Jie used Flying Thunder God to close the distance, cut through the Asura Path's limbs, then sealed every broken part and packed it away.
The whole process was smooth and practiced.
After all, he had done the same thing dozens of times when he fought Sasori of the Red Sand five years ago. Doing it again now did not feel awkward at all.
Nagato's face darkened as soon as he realized what Jie had done.
Fighting was one thing, but the battle was not even over yet. Wasn't it a little too much to start packing up the spoils already?
With Jie so close, Nagato did not hesitate. He controlled the Preta Path and the Human Path to pounce at him.
The Preta Path could absorb Jie's Ninjutsu, while the Human Path could attack his soul and leave him unable to fight back.
At the same time, a black rod appeared in the Deva Path's hand and stabbed toward Jie.
If even one part of the attack landed, the fight would end right there.
Obito, who had been watching from the side, felt a flash of excitement when he saw Jie surrounded.
Once Jie Uchiha was out of the way, carrying out the Eye of the Moon Plan would become much easier.
Asuma was thinking the same thing.
He was fighting Rasa together with Deidara. While blocking an attack, he caught a glimpse of the black rod getting closer and closer to Jie, and excitement rose in his heart.
"Yes, that's it."
"Stab him. Stab it straight into the Uchiha's heart."
"That way, I'll have avenged the old man."
Asuma was so excited that he lost focus for a moment.
Rasa immediately caught the opening. "You dare get distracted with that level of skill?"
"Then die."
Rasa snorted and shouted coldly.
He had already noticed that out of the two people blocking him, Asuma was genuinely weak. In Rasa's estimate, Asuma was at most around elite Jonin level. He might not even be that strong.
If not for Deidara covering him, Rasa was certain Asuma would have died by his hand already.
And now, while clearly weaker, Asuma still dared to look away and watch another fight. That was not just disrespect.
To Rasa, it was outright humiliation.
He had originally planned to stall Deidara and Asuma for a while and see how things developed. But now, Asuma could just go die.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Wave!"
Rasa quickly formed hand seals.
From the broken platform and the surrounding dirt, grains of golden sand rose into the air and gathered together.
Under Rasa's control, the gold dust surged toward Asuma.
"What?" Asuma felt his vision darken and instantly snapped back to his senses.
But when he saw the gold dust covering the sky in front of him, panic rushed through him. Only now did he realize how stupid his distraction had been.
If he had been facing a weaker ninja, a small mistake might not have changed the situation. But his opponent was a Kage-level expert far stronger than him.
Although Rasa might really be the weakest of all the Kage present, he was still far above Asuma Sarutobi.
As the gold dust closed in, despair flashed through Asuma's eyes.
Jie was surrounded by attacks, but he still calmly glanced at Asuma's approaching death.
Asuma was not dead yet.
But he was close, wasn't he?
When the Preta Path was only a fist's distance away, Jie finally moved. He raised his fist and struck first, smashing it into the Preta Path's face.
The Preta Path could absorb chakra, but it had no answer for pure Taijutsu.
With a single punch, half of its face was crushed. Its fat body was sent flying backward.
The Deva Path and the Human Path did not care about the Preta Path's damage at all. They continued rushing toward Jie without hesitation.
"Kamui!"
A scarlet light flashed in Jie's eyes, and a spatial vortex appeared in front of him.
The Deva Path had no time to react. The black rod in its hand was swallowed straight into the Kamui space.
Jie seized the opening. The Kusanagi Sword in his hand once again glowed with a pale white blade light.
With one slash, he cut through the black rod and split the Human Path in two.
The Deva Path had no time to feel pain over losing another Six Paths puppet. It immediately retreated.
"Another different Space-Time Ninjutsu? It's even somewhat similar to Tobi's space-time jutsu."
Nagato controlled the Deva Path to pull back for the time being, guarding against Jie's possible counterattack. At the same time, he could not help thinking.
"Jie Uchiha may already be close to my level. With only the Six Paths of Pain, I'm afraid I can't defeat him anymore."
"Should I summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?" A few drops of sweat slid down Nagato's pale face.
Konan's heart ached when she saw it.
"Nagato, stop pushing yourself."
"With your current body, you can't handle moving this much chakra anymore. Don't you still want to help Yahiko fulfill his wish?"
"If your body collapses, how will you finish it?"
Tears gathered in the corners of Konan's eyes as she tried to persuade him.
Nagato fell silent after hearing her words. Then a trace of apology appeared on his face. "I'm sorry, Konan. I made you worry."
"But my body is already like this. Even if it breaks a little more, it doesn't matter."
As soon as Nagato finished speaking, the chakra throughout his body surged violently. He clasped his hands together and shouted.
"Summoning Jutsu: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
Under Nagato's control, Pain, who stood in front of Jie, made the same movement. Then a huge cloud of white smoke rose, larger than any summon from before.
A statue with ten closed eyes and a withered, strange face appeared in front of Jie.
The moment the statue appeared, Yugito suddenly panicked. Or rather, the Two-Tails, Matatabi, who had taken control of her body, lost its composure.
"That is the Ten-Tails' husk?! How is that possible?"
"Wasn't that thing sealed on the moon by the Sage of Six Paths? How did it return to the ninja world?"
Yugito had no time to care about Darui or Kisame. She stared at the huge Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, disbelief written across her face.
The Demonic Statue sensed the aura of the Two-Tails. Its shriveled body immediately let out a sharp roar.
Looking at the massive Demonic Statue, Jie narrowed his eyes slightly. "So this is the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?"
"The Ten-Tails' body after its chakra was drained?"
"What a good thing."
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