"How... could this be?"
Nagato clenched his teeth, his expression growing grim. Ever since he had truly started developing the abilities of his Rinnegan, he had always relied on them in battle. No one had ever been able to stand against him.
But this enemy… was completely beyond his expectations.
The moment Nagato laid eyes on them, their attack had already arrived. It was difficult enough just to react in time, but the enemy would vanish the instant before his counterattack could land.
Nagato's Rinnegan caught only a glimpse of them—one with silver hair, the other with gold. They moved like a silver flash and a golden flash.
"Golden Flash…"
A heaviness settled in Nagato's heart. He remembered a long-forgotten legend. Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was once considered invincible, defeating dozens of jonin at once with his high-speed teleportation.
He earned the title "Golden Flash," and it became so feared that the great ninja villages issued a special directive: if you encounter the Golden Flash, abandoning the mission will not be considered a failure.
"Fourth Hokage," Tobirama said, holding a Flying Thunder God kunai.
"Your teleportation is fast." He complimented the younger ninja beside him—someone who could match and even surpass his own legendary speed. In his successor, the original fastest ninja in the world saw the future.
"That was just a probing attack…" Minato rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed by the praise from his predecessor. He knew he hadn't even gotten serious yet.
"But…" he quickly changed the subject, his gaze turning serious as he looked at Nagato in the distance. "The opponent's ability is truly strange."
"Those are the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths…" Even Tobirama had become extremely cautious. Although they had caught their opponent off guard with the Flying Thunder God technique, those Rinnegan eyes could launch an instant counterattack. This enemy was not to be underestimated.
"Quite an interesting opponent…" Hashirama, on the other hand, didn't seem worried at all. He even looked a bit excited. "I've never seen a living person with the Sage's eyes before!"
Orochimaru watched as the three Hokage discussed how to deal with Nagato's group. He smiled slightly and glanced toward a corner of the arena.
I've played all my cards… Is that important person still not going to show himself?
"If we need more information about the Rinnegan…" Just as Orochimaru looked toward Emiya Shirou, Hiruzen Sarutobi did the same. "Perhaps we can turn to Lord Emiya for help."
"Lord Emiya is actually still here?" A flash of joy appeared on Hashirama's face, as if being disturbed after death was no big deal. "He was always good to me when I was alive."
"..." Tobirama instinctively avoided looking that way.
"He was resurrected by the Edo Tensei for a second time," Tsunade answered hesitantly, casting an annoyed look at Orochimaru. "This is all your doing!"
"We can catch up with Lord Emiya later!" Tobirama cut in, not wanting to talk about Shirou right now.
He worried it would cause an argument between him and his brother, affecting their focus. "Brother, let's deal with Konoha's enemy first."
"Alright." Hashirama immediately formed a fist, his cheerful expression gone. He was now in battle mode. "It's a shame, but let's finish off this troublesome enemy. Then we can catch up with Lord Emiya, and finally release the Edo Tensei to return to the Pure Land so we don't disturb the living."
Minato slowly nodded as well. The resurrected Fourth Hokage didn't look towards Emiya Shirou; his gaze was fixed on a certain blond boy standing next to Kakashi.
That's… my son.
He just wanted a chance to speak with his son properly, to at least see what he was really like after this crisis was over.
Step!
All three Edo Tensei Hokage stepped forward in unison, making Nagato even more alert.
"Konan, get back," Pain's voice was cold as he warned her to move away. "Our opponents are extremely dangerous. Protect yourself."
Nagato stood behind Pain, determined to handle the three Hokage himself.
Konan, I'll hold them off. You need to leave…
"No…" Pain's voice remained cold, his gaze shifting slightly as if sensing the trouble ahead. "This is too dangerous. And with your real body so close, I can't use many of my most powerful techniques."
He had no choice. To deal with the incredible speed of Tobirama and Minato, both he and Nagato needed to use large-scale attacks that would leave their opponents with nowhere to run.
Konan frowned. She wasn't ignorant; she could already see how tricky these two super-speed Hokage were. She realized this might be the most dangerous situation Nagato had faced since awakening his Rinnegan.
But could she really run away now?
Even if it meant risking her life, she refused to fall into her old fate—she couldn't just stand by and watch Nagato die like Yahiko.
However, the battlefield wasn't going to wait for them.
