On the city wall of Honmatsu, Natsuhi, Chino, Shunji, Hazuki, and Miroku were anxiously watching the distant battlefield.
This sudden, terrifying pressure and the giant dark red warrior made all their faces instantly pale.
"What… what is that?!" Shunji, leaning on a crutch, his leg bandaged, asked in a trembling voice.
"Such... such fearsome Chakra..." Hazuki subconsciously took a step back.
Natsuhi shielded her three students, her expression grim!
Just then, Chino, her Ketsuryugan wide, pointed at the head of the rapidly flying Susanoo and cried out, "Sensei! Look! The giant's forehead… there's someone inside! It's… it's Hikari-sama!"
Everyone strained to see.
Indeed, right in the center of the dark red Susanoo's forehead, within a crystal-like space, they could vaguely make out a petite, slender figure standing there, long black hair flying in the savage Chakra Currents!
A pair of crimson eyes that, even from this vast distance, seemed to radiate icy fury!
It was Uchiha Hikari!
"It's Hikari-sama!" Natsuhi breathed a sigh of relief, but then her heart tightened again.
'Hikari-sama in this state... is terrifying!'
At this moment, Hikari had only one thought in her mind… Rage!
The Land of Stars was the home she and Menma had built piece by piece. It was the land carrying her hope of escaping her dark past and gaining a new life!
Anyone who dared destroy this place, harm its people, was her sworn enemy!
When she learned through the Seal Chakra Network that Natsuhi's team was under attack, especially when she felt the vast Chakra Menma transmitted from afar and the subsequent earth-shattering battle, her fury was completely ignited!
Without any hesitation, she activated her Mangekyo Sharingan, used the Complete Body Susanoo, and crossed counties at top speed to ferociously charge onto the scene!
"You bastard! How dare you destroy the home Menma and I built-" Inside the Susanoo, Hikari's voice was cold and murderous, her Mangekyo Sharingan locked onto Deva Path and Animal Path on the battlefield below.
"Even if you are a god, I will kill you!"
Without another word, not even paying attention to the barely recovered, severely weakened Shisui on the ground, the Complete Body Susanoo's wings beat fiercely. Its massive arm reached behind its back, gripping the hilt of the giant Chakra-infused Sword!
Screech-!
The Chakra Sword was drawn, emitting a soul-shaking hum!
The blade cut through the air, trailing a dark red arc of death, descending with the force to split the world, ferociously slashing down towards Deva Path and Animal Path Pain!
Before the attack even landed, the razor-sharp wind pressure from the blade had already torn a deep fissure in the ground!
Nagato was horrified!
He felt a power from this dark red Susanoo far more savage than Madara's ability!
Moreover, the opponent also had the Mangekyo Sharingan. The pressure from that Ocular Power made him not dare to be careless in the slightest!
"Shinra Tensei!"
Deva Path didn't hesitate, pouring his full power into the Rinnegan. A powerful repulsive force field instantly expanded, meeting the descending Chakra Sword!
Boom!!!
A terrifying explosion once again shook heaven and earth!
The invisible repulsive force and the solidified Chakra Sword collided violently, producing a deafening roar loud enough to split eardrums!
The shockwave from the collision spread outwards in a ring, once again scraping away a layer of the already ravaged ground!
"Impossible! It can withstand the power of Shinra Tensei?!" Deva Path's figure was forced downwards by the colossal force of the impact!
The ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch!
The force was mutual. When the opponent was strong enough to withstand the repulsive force of Shinra Tensei, Deva Path would also suffer the recoil.
Hikari's Susanoo was also slightly hindered in its downward slash by this powerful repulsion, the giant blade bouncing back slightly.
But Hikari's attack wasn't just a single slash!
The Susanoo's other arm formed a fist, a giant fist burning with dark red Chakra following closely behind, smashing down like a battering ram towards the Animal Path nearby!
"Summoning Technique!" Animal Path hurriedly formed seals, summoning a hellhound to block.
However, the few remaining summoned creatures, just severely damaged by the Nine Masked Beasts, hadn't recovered and were slow to react!
Crash!!!
The Chakra Fist slammed towards Animal Path Pain. The hellhound trying to block the blow was instantly pulverized into paste.
Even with the advanced prediction from the shared vision of Rinnegan, Animal Path still couldn't completely dodge this powerful strike!
Crunch!
A sickening sound of breaking bones echoed!
Animal Path's body was sent flying like a ragdoll, his chest visibly caved in. He landed heavily, struggled a few times, and then lay still. Clearly, the internal structures had been destroyed catastrophically!
'Another one lost!'
Nagato's heart bled!
Creating these Pain puppets was extremely difficult, each one costing a great deal!
"Bastard!" Deva Path let out an angry roar, purple light blazing in his Rinnegan!
This time, he held nothing back, pouring even more powerful Chakra into the Rinnegan. A repulsive force far more terrifying than before was about to erupt!
He wanted to push away, even crush, this entire area, along with the damned Susanoo!
However, Hikari's combat intuition was frighteningly sharp!
The instant Deva Path began gathering power, the Susanoo's wings beat fiercely. The massive body, with an agility completely unbefitting its size, shot into the air. Simultaneously, the Chakra Sword in its hand changed from a slash to a sweep. A crescent-shaped dark red wave of energy shot from the blade, getting there first, aiming to bisect Deva Path at the waist!
"Shinra Tensei!" He forcibly interrupted the power gathering, releasing the repulsive force forward while propelling himself backwards and to the side.
