Nagato Hoped Sasuke Would Calm Down

"Amaterasu..."

The three black Tomoe in Sasuke's blood-red left eye spun rapidly, like three serpents twisting around one another. They converged at the center of his pupil, merged into a single point, then abruptly spread into a blood-red six-pointed star.

He had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

At this distance, Amaterasu was sure to kill him! Sasuke glared at Nagato and unleashed his Mangekyō's power without hesitation.

From Nagato's perspective, Sasuke's Chakra was surging from his body into his eye socket, then racing along his Chakra pathways toward the Mangekyō at the center.

The fine blood vessels in Sasuke's sclera bulged and reddened. Countless bloodshot lines spread from all around his eye toward the Mangekyō at its center, like a web.

Blood gradually began to seep from his eye socket.

"Too slow."

From using Chakra to activate the Mangekyō Sharingan, to focusing its power and then fixing his gaze on his target—Sasuke had to go through far too many steps before he could unleash Amaterasu. To Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, the whole process was far too slow.

It was so slow that Nagato could barely be bothered to pay attention. Seeing that Sasuke was nearly ready to unleash Amaterasu, he narrowed his eyes and reached out his left hand.

"Banshō Ten'in."

Sasuke was focusing his gaze, preparing to unleash Amaterasu, when he suddenly felt as though some invisible force had seized his entire body. The Chakra pathways coursing through him fell into disarray, and his Amaterasu was forcibly interrupted. Against his will, he flew straight toward Nagato.

"Is this his ocular power?" Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief. In an instant, Nagato had clamped his left hand around Sasuke's throat, slammed him to the ground, and pinned him there.

"Sasuke, don't be reckless." Obito, who had been sitting casually in his seat, hurriedly stood and shouted.

"Hmph. What's so impressive about this?" Sasuke sneered at the sound of Obito's voice.

The madness in his expression grew more pronounced. At the same time, cold Chakra poured from his body and spread toward Nagato.

"Heh, now this is getting interesting." Suigetsu grinned, a fierce glint in his eyes, and swung Kubikiribōchō at Nagato.

"Oh, my. You really are a handful." Kisame reached for Samehada on his back.

"None of you interfere," Nagato ordered calmly. Rather than use the Preta Path to absorb Sasuke's Chakra, he began drawing Natural Energy from the surroundings into his body and entered Sage Mode.

Beneath his red-cloud cloak, intricate green markings began to appear across his body.

"Careful! He's using Senjutsu!" Jugo warned. Sensing the Natural Energy around them surging toward Nagato like countless rivers flowing into the sea, he released all the Natural Energy remaining in his body at once. His right hand transformed into a gray battle axe, and he attacked Nagato alongside Suigetsu.

"Nagato, don't kill Sasuke." Hearing Nagato's voice, Obito held out his right hand to stop Kisame from drawing his sword. He narrowed his right eye, ready to rescue Sasuke at any moment. There was no helping it; compared to Nagato, Sasuke was still far too green. The slightest mistake could get him killed.

Kisame grinned, eager to see what their leader could do.

"Susanoo!"

After the battle at the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, Taka had begun to develop a basic level of teamwork. Seeing Suigetsu and Jugo swing their sword and axe at Nagato together, Sasuke, wearing a haughty expression, unleashed what he considered his ultimate power—enough to destroy Konoha.

Nagato narrowed his eyes as the cold Chakra surged from Sasuke's body in an instant. As it took solid form, it became purple ribs that enveloped Sasuke. Nagato released his grip on Sasuke's throat.

Suigetsu's Kubikiribōchō came first. Its enormous blade swept through the air, stirring up a gale that whipped Nagato's red hair. Feeling the blade about to strike his neck, Nagato raised his right hand.

"Clang!"

A ringing sound echoed as his finger met the blade.

Nagato had stopped Suigetsu's slash with a single finger.

"I can't cut through?"

