Nagato's Full Power Assault

Feeling the distortion in the surrounding space, Ensei Uchiha hurriedly utilized the Flying Thunder God technique he had been studying for some time.

The Flying Thunder God is a complex forbidden jutsu, but it primarily relies on sealing formulas to facilitate spatial displacement. Ensei Uchiha's grasp of sealing arts was decent, and he possessed a certain talent for sensing time-space fluctuations.

However, his reflexes were another matter entirely; they were simply too difficult to train.

Consequently, the version of the Flying Thunder God that Ensei Uchiha learned was limited to basic point-to-point teleportation. He knew nothing of the second stage or how to utilize the technique mid-combat.

Conversely, he had practiced his point-to-point teleportation so thoroughly that he could almost execute it instantaneously.

Therefore, the moment he sensed the time-space fluctuations around him, Ensei Uchiha immediately activated the Flying Thunder God to teleport to the nearest marked location.

It was not that he was unwilling to teleport further away, but the technique required him to sense a Flying Thunder God seal to navigate. In a critical moment, he naturally had to prioritize escaping danger with the greatest possible speed.

The closest location happened to be near his own partially shattered Perfect Susanoo.

Re-entering the Perfect Susanoo, Ensei Uchiha first checked at top speed to ensure that no foreign elements had contaminated the ocular power within the construct.

Only after confirming this did he release the sealed ocular power from within his body to repair the damaged Susanoo.

In the blink of an eye, the Perfect Susanoo manifested once more.

Seeing this scene through the eyes of Killer B, the Eight-Tails could not help but exclaim, "I have only ever seen such terrifying power in the Sage of Six Paths."

Killer B was stunned by these words; ignoring the situation outside, he began to press for information regarding the Sage of Six Paths.

Unfortunately, the Tailed Beasts maintained a habit of keeping silent about the Sage of Six Paths, and no matter how much Killer B pleaded, it was to no avail.

On the other side, Obito Uchiha sensed the time-space fluctuations and immediately recalled the fear of being dominated by Minato Namikaze.

Because of Ensei Uchiha, Minato Namikaze—who possessed all the intelligence—had been an absolute nightmare to deal with.

Had Black Zetsu not intervened at the last moment, Obito Uchiha would have long since been captured alive by Konoha.

"Flying Thunder God... no wonder you were willing to leave Konoha."

Soon, Obito Uchiha composed himself. Looking at the massive, pale blue Susanoo not far away, a trace of envy flickered in his eyes.

Because he possessed only one eye, Obito Uchiha was unable to manifest a Susanoo.

However, what Obito Uchiha did not know was that what stood before him was not actually an orthodox Susanoo.

Though the difference was subtle, it was distinct nonetheless.

"Obito, everything is prepared."

At that moment, a black-and-white figure emerged from the ground, surrounded by wooden spikes that looked almost like decorative ornaments.

Ensei Uchiha clearly noticed the presence of Black Zetsu, but unfortunately, he had yet to find a way to seal him.

He wondered if the Reaper Death Seal would work; perhaps he should acquire a clone in a few days to test it out.

The thought popped into his mind, immediately causing Ensei Uchiha a moment of annoyance, to the point that he forgot he hadn't even learned the Reaper Death Seal yet.

"Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"

Accompanied by a somewhat familiar voice, a presence equal in size to the Perfect Susanoo appeared before Ensei Uchiha's eyes.

After the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path appeared, it let out a roar.

Immediately following, as if it had discovered some delicious morsel, the statue charged straight toward Ensei Uchiha.

Seeing this, Ensei Uchiha hurriedly urged the Perfect Susanoo to ascend, only just managing to evade the statue's initial assault.

This thing was the shell of the God Tree; Ensei Uchiha naturally dared not let it touch him.

There was a high probability that his Susanoo, constructed from Byakugan ocular power, was nothing more than a dessert for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Fortunately, this thing could not fly.

Just as Ensei Uchiha felt a sense of relief, a cold voice rang out once more.

"Banshō Ten'in!"

Immediately, Ensei Uchiha felt his body grow heavy. Although he did not fall directly, the weight he felt pressing down on him only deepened the unease in his heart.

But... how could Nagato be here? Under normal circumstances, this shouldn't be possible.

Could it be that Black Zetsu had used Kotoamatsukami on Nagato?

In other circumstances, it would be hard to say whether the power of Kotoamatsukami could rewrite the will of the Rinnegan, but Nagato's Rinnegan were not his own, and they still contained the restrictions left behind by Madara Uchiha.

Thinking of this, Ensei Uchiha began to consider an exit strategy, though where he would go was a question worth pondering.

"Chibaku Tensei!"

Following this, a black sphere the size of a fist suddenly appeared beside the Susanoo. Accompanied by a massive gravitational pull, Ensei Uchiha found himself unable to move for a moment.

Unlike their last encounter, where the Six Paths of Pain had attacked with stiff and sluggish movements, the assault Ensei Uchiha faced now was extremely swift. Furthermore, it seemed that only Nagato was on the battlefield; the other six paths were nowhere to be seen.

Activating the penetrating vision of his Byakugan, Ensei Uchiha finally spotted the rapidly approaching Nagato. At the same time, he noticed that while Nagato's frame remained thin and frail, his crippled legs had been replaced by a white substance.

There was no doubt about it: Nagato's injuries had been repaired by Black Zetsu.

With his body recovered, Nagato might not be able to unleash the true power of the Rinnegan, but he should be close enough.

Thinking of this, Ensei Uchiha no longer held back his strength, pushing his Susanoo to its limit as four massive Chakra blades struck down simultaneously upon the black sphere of the Chibaku Tensei.

The powerful assault shattered the black sphere that formed the Chibaku Tensei.

Yet at this moment, Nagato had already arrived right beside Ensei Uchiha, treating the Susanoo surrounding Ensei Uchiha's body as if it were nothing at all.

Watching his Susanoo dissipate like snowflakes, a flicker of panic finally appeared in Ensei Uchiha's eyes.

Ensei Uchiha did not know if an authentic Susanoo could be absorbed by the Rinnegan, but it was clear that his own bootleg version could not withstand the Preta Path's ability to absorb Chakra.

After all, no matter how similar it appeared, it was not the true Mangekyo Sharingan; the Susanoo Ensei Uchiha had manifested was merely a shell filled with ocular power.

"Preta Path..."

Gritting his teeth as he spat out those three words, Ensei Uchiha threw a scroll from his right sleeve.

As the Sage Mode Chakra within the scroll was released, Ensei Uchiha formed hand seals to unleash the only Sage Art he had successfully mastered.

"Sage Art: Tiger Roar!"

Accompanied by a deafening tiger's roar, Nagato's body faltered for a brief moment, and Ensei Uchiha seized the opportunity to retract his Susanoo, plummeting downward under the influence of gravity.

It was a pity that Ensei Uchiha did not yet know how to use flight ninjutsu, but that did not matter—he knew the Flying Thunder God.

"Bye-bye, everyone!"