The previous barrage still hadn't faded.
And now, Shigure's Getsuga Tenshō erupted across the battlefield—a sight that made Obito's expression grow darker.
Nagato was in serious danger.
Boom!
A sudden blast of Shinra Tensei tore outward, blocking the attack once more.
But while one or two strikes could be stopped…
Shigure doubted the same could be said for all of them.
He swung Zangetsu again.
"ROOM!"
Space distorted.
Shigure instantly appeared before the Deva Path Pain, bringing down a strike infused with overwhelming Haki. Nagato barely controlled the Deva Path in time to dodge.
That dodge told Shigure everything.
Nagato was falling behind.
Completely unable to keep pace.
Crack!—Bang!
Shigure's blade twisted mid-air, immediately changing trajectory to pursue the Deva Path.
This time, the Deva Path grabbed Shigure's wrist, while a black receiver shot from its other hand straight toward Shigure's chest.
Shigure didn't even blink.
Armament Haki coiled across his torso.
Bang!
The black rod shattered on impact.
Even striking his body directly caused no damage at all.
Nagato's mood grew heavier.
It felt utterly impossible to defeat Shigure.
"You don't get to pause now."
Shigure's blade whipped forward again, dense with frightening force. Nagato felt his eyelids twitch violently.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The clash continued—relentless, thunderous.
Nagato released smaller bursts of Shinra Tensei, conserving every ounce of chakra just to keep blocking Shigure's onslaught.
And Shigure… never slowed.
Never weakened.
Never stopped.
Black lightning crackled around him.
Shockwaves rippled outward.
The distant Konoha shinobi were stunned speechless.
This was unlike anything they had ever seen.
There was no moment to breathe.
No opening to survive.
If any of them faced Shigure alone, they would be instantly annihilated.
Even Obito felt the pressure now.
Shigure had become the greatest obstacle to the Eye of the Moon Plan.
And the most infuriating part was that—
They currently had no way to deal with him.
Zetsu felt it even more keenly.
Years of manipulation, planning, and secret schemes—
and yet, an unpredictable monster like Shigure had appeared, single-handedly throwing the entire blueprint into chaos.
Without eliminating Shigure, even capturing the Tailed Beasts of the Hidden Mist alone seemed impossible.
Let alone completing the Eye of the Moon Plan.
"Obito."
Zetsu turned to the grim-faced Obito.
"It seems the plan won't succeed like this."
Obito didn't respond immediately.
His eyes stayed fixed on Shigure, who was tearing through the battlefield like an enraged lion, dominating the Deva Path with ease.
A single casual slash shattered the ice underfoot.
Each strike sent violent chakra ripples surging in every direction.
Nagato had focused all of his chakra into the Deva Path. Logically, its power should have been overwhelming.
Yet before Shigure, it couldn't counterattack at all.
Shigure flickered, sliding past another Shinra Tensei—
effortlessly avoiding it as though it didn't exist.
Universal Pull fared no better.
Shigure could teleport at any moment.
He appeared around the Deva Path unpredictably, attacking from impossible angles. If Nagato weren't reacting at peak speed, the Deva Path would have been destroyed long ago.
Obito frowned.
"It seems… we can't complete the plan by ourselves."
Zetsu narrowed his eyes. "What do you intend to do?"
"This world isn't limited to us."
Obito's voice was low.
"And not all Jinchūriki belong to the Hidden Mist. The Three-Tails and Six-Tails, maybe—but the Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and Seven-Tails are not."
Was he planning to ignite conflict between the Hidden Mist and the other great villages?
It wasn't impossible.
But doing so risked making the villages even more protective of their Tailed Beasts.
That would make Akatsuki's objective harder than ever.
"Nagato cannot die."
Obito suddenly stated.
Zetsu froze.
Nagato was just a tool—his life and death didn't matter.
Only his Rinnegan did.
But with the Akatsuki scattered, only Nagato and Konan remained.
Nagato couldn't be allowed to fall here.
Without another word, Obito activated Kamui, his body spiraling into distortion before vanishing entirely.
On the field, Nagato remained fully focused, maintaining Deva Path's defenses—but in the next second, Obito materialized beside him.
Nagato was startled, but refused to look away.
A single distraction while facing Shigure meant death.
BOOM!!
Nagato unleashed a massive Shinra Tensei, a violent surge of repulsive force that tore across the battlefield and slammed directly into Shigure.
Even with his Armament Haki reinforcing his body, Shigure was blasted backward.
He crashed onto the ice, sliding another dozen meters before finally grinding to a halt.
But this time, Shigure didn't immediately counterattack.
Instead, he lifted his gaze toward the last remaining Pain—the Deva Path.
"Your reaction time has slowed… quite a bit."
Nagato's face darkened.
The only reason he'd lasted this long was his Uzumaki Clan physique. Any other shinobi would have collapsed long before.
"I won't hold out much longer… but what's this?"
Nagato forced a chuckle. "Has Lord Mizukage started getting tired?"
Tired?
Shigure let out a cold sneer.
"I've only just finished warming up."
His blade began to glow—an eerie, vivid green.
The light ran along its edge like streaking emerald lightning.
Gamma Knife.
Shigure raised his arm, then hurled the sword like a high-speed projectile straight toward the Deva Path.
Nagato's breath caught.
Shinra Tensei!
He fired the technique again, attempting to blow the weapon away with raw repulsive force.
But in the very next instant—
Shigure appeared in front of the Deva Path, hand closing around the airborne blade.
"ROOM… Slaughterhouse."
His figure blurred.
A slicing arc of pure cutting power carved through the Deva Path from a distance.
Their silhouettes crossed in silence.
Nagato froze.
Protected by Shinra Tensei, the Deva Path shouldn't have taken any damage.
That slash shouldn't have been able to reach him.
Yet—
Nagato suddenly gasped.
The Deva Path—Yahiko's body—had been cleaved cleanly into two halves.
Shigure flicked his hand.
"Conductor."
The upper half of the Deva Path flew toward him as if pulled by invisible strings.
It hovered before him—lifeless.
"It's over."
Shigure's blade drove straight into the Deva Path's forehead.
Nagato's own eyes snapped open in horror.
His breath hitched. His heart pounded.
Just now… that technique… what was it?
Before he could even begin to process it—
he felt it.
Shigure's chakra.
It was approaching fast.
Right toward the hidden location of his true body.
Shigure was coming for him.