His words sent a chill through everyone present.
The way this young man thought had already surpassed the boundaries of normal human understanding.
In his eyes, those rebellious villages and shinobi were not living people at all.
They were merely obstacles that needed to be removed.
"And Kumogakure as well," Kai continued.
"Although they appear to be victims on the surface, they are clearly suspected of cooperating in this incident."
"In that case, they will pay the appropriate price."
"What do you intend to do?"
"Simple."
Kai turned toward Sasuke.
"After dealing with those rebellious villages, make a trip to Kumogakure."
"Tell A that because of their incompetence in escorting the Divine Court's property, resulting in damage to Divine Court assets, they must compensate us with the Four-Tails and the Eight-Tails."
The demand was outrageous.
Originally, the Divine Court had only required Kumogakure to surrender the Two-Tails.
Now Kai was demanding every jinchūriki they possessed.
It was obvious he was deliberately making things difficult.
"And if they refuse?"
Sasuke asked.
"Then Kumogakure can disappear from the shinobi world as well."
Kai answered casually.
"After all, there's no point keeping disobedient villages around."
The conference room fell into deathly silence.
Everyone could sense it.
A bloody purge was about to begin.
And all of it stemmed from what had seemed like a simple kidnapping incident.
"Any other questions?"
Kai swept his gaze around the room.
"If not, this meeting is adjourned."
"Sasuke, leave immediately."
"Remember."
"Be fast."
"Be ruthless."
"And make sure the entire shinobi world sees the consequences of challenging the Divine Court."
"Understood."
Sasuke nodded and left the conference room.
As he departed, a bloody storm destined to sweep across the entire shinobi world began to unfold.
Amegakure.
Beneath its eternally overcast skies, rain continued to fall without end.
This village, known as the Land of Tears, was about to experience the darkest day in its history.
Uchiha Sasuke stood alone atop a hill overlooking the village.
His purple Rinnegan calmly observed the sprawling steel city below.
Rain struck his face, but he paid it no attention.
He stood completely motionless, like a stone statue.
"Nagato."
"I hope you're prepared to bear the consequences."
His voice was soft enough to be swallowed by the rain.
Slowly, he raised his right hand.
His palm pointed toward Amegakure.
Purple light blazed within his Rinnegan as a terrifying chakra fluctuation spread through the atmosphere.
"Super Shinra Tensei."
The moment the words left his lips, an invisible wave of catastrophic repulsive force erupted from his palm.
RUMBLE!!!
The entire village of Amegakure began to shake violently.
The towering steel skyscrapers that stretched into the clouds twisted and tilted under the force of the impact.
The screeching sound of tortured metal echoed through the city.
"What's happening?! Is it an earthquake?!"
"No! This isn't an earthquake!"
"Look outside!"
Terrified civilians rushed from their homes only to witness a scene they would never forget.
Every building in the village was collapsing outward, as though an invisible giant hand had pushed everything away from the center.
The shinobi of Amegakure immediately sensed the abnormality and rushed out from every corner of the village.
"Enemy attack!"
"We're under attack!"
"Protect Lord Nagato!"
But they were already too late.
The power of Super Shinra Tensei continued expanding.
Any shinobi attempting to move toward the center of the village were blasted away by invisible force.
Blood sprayed from their mouths as they were hurled through the air.
At the top floor of the tallest steel tower, Nagato had been reviewing documents when he suddenly sensed the familiar yet terrifying power.
"This is... the power of the Rinnegan?!"
He abruptly looked up.
Through the enormous glass window, he saw a familiar figure standing atop a distant hill.
"Uchiha Sasuke!"
Nagato gritted his teeth.
"He came this quickly?"
Immediately, he propelled his wheelchair toward the window and formed hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The Six Paths of Pain instantly appeared inside the room.
But before they could act—
The entire building began shaking violently.
Crack!
Crack!
The giant glass windows shattered.
The steel framework groaned under unbearable pressure.
"Damn it!"
Nagato directed the Deva Path toward the window.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Two waves of repulsive force collided in midair, producing a deafening explosion.
But compared to Sasuke's Super Shinra Tensei, the Deva Path's Shinra Tensei was like a firefly facing the sun.
Sasuke's repulsive force slowed only briefly before continuing forward.
The Deva Path and the entire skyscraper were swept away together.
BOOM!
The hundreds-of-meters-tall steel tower collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Dust and debris erupted into the sky.
Nagato was buried beneath the rubble.
However, as a wielder of the Rinnegan, such injuries were far from fatal.
"Cough... cough..."
He crawled from the wreckage with difficulty.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
"So this is Uchiha Kai's retaliation?"
By now, Amegakure had become a wasteland.
The once-soaring steel buildings had all collapsed.
Countless civilians were trapped beneath the ruins.
The surviving shinobi gathered together, staring in horror at the lone figure standing atop the distant hill.
"Who is that?"
"How can someone possess such terrifying power?"
"He destroyed an entire village by himself?"
"Is he even human?"
Sasuke leapt down from the hill.
Like a phantom, he appeared within the center of the ruins.
His footsteps echoed through the deathly silence.
Each step seemed to strike directly against the hearts of the survivors.
"Nagato."
"Come out."
Sasuke's voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly across the entire battlefield.
"Hiding beneath the rubble doesn't suit someone of your former reputation."
A massive steel plate was suddenly thrown aside.
Nagato slowly rose from the ruins in his wheelchair.
His clothes were torn and ragged.
Several fresh wounds marked his face.
Yet the Rinnegan still burned with unyielding determination.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"You arrived sooner than I expected."
"Divine Lord's orders cannot be delayed."
Sasuke remained expressionless.
"Hand over Yugito."
"Come back to Konoha with me."
"And you may keep your life."
"Hahaha..."
Nagato suddenly burst into laughter.
His voice dripped with mockery.
"Keep my life?"
"Do you think I, Nagato, am someone who fears death?"
The remaining five Paths of Pain emerged from different corners of the ruins, surrounding Sasuke.
"If Uchiha Kai wants war—"
"Then I'll give him war!"
"Universal Pull!"
A powerful attractive force erupted from the Deva Path's hand, attempting to drag Sasuke toward him.
Sasuke merely raised his own hand casually.
The same gravitational force erupted from his palm.
The two forces collided.
A violent chakra storm exploded outward.
"Your Rinnegan."
Sasuke spoke calmly.
"Is far inferior to mine."
"Shinra Tensei."
This Shinra Tensei lacked the overwhelming scale of the earlier Super Shinra Tensei.
But its precision was far greater.
The repulsive force struck each Path of Pain with perfect accuracy, blasting all of them away.
The Asura Path adjusted itself in midair.
Several missile launchers unfolded from its back.
"Missile Barrage!"
Dozens of missiles streaked toward Sasuke with blazing trails.
Sasuke simply extended one hand.
"Preta Path: Chakra Absorption."
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