Chapter 13 – There Must Be a Limit
Snowflakes drifted gently from the heavens, silent and pure, only to land upon a world that was anything but peaceful. Each white crystal dissolved into the jagged rubble below, a world scarred and broken by forces far beyond ordinary comprehension.
In the distance, the land itself seemed to wither. What had once been soil and stone was turning into a lifeless void, consumed by a domain of death and silence. Like an infection spreading outward, it expanded with a steady, relentless pace, devouring life and chakra alike.
Konan's sharp eyes narrowed as she stood on a ridge overlooking the devastation. Her paper wings rustled faintly in the wind.
"This power…" she whispered, her voice heavy with dread. "It's terrifying."
Her paper clone stepped forward, resolute, and crossed into the domain. The instant it entered, Konan's expression shifted. The clone felt as though it had plunged into the deepest ocean. An unbearable weight pressed down, and worst of all—its chakra began to leak uncontrollably, ripped away as though stolen by an unseen hand.
"N–No…"
The paper clone desperately tried to retreat, but the moment its hand reached beyond the boundary, its form shattered. Chakra drained in an instant, the clone collapsed into nothing more than a flutter of shredded paper, scattering helplessly across the barren ground.
On the distant hilltop, the real Konan staggered, clutching her chest with a soft groan. Her brow furrowed as fear gripped her heart.
Nagato's voice broke the silence. His eyes, ringed with the cold ripples of the Rinnegan, turned toward her.
"How is it?"
Konan steadied herself and glanced between him, Obito, and Black Zetsu. Her voice was grim.
"It's true. The domain absorbs chakra—and not only chakra, but life energy itself. Nothing living can endure inside it. That land… it's already dead."
Nagato's face hardened, shadows deepening under his gaunt features. The truth struck him harder than he expected.
So it wasn't an illusion. It wasn't some bluff. The monster born from the Uchiha clan truly had created a technique that consumed all life.
His mind churned with bitter thoughts. If only Madara hadn't interfered… if he hadn't unleashed this disaster upon the world in his obsession with the clan's destruction… this wouldn't exist.
"No," Nagato muttered under his breath, as though trying to convince himself. "It can't be possible. A mere pair of Mangekyō Sharingan shouldn't be able to unleash power vast enough to erase the entire ninja world. Not even my Rinnegan can do that… let alone just a Mangekyō."
But doubt crept in despite his words. His gaze returned to the void.
"There must be a limit," he said at last. "Power like that cannot grow without end."
Yet even as he spoke, he knew his conviction wavered. If there truly was no limit, then the shinobi world itself was doomed.
Obito, his mask gleaming faintly in the dim light, took a tense step forward. His tone was sharp, almost desperate.
"Then we must act now. If this… thing continues to grow unchecked, it will consume everything. Nagato, with your power—if anyone can stop him, it's you."
Nagato's lips curled into a bitter scowl. His patience with Obito had long since thinned.
"Shut your mouth, Madara," he snapped, calling Obito by the false name he clung to. His voice was raw with fury. "This mess is yours. If it weren't for you—and that fool Uchiha Itachi—this monster would never have been born. And now, you come to me, demanding that I fix it? After everything?"
Obito stiffened, his hand twitching slightly as anger and regret clashed in his chest. Nagato's words cut deep, but he couldn't deny their truth. It was his plan, his manipulations, and his blind reliance on Madara's schemes that had spiraled into this disaster.
Nagato's eyes blazed with cold fire as he continued.
"You call yourself Madara's heir, yet you can't even clean up your own failures. You destroy your own clan, unleash this calamity, and then come running to me? Do you take me for a fool?"
Black Zetsu slithered at Obito's side, his twisted half-face betraying no emotion. But deep inside, he was calculating, watching Nagato's growing fury with quiet amusement.
Finally, Obito lowered his head slightly. His voice was tight.
"Fine. I'll accept the blame. But if you want to scold me, do it after we survive. Stop lecturing me, Nagato. For now, kill that monster before it grows beyond us all."
Nagato fell silent, his gaze drifting once again to the expanding void. His lips pressed into a thin line. Despite his rage, Obito was right. Complaints and curses would not save the world. Only action would.
"…Very well," he muttered at last. "But once this is over, I expect answers. Real ones."
He raised his hand, and the ground trembled. The Six Paths of Pain—his extensions of will—materialized around him: Deva Path, Asura Path, Human Path, Animal Path, Preta Path, Naraka Path. Their cold eyes opened in unison, their bodies moving with mechanical precision.
"This power devours chakra," Nagato reasoned aloud, his voice echoing with grim determination. "That means I cannot face it directly. But through the Six Paths, I can test its limits—and strike without risking myself."
Far above, suspended in the heavens like a phantom king, lay the source of their fear.
Uchiha Raizen.
He rested casually within the ribcage of his colossal Susanoo, his eyes closed, his expression unnervingly serene. While the world below trembled, he slept. As though the fate of nations, of countless lives, was beneath his concern.
Was he mocking them? Or was he simply that confident?
But even in sleep, his mind was active. Raizen's thoughts swirled in endless calculation. His brain, enhanced by the ever-growing power of his eyes, worked like a supercomputer. Techniques, strategies, patterns of chakra—he rehearsed them all in the silence of his mind. Every breath he took made him more dangerous.
Then, his eyes snapped open. A sharp golden-red glow blazed within them. He tilted his head slightly, sensing the disturbance.
"They've come," he murmured.
He could feel it—six distinct chakra signatures, coordinated, radiating murderous intent. They entered his domain with no hesitation, a testament to their resolve.
A smirk curved across Raizen's lips.
"So… the Six Paths of Pain. Nagato himself watches from afar. Hmph. Have you already accepted your fate, Nagato? Are you rushing to meet death?"
His laughter echoed faintly through the air, cold and mocking.
"Very well. I'll grant you the end you seek."
He raised one hand lazily, as though conducting an orchestra. From his body erupted a surge of ethereal chains, blazing with dark crimson light. They lashed outward, piercing the earth and sky, forming a vast web that sealed the battlefield.
The domain of silence deepened. The chains pulsed with power, a prison of Raizen's own making. Though his body remained still within Susanoo's chest, the entire world around him bent to his will.
On the ridge, Nagato's face tightened. The moment the chains struck the ground, he felt it—chakra bleeding from his body, drawn away by an invisible force. Even his mighty Rinnegan trembled under the pressure.
"This… power…" he whispered.
Konan, Obito, and Zetsu watched with wide eyes as the Six Paths charged forward, ready to clash with a monster that even Madara might not have foreseen.
The battle for the shinobi world's survival had begun.