Boom!
After a brief resistance from the repulsive force, the energy wave missed, cleanly slicing through a small forest behind him, the cut surfaces smooth as mirrors!
Hikari, seizing the advantage, pressed the attack. The Susanoo lunged forward again, its wings beating, its speed extreme. The Chakra Sword swung again and again with immense force, launching a relentless, storm-like assault on Deva Path!
Her fighting style was savage yet precise, full of the Uchiha's characteristic Sharingan insight and lethal intent. Every strike aimed for a vital point, forcing Deva Path to constantly dodge and block, occasionally using Shinra Tensei to repel attacks, but never finding an opportunity to launch a powerful enough technique to turn the tide.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth trembled continuously. New craters and fissures appeared constantly.
Dark red Chakra and the Rinnegan's purple light collided and annihilated each other wildly.
Shisui had long since retreated to a great distance, watching this battle, which far surpassed the level of his own fight, with shock.
Hikari's strength was immense, her fighting style wild, making his heart palpitate with fear.
He finally understood why Menma had said, "The upcoming battle is not something you can intervene in."
"This is the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan..." Shisui murmured to himself, feeling a pang of loss for his own lost eyes.
Far away in the dense forest, Nagato's face grew paler, sweat soaking his withered hair.
Controlling the Deva Path in such a high-intensity battle placed a tremendous burden on him.
Frustrating!
Extremely frustrating!
Since obtaining the Rinnegan and summoning the Gedo Statue, this was the first time he felt so powerless, so humiliated in battle!
The opponent hadn't even shown his main body, merely remotely transmitted power through a subordinate, and now this suddenly appearing, absurdly powerful Mad Uchiha Woman had cost him three precious Pain puppets and had his strongest Path, the Deva Path, locked in a difficult fight!
The opponent hadn't even used her Mangekyo's unique Dojutsu, and his own trump cards...
The Super Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei required charging time.
Exposing the Gedo Statue would have unpredictable consequences, especially under the watchful eye of this Shura who seemed to know everything about him.
These were the killing moves Nagato had prepared for Shura, but now, he hadn't even seen Shura's face!
He was actually being pressed and beaten by a Mad Uchiha Woman!
He couldn't afford to drag this out any longer!
"Konan! Retreat immediately! Head towards the Land of Wind!" Nagato's voice suddenly rang out, filled with urgent panting.
Konan, though not understanding the specifics, obeyed without question. Paper fluttered.
On the battlefield, Deva Path suddenly swung his arm, a powerful repulsive force momentarily pushing back the Susanoo's next slash. Using the recoil, he shot backwards at high speed.
"Trying to escape?" The killing intent in Hikari's eyes intensified. The Susanoo's wings beat, pursuing closely!
"Bansho Ten'in!" Deva Path abruptly raised his hand, but not towards the Susanoo.
Instead, he sucked up large amounts of shattered rock and earth from the distance.
The rocks, pulled by the attraction, shot towards the pursuing Susanoo like cannonballs, attempting to hinder its speed.
Simultaneously, his body shot backwards. He turned without hesitation and fled at high speed towards the northeast without looking back!
He needed to lure away this terrifying Mad Uchiha Woman!
"Trying to run?!" The killing intent within the Susanoo burned brighter. Hikari manipulated the Susanoo to slash through the barrage of rocks, its massive strides pursuing.
However, Nagato's decision was extremely resolute. While his main body was being relocated by Konan, the Deva Path used the terrain to maneuver quickly, leading Hikari in the opposite direction.
Along the way, Deva Path disregarded the cost, continuously using Rinnegan's abilities… using Bansho Ten'in to suck up rocks for brief obstructions, using Shinra Tensei to desperately block a Chakra Slash from the Susanoo.
Finally, he managed to vanish into a black dot on the horizon.
Hikari's Susanoo stopped at the border, not pursuing further.
Maintaining the Complete Body Susanoo was immensely draining. Even though her [Yachihoko] was connected to Menma, granting her a seemingly endless supply of Black Nine-Tails' Chakra that she refined into Ocular Power to achieve strength akin to the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the battle had still left her eyes aching.
"Hmph-" Hikari snorted coldly and dismissed the Susanoo.
Her figure slowly descended from the air, landing on a cliff at the border. Her long black hair and clothes fluttered in the wind. Her crimson Mangekyo Sharingan coldly watched the direction where Deva Path had disappeared, before finally slowly closing.
When they opened again, they had returned to ordinary black pupils, though the coldness and killing intent in their depths hadn't diminished in the slightest.
Outside Honmatsu City, Shisui stood in place, looking at the scarred battlefield, his mood indescribably complex.
Dragging his exhausted body, he slowly walked towards Honmatsu City.
What he had seen and heard today had completely overturned many of his perceptions. His heart was filled with countless questions… about Shura, about Akatsuki, about the Rinnegan, about Hikari, about Konoha, about the Ninja World, about peace…
Everything that happened today had caused a massive impact on the beliefs he had held for over a decade.
And Nagato, fleeing into the distance, through Deva Path's vision, took one last look at the shrinking dark red Susanoo and this land that had brought him such great shock and loss.
His Rinnegan were filled with resentment, doubt, and anger.
And a trace of fear he himself was unwilling to admit!
If the real Uchiha Madara hadn't been dead for decades, and this Mad Uchiha wasn't a woman, Nagato might have thought Uchiha Madara had been resurrected.