon had been born above them.
"Super Chibaku Tensei!"
Nagato roared as his Rinnegan poured its full might into the growing sphere. Stones, forests, even mountains rose into the air, swallowed into its mass.
"This time, Gen… can you really break it?"
The ball swelled larger and larger, blotting out the sky. Not even the massive wooden golem could withstand its pull.
Nagato's eyes burned with grim resolve. "First you… then Genshiki. With this, I'll walk the Sage's path!"
But then—his pupils widened.
For beneath the looming shadow of the Chibaku Tensei, a blinding white light flared across the sky.
In the next instant, it coalesced into a colossal sphere of chakra, radiant and overwhelming.
Within that massive white chakra sphere, countless smaller chakra orbs of different colors rotated silently. Each rotation carried with it a strange, indescribable power, as if weaving together a force beyond comprehension.
"What… is this?"
Nagato's eyes widened in disbelief. Even Black Zetsu—who had already retreated far away to avoid the pull of Chibaku Tensei—stared at the colossal chakra sphere, his expression unusually grave.
"This power… why does it feel utterly invincible?"
Not just them—everyone present was stunned. No one could fully grasp the scene unfolding before their eyes.
Hummm—
At the very instant the colossal Rasengan collided with Nagato's Super Chibaku Tensei, a visible shockwave roared outward.
The force was so overwhelming that all sound vanished.
In that silent, suffocating world, everyone could only watch as time itself seemed to freeze. Then, suddenly, the earth tore apart—dust, rubble, and crashing waves consumed everything in sight.
The enormous Chibaku Tensei began to collapse silently. Countless fragments plummeted to the ground, shaking the land with a quake like the end of days.
As the black sphere crumbled, sunlight that had been smothered by its mass returned at last, breaking through the veil of darkness.
Yet when those rays of light fell upon Nagato's body, he felt no warmth—only the chill of despair. His heart sank as though plunged into an icy abyss.
"Impossible… how could this be?"
He muttered hoarsely, his body trembling. It felt just like that night so many years ago. Time had passed, but nothing had changed. Why? Why was he still powerless?
"Why… why is it like this?!"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
A cold, spectral voice echoed behind him—Kitagawa Gen's. The sound pierced Nagato's already broken heart, pushing him closer to collapse.
"So this is your full power? To be honest… you've disappointed me."
As the last fragments of the shattered Chibaku Tensei fell from the sky, Kitagawa Gen formed another Rasengan in his palm. This one brimmed with planetary chakra, its energy vast and inexhaustible.
With a single decisive motion, he slammed it into Nagato's body.
"Earlier you asked me—do you still resemble your past self?"
His voice was calm, merciless.
"Sorry. I see no difference at all."