Chapter 121: Nagato's Entry, A Super Shadow-Class Showdown

Chapter 121: Nagato’s Entry, A Super Shadow-Class Showdown

“Obito, how can I restore your power?”

Nagato Body Flickered toward the battlefield while familiarizing himself with his current body.

Before long, he voiced his question.

He’d come to understand Obito’s immense strength and significance. Without Obito’s support, Nagato felt like he’d have to relearn how to walk from childhood. But wearing Obito’s armor made him feel invincible—his chakra vast as the ocean, his physical speed rivaling even Body Flicker, despite lacking formal taijutsu training.

Absorbing Obito’s chakra had amplified his already enormous reserves, and the Wood Release nature transformation derived from Hashirama Cells surged with unprecedented power.

All of this came from Obito.

Nagato couldn’t imagine the sheer force they’d unleash if Obito fully recovered and merged with his current self.

And for Obito—who’d helped him and shared Hashirama Cells—Nagato felt no suspicion toward the Uchiha clan, only deep gratitude.

“Leader, I need Yang Release and Wood Release chakra to restore my power,” Obito replied without hesitation. “There are two ways: either let me absorb your chakra directly, like you did with mine, or use your Preta Path to help me siphon tailed beast chakra. Tailed beasts hold the purest chakra—their Tailed Beast Balls are formed from balanced Yin and Yang chakra.”

“I understand,” Nagato nodded, subtly accelerating.

Soon, he left Amegakure behind.

By now, he’d mastered his new body.

He stopped Body Flickering and shot skyward.

Repulsive Force was a rule-based power, not like wind that could propel flight. Instead, he activated Asura Path’s mechanical transformation, morphing his arms into twin cannons. With a burst of Mach rings, he rocketed toward the battlefield like a jet.

Just as Izayoi’s chakra blazed like a full moon, instantly drawing all attention, Nagato’s overwhelming presence sent shockwaves through the battlefield.

“W-What is that?!”

“Akatsuki’s leader? No—it’s not coming from that direction!”

“This chakra is terrifying! It rivals a tailed beast’s! Amegakure had this kind of monster?!”

“Could he be Akatsuki’s true leader?!”

The chakra’s approach made sensing-nin on the battlefield pale, some breaking into cold sweats.

Even Akatsuki members grew tense, their eyes filled with wariness.

“Did we have someone like this in Akatsuki?”

“This chakra rivals the Leader’s!”

“Wait… Pain had black rods. Could this be the real leader?”

Amid the murmurs, Konan—flying above—instinctively covered her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. “Nagato… thank goodness…”

Her voice trembled with joy.

As if hearing her, Nagato descended in a fiery blur, stopping before her.

“Konan, you’ve done well… Leave the rest to me,” he said, smiling confidently.

“Yes!”

She nodded fiercely, flapped her paper wings, and swiftly retreated from the battlefield.

She knew she was Nagato’s only weakness.

Once she vanished, Nagato’s gaze swept the battlefield below. His youthful voice carried ironclad authority: “I’m taking over. Akatsuki, withdraw.”

“Looks like he is our leader! Who knew the true Pain and the Rinnegan wielder were both a kid?”

“This chakra finally matches the Sage’s Eye bearer!”

“And his hair color… He’s an Uzumaki descendant!”

“Could the Rinnegan be the Uzumaki’s hidden bloodline?”

“Fall back! I’ve got a feeling the next fight will be spectacular.”

Akatsuki members vanished in streaks of light.

Their instincts screamed danger, but even the Fourth Raikage—seeing Nagato’s Rinnegan eyes without the telltale black rods—felt an ominous premonition.

“Everyone, retreat! Return to Lightning Country immediately!” he barked.

“Yes, Raikage-sama!”

The elite ninjas obeyed instantly, fleeing in blurs.

Stronger jōnin and ace fighters covered their weaker comrades, attacking nearby human puppets. But soon, they realized their caution was unnecessary—the puppets abruptly vanished, using Flying Thunder God Technique.

Seeing this, the Kumo-nin panicked further. If even the puppets abandoned the fight, the coming clash must be apocalyptic.

As the battlefield emptied, White Zetsu clones quickly burrowed underground.

Soon, only five remained: Nagato above, Izayoi below, and the A/B combo and Two-Tails Jinchuriki surrounding him.

Izayoi ignored his encirclement, focusing on Nagato. Dozens of bubbles only he could see floated around the Rinnegan wielder.

Before Izayoi could inspect the bubbles’ contents, Nagato plummeted.

A thunderous crash erupted as he struck the ground, kicking up a dust cloud.

“Shinra Tensei!”

The voice rang out before Nagato emerged.

