Above the ruins of the Rain Village, cold rain lashed against broken steel beams and charred rubble. The vanished central tower was like a heart torn out, leaving behind a massive, ugly scar. Nagato slumped in his specially made machine, orange hair clinging to his pale forehead. His body, riddled with black chakra rods, trembled faintly from weakness and humiliation. Konan stood silently at his side, a paper umbrella formed by Shikigami Dance shielding her from the wind and rain. Her eyes were filled with concern as she looked at Nagato.
Neji's godlike, crushing presence, along with those final words that pierced his heart, haunted Nagato like a nightmare. For the first time, he felt his own insignificance and powerlessness so clearly. The so-called "make the world feel pain" seemed utterly laughable before true absolute power.
"Was I... wrong?" Nagato forced out in a dry voice, carrying a trace of confusion. The Rinnegan no longer held the cold detachment of one looking down upon all living things, but instead was filled with cracks left by defeat.
At that moment, the space before him twisted strangely, rippling like a stone dropped into water. A figure wearing a spiral mask, revealing only a single scarlet Sharingan, and a bizarre creature that was half black and half white, like sentient aloe, appeared soundlessly atop the ruins.
"Madara Uchiha..." Nagato's gaze sharpened as he forced himself to stay alert, his voice wary. Konan immediately stepped in front of him, countless sheets of paper floating around her, ready to strike.
"Tsk, tsk. You're quite a mess, Nagato." Obito Uchiha, disguised as Madara, spoke in his deliberately deep voice. His gaze swept over the missing tower and the visibly damaged Six Paths of Pain. "It seems that little brat from the Hyuga Clan taught you a