His posture hadn't changed in the slightest, as if the cataclysm he had just triggered with a flick of his finger was as insignificant as brushing away a speck of dust.
Then, that gaze fell.
The Ten-Tails' chaotic and agonizing core of will was suddenly frozen!
That eye... the left eye belonging to the master of the stone throne, now clearly fell within its line of sight.
It was an eye that caused every particle of its life instinct to scream an ultimate warning!
A deep purple base, engraved with ancient and mysterious concentric circle patterns, radiating a sense of Samsara more primal and pure than its own!
Those six pitch-black tomoe rotated slowly, like six cold stars orbiting a central black hole.
With every rotation, it seemed to silently crush space and rewrite rules, declaring absolute dominance!
The Six-Tomoe Rinnegan!
The gaze of this eye instantly pierced through its barrier of will, weakened by heavy injuries, and was ruthlessly branded onto its core essence!
All hatred, all madness, all the desire to destroy the world...
Under the gaze of this eye, they were instantly extinguished!
At that moment, it was no longer a world-ending beast, no longer the incarnate source of chakra.
It felt itself become a crawling insect, pinned underfoot and about to be crushed!
Fear—an overwhelming fear stemming from the hierarchy of life—flooded its remaining instinctive will like a cold tide.
It saw the indifference contained deep within those eyes, a void deeper and more terrifying than its own will to destroy.
It was as if its existence, its struggles, and its pain were, in the eyes of the owner of those eyes, truly... merely a play.
All will to resist completely disintegrated under the gaze of that Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
Pain still burned its body, but this pain now felt so distant, as if separated by a layer of blurred glass.
The core of its remaining will was left with nothing but endless weakness and a cold blankness.
It was as if it had been forcibly "formatted" by that eye.
The light in the crack-riddled single eye on its forehead dimmed completely, leaving only a hollow reflection.
The ten giant tails dropped powerlessly, like dead vines.
Just then, a weak but clear ripple of will attempted to reconnect with it through those black rods...
If it were before, it would have violently resisted and torn at this will attempting to control it.
But now...
The core of its remaining will gave up.
Because resistance was meaningless.
Because in the face of this absolute terror, any struggle was a futile joke.
Nagato's will flowed like cold river water, unimpeded, into this shell on the verge of collapse.
The Ten-Tails... became completely quiet.
No longer violent, no longer roaring, there was only heavy panting and the sizzling sound of burning in the lava pit.
Its will was completely broken, leaving only a vessel awaiting instructions.
It passively and numbly accepted Nagato's control, waiting for the next command.
...
That fear originating from the Ten-Tails' core of will slammed ruthlessly into Nagato's consciousness through the connected black rods without any obstruction!
"!!!"
Tendo Pain's figure, suspended high in the air, stiffened imperceptibly.
Deep within those cold Rinnegan, for the first time, an unbelievable storm of shock was clearly reflected.
Fear?
This world-ending beast that had swallowed the nine Tailed Beasts, was capable of tearing through the core of the continent, and which he regarded as the ultimate weapon to carry the will of "Divine Punishment"...
Was actually afraid?
The object of its fear was none other than that lazy figure on the throne, The Collector!
This emotion was so primal, so pure, that it even suppressed the pain of the Ten-Tails' own severe injuries.
It was no longer a tyrannical prehistoric beast, but more like a puppy trembling with its neck pinned by a tiger.
This sense of humbleness, stemming from being completely crushed in the hierarchy of life, gave Nagato an unprecedented shock.
That cold mask of a "God" seemed to have been cracked by an invisible force.
Nagato had controlled the Gedo Statue to push it into its Ten-Tails form; though he knew The Collector was powerful, he had never imagined he would be powerful to such an extent.
To be able to make this creation, which condensed the most violent power in the world, feel dread from the depths of its soul by his power alone!
But thinking back to the scenes just now, Nagato himself inexplicably felt... that this scene seemed very reasonable!
This sense of absurdity and shock spread through Nagato's entire body.
The core of his plan, the weapon he used to create ultimate pain, was actually vulnerable before a higher existence?
Were the "Trial of God" and the new world he sought truly just a... play in the eyes of this being?
However, just as this wave of horror was about to swallow his reason, a cold touch of reality was fed back through the black rods.
The connection was unimpeded; the transmission of will no longer faced any obstacles.