The Kumo trio instinctively recalled the Gravity Release’s grip. But this time, the force didn’t lift Izayoi.

Instead, it yanked Killer B into the air.

“B!”

The Fourth Raikage’s gut twisted. Akatsuki and this “Shinkurō Ōtsutsuki” must be allies! They shared a common enemy—why attack them first?

But Nagato targeted them, not Izayoi. A trap?

As Killer B flew toward the dust cloud, the Raikage surged forward, chakra surging. He intercepted the invisible Gravity Release, getting flung backward along with the dissipating dust.

Then—

A massive beam of light erupted from Nagato’s hand, searing toward Killer B mid-fall.

No time to dodge.

Killer B instantly entered partial tailed beast form, spewing an orange beam to meet Nagato’s attack.

Boom————

The explosion’s shockwave reached the retreating Kumo-nin and Akatsuki.

The sound spurred the Kumo-nin to flee faster, while Akatsuki halted atop cliffs or on giant birds, watching the mushroom cloud rise.

“B, watch your feet!”

Gyūki’s warning came too late.

Killer B couldn’t sense enemies as wooden vines erupted beneath him, morphing into thick branches.

The Eight-Tails jinchuriki leapt skyward, but the branches accelerated, slamming him back down.

“Shinra Tensei!”

Gravity Release yanked him earthward before he could fully transform. The branches coiled like ropes, binding him into a cocoon.

A mocking voice chimed: “Checkmate! Wood Release!”

Nagato’s tone followed: “Eight-Tails jinchuriki, I’ll borrow your chakra!”

Red tailed beast chakra siphoned from Killer B into the dust cloud via the branches.

In seconds, Killer B reverted to normal, his chakra reserves drained.

The dust cloud swirled, then dispersed in a sudden gale.

“Full, full… Obito’s back to full strength!”

The Fourth Raikage’s roar of rage and fear echoed.

Before he could Body Flicker in, Nagato flicked the branches, hurling the bound Killer B toward him. The Raikage skidded to a halt, catching his brother.

Nagato ignored him, fixing Izayoi—who’d watched silently—with a calm warning:

“Retreat. This next fight isn’t for you.”

Nagato hesitated to attack Matatabi and the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, fearing delays to the Tailed Beast Project.

"Hmph. Do you even know who you're talking to? I am one of the Five Kage!" Fourth Raikage barked, offended.

He tossed Killer B toward the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, who had activated her Tailed Beast Transformation. "Yugito, take Bee and retreat. I'll settle this with them myself."

"Understood, Lord Raikage!" The Two-Tails Jinchūriki obeyed instantly, carrying Killer B away from the battlefield.

Soon, only Izayoi, Nagato, and Fourth Raikage remained.

Yet neither Izayoi nor Nagato paid the Fourth Raikage any mind. They stood locked in a tense stare-down.

Nagato used his Rinnegan's chakra-perception ability to analyze Izayoi's chakra reserves and dōjutsu power. Izayoi, meanwhile, studied Nagato's stats with growing excitement.

The reason? Nagato's stats were simply extraordinary.

【Rinnegan (Gold)】
【Kage-Level Potential (Gold)】
【Chakra Control (Gold) Trait】
【Bloodline Limit: Wood Release (Blue→Gold)】
【Ninjutsu Master (Purple)】
【Swirl Bloodline (Purple)】
【Senju Bloodline (Purple)】
【Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Purple)】
【Summoning Master (Purple)】
【Sealing Prodigy (Blue)】
【Medical Prodigy (Blue)】
【Human Puppet Mastery (Blue)】
【Genjutsu Prodigy (Blue)】
【Martial Arts Prodigy (Blue)】

Four gold, five purple, and five blue traits—fourteen in total. This was the first time Izayoi had seen someone besides himself with double-digit stats.

While Izayoi's own traits contained more purple and even red-tier abilities, Nagato's stats clearly demonstrated his immense power. Most of Nagato's talents had already been realized, unlike Izayoi's, which still held vast untapped potential.

The ultimate mid-game boss—the undisputed ceiling of combat power.

Nagato's Rinnegan and Wood Release traits particularly caught Izayoi's attention. Yet what intrigued him wasn't their ranks, but their lack of prefixes.

Izayoi's first trait was also Rinnegan, but it carried a "Bloodline Limit" prefix and glowed red. Both wielded Repulsive Force and Gravity Release techniques, yet Nagato's Rinnegan was only Gold-ranked without the Bloodline Limit designation. Clearly, this was due to the transplanted nature of his Rinnegan.

Even more shocking was Nagato's Wood Release trait. Izayoi had never seen a dual-colored trait before. He suspected this might relate to Obito's armor or the Wood Release chakra within Nagato.

