How was this Chakra still present?
Obito's mind immediately returned to a case from long ago—the infamous brothers from the Hidden Cloud Village.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku, swallowed whole by the Nine-Tails, had survived by devouring the beast's flesh and blood while trapped inside its stomach.
As a result, after they were eventually spat out, both brothers retained a portion of the Nine-Tails' Chakra.
Even though it was only a fragment, the power they gained was undeniable.
And now… Shigure.
He was using the Chakra of a Tailed Beast. Yet there was no Tailed Beast sealed inside his body. Did he also acquire Tailed Beast Chakra through some unknown method? Similar to the brothers?
The thought chilled Obito. He had always assumed Kinkaku and Ginkaku were unique anomalies.
But perhaps… they were not exceptions at all.
There must be some hidden means by which the Chakra of a Tailed Beast could be extracted—at least partially.
And with that realization, Obito's thoughts began to race.
At that moment, Shigure moved again.
With the Preta Path erased, no Pain could intercept Shigure's techniques.
Only the Naraka Path mattered—the one capable of restoring the others.
Shigure's gaze locked onto it instantly.
Nagato, controlling the corpses from afar, had intended to repair his Pains the moment Shigure looked away. But he suddenly noticed Shigure fixating on the Naraka Path.
A terrible premonition surged through him.
This was bad.
Extremely bad.
He knows…
He knows what the Naraka Path can do?
"ROOM!"
Shigure's domain expanded in an instant.
Nagato's heartbeat spiked. Last time he witnessed that technique, Shigure teleported himself.
But this time—
Nagato's eyes widened.
The Naraka Path vanished.
Crack!—Bang!
The sound came from Shigure's location. When Nagato looked, disbelief froze him.
Shigure stood atop the collapsed Naraka Path.
It wasn't Shigure who teleported.
It was the Naraka Path that had been forcibly transferred.
Shigure lifted his head and smiled at Nagato from across the battlefield.
"Now there's nothing left to worry about."
Nagato's expression went deathly pale.
There was no doubt—Shigure understood his abilities, and understood them frighteningly well.
Why? How?
How could someone other than him know the secrets of the Rinnegan?
"You seem to know quite a lot about my abilities," Nagato said, his voice low.
Shigure spun the Zangetsu-like blade with a smooth flourish before lifting his gaze.
"I wouldn't say I understand everything," he answered lightly, "but I know enough."
Nagato grit his teeth.
Where did he learn this? Obito?
No… that fool wouldn't betray the plan.
"You're not concentrating at a time like this," Shigure said casually. "Look to your right."
Nagato turned.
A massive shadow loomed directly behind him.
Shigure tapped his own forehead. "Ah—wait. My right is your left."
Boom!
A gigantic boulder suddenly materialized from nowhere, plunging toward the Deva Path.
Before it could hit, a colossal black ox summon burst forth, smashing the falling rock with a brutal headbutt. Stone fragments exploded across the battlefield.
Shigure smirked.
"Good reaction."
Only one Pain remained that could summon—the Animal Path—and Shigure wasn't about to let it escape.
He reached out.
ROOM — Transfer!
The Animal Path appeared right in front of him.
A single sweeping cut—fast enough to slice the wind into a shrill whistle—
and the Animal Path was cleaved cleanly in two.
Nagato couldn't intervene. Not in time. Not with that power.
Now only two remained:
Shigure
and
the Deva Path Pain.
A true one-on-one.
Shigure leveled his blade, his stance relaxed but razor-sharp.
"The real battle," he said with a smile, "begins now."
Shigure spoke lightly.
Only the last body remained—Deva Path Pain, the one modeled after Yahiko. It stared coldly at Shigure.
"That's right," Shigure continued with a sneer. "Now is when the real fight begins."
A surge of black lightning exploded from his body. After being altered through his unique technique, it twisted and condensed into a force resembling the overwhelming Six Paths power, coiling around him like a living storm.
Nagato's eyes constricted sharply.
This pressure… it's monstrous.
The crushing, inexplicable weight pressed down on him until his breath nearly caught.
"What kind of jutsu is that…?"
"I've never seen a technique with such terrifying presence," one of the watching Konoha shinobi muttered.
Even Tsunade—while healing a wounded ninja—froze for a moment as she sensed the violent shift in Shigure's chakra.
That chakra… Shigure…
Around her, the other Leaf shinobi wore equally disturbed expressions.
Konoha—once the mighty, unshakable village—was now relying on the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist to save them.
What a ridiculous situation.
Boom!
Shigure's figure vanished.
A sharp crack tore across the icy battlefield, fissures webbing outward. Boosted by the overwhelming aura surrounding him, Shigure's burst of speed completely stunned Nagato.
That fast!?
In a single instant, Shigure was already in front of the Deva Path.
Nagato reacted at once, forcing Deva Path Pain to unleash—
Shinra Tensei!
Crack!—Bang!
A thunderous shockwave resounded.
Shigure's blade halted just before touching Deva Path Pain's forehead.
An invisible force erupted outward. Shinra Tensei slammed into Shigure's blade, sparks crackling violently along the edge.
The two forces—impossibly—were evenly matched.
Shigure couldn't advance.
But Shinra Tensei couldn't push him back.
What…!?
Even Obito was stunned.
Not even Shinra Tensei could repel him.
This level of power—
This was already comparable to Six Paths power!
Nagato relied on the Rinnegan to reach this realm.
But Shigure… was doing it with his own power.
The difference in difficulty was like heaven and earth.
"Get… BACK!"
BOOM!
Nagato forced a desperate surge through the Deva Path.
Shigure was finally blasted backward—but he stabilized almost instantly, sliding a short distance before raising his head with a faint smile.
"Is that all?" Shigure asked calmly.
"Then I doubt you'll survive the next one."
He lifted his hand.
Light erupted.
Golden radiance condensed at his fingertips, forming a brilliant cross-shaped flash.
With a swift motion, Shigure hurled it toward Nagato.
Deva Path Pain dodged instantly—but the explosion that erupted behind him sent scorching flames sweeping forward, swallowing the Deva Path in a burning shockwave.
At that same moment—
Shigure raised his Zangetsu.
The blade fell.
"Getsuga… Tenshō!"
It wasn't a chakra-heavy release.
It was pure cutting force—
infused with Haki.
Black lightning roared along the flying slash wave as it tore through the battlefield, hurtling directly toward the engulfed Deva Path Pain…