The flames painted half the sky a lurid, apocalyptic red. A scorching wave of destructive energy swept outwards, the very air seeming to burn and twist into invisible ripples.

"Success!"

Nagato's voice, though strained, was unusually firm amidst the deafening roar of the explosion. Through Pain's lifeless eyes, which seemed to see through all things, he locked onto the epicenter of the blast, a cold, confident smile touching his lips. He had shown this arrogant Uchiha Kagami the price of underestimating a god. He simply couldn't believe that anyone could survive an attack of that magnitude.

But his pride was short-lived. A sudden shock, a sharp severing of his connection, made Nagato's confident expression freeze. His pupils contracted, his eyes filling with a horrified disbelief.

"Impossible!" The word was squeezed from between his gritted teeth, trembling with a dawning, soul-crushing dread.

From within the thick, roiling curtain of smoke and fire, a single, dazzling beam of white light pierced the gloom. It was like the first light of dawn, an unstoppable, holy sharpness that ignored the chaos and destruction around it. With the speed of the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, it lanced through the smoke and instantly impaled each of the five Paths of Pain, leaving Nagato no room to even process what was happening.

High in his tower, Nagato felt the five connections shatter. His face went ashen, as cold and hard as winter ice, reflecting the untouchable rage deep in his heart. He couldn't believe it. Kagami had not only survived but had destroyed five of his Paths in a single, instantaneous counter-attack. Though he could recreate the puppets, the shame, the utter humiliation, was a poison with no antidote.

"When the Ten-Tails is resurrected," Nagato vowed, his voice a low, cold whisper, "I will make you understand true pain!" He would never allow anyone to trample on the dignity of a god.

On the other side of the battlefield, after eliminating the five Pains, Kagami's clone flickered into existence on a rooftop opposite the building where Uchiha Madara and the others stood.

His Sharingan scanned the three figures—Madara, Hashirama, and the boy who was not Naruto—and a powerful fighting spirit ignited in his eyes. Ever since he had obtained the Tenfold Sukuna Template, he had never once used his full strength. His enemies had always been too weak, and his own power was growing so rapidly that even he wasn't entirely sure of its limits. Now, faced with the resurrected legends of the ninja world, he finally had a chance to test himself. Even as a mere clone, he was confident to face them.

And...

"You are the Sage of Six Paths, aren't you?" Kagami's gaze settled on 'Naruto', his expression turning slightly more serious. He was absolutely certain that the person standing before him was not the boy he knew. From this being, he felt a vague but undeniable sense of threat. It wasn't immediately fatal, but it was enough to put him on guard.

"In this world," he thought, "there is likely no one else who can make me feel threatened, except for the Sage of Six Paths. Therefore, the person before me is definitely the Sage, having taken over Naruto's body."

Kagami's eyes flickered, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. He hadn't expected to uncover such a vital piece of intelligence for his main body while simply looking for Konan. For the Sage to go to the trouble of resurrecting these two legends just to stop him... there was a grander plan at work. He was clearly buying time for something.

But Kagami didn't care. Now that he could launch attacks that targeted the soul, his fear of the Sage had greatly diminished. And what could these people possibly be planning? It was obvious. They were trying to revive the Ten-Tails. He was ninety percent certain the Sage's goal was to create a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki to deal with him.

Unfortunately for them, unless that jinchuriki was as unkillable as Kaguya herself, Kagami wasn't afraid. He wouldn't take them seriously. His Space Slash was no joke. Being the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki granted one Six Paths-level combat power, but it did not grant true immortality. If you couldn't block his spatial attacks, you would be killed instantly.

Hearing Kagami's words, the Sage's eyes narrowed slightly. He had never appeared before this man. How could Kagami have guessed his identity so quickly? Logically, he had leaked no information.

"Yes," the Sage said, his voice calm, his expression unreadable as he nodded. "I am the Sage of Six Paths." But in his heart, he felt a new, profound unease.

Seeing that Kagami had all but ignored him, Uchiha Madara's face twisted in displeasure. "How dare you ignore me, you little brat!" His hands flew through a series of seals. "So... I will teach you a lesson in respecting your ancestors! Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A colossal fireball, a hundred meters in diameter, erupted from his mouth. Its color was a deep, burning crimson, like magma gushing from the depths of hell. It roared toward Kagami, carrying the power to incinerate everything in its path, the very air warping and hissing in its wake. It was a C-rank jutsu, but in Madara's hands, it possessed the power of an A-rank technique. Still, he was holding back. He did not trust the Sage and intended only to put on a show until he could retrieve his own eyes. By observing the battle just now, he had already analyzed that Nagato, the one controlling the puppets, had to be nearby.

Seeing the attack, Kagami's lips curled into a helpless smile. "Ah, ah... Why is everyone always so eager to fight? You people have no patience at all." However, he too wanted to test the strength of his own ninjutsu.

His fingers danced, a blur of motion too fast for the eye to follow. "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

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