The Deva Path watched with detached curiosity as Ryuu struggled to his feet. The boy's defiance was illogical. His body was failing, his movements were sluggish, and his chakra cloak was gone.

  Yet, he rose.

  “Your persistence is meaningless.”

  Pain stated, his voice a flat.

  “Surrender your Jinchuriki and I shall give you a quick ending.”

  Ryuu didn't answer. He simply drew a ragged breath, his crimson eyes staring at the Deva path with determination.

  He was trying to buy time. For what, he wasn't sure, but every second he remained standing was another second the village had to survive.

  Just as the Deva Path prepared to deliver the final blow, a group of combatants flooded the battlefield.

  “Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!)”

  A storm of massive fireballs, erupted from the rooftops, converging on the three remaining Paths of Pain. The attack was the coordinated fire of the Uchiha Clan Police Force.

  “The Uchiha Clan will not stand by while our home is destroyed!”

  Fugaku declared, his 3-tomoe Sharingan on full display. It was clear he wasn’t willing to use the Mangekyo till was necessary.

  “All units, engage the enemy!”

  Simultaneously, a blur of motion too fast for most to track resolved itself into Shisui Uchiha, appearing beside Hiruzen.

  “Sandaime-sama, I apologize for my delay. I was coordinating the southern district’s evacuation.”

  “Your timing is impeccable, Shisui.”

  Hiruzen grunted, clutching his side where a piece of shrapnel had torn through his armor.

  The battlefield flared with renewed intensity.

  Shisui blurred forward, his speed incomprehensible to most. His blade, slashed at the Preta Path’s neck, but the Path pivoted just in time, raising an arm to absorb the chakra. Shisui vanished in a flicker, reappearing behind it.

  "Utakata!"

  Hiruzen called out, recognizing the incoming chakra surge.

  A howl of steam blasted across the scorched ground as Utakata entered the fray. He stood atop the broken edge of a ruined rooftop, bubbles forming around him.

  “You wanted a Jinchūriki?”

  Utakata said coldly.

  “You have me.”

  He raised one hand.

  “Soap Bubble Explosion!”

  A swarm of glowing chakra-infused bubbles launched toward the Asura and Naraka Paths. As they impacted, they exploded with corrosive force, melting through armor and flesh. The Naraka Path staggered back, half of its grotesque jaw burned away.

  “Now!”

  Fugaku roared.

  The Uchiha clan converged like a pack of wolves. Half a dozen Fireball Jutsus lit up the sky. The Naraka and Preta Paths were engulfed in flames.

  A volley of explosive tags and wind-enhanced kunai followed, courtesy of the Inuzuka and Aburame clans. Shibi Aburame’s insects swarmed through the smoke, targeting chakra signatures, while Tsume Inuzuka launched into the melee with Kiba’s father.

  Meanwhile, the Hyūga had arrived.

  Hiashi’s Byakugan activated, his face calm and deadly.

  “Units, focus on the strange black rods. They seem to be transmitting chakra to the figures.”

  Hizashi glanced at the Deva path and frowned. He realized how dangerous of an opponent they were fighting.

  “Ryuu, pull back!” Hiruzen shouted, deflecting a blast from the Asura Path. “You’ve done enough!”

  But Ryuu shook his head, wiping blood from his mouth.

  “If I fall now, they’ll gain ground again.”

  Ryuu, realizing that things were becoming far too chaotic, had to speak up at this moment.

  “Nagato! ”

  The name echoed across the battlefield. The Deva Path froze mid-stride, staring at Ryuu with confusion. The other Paths also faltered for a split second.

  Ryuu, realizing that he had taken his attention, continued.

  “You seek peace through overwhelming pain. A world so terrified of your weapon that it abandons war forever. It’s an admirable, if naive, goal.”

  “You speak of things you do not understand, boy.”

  The Deva Path’s voice was strained, laced with fury.

  “Oh, I understand perfectly.”

  Ryuu coughed, a small fleck of blood hitting his lips.

  “But what you don’t understand, Nagato, is that your plan is not the final one. You are building a weapon. The man in the mask, your partner 'Madara,' he is building a prison. Your goals are not aligned. He doesn’t want to frighten the world into peace. He wants to trap it in a dream.”

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  “Lies.”

  Tendo spat, his eyes narrowing in disgust.

  “Is it?”

  Ryuu took another pained step.