Obito left a deep impression on Izayoi—not for his battle against the Allied Shinobi Forces while possessing Yamato, but for his stubborn attempt to possess Yamato again after Infinite Tsukuyomi and the God: Tree Ascension drained him. Without that chakra depletion, he might have succeeded.

"Your Rinnegan isn't genuine. How do you know about the Ten-Tails' Statue?" Nagato suddenly questioned the youthful-looking "Shinkurō Ōtsutsuki" before him, though this Moon visitor was actually 15-20 years younger. "You mentioned your mission was retrieving the Ten-Tails' Statue from the Ninja World. Was it stored on the Moon? Do you know its abilities?"

Nagato worried Izayoi might know the Statue could seal tailed beasts, forcing them to abandon the Statue and hunt jinchūriki instead, delaying their plans.

Before Izayoi could answer, Obito interrupted, fearing the Moon visitor might reveal the Statue's secret. "Leader, why waste words? Just capture him and use the Human Path to extract his memories!"

Obito raised Nagato's hands. "Wood Release—Sea of Trees Emerges!"

The earth quaked as massive green serpents erupted from the ground, sprouting branches and intertwining to form a verdant tidal wave engulfing Izayoi.

Unfazed, Izayoi unleashed a powerful Repulsive Force blast. The resilient Wood Release technique—impervious even to fire—disintegrated like foam.

"Shinra Tensei!" Nagato countered with equal force.

Unlike the Deva Path's earlier defeat, this was Nagato at full strength—matching Izayoi's Chakra Control level. Their chakra reserves were nearly identical, making Repulsive Force ineffective for victory.

The collateral effects proved disastrous for Fourth Raikage. The clashing forces materialized into a visible White Gale barrier, warping space as it expanded. The shockwave struck Fourth Raikage like a light-speed wall, sending him flying.

The barrier reduced entire mountains and battlefield debris—including human puppets and corpses—to dust. Fourth Raikage finally stopped after colliding with a distant cliff, using rubble as a springboard to escape the dissipating force.

Turning back, he saw Izayoi and Nagato as mere specks in a barren wasteland. The battlefield's destruction shattered his pride. Once considered among the world's strongest, he now realized even Kage were powerless against such titans.

"This must be how the First Kage generation felt facing Hashirama and Asura", he mused. "The Leaf's legends weren't exaggerations—against such power, even Kage are ordinary."

"Unbelievable!" Akatsuki members whispered. "This is Leader's true strength? Sage's Eye and Wood Release? No wonder he claims godhood!"

"Similar Rinnegan powers—must be another Sage's Eye variant."

"Feels like we're witnessing a new Valley of the End battle..."

Even Hidan looked shaken. "Kakuzu, how did you survive fighting the First Hokage?"

Kakuzu remained silent.

The battlefield reignited as Nagato and Izayoi clashed. As Repulsive Force dissipated, Nagato shifted to Gravity Release, pulling Izayoi airborne while firing a mechanical laser from his arm-cannon.

Testing for Preta Path absorption ability, he simultaneously launched himself toward Izayoi. Izayoi countered with his own Gravity Release and a water spear—Water Release: Hard Truth Water Wheel.

Nagato aborted his laser attack, switching to Repulsive Force to shatter the water spear while continuing his charge. Izayoi mirrored the technique, both warriors locked in tactical combat.

The clashing techniques warped the air once more, forming a spiraling White Gale dome that expanded outward—only to dissipate far quicker than before.

Landing lightly, Izayoi and Nagato both processed uncertain intel requiring confirmation.

Nagato could wield both the Deva Path and Asura Path simultaneously but struggled to channel Deva Path abilities alongside the Preta Path. Absorbing ninjutsu into chakra was far more efficient than expending chakra to generate repulsive forces. Perhaps the Rinnegan lacked Preta Path capabilities—or Nagato simply disdained using it.

As these thoughts crossed their minds, Izayoi and Nagato lunged at each other in unison.

Shinra Tensei alone wouldn’t decide this fight by dawn. They’d need other tactics.

Their Rinnegan eyes tracked each other’s chakra flow. Any attempt to mold chakra into nature transformation—ninjutsu—would be detected instantly. Seeing neither move to cast, they shifted seamlessly into taijutsu.

Empowered by the Asura Path and Obito’s chakra, Nagato launched a devastating straight punch. Izayoi’s Rinnegan seemed to glimpse the future; instead of countering with his own Mighty Ultimate Fist, he feinted a strike and vanished in a flash, leaving only an afterimage.

Nagato’s fist sprouted serpentine wooden branches that pierced the illusion. Izayoi reappeared behind him, charging a crackling palm to form a luminous spear—Lightning Release: Chidori Spear!

