"Crack!"
The chilling sound made everyone's skin crawl. Rain fell onto the hideous, stark-white bones covered in spikes, pattering crisply against them.
River pulled a long spine from the back of his neck, then gripped it in one hand, turning it into a sharp, stark-white Bone Whip covered in barbs.
It was a terrifying sight.
Silence filled the battlefield, broken only by the patter of raindrops.
"You seem surprised, Nagato."
River grinned, his eyes sweeping over the Six Paths bodies closing in from every direction.
Unlike his opponent, he had yet to create any Six Paths puppets, so he had no shared vision and could not see a full three hundred and sixty degrees around him.
"What I've mastered goes far beyond your imagination!"
The moment he finished speaking, the Six Paths bodies lunged at him from all sides.
River flicked his right hand, and the stark-white Bone Whip lengthened again, coiling around him like a snake.
He moved abruptly, spinning in place.
"Dance of the Clematis: Flower."
The Bone Whip snapped taut and rapidly extended, lashing out at the surrounding Six Paths bodies.
The Preta Path was the first to be struck. The Bone Whip wrapped around its body in an instant, then abruptly tightened.
"Snap!"
Unbelievably, the Preta Path's body was sliced through the middle and burst apart.
Deva Path Pain's pupils contracted. He raised his right hand and aimed it at River.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
A powerful pulling force surged out instantly. River's rapidly spinning body suddenly stalled, and he was dragged across the rooftop against his will.
"Aaaaaah!"
River abruptly raised his head and pressed his palms together, his face flushing red. Power surged through him, making the surrounding air tremble, and with a resounding hum, he forcibly halted the pull.
The sight made Pain's pupils contract.