"Mokuton: Wood Vine Bind!"
One of Shishou's clones pressed his hands to the ground, causing countless vines to emerge and attack the Six Paths of Pain.
"Fūjutsu Kyūin!" (Sealing Technique Absorption Seal)
The Preta Path moved to the front, absorbing all the attacking vines. Another Shishou clone waved his hand, releasing a swarm of nano-scale venomous insects toward the Preta Path.
"Flamethrower!"
The Asura Path's arm morphed into a cannon, releasing a stream of flames that incinerated Shishou's insect swarm. Meanwhile, another Shishou clone, wielding the Kusanagi Sword, used the Sky Blade technique to decapitate the Preta Path. However, the clone was immediately impaled by a black rod from the Animal Path.
The interruption of the Preta Path's absorption allowed Shishou's original Wood Release to trap the Naraka Path. However, the Human Path took advantage of this distraction, rushing in to grab Shishou's head.
Two more Shishou clones appeared, using the Flying Thunder God Technique to surround and eliminate the Human Path. The real Shishou, who had been engaging in taijutsu with the Deva Path, glanced over and saw his insect swarm being incinerated.
"Banshō Ten'in!" (Universal Pull)
The Deva Path extended his right hand, pulling Shishou towards him with an irresistible force. In his left hand, a black rod emerged, poised to strike.
"Flying Thunder God!"
Shishou vanished, reappearing beside the Naraka Path that was still bound by the Wood Release. He gripped its neck, releasing his nano-scale venomous insects to consume half of its body, then dodged a barrage of missiles fired by the Asura Path.
"Shinra Tensei!" (Almighty Push)
The Deva Path unleashed a powerful repulsive force, destroying two of Shishou's wood clones and creating a massive shockwave.
With the Naraka Path and Preta Path out of commission, Shishou decided to escalate the battle. He clapped his hands together.
"Mokuton: Jukai Kōtan!" (Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees)
The ground rumbled as an enormous forest of giant trees burst forth, engulfing the Animal Path and Asura Path in an instant, crushing them.
"Chibaku Tensei!" (Planetary Devastation)
The Deva Path ascended into the air, forming a small black sphere in his hand. The sphere generated an immense gravitational pull, lifting the newly created forest, the surrounding desert, and even the remnants of Shishou's clones into the air, forming a miniature moon.
Shishou, positioned outside the range of the Chibaku Tensei, watched as the Deva Path ceased channeling his Rinnegan's power into the technique. The first round of their confrontation had ended.
So far, both Shishou and Nagato had been testing each other, even with Shishou's use of the Nativity of a Sea of Trees and Nagato's use of Planetary Devastation. Neither had revealed their full hand.
"Whoa, did that guy really use such a massive Wood Release technique?"
"What is that floating thing in the sky?"
"Compared to these two, what are we even doing here?"
Near the Sand Village's border, the Sand shinobi were awestruck, their faces pale with fear. The power displayed by either combatant could easily obliterate the entire village.
In a distant shadow, Uchiha Obito watched Shishou's Nativity of a Sea of Trees with mixed feelings. It was a level of Wood Release even he had never achieved.
On the back of the giant bird, Konan glanced worriedly at Nagato's hidden location.
"Hmm?" Shishou turned his head abruptly, sensing something.
In the distance, several kilometers away in the desert, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, stood on a platform of gold sand, leading a large contingent of Sand shinobi.
Due to the vast, open desert, Shishou could see the approaching Sand shinobi like a swarm of ants. Realizing the potential for collateral damage, he sighed and looked at the Deva Path.
"We're being interrupted. Looks like we'll have to end this here."
The Fourth Kazekage and his forces' arrival would complicate matters, potentially endangering innocents, something Shishou wanted to avoid.
"Are you interested in joining Akatsuki?" the Deva Path asked, floating above.
"Sorry, our views on achieving peace are fundamentally different," Shishou replied, shaking his head.
Nagato, driven by the death of Yahiko, sought to collect the Tailed Beasts for a weapon of mass destruction. Shishou saw too many flaws in this plan. The shinobi world was different from his past life; threatening people like Madara Uchiha or Obito with civilian lives was futile.
"I see. Then from now on, we are enemies."
Not wanting to engage the Five Great Nations at this time, the Deva Path floated back to the giant bird and retrieved the other Paths of Pain's bodies.
A few minutes later, the complete Six Paths of Pain flew away on the giant bird, with Konan casting one last glance at Shishou before turning away.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, who had been watching from a distance, furrowed his brows as the giant bird retreated.
In the shadows, Obito disappeared into his Kamui dimension, leaving the battlefield.
Seeing Obito's departure, Shishou smirked and donned Obito's signature single-eye mask, using a transformation jutsu to disguise himself. He then charged toward the approaching Sand shinobi forces.
After briefly skirmishing with the Sand shinobi using Wood Release, he vanished in a puff of smoke. His intention was to frame Obito, hoping to mislead them into believing that the mysterious masked man of Akatsuki was behind the recent events.
Given the distance and confusion, the Sand shinobi would likely assume that Obito, the notorious masked man, was responsible for the massive Wood Release.
Even if the ruse failed, Shishou wouldn't mind. All clues would point to his alias, Renga, without exposing his true identity as Shishou of the Aburame Clan.
Moreover, once Shishou reached a power level capable of challenging the Five Great Nations, the exposure of his identity would be inconsequential. This is why, after initially using the alias Renga, he had increasingly operated under his true name.
"What happened here..."
"What is that thing up there?"
"Was this the work of that masked man?"
"This is like witnessing a divine act...."
The Sand shinobi were stunned by the sight of the decaying Planetary Devastation sphere and the immense crater beneath it. Rasa picked up a fallen Wood Release branch, his expression dark.
After a moment, he turned to the Sand shinobi who had arrived from Suna and asked gravely, "What exactly happened here?"