Suspended in midair, Suigetsu stared at the finger braced against his blade. His hands trembled, and disbelief filled his eyes. He failed to notice the green markings that had appeared on Nagato's now-black finger.

A tremendous force surged along the blade toward Suigetsu's hands, like a mountain flood, unstoppable. Nagato knocked him backward with a flick of his finger. Suigetsu grimaced, unable to believe that his full-powered strike had been stopped by the opponent's single finger. He had expected to lose, but the difference between them was simply too great.

After releasing Sasuke, Nagato clenched his left hand into a fist. Just after he had flicked Suigetsu away with his right index finger, the Byakugan on his forehead caught sight of Jugo behind him. Jugo raised the battle axe formed by his Cursed Seal transformation and swung down at Nagato's head from his blind spot, with the force of a mountain-splitting blow. At the same time, Susanoo sprouted arms and reached up from below to grab Nagato.

"Asura Path."

Jugo's movements were too large and clumsy. Nagato considered him less of a threat than Suigetsu. After activating the Asura Path's ability, Nagato didn't even turn around. As Jugo drew close, two mechanical arms suddenly extended from Nagato's shoulders. One seized Jugo's axe-shaped right hand, while the other clamped tightly around his neck.

Only then did Nagato's clenched left fist slam into Sasuke's Susanoo.

"Sage Art: Strength of a Hundred!"

"Clang—crack—boom!"

A deafening rumble erupted inside the tower. As dust filled the air, Sasuke suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He clearly heard the crack of Nagato breaking his ribs.

Susanoo, which had appeared around him to protect him, shattered as though struck by an invisible warhammer. With a resounding clang, Nagato punched straight through it. The unstoppable force of his punch tore through Sasuke's abdomen, then burst outward in a powerful shock wave that spread in every direction. The entire tower trembled under the impact.

"What kind of monster is this?" In the midst of the immense shock wave, Karin stood trembling in place. The instant Nagato unleashed his Chakra, she was so terrified that she dropped to the floor.

Watching Sasuke and the others crumple the moment they went up against Nagato, she felt numb from her toes to the tips of her hair. She simply couldn't believe a monster like this existed in the world.

"That kid really did learn the Senjutsu of Shikkotsu Forest!" Tsunade looked utterly exasperated and slapped a hand against her forehead.

The combination of Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu and Strength of a Hundred surpassed the force of her own Strength of a Hundred Technique.

And judging by the way this red-haired man used Strength of a Hundred, he was unleashing it at full power, with no regard whatsoever for the damage to his own Chakra pathways. Even she was a little afraid of the force behind that blow. Sasuke hadn't been hammered to death, had he?

"Have you calmed down?" Amid the swirling dust, Nagato stood where he was, looking down at Sasuke with the Rinnegan. Blood spilled from Sasuke's mouth, and his gaze had begun to grow unfocused. Nagato asked the question calmly.

Then he turned to Jugo, who was still struggling in the mechanical arms, and "kindly" let him go.

"Huh?" After transforming under the Cursed Seal, Jugo was already somewhat delirious. When the mechanical arms holding him so tightly suddenly released him, he froze for a moment.

He opened his mouth, about to let out a wild laugh, but then—"Pfft!"—he spewed blood. Nagato had punched him away with Strength of a Hundred.

Like a cannonball, Jugo flew backward and smashed into the tower's solid wall. He blasted a huge hole through it and shot straight into the rain, leaving a straight line through the downpour as he disappeared into the distance.

Suigetsu, whom Nagato had knocked back with a single finger, stood there gripping Kubikiribōchō, hesitating over whether to rush forward and help Jugo and Sasuke. A gust of wind swept past his head. Jugo had just flown by, grazing his scalp. Suigetsu's scalp went numb, his whole body liquefied, and he stared blankly as Nagato turned his gaze toward him again. His expression looked like he was about to cry.

He truly wasn't afraid of dying, but facing a monster like this had him rattled. That redhead wasn't even human. He was far scarier than the Eight Tails.