Relentless Pursuit

Rumble—!!!

A roar far louder than the ones that had accompanied the destruction of the Land of Fire and the Land of Water shook heaven and earth. It was as if the entire Shinobi World trembled beneath that single blow.

The instant the giant hand came down, every structure in the Land of Rain—bustling towns, humble villages, the Akatsuki Organization's secret base, and Pain's temple—crumbled and collapsed.

Hard rock shattered like tofu. The muddy ground was crushed flat, then pulverized. Raindrops suspended in the air instantly evaporated into white mist, and even the moisture in the air vanished with them.

In the blink of an eye, the Land of Rain, once shrouded in endless downpour, had become a charred wasteland.

Broken buildings and congealed blood stained the ground everywhere. The steady rain had disappeared, replaced by drifting dust and an aura of destruction.

Countless lives perished helplessly beneath that blow. The moment their souls left their bodies, they were drawn to the energy coating the Susanoo Armor and refined into part of Genki's power.

The Land of Rain had gone from bustling to lifeless in the snap of a finger.

Deep in the ruins, inside a concealed underground chamber, Obito Uchiha leaned against the wall as he tended to his injuries.

The wounds caused by Genki's sword energy still hadn't healed. The chakra inside him continued to churn chaotically, and half his body still throbbed with piercing pain.

Suddenly, the violent tremors and terrifying energy blast penetrated the chamber's walls, making the entire room shake violently as rubble rained down from the ceiling.

Obito jerked his head up, his face turning paper-white as his body trembled uncontrollably. This energy... It was that monster! How had he found him?!

He gritted his teeth against the pain and struggled over to the chamber's ventilation shaft, peering outside through the narrow gap.

When he saw the towering Black Susanoo Armor above the ruins, blotting out the sky, his pupils contracted sharply. His eyes filled with utter terror and despair.

A fear that sank deep into his bones—more intense than when the sword energy had locked onto him last time. His opponent's power had grown even stronger!

He had destroyed an entire country with a single blow!

Obito clamped a hand over his mouth, daring not to make a sound. Even his breathing grew cautious.

He could clearly feel the pressure radiating from the Susanoo Armor as it swept over the ruins like a tide. The slightest disturbance might give him away.

He didn't even have the strength to activate Kamui and escape. All he could do was hide in the chamber like a frightened rat, praying he wouldn't be found.

Meanwhile, on another rise amid the ruins, the Six Paths of Pain stood in formation.

The Deva Path Pain hovered at the front. His black-and-white Rinnegan stared fixedly at the Black Susanoo Armor overhead. His face showed no emotion, but the chaotic chakra around him betrayed his unease.

The other five Paths of Pain tensed, ready for battle, their Rinnegan gleaming with wary light.

Deep inside the chamber, Nagato Uzumaki watched the terrifying giant through Pain's eyes. His brow furrowed, and his hands clenched into fists.

He could clearly sense the terrifying power of his opponent. It was beyond anything he could comprehend—more violent than a Tailed Beast's power and more profound than that of a Kage Level fighter.

The pressure alone was enough to make the chakra he used to control Pain falter.

"Who... is this guy?" Nagato's voice quavered almost imperceptibly.

He had founded the Akatsuki Organization to realize his ideal of "peace," but this being before him was destroying the world through sheer, unbridled violence.

He could sense that he wasn't the opponent's target, but this power, capable of destroying everything, already threatened his plans.

The Black Susanoo Armor slowly lowered its head. Genki's strange, all-transcendent eyes swept over the ruins below, scanning every corner with the precision of radar.

He could clearly sense two distinct chakra signatures among the ruins. One belonged to Obito Uchiha, whom he had been pursuing for so long. The other was the Rinnegan chakra of the Six Paths of Pain and Nagato Uzumaki.

Genki's lips curved in a cold smile. He controlled the Susanoo Armor as it slowly raised one foot and lowered it toward the chamber where Obito was hiding.

A black wind swept across the ruins of Amegakure. The Susanoo Armor, tens of thousands of meters tall, slowly raised its hand. The Eight-Handled Sword, its entire length traced with dark golden patterns, rose with it. Its blade tore through the sky, ripping a savage gash through the clouds.

The shadows of a million souls swirled and howled across the sword's surface. Every inch of metal radiated a chill capable of freezing time and space. The shadow cast by the blade, thousands of meters long, swallowed the remains of Amegakure completely, leaving no sunlight able to pierce through.

Uchiha Genki's eyes were set in the Susanoo's brow. Those strange, all-transcendent eyes, sharp as poisoned blades, fixed on Obito Uchiha's hiding place. His killing intent erupted like a volcano, nearly breaking free of the Susanoo's restraints and becoming tangible blades that would slowly flay his enemy alive.

"We meet again, Obito Uchiha!"

His hoarse voice carried the force of a temporal quake, resounding through every corner of the ruins. Each word was like a red-hot brand searing Obito's heart.

There was no concealing the killing intent in that voice. It was a ferocity forged from countless years of hatred and the souls of millions—a cold determination that had crawled back from hell to claim his life—

Destroying the world was as easy as raising a hand to him. But he wanted Obito to taste death's bitter fruit, little by little, in the depths of despair.

"Ready? I've come back from hell!"

Before the words had even faded, Genki moved without hesitation. The instant he willed it, the Susanoo Armor, tens of thousands of meters tall, surged into action, bringing the Eight-Handled Sword down toward Obito's hiding place with world-shattering force.

Before the blade could even touch the ground, the earth below began to split apart wildly. Space twisted and stretched by force, making a sizzling tearing sound. Countless tiny spatial fissures spun around the blade like greedy maws, waiting to devour everything.

"How is that possible?!"

Hiding in a crevice among the ruins, Obito stared at the descending sword that blotted out the sky. His scalp prickled, and fear sank deep into his bones, engulfing him in an instant. Cold sweat soaked through his clothes.

He instinctively channeled his chakra. A crimson glow shimmered in the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right eye, and ripples in space were just beginning to spread around him when an instinctive premonition of death exploded through his mind like thunder—he couldn't dodge!

The Kamui Dimension couldn't withstand this attack! Going in would mean death!

"Izanagi!"