"Agh…" From miles away, within a shadowy cave, Nagato let out a low, guttural roar as powerful chakra erupted from his body without restraint.
Within the thunderous landscape of the Lightning, the Deva Path let out a shout, pressing both hands forcefully to the ground:
"Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
Boom!
With a thunderous burst of smoke, a monstrous figure, as large as a mountain, shattered the ground and emerged in the heart of the Lightning. Half-buried in the earth, the creature's upper body loomed above, towering even over tailed beasts like an impromptu peak jutting from the landscape. Lightning cascaded from the sky, striking it continuously, yet only leaving thin, scorched marks on its massive form.
The beast roared to the heavens as soon as it appeared, stretching forward and spreading two gaunt hands wide, enveloping Tendo Pain within its shadow.
"Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?" Akira's gaze sharpened as he took in the colossal figure.
"Enough of this," Akira muttered. "So what if it's the Demonic Statue? Let's see how it withstands the force of nature itself!"
Standing on the mountaintop, Akira waved his right hand, and in an instant, the divine sword in the sky vanished. The next moment, an intense blue light burst forth, connecting heaven and earth. An endless torrent of lightning exploded outward, transforming into a devastating storm that spread in every direction. The landscape disintegrated into dust beneath the lightning's touch, with the dust itself dissolving into blue smoke, which was then consumed by the endless light.
Within a heartbeat, the expanding lightning formed a massive blue sphere, kilometers in diameter, enveloping the ground below. Only then did the resounding boom echo across the heavens and earth, causing the entire landscape to tremble. Clouds dispersed under the force of the explosion, allowing the Land of Rain to glimpse clear skies once more.
Miles away, Kaori and Shiga hid in separate locations, but the disturbance above left them both shaken. Kaori, with her Byakugan, could see the vast power gathered above, its magnitude humbling her deeply.
With a deafening roar, Kaori felt the mountains behind her tremble intensely.
Crack, crack…
The sound of splitting earth echoed as black fissures fractured the surrounding landscape, with fragments of stone whipped up by the relentless storm. Kaori felt a surge of awe.
"Such power… If I had this kind of strength, maybe… maybe I could break free from the Caged Bird seal."
After a while, the lightning storm subsided, and calm returned to the battlefield. Amidst the dissipating dust, a gigantic figure stood, unscathed, on the devastated landscape. Amid the scorched earth, Akira's body bore slight burn marks, his expression tense as he focused on the massive form emerging from the smoke—a behemoth as large as a mountain.
A gust of wind, as if from nowhere, swept across the battlefield, clearing the smoke and revealing the creature's charred form. The Demonic Statue stood in a massive crater, looking like a colossal piece of charred debris, thick smoke rising from its form. Its fingers, partially melted, had lost most of their length, with skeletal branches on its back worn down to mere stumps.
Beneath the statue, the Deva Path lay sprawled, blackened and motionless. Scattered around the statue were heaps of smoldering debris—chunks of its form left behind by the lightning's fury.
Akira's eyes narrowed as he observed the Demonic Statue's state. He knew it wasn't truly defeated. The vast chakra still rising within it proved that much.
"A terrifying sight," he mused to himself. "As expected of a husk of the Ten-Tails. Even as an empty shell, it still clings to life."
Thud.
Suddenly, the statue disintegrated into a massive cloud of smoke, leaving only the charred remains of the Deva Path within the crater. At that moment, Obito appeared out of nowhere, clad in his distinctive bio-armor, lunging toward Akira with a sharp wooden spike in hand.
But Akira, as though anticipating the attack, ignited with lightning and reappeared several meters away in an instant, evading the strike.
Obito scowled. "Damn."
Standing a short distance away, Akira eyed Obito, his gaze sharp.
"A Sharingan? And hiding in the shadows like a coward—who are you?"
Though he knew the man's identity, Akira played along, biding his time to reveal the truth.
"Heh…" Obito chuckled lightly, his tone indifferent. "Who am I? I am Uchiha Madara!"
Akira let out a mocking laugh. "Hiding in the shadows and calling yourself Madara? The Uchiha legend would never stoop to such cheap tricks!"
"Tch. Has the Uchiha Clan become this naive? Ninja aren't bound by honor. Since the era of the First Hokage, there's been no place for the Uchiha among the Hokage."
Akira snorted. "If you're really Madara, you'd know why the Uchiha were denied the Hokage title." His gaze was piercing. "And anyway, what does our clan's status have to do with a skulking shadow like you? Even if you were Madara, you're still nothing more than a rejected relic."
"Brat, you have a sharp tongue!" Obito's Sharingan glinted with anger.
"Stop fooling yourself," Akira scoffed. "You think you're Madara? I'd say you're deluding yourself as much as you are others."
Obito's tone grew colder. "People are prisoners of their perceptions, always limited by their own narrow vision."
Akira laughed dismissively. "Then let's make it simple. Show your face if you're not afraid."
Obito sneered. "Why should I prove myself to the likes of you?"
Akira shrugged casually. "Of course. A coward hiding in the shadows, relying on borrowed power, can't risk revealing himself."
Fixing his gaze on Obito, Akira's voice turned serious. "Without that mask to hide behind, what are you but a shadow?"
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