The tendō Pain stood suspended in midair, expressionless as stone.
"You are not yet qualified to speak with God," he said coldly.
As his words fell,
swish, swish, swish—
Five other figures in the Akatsuki's black cloaks with red clouds appeared one after another, surrounding Naruto on all sides.
Naruto glanced around — all familiar faces.
These were the same Pains that had once invaded Konoha and fought him to the death.
"I had planned to hunt you down in Konoha," Deva Path said indifferently. "I didn't expect you to walk right into my hands. Very well, Nine-Tails — I'll take you now!"
He extended his hand.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Naruto's body jolted as an invisible force dragged him toward Pain. At the same time, four of the other Paths leapt into the air, black chakra rods flashing in their hands — ready to impale him in midair.
But Naruto's fingers formed a seal.
"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant, three shadow clones appeared.
One clone grabbed the real Naruto by both arms and swung him downward; the second clone crouched and launched the real Naruto off its shoulders like a catapult. Naruto's body bent like a drawn bow, shooting straight toward the ground.
Since Deva Path could only pull from one direction, and with four Pains attacking from above, retreating below was his only option.
But the moment he landed, something invisible wrapped around him — slick and wet.
Naruto frowned. He could feel the clammy texture coiling around his body.
He looked up — the Animal Path, a short-haired woman, was still holding a hand seal.
That disgusting chameleon again!
"Tch."
In the air, three of Naruto's clones each engaged a Pain. The last one thrust a black chakra rod toward him while the chameleon's tongue tightened like a noose!
Naruto sneered — and vanished in a flash of gold. Flying Thunder God.
The black chakra rod stabbed empty air.
Naruto reappeared beside his marked kunai. Deva Path's eyes narrowed, as if he had already anticipated this — he instantly body-flickered forward and thrust another black receiver from his sleeve at point-blank range.
"At this distance, you can't dodge," he thought.
But Naruto never intended to.
Using Frog Kata, he caught the black chakra rod with his right hand and blocked Pain's other strike with his left.
Naruto met his gaze and smiled. Then his right hand clenched — hard.
Crack!
The black receiver snapped in two.
Naruto spun, his left foot whipping upward in a fierce kick. Deva Path crossed his arms to block, but—
BOOM!
The impact sent all six Pains flying backward.
Deva Path crashed to the ground, then stood up slowly as the other five regrouped beside him, reforming their formation.
Naruto smirked. "Deva Path — strong, sure, but your Shinra tensei has a five-second cooldown. And your close combat defense? Far from impressive."
Deva Path's expression didn't change.
Naruto's gaze swept across the others as he continued,
"Preta Path — absorbs chakra, your shield.
Animal Path — summons beasts, like that invisible chameleon that attacked me earlier.
Human Path — extracts souls and reads memories.
Naraka Path — judges truth and lies, can even resurrect the others.
And this one here…" he pointed, "if I'm not mistaken, that's the Asura Path, the one I shredded last time with the Rasengan Shuriken — full of mechanical weapons, built for explosions."
As Naruto calmly recited the functions of all six Pains, Deva Path finally spoke, "It seems Jiraiya-sensei passed his findings to you. But it makes no difference. In the face of absolute power, knowledge is meaningless."
Naruto chuckled coldly. "I didn't come here for a sparring match. Forget it — I'll just find your real body and talk to him directly."
He lifted one of the broken black chakra rods and stabbed it into his own shoulder.
The receivers conducted chakra from the real Nagato. Using his Sage Mode's sensory perception, Naruto traced the signal backward — just like before.
Found it.
He looked toward a distant tower. "So you're over there, huh?"
Inside that tower, the emaciated Nagato suddenly froze. In the darkness, his dull eyes widened — he could see an image through the black chakra rods: a pair of sharp orange eyes staring back at him.
"He's using Sage Mode to reverse-trace my chakra?!"
Naruto exhaled sharply, pulled out the rod, and formed another seal.
"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
In the blink of an eye, a thousand Naruto clones filled the battlefield.
Even Nagato, watching through the eyes of the Pains, was stunned.
Such enormous chakra… truly the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
"Stop him!" Nagato commanded.
With a roar, the thousand Narutos surged forward.
Naruto's intent was clear — keep the Six Paths busy while his real self made for the tower.
Deva Path leapt into the air. "You're naive! Shinra tensei!"
The repulsive force exploded outward, obliterating a dozen clones in an instant.
But his technique needed five seconds to recharge.
The other five Pains fought back with their own jutsu, yet even they couldn't eliminate so many Sage-enhanced clones so quickly.
Especially when Naruto's Flying Thunder God let him flicker across the battlefield faster than they could react.
Meanwhile, the real Naruto hurled kunai across multiple directions, marking locations to teleport between as he advanced.
Inside the tower, Nagato sighed softly. "Konan, return to me."
Konan came to his side, standing guard.
Naruto landed atop the high tower, spotting a square opening that led down.
He stepped inside.
The interior was pitch dark, built mostly of cold steel — the sound beneath his sandals told him the floor was stone. The whole place radiated a metallic chill that pressed down on his senses.
After walking a long corridor, the space suddenly opened up.
A vast hall appeared before him — about the size of a basketball court.
All around, dense columns of steel pipes rose upward, countless and symmetrical — clearly designed to drain the endless rainwater. That architectural style matched the rest of Hidden Rain Village perfectly.
At the center sat a thin, frail man upon a mechanical throne — Nagato.
His four limbs were bound into the machinery, dozens of black chakra rods jutting from his back. His skin clung to his bones, but those eyes — the Rinnegan — still gleamed with godlike intensity.
He looked at Naruto weakly.
"Speak," Nagato rasped. "What do you want to talk about?"
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