The Main Body Descends

Inside the Paper Tree, Konan's true body widened her eyes slightly. She watched the Animal Path suddenly appear amidst the rising white mist, having no idea where Nagato's main body had gone.

"Nagato, what are you doing?" Konan asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

The Animal Path stood there motionless, ignoring her. Nagato needed to focus his attention within Konoha right now; he had no time to explain things to Konan.

Meanwhile, inside Konoha, the red-haired Nagato suddenly appeared before the Tailed Beast-transformed Naruto. Looking at the Nine Tails Chakra that had already begun to materialize and wrap around Naruto's body, he extended both hands and activated his ability.

"Preta Path!"

A suction force far exceeding that of Pain erupted from his hands. The Nine Tails Chakra enveloping Naruto transformed into blood-red vortexes, which were drawn toward Nagato and surged into his body through his palms.

When Nagato appeared, the sound of the summoning technique caused Shima, not far away, to barely lift her head. After seeing an extra person suddenly appear on the battlefield, her expression shifted rapidly from surprise mixed with a hint of expectation to sheer terror.

Shima had originally hoped that some reinforcements had arrived to help Naruto. Instead, she saw Nagato's profile: his skeletal, emaciated frame, the long Black Receivers protruding from his arms and back like a form of self-torture, and beneath that dry, withered red hair, a skull-like face with Rinnegan eyes radiating a terrifying power from deep within their sockets.

"This is the true body of the Pains!"

Just by looking at those eyes, which made her feel a chill deep in her bones, Shima immediately confirmed Nagato's identity.

What terrified Shima even more was the slight smirk on Nagato's lips, as if he were happy about something.

At this moment, the Nine Tails Chakra that had been soaring into the sky and radiating violent fluctuations in all directions had turned into a massive vortex of red and black. Nagato was using his terrifying suction to draw it into his body like a whale gulping down water.

Compared to the massive volume of Chakra emitted by Nine Tails, Nagato's body appeared somewhat small, yet it acted like a bottomless black hole, crazily absorbing the Chakra. As the Nine Tails Chakra poured in, his aura became increasingly astonishing.

In Shima's horrified gaze, Nagato's skin-and-bones body seemed to receive a massive replenishment from the absorption of the Nine Tails Chakra, rapidly swelling and becoming filled with a sense of strength.

The muscles on his body began to radiate a growing vitality, and even his skin became increasingly lustrous.

The dry red hair on his head seemed to come alive, growing longer and longer, moving without wind, and gradually emitting a red light with a black center—much like the Nine Tails Chakra itself—filled with an eerie, malevolent aura that made one shudder to look upon.

What frightened Shima even more were the intimidating Rinnegan on his face; as his body improved, they radiated an increasingly powerful ocular strength.

That ocular strength, carrying an intense sense of oppression, seemed to materialize, casting a cold, metallic glint from the Rinnegan that gave Shima a premonition that she would die if she were looked at by those eyes.

"No, this can't go on! Naruto, wake up!"

Ignoring the Black Receiver still embedded in her body, Shima screamed desperately, trying to awaken Naruto's will and force him to stop Nagato from absorbing the Nine Tails Chakra.

Unfortunately, Naruto had long since lost his reason; his hollow eyes were like two vast, white voids, showing no reaction to Shima's voice.

"How could it be like this?"

Watching Naruto completely transform into a miniature Nine Tails, pinned to the ground by Nagato as his Chakra was drained, Shima finally understood why the previous Pains had been deliberately provoking Naruto. It was to induce him to unleash the Nine Tails Chakra sealed within his body so that their true body could absorb it.

Originally, the Nine Tails Chakra was sealed inside Naruto by the Uzumaki Clan's Four Symbols Seal. Without breaking this powerful, unique sealing technique of the Uzumaki Clan, no one could seize the Nine Tails Chakra within. But Naruto had actively unleashed the Chakra under Pain's provocation, which was equivalent to voluntarily opening the Four Symbols Seal.

This act was like taking treasure out of a safe and placing it in front of an enemy; he had fallen completely into their trap.

The Pains were already overwhelmingly strong, and now their true body had obtained the Nine Tails Chakra, becoming even more powerful. To Shima, this scene was nothing short of a nightmare.

"Could the prophecy be wrong? Was Jiraiya wrong, too? Is the true body of Pain actually the Child of Prophecy?" Shima, who had never fully believed in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, now saw the strength and coldness Nagato displayed and couldn't help but wonder if Mount Myoboku's decision to trust Naruto was right or wrong.

No matter how one looked at it, Nagato, with his Rinnegan, was far stronger than Naruto.

"As expected of the Nine-Tails!"

Just as Shima's mindset grew increasingly pessimistic, the smile on the corner of Nagato's mouth gradually widened.

Just as he had expected, if his reanimated self in the original timeline could restore its state by absorbing the Eight-Tails' Chakra, then his current living self could benefit even more from Tailed Beast Chakra.

Whether in terms of quality or quantity, the Nine Tails Chakra was far superior to that of the Eight-Tails. One only needed to look at the aura the two Jinchuriki emitted when they unleashed six tails to know that Nine Tails and the Eight-Tails were not in the same league. The life force contained within the Nine Tails Chakra was also incomparable to that of the Eight-Tails; this powerful, highly active life force, once drawn into Nagato's body, rapidly compensated for his physical deficiencies.

If an ordinary person were to do this, they would likely be unable to withstand the overwhelming power of the Nine Tails Chakra. But Nagato possessed a Sage Body; he could even withstand the side effects of dual Rinnegan, let alone this bit of Nine Tails Chakra.

At this moment, the cells in Nagato's body, stimulated by the Nine Tails Chakra, were like withered wood meeting spring, once again radiating powerful life force. Certain parts of his body—tissues and organs that had become numb and lost sensation due to his long-term connection to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the Pains—began to radiate heat again, becoming sensitive and active.

This was especially true for his back and arms, the areas where the Black Receivers had been embedded for so long. In the process of his body being reawakened, these areas began to itch and ache, giving him an urge to pull out all the Black Receivers from his body immediately.

"Not yet, I still need to endure for a while."

Although he had long wanted to pull out the Black Receivers, now was clearly not the time. While the Nine Tails Chakra was strong, it still hadn't healed his legs; lacking mobility, he still needed the assistance of the Pains for the time being.