The spear hurtled forward at blinding speed, but Nagato countered with a White Gale dome. Unlike the Deva Path’s repulsive force, this technique exuded eerie suction, unraveling the spear into raw lightning chakra that flowed into Nagato like liquid energy.

Before the shock faded, Nagato’s back rippled. His cloak mutated into countless tiny mouths that spat a barrage of wooden spikes.

Wood Release: Imperial Wood Needles!

The sudden assault caught Izayoi off-guard despite prior intel. As the thorned barrage loomed, he unleashed Shinra Tensei—a weaker repulsive force that scattered both the wooden projectiles and sent Nagato flying.

But mid-air, Nagato clasped his hands in a seal.

He pivoted skyward, launching a black sphere.

“Chibaku Tensei!”

The orb halted mid-ascent, acting like a gravitational black hole. The earth cracked violently, debris levitating into the air. Izayoi blasted the rubble with repulsive winds, colliding with the black sphere—but the sphere merely wobbled, ascending higher while sustaining its gravity field.

Izayoi’s repulsive force couldn’t shatter this gravity-based construct, and Nagato wouldn’t grant him time to charge a stronger technique.

From the gravity field’s edge, Nagato landed, flanked by two shadow clones. Each expelled differently colored chakra—five natures merging into a chaotic chromatic wave. Amplified by Chibaku Tensei’s pull, the multicolored torrent surged upward.

Trapped between celestial gravity and terrestrial chaos, Izayoi faced only two options: flee via Flying Thunder God Technique or face annihilation. Escaping would cost him face, erasing his earlier mockery of “monkey-like” foes.

Yet Izayoi smirked, raising a hand toward Nagato.

In an instant, Nagato’s body lifted into the gravity field, rocketing toward Izayoi.

“How? His Shinra Tensei’s range shouldn’t be this vast!” Nagato’s composure cracked. Even his Deva Path’s gravity had limits—nowhere near this scale. Worse, his four clones’ final Shinra Tensei attempts to reel him back failed utterly. Their gravity arts were inferior in every way.

“This is our chance—get closer!” Obito urged through the link.

Recalling Obito’s sealing of Killer B, Nagato abandoned escape, secretly channeling chakra to counter Izayoi’s pull.

But Izayoi’s next move widened Nagato’s eyes—and stunned Obito.

Izayoi spat a cloud of dust, obscuring the battlefield in black mist—Fire Release: Dust Concealment. Normally, the Rinnegan could pierce such tricks, tracking chakra effortlessly. And compared to the looming Five Chakra Natures Composite assault below, this seemed trivial.

Yet Izayoi’s actions defied complacency.

A spark ignited the dust, erupting into an orange flame. Four more flames—each a different hue—orbited the first, fusing into a swirling chromatic blaze before erupting into blinding white.

Kaboom!

The explosion shook the heavens.

Allies, enemies, and spies alike shielded their eyes as a sun-like white sphere engulfed the horizon. Those sensitive to chakra signatures trembled.

“What terrifying nature transformation! What technique is this?!”

“This chakra rivals a Tailed Beast Ball!”

“It’s expanding—will it reach us?!”

“Look—it’s shrinking! Thank goodness!”

The sphere deflated like a punctured balloon, condensing until a black figure emerged—Nagato, now cloaked in a Preta Path White Gale dome.

Izayoi, Chibaku Tensei, and the Five Chakra Natures assault had vanished. Absorbing two massive techniques left Nagato’s chakra not only intact but strengthened. Yet his expression darkened.

Above, the rainless sky blackened—then flushed orange. Moments later, meteorites rained down.

The distant factions recognized this horror instantly—Cloud Ninja clenched their teeth in hatred and fear.

“Is this the end of the world?”

“Can ninjutsu truly reach this scale?!”

Spies gaped in terror. Even Akatsuki members trembled.

Except Deidara, who crowed, “Sasori-no-danna, look! That guy’s summoning meteors again—Meteor Rain this time! Art beyond compare!”

“Fool! Which side are you on?!” Sasori snapped, though his gaze betrayed admiration.

Izayoi had mastered both eternal and fleeting beauty.

“Obito,” Nagato murmured, watching the fiery descent, “can you stop this?”

“Together, we can.”

Obito’s tone steadied Nagato. “How should I assist?”

“Just keep channeling chakra.”

Nagato slammed his hands together, converting chakra into verdant Wood Release energy. As one, their voices merged:

“Wood Release… Creation OF All Things!”

Rumble!

From the battlefield erupted a tidal wave of emerald serpents, surging to meet the meteor storm.

Heaven and earth collided—one crimson and green, one destruction and salvation.

A god-tier spectacle for mortal witnesses.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end