Is this the Uchiha... Night?

Amegakure.

A drizzling rain fell from the cloud-choked sky like an endless dirge, tapping softly against dilapidated eaves and muddy streets.

The entire village was immersed in a world of cold gray, the very air saturated with moisture and a heavy, oppressive intent to kill.

A flash of purple-white lightning suddenly tore across the horizon, illuminating a solitary, arrogant figure.

Uchiha Yoru stood with his hands behind his back, the ends of his hair and his robes fluttering in the wind, the purple glow within his pupils flickering faintly through the curtain of rain.

Just then—

Six figures flickered into existence between him and Nagato, lining up to form a cold, grim barrier.

Their eyes were identical—indifferent, ruthless, as if they were six emotionless walking corpses: the Rinnegan.

The Akatsuki uniforms, black with red clouds, swayed slightly in the rain, radiating an icy aura.

"The Six Paths of Pain?" Uchiha Yoru's gaze narrowed as he spat out the words, followed by a cold sneer, his tone dripping with undisguised mockery. "Using puppets against me? Nagato, are you looking down on me?"

The Six Paths of Pain did not move, but Deva Path Pain slowly stepped forward, his tone as mechanical and cold as a machine:

"You are too dangerous."

"To face you with the Six Paths is a logical judgment."

Uchiha Yoru tilted his head slightly, rainwater sliding down his stern face to settle on the smirk at the corner of his mouth. His eyes were cold, his tone laced with a hint of disdain:

"Dangerous?"

He shook his head, his contemptuous smile deepening. "No, you are simply afraid."

"You have played the role of a god for so long that you have even come to believe it yourself..."

He raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as frost, his voice low yet vibrating through the surroundings like rolling thunder:

"It is a pity that you are nothing more than a pathetic man clinging to life through machines."

At this moment, the air seemed to solidify.

The next second—

"Perfect Susanoo."

BOOM!!!

The sky shattered violently as an invisible force tore through the rain.

Purple chakra surged like a vast, raging ocean, and a colossal shadow rose from behind Uchiha Yoru. Its translucent armor shimmered with an eerie radiance, and its mask looked down upon the battlefield like a judge.

Nagato and Konan's pupils contracted sharply; the sheer scale of the Susanoo left them struggling to breathe.

It was even larger and more formidable than the Perfect Susanoo they had imagined.

Deva Path Pain's eyes turned icy, and he raised his hand without hesitation:

"Shinra Tensei!"

BOOM!!!

A mountain-like shockwave swept forth. The entire village of Amegakure trembled, buildings shattering like paper before the invisible force, the air shrieking as if glass were being pulverized.

Facing this pressure, the Susanoo crossed its arms, shielding Uchiha Yoru.

BANG!!!

The impact surged like a raging tide, yet it only caused the Susanoo's form to ripple slightly, leaving it without a single scratch.

The earth cracked, a deep fissure appearing as thick smoke billowed into the air, but Uchiha Yoru remained standing, as majestic as a deity.

Nagato's pupils constricted, his heart shaken.

"Shinra Tensei... blocked just like that?"

Before he could recover, the Susanoo raised its blade and lunged forward, the light of the sword cleaving the sky!

"Retreat!!"

Konan rapidly unfurled her paper wings, soaring into the high sky like a streak of light.

The Six Paths of Pain reacted with agility; the Animal Path summoned a giant bird that carried Nagato's main body into the air, while the other paths scattered in all directions.

BOOM!!!

The Susanoo's blade swung down, and the buildings on the ground were sliced in two as if they were paper, the entire area seemingly torn apart by a gale.

"Banshō Ten'in!"

Deva Path Pain roared, thrusting his hand forward. Thousands of ruins in the vicinity were instantly drawn toward him, coalescing into a massive sphere of debris that hurtled toward the Susanoo like a meteor.

Yet, Uchiha Yoru did not even look up, merely uttering a single word: "Foolish."

The Susanoo swung its blade, and the giant sphere was cleaved in two, the debris scattering like dust.

At that moment, Konan, high in the air, wore a face cold as frost.

She spread her arms, and the sky filled with paper, each sheet sharp as a blade, descending upon the battlefield in a dense, overwhelming torrent.

BOOM!!!

These sheets of paper were explosive tags.

In an instant, the world seemed to transform into a sea of fire! The explosive tags detonated in rapid succession, the blasts rolling out like waves of the tide.

The other Pains began to move as well; the Asura Path fired missiles and lasers from its mechanical limbs, the dense barrage pouring down upon the Susanoo like a torrential rain.

Boom, boom, boom--!!

The explosions were incessant, firelight and thunder intertwining, yet that colossal purple god of war remained standing in place, as if these attacks were nothing more than a tickle.

The Animal Path followed closely behind, summoning a giant three-headed dog, a one-eyed rhinoceros, and other monsters that lunged toward the Susanoo with wild howls.

But before the Susanoo, they were as insignificant as ants.

Uchiha Yoru merely waved his hand coldly.

"Slash."

The Susanoo's giant blade descended, and the one-eyed rhinoceros was instantly cleaved in two, flesh and blood scattering everywhere!

The three-headed dog instinctively split apart to evade, but the Susanoo's blade was impossibly fast, slicing them into a mass of bloody pulp in the blink of an eye.

A rain of blood sprayed out, splashing onto the Susanoo's armor, only making it appear all the more majestic.

"Shinra Tensei!"

Deva Path Pain, still unwilling to give up, threw his hands wide open.

A powerful repulsive field tore through the air, rushing toward Uchiha Yoru in an instant.

"Truly foolish." Uchiha Yoru whispered with disdain, a cold purple light flashing in his eyes.

The blade of the Susanoo suddenly rose high, purple flames burning, the air currents vibrating.

Every inch of chakra on the edge of the blade radiated a scorching light, as if the will of a god had descended.

Deva Path Pain's Shinra Tensei continued to rage, the immense force pressing down on Uchiha Yoru, yet the Susanoo's blade descended without a moment's hesitation.

"Boom!"

With a deafening roar, Deva Path Pain's repulsive field proved as fragile as paper in the face of this power.

The surrounding air vibrated once more, and in an instant, a powerful destructive force swept through the area, Nagato's Shinra Tensei completely shattered.

The next moment, the Susanoo's long blade struck directly at the Naraka Path, the cold edge speeding forth like lightning, carrying an irresistible pressure.

"Bang!"

The Naraka Path didn't even have a chance to struggle before it was torn apart by the blade's light, its body instantly sliced into fragments, flesh and blood splashing and scattering into the air like falling meteors.

Konan looked down at this scene from the sky, her face covered in cold sweat, her eyes filled with helplessness and despair.

Watching the corpse of the Naraka Path instantly turn into a pile of debris and feeling that irresistible power emanating from Uchiha Yoru, she felt as if a giant boulder were pressing down on her heart.

"Nagato..." Konan murmured softly, "We... cannot stop him..."

Nagato's gaze remained locked firmly onto Uchiha Yoru, his expression grim, his eyes filled with shock and rage that he could not conceal.

He gritted his teeth tightly, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Because of the toll taken by sustaining the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, his chakra was already somewhat depleted, and the current battle had forced him to expend a massive amount more.

"Is this... Uchiha Yoru?"