While they were talking, Hashirama suddenly charged, followed closely by Tobirama and Minato.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Hashirama fearlessly led the charge. Even though his resurrected body was nowhere near his prime, he still lived up to his title as the God of Shinobi. His strength was far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Raging roots erupted from the ground, encircling Nagato's group as giant trees and thick vines surged across the arena. In an instant, half the plaza had become a primitive forest.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Deva Path Pain simply raised his palm and instantly cleared an open space. He didn't want to fight the experienced Hokage in such terrain, since neither he nor Nagato were battle-hardened veterans. The gap in experience was fatal at a moment like this.
And this was just a feint. Tobirama and Minato were already charging forward. They looked like support, but they were the real threat.
"Into the air!"
Pain didn't use Shinra Tensei's full power. He knew it wouldn't truly harm Tobirama or Minato; they were so fast they could escape its effects in the blink of an eye. To truly defeat them, he had to make his attacks inescapable.
Pain and Nagato simultaneously used their gravitational power to rise into the air.
"Paper Jutsu: Dance of the Shikigami!"
Konan's legs turned to paper as she soared upward, unfurling elegant paper wings. She glanced at the two approaching Hokage and unleashed a barrage of razor-sharp paper shuriken. The countless projectiles fired like bullets, kicking up plumes of dust and riddling the ground with small holes.
However, Minato and Tobirama moved with astonishing agility, darting through the paper storm. They didn't throw their Flying Thunder God kunai just yet, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" Tobirama swiftly formed hand seals.
"Sealing Technique: Absorption Seal!"
Nagato lifted his hand and absorbed the water dragon, instantly transferring his chakra into Deva Path Pain. Only his original body could protect Pain and Konan in this situation, as Yahiko's Pain body only possessed Deva Path abilities—powerful attack techniques, but not much else.
"Water Style: Heavenly Weep!"
Tobirama kept up the assault. Minato and Hashirama were also searching for an opening, forcing Nagato to use his Six Paths abilities to disrupt their coordinated attack. He had to create an opportunity—a chance to unleash a terrifying jutsu.
"Something's odd," Tobirama said, looking up at Pain and Nagato hovering above. He sensed something strange: Pain's chakra was rapidly increasing, while Nagato's was rapidly decreasing.
Nagato was constantly transferring his chakra into Pain. Only by doing this could Pain unleash that devastating technique.
Luckily, Nagato could juggle both tasks at once: fending off three Hokage while preparing Pain to launch the jutsu. Of course, this wasn't without drawbacks. Anyone who understood Pain's true nature could see Nagato was pushing himself to his mental limits.
But for now, all the Konoha ninjas sensed was that Deva Path Pain was gathering an immense amount of chakra for an extremely dangerous technique.
"There's not enough time to interrupt," Minato thought, quickly sizing up the situation. "Any Flying Thunder God kunai I throw will be shot down by the two protecting the orange-haired man."
But he still had other options. Minato quickly began preparing the Flying Thunder God Barrier. He didn't know what the enemy was about to use, but the barrier could handle most dangerous techniques.
However, it was too late.
Just as all three Hokage were trying to figure out how to stop him, Deva Path Pain, now fully charged by Nagato, was ready.
"Let's take care of them first… This technique is strong enough…"
Pain slowly raised his hands. His pupils narrowed, and a terrifying repulsive force burst from him.
"Super Shinra Tensei!"
An overwhelming force swept down from the sky. The ground of the arena was torn apart by the immense power, which felt completely irresistible. It truly was impossible to resist. This technique had the power to destroy the entire village.
Even Tobirama and Minato reflexively prepared to use the Flying Thunder God to escape, but they couldn't just abandon Konoha. Even the God of Shinobi, Hashirama, in his resurrected state, wasn't strong enough to casually neutralize the threat of a Super Shinra Tensei.
However, Konoha didn't just have them.
Today, Konoha had plenty of other strong fighters. Even though some were injured, and one was a rogue ninja with unclear intentions… there were four of them.
Hiruzen, leading Tsunade and Jiraiya, was joined by their rogue student, Orochimaru.
At the exact moment Pain unleashed Super Shinra Tensei, the four of them appeared at four different points around the arena and completed the hand seals in perfect unison.
"Ninja Art: Four Red Yang Formation!"