Chapter 14: Quack, Shinra…
The battlefield trembled under the weight of colliding titans. The air was thick with the smell of scorched earth and the metallic tang of chakra being consumed at a terrifying rate.
Nagato's Six Paths of Pain stood tall in front of him, linked by invisible threads of chakra. Yet, even as he poured more and more power into them, he felt the truth gnawing at him like a cold knife: the Rinnegan's dominance was not absolute here.
The instant his puppets entered the reach of Uchiha Raizen, their chakra began to drain like rivers flowing into an endless abyss.
Nagato clenched his teeth, his emaciated body trembling against the strain. Impossible… my Rinnegan should be beyond interference. How is he—
His thoughts shattered when he felt the constant pull against his chakra network. No matter how carefully he tried to manipulate the flow, the Mangekyō Sharingan's chains drank deeply from his reserves.
"This… this ability…" Nagato's voice cracked, his pale lips curling into disbelief. "This monster can absorb even my control over life and death?"
He forced more power into the puppets, but the harder he struggled, the faster his energy was devoured.
Across from him, Raizen's lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Hah… just a few puppets?" His voice was deep, resonating with a cruel amusement. The chains of the Mangekyō Sharingan whipped through the air like serpents, glowing with sinister power.
With a sickening crack, they coiled around the Six Paths like predators constricting prey. The puppets jerked violently, struggling against the binds, but the chains only grew tighter, piercing through limbs and armor, feasting greedily on the chakra that fueled them.
The sound of links grinding against flesh and bone echoed. Chains snapped only to regenerate instantly, feeding on Nagato's life force without mercy.
The moment those chains had locked, the outcome was sealed.
"Hahahaha!" Raizen's laughter roared across the field. His crimson Sharingan gleamed with sadistic delight. "Such vast chakra! Magnificent, Nagato! Feed me more! Come on! Pour everything you have into these toys of yours… and I'll drain you until there's nothing left!"
A titanic spectral hand formed behind him, a fragment of Susanoo, and with one effortless sweep, he caught the trapped puppets.
The scarlet eyes of Raizen met the soulless gaze of the Six Paths. His grip tightened— and the suction surged tenfold.
"Damn it!" Nagato's voice cracked with fury.
Far on a cliffside, Konan's eyes widened as she saw Nagato's chakra flickering wildly. His already frail body, thin as bone, grew weaker still, his breath ragged.
Nagato felt terror stab his heart. He severed the chakra threads linking him to the Six Paths in desperation. His vision swam, and in his mind burned a single haunting image— crimson eyes, glowing like the abyss, mocking his existence.
"Impossible… how does he know me… how does he know Nagato?" His voice shook. This man… no, this monster…
The chains went slack, and Raizen tilted his head, his smirk cruel.
"Oh? Cut them off already?" He closed his fist. "What a pity."
The next instant, the massive spectral hand crushed the remaining husks of the Six Paths like paper dolls.
Crunch.
Fragments of armor and flesh rained from the sky.
Konan's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the broken form of Yahiko among the debris.
"Yahiko… no!"
Nagato's heart convulsed. His chest heaved, and for the first time in years, he felt despair claw at him.
"You monster!" His scream was raw, trembling with rage. "I will kill you with my own hands!"
His frail body shuddered as his chakra roared back to life, blazing violently, fueled not by will alone but by grief and vengeance.
The image of Yahiko's broken body burned in his mind. He had tolerated Obito's arrogance, endured Black Zetsu's schemes, borne the burden of pain for the sake of his dream… but now?
Now he was nothing but fury.
From above, Raizen tilted his head, staring down like a god peering at an insect.
"Heh… angry, are you?" His voice was a cruel whisper that carried like thunder. "Good. Anger makes the chakra flow sweeter."
He spread his arms wide, and the sky seemed to darken at his command. Lightning crackled over his towering figure, arcs of power dancing like wild dragons. The air sizzled, vibrating with each pulse of energy.
"Try this, Nagato!"
A sphere of seething light formed between his palms— an orb of condensed chakra, wrapped in writhing threads of lightning and flame. It pulsed violently, swelling larger with every heartbeat, until its glow consumed the battlefield in blue-purple brilliance.
The ground below buckled under the pressure. Soil, rock, and trees split apart, rising into the air as though kneeling before the destructive energy Raizen summoned.
Within seconds, the land itself twisted, forming a jagged cage around Nagato and Konan.
"Overloaded High-Energy Ion Ray…" Raizen's lips twisted into a feral grin. "Charging complete."
The orb convulsed. Power leaked from its surface in jagged streams, burning through the air like the breath of a sun.
Then— it fired.
BOOOOM!
The sky erupted as the beam of annihilation descended. Thunder and fire twined together, a storm of blue and violet, tearing straight toward Nagato.
From the sidelines, Black Zetsu's voice cracked with panic. "Obito! Take us away! Now!"
His shadowy form leapt onto Obito's shoulder, desperation in every motion.
Obito's Sharingan spun violently, activating Kamui. He grabbed Konan's arm and lunged toward Nagato.
But Raizen's beam was faster.
Nagato's voice thundered, raw and desperate. "Shinra Tensei!"
His palms thrust outward. Repulsive force exploded from him, a dome of raw power meant to repel even the wrath of gods.
The collision was instant.
The beam struck Nagato's barrier like a comet colliding with a frail shield. The ground convulsed violently, shockwaves flattening everything in sight.
Nagato screamed as veins bulged across his skeletal frame. His flesh burned, his blood seared into vapor, his chakra refined in a frenzy of survival.
But even that sacrifice was not enough.
Crack.
The repulsive field shattered, splintering like broken glass.
Nagato's eyes widened in disbelief. "No… not like this—"
The beam swallowed him whole.
Light consumed the mountain, tearing through rock, soil, and stone as though they were parchment. A blinding flash carved through the landscape, leaving only silence in its wake.
When the light faded, nothing remained. The mountain was gone. In its place lay a bottomless crater, its surface melted into glassy crystal by the sheer force of destruction.
Above it all, Uchiha Raizen floated, his crimson eyes glowing like burning coals. His laughter echoed over the silence of the battlefield.
"Pathetic."