  “Let’s talk about those eyes, Nagato. The legendary Rinnegan. An Uzumaki like you awakening them? A one-in-a-billion miracle, isn’t it? Or was it a gift? Planted in you as a child by the real Madara Uchiha, who found a perfect war orphan with Uzumaki blood, the ideal vessel to hold his eyes until the time was right?”

  Hearing those words, Nagato felt his anger boil over. These eyes were his. He was blessed with these eyes and was destined to save the world!

  “NONESENSE! THESE EYES BELONG TO ME!”

  The Deva Path roared, its divine composure shattering into pure rage.

  “Your entire life has been a puppet show!”

  Ryuu’s voice rose, sharp and cutting.

  “Yahiko’s death! A tragedy orchestrated to push you into the despair needed to awaken the full power of Madara's eyes! And your ultimate purpose? It isn't to be a god of peace. It's to be a sacrifice. Once you’ve gathered all the beasts, you’re meant to use the Gedo Art: Rinne Rebirth to bring Madara himself back to life! You are not the master of the Akatsuki, Nagato. You are its most valuable, and most disposable, pawn.”

  The Deva Path’s arm shot forward, but Shisui met the strike, blades clashing with unnatural force. Utakata followed, a wall of steam erupting between Ryuu and Pain to buy precious seconds.

  Ryuu, barely upright, shouted past the chaos.

  “You're too powerful for Obito to control now, and that's exactly why he's keeping his distance. Why he hasn't gone against your plans. He's stalling, waiting for you to fall apart!”

  “ENOUGH!”

  The Deva Path bellowed, a gravitational pulse blasting Shisui and Utakata backward. Dust and wind rippled violently.

  “You dare question my path?”

  Nagato’s voice came directly through the Deva Path now.

  “I’ve seen what this world does to the weak. I’ve lived its lies! The Rinnegan is my burden and my weapon!”

  Ryuu didn’t flinch.

  “A burden you were given, not one you earned!”

  Ryuu roared back, his voice raw but unwavering.

  “Madara chose you because you were the best choise! Because he knew you would be easy to manipulate!”

  The air crackled. The Deva Path’s body began to distort, not from damage, but from the sheer, unrestrained fury Nagato was channeling through it. The ground around it buckled.

  “I… AM… A… GOD!”

  A wave of repulsive force, a Shinra Tensei more powerful and uncontrolled than any before, exploded outwards.

  The bone forest Ryuu had created shattered into dust. Hiruzen and the forward shinobi were thrown back like dolls, saved only by a hastily erected series of Doton walls from the Hyūga and Sarutobi clansmen.

  But the psychological blow had landed. The seed of doubt was planted. And in that moment of pure, blinding rage, Nagato’s perfect coordination, the shared vision of the Six Paths, faltered.

  It was the opening the veterans had been waiting for.

  “NOW! TARGET THE RODS!”

  Hiruzen bellowed, his Adamantine Staff extending to vault him over the blast wave.

  Fugaku didn’t need to be told twice. His Sharingan, now transformed to its mangekyo state. locked onto the Asura Path as it struggled to reorient itself.

  “Amaterasu!”

  Black flames, hotter than any normal fire, erupted on the mechanical puppet. It writhed, its body melting and contorting, but before the flames could consume it entirely, a black chakra rod embedded in its back glowed and then shattered. The body went limp, a burning husk.

  At the same time, Shisui appeared in a flicker behind the Preta Path, the last remaining support unit. He didn’t attack the body. His tanto sliced through the chakra receiver at its neck. The body collapsed, lifeless.

  “Two remain!”

  Hiashi called out, his Byakugan tracking the flow of chakra with perfect clarity.

  “The Deva and the revived Naraka Path!”

  The Deva Path turned its gaze from the smoldering battlefield to Ryuu. The boy was on one knee, struggling to breathe, the backlash from the Shinra Tensei having rattled his already battered body.

  This was no longer about Jinchūriki. This was personal.

  The Deva Path raised its hands, a miniature black sphere of gravitational energy forming between them.

  He would entomb this entire section of the village, and the boy with it.

  “It’s over.”

  Nagato’s voice echoed, cold and final.

  Before the Deva Path could launch the miniature black sphere, a radiant light exploded across the battlefield.

  The swirling vortex of gravitational energy in Nagato’s palm hesitated for just a heartbeat… and that heartbeat was enough.

