My Turn

Itachi vanished on the far side of the battlefield, and Ren turned his gaze back to Deva Path Pain.

That last Shinra Tensei had proved the Six Paths of Pain were now far more dangerous than the intelligence had suggested.

With the power of the Six Paths concentrated, Deva Path Pain's strength had undergone a qualitative leap.

He could not only shatter Itachi's Fourth-Stage Susanoo head-on, but also smash the Yata Mirror with a single punch. He had even forced Ren to use Existence-Nonexistence Shift early to save Itachi's life.

Now this was an opponent worth facing personally.

Ren stepped forward.

Mud and water parted beneath his foot, pushed aside by an invisible force. The crisscrossing Chakra fluctuations around him seemed to be pressed down by an unseen hand.

He did not activate his Mangekyō Sharingan or release his Susanoo Divine Power.

Nor did a world-shaking surge of Chakra erupt from his body.

Yet with that single step, the air at the center of the battlefield seemed to grow several times heavier.

Kasumi Uchiha had just forced Sasori back. Feeling the pressure coming from behind her, she immediately turned.

She saw Ren walking slowly toward Deva Path Pain, and her expression shifted.

"The Clan Leader is going to fight personally?"

Another Squad Captain cut through the black tendrils Kakuzu had unleashed and looked toward Ren as well.

"Once the power of the Six Paths of Pain was concentrated, it shattered Captain Itachi's Susanoo."

"If the Clan Leader faces him head-on, he probably won't hold back anymore."

In the distance, scouts from the major ninja villages also noticed the shift on the battlefield.

They had been watching Itachi and Obito, but now their gazes turned toward Ren.

"Uchiha Ren is finally making his move!"

"Was he standing back all this time