As the Human Path and the Preta Path arrived at his sides, Hikari pressed a foot into the ground, propelling himself backward in an instant while raising his hand.
"Divine Vacuum Strike!"
With a single palm thrust, a massive imprint several meters wide slammed down on both the Human Path and the Preta Path, smashing them violently into the ground.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Seeing Hikari try to widen the distance, the Deva Path immediately unleashed a powerful suction force, drawing him in.
"Divine Vacuum Strike!"
Hikari released another palm strike, but the technique that had been unstoppable moments ago had no effect against the gravitational force of Banshō Ten'in.
Hikari's body was yanked forward uncontrollably.
The Asura Path raised both arms, transforming them into twin cannons and firing off projectiles that roared like rockets.
"Seriously... you're not giving me a moment's rest, huh?"
Hikari muttered self-deprecatingly, then quickly formed hand seals with both hands.
"Release!"
In an instant, the pull on his body vanished.
The Deva Path looked on in disbelief. His wrist flicked, and he immediately launched another attack.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A violent repulsive force burst forth, tearing up several feet of earth around Hikari. But something strange occurred—Hikari didn't move an inch. Not only did he not get blown away, even his clothes didn't flutter from the impact.
"Techniques like this are useless now."
His hair grew longer, turning white, and with a flick of his right hand, a black staff materialized in his palm.
"Continue!"
The Deva Path issued the order, then charged at Hikari, a black rod in each hand.
The Human Path and Preta Path, who had been lying on the ground, lunged forward simultaneously, grabbing hold of Hikari's legs.
"Splitting your abilities among bodies makes for an impressive show, but it only works against small fry. At this level, what matters is all-around strength."
As he spoke, Hikari swung the black staff mercilessly.
The staff looked plain and smooth, without any sharp edges—but as it passed through the Preta Path's body, it carved a clean, razor-straight wound, as if cut by a blade.
With just one strike, the Preta Path lost all ability to move.
"Now die."
Hikari raised his arm and casually swept the staff through the Human Path's head, cracking it open in an instant.
Though it seemed lengthy when described, the entire exchange happened in a flash.
Before the Deva Path could even reach him, two of the Six Paths were already down.
"Die!"
The Deva Path lunged forward, thrusting the black rods toward Hikari.
These were chakra receivers formed through the Rinnegan's power—once embedded into a shinobi's body, they suppressed chakra flow entirely. Even Naruto, in his normal state, had been unable to break free from them.
If not for his status as the story's protagonist, awakening the Nine-Tails' power to counterattack and defeat the Deva Path, Naruto would have been killed then and there.
*Whoosh! Clang! Clang!*
Hikari spun his wrist, twirling the black staff in a circular arc to deflect both rods. Then, with his left hand, he raised his palm.
"Divine Vacuum Strike!"
"Shinra Tensei!"
Pure taijutsu clashed against the Deva Path's technique—and as expected, the balance tilted toward Pain's side.
Yet this time, the Deva Path's repulsion, which could easily send massive boulders flying, barely rustled the hem of Hikari's robe. His long white hair swayed lightly, giving him the appearance of a sage descending to the mortal realm.
"I see now," Nagato's voice came through the Deva Path. "You're not immune to gravity. You neutralize it by releasing an equal but opposite gravitational force at the same moment!"
Hikari smiled faintly, his gaze shifting toward the distant Nagato.
"I never planned to rely on this trick anyway. These are just minor techniques. When it comes to real combat, what matters is raw strength."
Unless one could do what Maito Gai did—mastering the Eight Gates and exploding with godlike power to transcend all limits—it was impossible to defeat someone on the level of the Six Paths. True power demanded mastery.
It was like when the Sage of Six Paths bestowed his Yin and Yang powers to Naruto and Sasuke—not only granting them strength, but also awakening the chakra of Indra and Asura within them.
Only through that fusion could they wield the purest form of Yin–Yang Release.
As for Sakura... beyond healing, she didn't contribute much.
And Kakashi—if Obito hadn't lent him the Kamui Sharingan, he'd have been sidelined, unable to even stand against Kaguya.
Back to the present—Nagato watched Hikari's transformation, and an uneasy feeling began to take root in his heart.
"Keep attacking!"
The Deva Path gave the order again and charged first.
Without the ability to manipulate Hikari with gravity, his strongest advantage was gone. To Hikari now, the Deva Path was no different from the other Pains.
"Come forth, Hellhound!"
The Animal Path, who had been idle until now, summoned a Giant Multi-Headed Dog.
The beast immediately lunged at Hikari, eyes blazing with ferocity.
"You really underestimate me."
Hikari swung the black staff, easily knocking the giant creature to the ground. The Animal Path waited expectantly for it to split into more bodies, but before that could happen, Hikari struck again—his staff smashing down and killing the beast instantly.
Watching in shock, the Animal Path froze.
"You rely on these tricks... all of them granted by the Rinnegan. But you don't even understand why the Rinnegan surpasses the Sharingan and Byakugan."
Hikari looked at Nagato with a hint of pity.
His victory stemmed from facing Nagato's use of the Rinnegan, not Uchiha Madara's.
In truth, Nagato's mastery was even below Obito's.
He knew the power, but not the principles behind it—and such shallow understanding could never defeat Hikari, whose mastery over Yin–Yang Release was nearly complete.
At its core, the Six Paths level meant perfect control over Yin, Yang, and all five elemental chakra natures—fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning—and evolving beyond them to create one's own unique Kekkei Mōra.
This was a power surpassing all bloodline limits and eliminations.
For most shinobi, Nagato's black rods could suppress their chakra because Yin–Yang Release inherently restrained the five chakra natures.
But Nagato himself had not mastered Yin–Yang Release—he merely used the Rinnegan to produce the rods.
The result might appear the same, but in true battle, that difference was vast—worlds apart.
"It seems you understand the Rinnegan quite well," Nagato said in disbelief, his frail body slumped in the wheelchair. The burden of the Ten-Tails' chakra had long since taken its toll.
"More than you think," Hikari replied calmly, glancing at him.
He ignored the Hell Path as it devoured the fallen Human and Preta Paths, spitting their revived forms back out.
He ignored the rest of the Six Paths circling him like predators.
"Honestly, I'd love to pluck those eyes of yours out and study them. After all, I'm only one step away from awakening my own Rinnegan."