At the edge of the battlefield, Kakuzu stared in shock at the massive Flower-Tree World that Shishou had summoned. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he muttered to himself in disbelief:
"This… this is stronger than Hashirama's…"
As someone who had fought in the same era as the legendary Senju Hashirama, Kakuzu knew firsthand the power behind Hashirama's Wood Style and Flower-Tree World.
The other Akatsuki members were left speechless as they watched Shishou's technique in awe. No one had expected that, with a single move, Shishou would not only take down the Four-Tails and Five-Tails but also five of Pain's bodies. The entire battle had turned in an instant.
"What kind of monster did we provoke…?" Sasori, the red-headed puppet master, smirked as he looked at Shishou.
Even in a moment like this, with his emotions sealed away, Sasori still found the space to joke.
"If I knew the Akatsuki would be up against someone like this, I never would've signed up…" Shinnō, the newest Akatsuki member, wore a bitter expression. He regretted his choices and felt like he had walked down a path of no return.
"With power like this… if only Sasuke could learn under him…" Uchiha Itachi's face remained cold and unreadable, but his mind was racing as he thought about Sasuke's future.
In the skies above, Konan bit her lip in worry, her gaze darting to the distant Eight Span Bird. Shishou's strength was far beyond anything she had anticipated.
"Damn it… has he really become this strong?"
Uchiha Obito clenched his teeth. The confidence he had regained after reclaiming his left eye's Kamui was shattered in an instant.
"I always knew he was strong."
"But I didn't realize he was this strong!!!"
High above, Tsunade, Mikoto, Anko, and Yūgao watched Shishou from above, eyes wide with excitement.
Uzuki Yugao and Uchiha Izumi were especially excited, snapping picture after picture of Shishou with their cameras.
Even Shizune, standing beside Tsunade, gazed at Shishou, practically starry-eyed.
"Higher!" Tsunade shouted, feeling a growing sense of unease as she watched Deva Path Pain float ominously in the air.
At Tsunade's command, Terumi Mei and Pakura quickly steered their ink hawks to rise higher, following her lead and pulling further away from Shishou.
Thankfully, they'd chosen to side with him early on...
Behind Shishou, Shimahime and Tsunhime exchanged a glance. This was their first time witnessing Shishou's true power, and they both felt relief wash over them. It was clear they had aligned themselves with the right person.
Boom!
Just as the Four-Tails and Five-Tails reverted from their Tailed Beast forms, they vanished, whisked away to parts unknown.
"I misjudged you."
Deva Path Pain's voice was cold as he glared down at Shishou, who stood atop a massive snake.
"But you're missing the bigger picture. You see the trees, but not the forest."
The early morning sun broke through the clouds, casting a golden glow on Deva Path's back, making him seem almost divine.
With arms wide open, Deva Path Pain began to speak.
"Oh no… Super…"
Shishou's instincts screamed at him. Without hesitation, he leapt off the snake, dispelling the summon, and quickly made his way to the ground, hands flashing through a series of seals.
Far above, Konan gritted her teeth and quickly ascended even higher.
"Let the world feel pain!!!"
"Shinra Tensei!"
A wave of immense force exploded outward from Deva Path, forming a transparent barrier that radiated in all directions.
Summoning Jutsu: Five-Layer Rashomon!
Wood Style: Wood Golem!
Wood Style: Wood Dragon!
Wood Style: Wood Shield!
Slamming his hands into the ground, Shishou summoned five massive Rashomon gates in front of him, followed by a Wood Golem. He covered himself with the Wood Shield technique while two Wood Dragons coiled around him, pulling him into the earth.
Boom!!!
In the next moment, an overwhelming shockwave, like a nuclear explosion, ripped through the battlefield, destroying Shishou's Flower-Tree World and leveling ten kilometers of Death Valley.
"Damn!"
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Far above, Tsunade bit her thumb and summoned Katsuyu, wrapping herself, Shizune, and Priestess Miroku in its protective embrace.
Water Style: Water Wall!
Wind Style: Wind Protection Wall!
On the other ink hawks, Terumi Mei and Pakura quickly unleashed their defensive techniques.
Priestess Miroku formed hand seals, activating talismans on the ink hawks, creating a small protective barrier around Tsunade, Terumi Mei, Pakura, and the others.
"Brace yourselves!"
On a distant mountain, Biwa Jūzō shouted as the shockwave, carrying debris and destruction, roared toward them. Each Akatsuki member scrambled to protect their own small patch of ground, caring little for anyone else.
Boom!
A minute later, the Super Shinra Tensei's effects finally stopped.
"Ugh, pfft..."
Covered in dirt, Biwa Jūzō spat out the mud in his mouth, his eyes wide as he surveyed the destruction of Death Valley.
Uchiha Itachi, Sasori, and Kakuzu were equally shocked, their expressions grim.
The entire valley had been erased, leaving a deep crater behind—like something out of a disaster movie.
"That bastard…"
Kisame grumbled, nursing his injuries. He had been hit by one of the Rashomon gates and lost the arm he had only just regrown.
"Kisame, maybe just leave it like that."
"I gotta say, it suits you..."
"Hahaha…"
The other Akatsuki members couldn't help but laugh at Kisame's misfortune.
Meanwhile, Tsunade and the others, safe in their protective barrier, were blown even higher into the sky by the lingering shockwave. Their ink hawks had been obliterated, but fortunately, Pakura was prepared. She summoned more to catch them before they fell.
"Is this even possible for one person…"
"This is the power of someone like Shishou?"
As they looked down at the massive crater left behind, Tsunade and Terumi Mei couldn't help but feel awe.
Suddenly, they noticed someone else had joined them in the sky. They turned to see one of the Akatsuki members, a woman.
"You might want to move farther away," Konan muttered awkwardly as she flapped her paper wings and flew off into the distance.
She had been thrown into the sky by the shockwave and lost control of her body, but Pakura's ink hawk had caught her just in time.
"..."
Tsunade, Mikoto, and the others exchanged glances and decided to heed Konan's advice. Steering their ink hawks farther away, they kept their eyes on the battlefield, searching for any sign of Shishou.
Deva Path Pain landed back on the ground, staring coldly at the spot where Shishou had been.
Suddenly, the ghastly face of the Wood Shield began to rise from the ground, revealing Shishou, safe and sound within it.
"You're a tough one," Deva Path muttered.
His plan had been to use the Super Shinra Tensei to blast Shishou out of Death Valley's boundaries, thereby winning the fight by default. But his plan had failed.
The Eight Span Bird landed beside Deva Path, and Nagato's figure emerged from it, lying next to the bodies of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
"So that's why your Shinra Tensei was so much stronger than in the original—you absorbed the chakra of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails."
Shishou raised an eyebrow as he looked at the younger Nagato on the Eight Span Bird.
And damn, the younger Nagato looked pretty good!
Deva Path Pain hopped onto the Eight Span Bird, lying down and closing his eyes. After using the Super Shinra Tensei, he no longer had the strength to continue fighting.
Shishou glanced at Nagato's legs and frowned slightly.
"Nagato, looks like you've fixed those legs of yours, huh?"