After a while, when Uchiha Sasuke counted to ten, Uchiha Itachi reached out and tugged lightly on Sasuke's shoulder.
Sasuke looked at Itachi in confusion, but Itachi turned his head toward the corpse of Shimura Danzo nearby.
The instant Danzo's figure reappeared, Itachi appeared beside him.
"I've come to take back my best friend's eye," Itachi said coldly, his right hand swiftly reaching for Danzo's right eye.
With clean precision, Itachi gouged out Danzo's right eye, then focused his ocular power.
Amaterasu!
Blazing black flames engulfed Danzo's body. With his only remaining left eye, Danzo stared coldly at Itachi, then, as if seeing through life and death, he activated a sealing technique.
Reverse Four Symbols Seal!
Blood burst from Danzo's entire body, attempting to seal both Itachi and Sasuke within.
Seeing this, Itachi instantly flickered to Sasuke's side and said, "Sasuke, we need to leave!"
"For the sake of the Hidden Leaf Village! I won't let you live!" Danzo shouted harshly.
The black Reverse Four Symbols Seal spread, covering the entire Root base. As it activated, Danzo recalled his life.
Looks like it's my turn now, Hiruzen. In the end, I still couldn't become Hokage. No matter where I am, I could never catch up to you!
At the critical moment, Itachi manifested the complete form of Susanoo, and the two broke through the ceiling of the Root base.
Boom!
Itachi's orange-red Susanoo burst into the sky, the commotion drawing the attention of everyone in the Hidden Leaf Village.
People looked up at the winged, orange-red giant. Jiraiya frowned slightly.
Having just finished defeating Pain, Uzumaki Naruto also looked up. The moment he focused, his expression froze as he murmured, "Sasuke…"
...
In the sky, standing atop the complete Susanoo, Itachi frowned.
"Looks like we've been noticed. I originally didn't want to attract attention."
On the other side, Sasuke closed his eyes and caught his breath. Though he didn't want to admit it, that moment had been extremely dangerous.
He then looked at Itachi beside him, inwardly marveling at his strength.
...
Elsewhere, Rorin, who had been flying, came to a stop and gazed at the Susanoo in the sky, smiling faintly.
"Looks like it worked. Just a small accident, perhaps."
After pausing briefly, Rorin resumed heading toward the Deva Path of Pain.
...
Inside the Hidden Leaf Village.
Naruto pressed his lips together and turned to Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei, did you notice?"
"Yeah… no mistake," Kakashi replied quietly, his gaze sharpening.
"Hey! Sasuke!" Naruto shouted toward the sky with all his strength.
Hearing the voice, Sasuke looked down at Naruto and murmured, "Naruto."
The two locked eyes, saying nothing for a long time. Itachi patted Sasuke's shoulder.
"Sasuke, we need to go. Don't complicate things."
Sasuke nodded slightly. Then Itachi controlled Susanoo to fly away, leaving the Hidden Leaf Village.
Watching Sasuke depart, Naruto clenched his fists. Kakashi added,
"Naruto, did you recognize the person beside Sasuke?"
Naruto froze. Right—the one beside Sasuke… was the brother Sasuke had always sworn to kill—Uchiha Itachi!
Those who knew the past couldn't help but feel confused. That once cold, aloof, chunni boy who constantly talked about killing his brother seemed different after this reunion. And how had they appeared inside the Hidden Leaf Village?
...
Unaware of what had happened in the village, Rorin finally arrived before the Deva Path of Pain, looking down from above with a faint smile.
"You led me outside the village on purpose?"
The Deva Path of Pain stared at Rorin expressionlessly.
"You're not stupid. Otherwise, you wouldn't have waited here."
Rorin slowly descended, speaking calmly.
"I'm just curious—what exactly is your goal?"
"Didn't I tell you from the start? I want to meet your real body."
The Deva Path of Pain didn't respond. Black rods manifested in his hands.
Rorin shook his head slightly and spread his hands.
"Looks like I'll have to defeat you first."
The moment he finished speaking, Rorin vanished, reappearing beside the Deva Path with a spiraling spear thrust forward.
Clang!
The Deva Path blocked the first strike with his black rod, then was forced backward.
Rorin pressed the attack, instantly closing in again.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Brambles!
The Deva Path was struck heavily and sent flying into the distance.
Boom!
As the smoke cleared, the Deva Path slowly stood up. The upper half of his Akatsuki cloak was torn, and he was breathing heavily.
This won't work. I have to defeat him quickly… looks like I have no choice but to use that!
The Deva Path clasped his hands.
...
Elsewhere, inside a towering tree formed from paper.
"That's enough, Nagato. There's no need to go this far! Your body can't handle it…" Konan urged.
Nagato ignored her. Bringing his hands together, he slowly spread them apart.
A small black sphere of energy appeared.
He sent the sphere out of the tree trunk. It floated upward, soon arriving above the battlefield between Rorin and the Deva Path.
Rorin looked up, frowning slightly. That is…
The Deva Path's expression grew solemn as he spread his hands.
Planetary Devastation!
The black sphere in the sky began to shine. The Deva Path raised both hands. "Hah!"
In an instant, the earth shook violently. Sensing something wrong, Rorin prepared to use Flying Thunder God to escape—but at that moment—
The Deva Path manipulated chunks of stone to wrap around him!
Damn it! Alarm bells rang in Rorin's mind. He was sealed within the stones as they formed a sphere and began to rise.
What frustrated him most was that within the sealing range, he couldn't use Flying Thunder God to escape.
Bone spikes burst from his body, shattering the surrounding rocks. He looked again at the sky, where the growing mass of stone expanded further.
The Deva Path clasped his hands once more and shouted, "Hah!"
The ground split into countless fragments that flew upward. In no time, they formed an enormous mass of rock.
As the mass grew larger, its gravitational pull intensified. Soon, Rorin felt a tremendous force dragging him upward, his body no longer under his control.
Before long, he was pulled onto the mass. More rocks rose from the ground, sealing him inside until a colossal meteor formed—
Suspended in the sky!
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