Nagato suddenly "came to."
Shock was quickly replaced by a strange relaxation, like surviving a disaster.
Yes, the Ten-Tails was afraid; it had even given up its will to resist.
But this obedience born of absolute fear brought an unexpected result: control became smoother than ever before!
There was no longer a need to expend massive amounts of chakra to suppress the Ten-Tails' own hatred and violent will.
At this moment, this beast on the verge of collapse was more like a massive but completely submissive shell.
Its core of will seemed to have nothing left but hollow obedience and instinctive reactions to commands.
Nagato's will flowed without hindrance through the Ten-Tails' broken body; every damaged node and every severed chakra flow was clearly fed back.
The injuries... were indeed shockingly severe.
Almost a third of its head had been blown off, and the single Rinnegan on its forehead was covered in cracks.
The ten giant tails twitched powerlessly, each weak heave stirring up a cloud of painful dust.
But...
The cold light in Nagato's Rinnegan reconsolidated, even carrying a hint of cold determination.
It wasn't dead yet! It was still breathing, still struggling!
More importantly, it was the Ten-Tails!
It was the incarnate source of chakra! The ultimate weapon with near-immortal recovery!
Nagato clearly sensed that at the edges of the wounds obliterated by the Tailed Beast Ball, beneath the charred stratum corneum, fine granulation tissue was frantically wriggling and regenerating at an incredible speed!
Dark purple chakra was forcibly mending the broken Tenketsu and bones.
Although the light in the bloody eye on its forehead was dim and the cracks would be hard to heal in a short time.
But the Ten-Tails' vitality, like a candle stub that wouldn't go out in a storm, burned tenaciously.
This perception completely dispelled the wavering caused by shock earlier.
So what if it was heavily injured?
Nagato's thoughts were cold and sharp.
Even with only half a breath left, even with a mangled head, this beast's power level was by no means something the so-called "Kage" and the ants of the Allied Forces below could compare to!
Its size, its chakra reserves—even if it just rolled over unconsciously, it would be enough to cause a cataclysm!
Its very existence was a heavy hammer swung at the old world!
As long as it could still move and attack, it was enough to be the perfect vessel for "pain"!
"Hmph..."
The cold corner of Tendo Pain's mouth seemed to twitch upward very slightly.
Indeed, The Collector's existence was a massive variable far beyond the plan, and the power he displayed was despair-inducing.
But at this moment, at least this "weapon" in his hand, though mangled and bloodstained, was "obedient" like never before.
As long as it could still bring destruction, as long as it could still create enough "pain"... that was enough!
Nagato's will instantly pierced through all the black rods, issuing a cold and clear command to the world-ending beast struggling and wailing in the deep pit.
"Stand up..."
"Ignore your injuries..."
"Continue... executing Divine Punishment!"
...
Meanwhile, on the Allied Shinobi Forces' side.
The deafening roar was gradually swept away by the wind and sand, leaving behind deathly silence and a complete mess.
The Allied Forces' positions looked as if they had been repeatedly ravaged by an invisible giant plow.
The "Highest-Level Defensive barrier" command that Nara Shikaku had roared out seemed so pale and futile at that moment.
Even though the Ten-Tails' target wasn't the Allied Forces themselves, the destructive aftershocks that erupted after that world-ending ball was forcibly "returned" in the space above the Allied Forces still descended like divine punishment.
"Cough, cough... Medical Unit! Quick! Where is the Medical Unit!"
"My leg... the bone is shattered!"
"Water! Give me water! My eyes... the sand..."
Groans of pain, suppressed weeping, and anxious shouts finally broke through the curtain of deathly silence.
They intertwined and spread through the air, which was thick with the smell of blood, ozone, and the scorched scent of molten sand.
Thanks to the mental command network established by Nara Shikaku and Mabui during the Ten-Tails' first attack, And the instinctive reactions of the Allied Forces' Earth Release Shinobi the moment they sensed the explosion of destructive energy overhead, Countless layers of Earth Release: Mud Wall and reinforced defensive Barriers had risen from the ground at the critical moment.
Only then did the Allied Forces' overall formation not completely collapse like a sandcastle.
The number of immediate deaths caused by the large-scale direct impact was kept to a relatively low number.
However, "not dead" did not mean "uninjured."