  A blur of golden chakra streaked through the sky, blazing like a comet. It landed directly between Ryuu and the Deva Path with a force that shook the earth.

  Kushina Uzumaki stood tall, wrapped in the brilliant, flame-like cloak of Kurama’s Chakra Mode. Her crimson hair flowed wildly, glowing with inner power, and her eyes, shimmering orange with slitted pupils, locked onto the Deva Path with fury.

  “You’re not laying a finger on that boy.”

  She said, voice calm but utterly unshakable.

  Kurama’s voice echoed softly inside her mind, laced with approval.

  "Let’s show them what a real jinchūriki can do."

  Nagato faltered.

  “This... This chakra! The Nine-Tails…”

  The black sphere in his hands trembled, destabilized by his shock. Kushina vanished in an instant, appearing directly in front of him with a blinding burst of speed.

  “Uzumaki Chains: Crimson Vortex!”

  Chains of pure chakra, glowing with Kurama’s power, erupted from her back and pierced through the black sphere before it could expand. The gravitational core imploded with a violent shimmer, nullified before it could destroy everything.

  The Deva Path tried to retreat, but Kushina was relentless. Her chains lanced out again, forcing him to flicker away.

  He was losing focus.

  The emotional strain from Ryuu’s words, the battlefield chaos, and now Kushina’s overwhelming presence had cracked his godlike calm.

  From behind her, Ryuu blinked up at the golden silhouette.

  “…Kushina-sama?”

  Kushina didn’t turn around, but her voice was gentle.

  “You’ve done enough, Ryuu. Let me take it from here.”

  Behind her, Kurama rumbled in amusement

  “Hmph. I’m going to miss having you as my jinchūriki, you know.”

  “Don’t get nostalgic now.”

  She teased aloud, just loud enough for those near to hear.

  “We’ve still got a future to make.”

  In the sky above, the revived Naraka Path tried to leap into position to support the Deva Path again.

  But Hiashi was faster.

  “Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists!”

  His chakra roared as he launched upward in a spinning arc, his lion-shaped chakra arms smashing into the Naraka Path midair. The Path shattered like porcelain, chakra rods bursting out as its systems collapsed.

  The battlefield was tilting.

  Nagato realized it now. All six paths were nearly gone.

  But still, he had to complete his mission.

  He poured everything into the Deva Path’s body, draining what little vitality remained from his true self hidden miles away. The Deva Path's body began to glow with unstable energy, his very chakra burning itself out in desperation.

  “I’ll tear it all down if I must!”

  Nagato howled.

  “Peace through obliteration!”

  But Kushina was already moving.

  “Kurama Mode: Adamant Chains Barrage!”

  Dozens of chakra chains burst from the ground and sky, glowing golden, latching onto the Deva Path’s limbs, torso, and even his neck. The ground split as he struggled, but Kushina held firm.

  The Deva Path screamed, and the sound echoed from miles away, as the true Nagato felt his vision blur.

  His chakra link shattered.

  And then Kushina yanked the chains.

  Hard.

  There was a massive explosion of chakra and light. And when it cleared, only dust and fragments of black rods remained.

  The Deva Path was gone.

  The battlefield fell still.

  Only the soft glow of Kushina’s chakra cloak remained, as she stood tall in the center of the ruins, breathing slowly. Ryuu stared at her, eyes wide, barely able to process what had just happened.

  Then, she turned to him and smiled before turning towards the others.

  “Quickly bring a medic here! Ryuu-kun is in a critical condition!”

  A wave of motion rippled through the allied forces the moment Kushina spoke. Her voice, firm and clear, pierced the battlefield silence like a beacon, snapping warriors out of their stunned trance.

  “Medic!”

  Hiruzen echoed with urgency, landing beside Kushina with a grunt, still bleeding from his side.

  “Get Ryuu stabilized, now!”

  Two members of the Medical Corps, clad in green vests and already racing across the rubble-strewn terrain, appeared at Ryuu’s side in moments. One dropped to his knees, immediately running diagnostic chakra over the boy’s chest and head. The other pulled out a set of emergency chakra seals and healing salves.

  “Massive internal bleeding.”

  The medic muttered grimly.

  “Multiple fractured ribs, possible organ damage. His Chakra pathways also seem to be stretched beyond their natural state.”

  “He kept fighting long past the breaking point.”