The shockwave slammed down like an invisible giant wall, sending countless Shinobi flying.
Many people smashed onto the hard sand or their comrades like broken sacks, the sounds of breaking bones and muffled groans from internal organ injuries ringing out incessantly.
The defensive barriers closer to the center of the explosion cracked and splintered under the tearing of the violent energy.
Fragments swept across like shrapnel, slicing through flesh and bringing with them sprays of blood.
The Medical Shinobi, after a brief moment of daze, immediately broke into sharp shouts.
Braving the sky full of dust and chaos, they scurried like ants among the groaning wounded.
Stretcher teams ran frantically, transporting incapacitated casualties to the rear.
The temporary medical points, already crowded from previous battles, were instantly filled to capacity; wails rose one after another, and bandages and hemostatic medicine were consumed at a visible rate.
But these were only physical wounds.
The blow suffered by the Allied Shinobi mentally was far more fatal and despair-inducing than the physical pain.
They had just witnessed with their own eyes an ultimate Tailed Beast Ball that was enough to level mountain ranges and turn the entire desert, along with all of them, into fly ash...
Being brushed away by that figure sitting on the stone throne, as if flicking away a speck of dust.
With an understated snap of his fingers and a strange ring that appeared out of thin air, he easily swallowed and redirected it, then slammed it back intact and ruthlessly at its master!
This had completely exceeded their cognitive scope of "power"!
Ninjutsu? Taijutsu? Genjutsu?
Any power system they understood seemed so laughable and minuscule before the "miracle" displayed by the figure on the stone throne.
"A god... he's truly a god..."
A middle-aged Shinobi from Sunagakure knelt paralyzed on the ground, staring blankly at the stone throne in the sky; his hands were covered in his comrade's blood, yet he was completely unaware, only repeatedly murmuring.
"Only a god... could do something like that..."
"What... what on earth are we fighting?"
A young Konoha Shinobi's voice trembled, the Kunai in his hand dropping powerlessly.
He looked at the Ten-Tails wailing and rolling in the deep pit, half-crippled by its own power—the world-ending beast that they couldn't even budge earlier despite paying a heavy price.
Then he looked again at the figure on the stone throne; the massive contrast almost destroyed his will.
The Ten-Tails was a monster, but the person on that stone throne... was the existence that controlled the monster!
Fear, like tangible ice water, soaked into the marrow of every surviving Allied Shinobi.
It wasn't simple fear of death, but a sense of awe and insignificance originating from life instinct when facing an absolute unknown, an absolutely incomprehensible, and an absolutely irresistible "Supreme Existence."
The determined will for a final stand that had been ignited by Minato earlier was now like a candle in the wind, flickering on the verge of being extinguished.
Many people even forgot the enemy in front of them, only instinctively curling their bodies, trying to avoid that indifferent gaze from the sky.
An atmosphere of despair spread like a plague.
Morale—this Allied Force that gathered the power of the entire Shinobi World and should have been of one mind.
Its morale had completely fallen into the abyss before the god-like might displayed by The Collector with those two flicks of his fingers.
They felt like puppets on a stage, while the true audience and master sat high in the clouds, indifferently appreciating this drama called "Despair."
Minato stood on the ravaged front line, his Hokage cloak damaged, his golden hair stained with dust and blood.
His azure eyes swept over the wounded everywhere and looked at those Shinobi who had lost their souls and their will to fight.
Finally, his gaze turned heavily toward the Ten-Tails struggling in pain in the deep pit, and...
Tendo Pain, suspended high in the air, cold determination flashing in his Rinnegan.
Ultimately, his gaze also inevitably fell upon that hovering stone throne.
An unprecedented sense of weight pressed on his heart.
Casualties could still be controlled, but morale... once this invisible pillar collapsed, the Allied Forces wouldn't be far from a true rout.
Minato clenched his fists, his nails sinking deep into his palms; a trace of blood seeped out, bringing a slight pain that reminded him he must stay clear-headed.
He had to find a glimmer of hope, for these Shinobi who trusted him, and for the future of the entire Shinobi World.
Sensing the Allied Forces' crumbling will, Minato immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique to arrive at the intelligence department's side.
And in an extremely short time, he connected to Inoichi's mental network.
His voice was transmitted accurately into every Shinobi's ear through the secret technique, steady and carrying an unquestionable power.