Naruto was also momentarily stunned, then grew even more excited: "Wow! Sasuke! You're so strong!"
"Shut up, dead last," Sasuke said coldly, his gaze locked on Pain.
From the dust, the Deva Path slowly stood. His black robe with red clouds was torn in many places.
For the first time, a serious look appeared in his Rinnegan eyes.
"It's not just strength, speed, reaction. It's his fighting technique too..."
"This Uchiha Sasuke is completely different from the intel!"
Without further words, the battle resumed.
This time, all Six Paths of Pain surrounded Sasuke.
The Asura Path's missiles, the Animal Path's summoned beasts, the Preta Path's chakra absorption... combined with the Deva Path's Shinra Tensei and Bansho Ten'in...
A dizzying array of bizarre, powerful Rinnegan abilities.
Yet, at the center of the storm, Sasuke still didn't use any Ninjutsu or Dojutsu.
Facing missiles, he sidestepped, moving faster than the missile's tracking system could react.
Facing summoned creatures, a single punch sent their massive forms flying.
Facing Bansho Ten'in's pull, he used Chakra to anchor himself, even using the pull to accelerate his charge.
Facing Shinra Tensei's push, he either evaded in advance or, at the moment of impact, used an impossible method of muscle relaxation to minimize damage.
Sasuke's fighting style was simple, direct, efficient, yet carried an artistic precision and violent aesthetic.
Every part of his body seemed a deadly weapon.
"Is this guy... really Sasuke?" Rock Lee found it hard to believe. The Sasuke before him was a completely different person from the one during the Chunin Exams.
"He's different. Sasuke's gotten even cooler!" Ino gazed somewhat dreamily at Sasuke's finely-honed upper body, now on display after his shirt was destroyed.
"Hey, Ino! This is no time to be daydreaming!" Sakura urged, helping the injured, but her gaze was also drawn to Sasuke.
When Sasuke was first surrounded, Naruto immediately entered Sage Mode and joined the fray.
After three years apart, their teamwork was as seamless as ever.
Naruto's wide-ranging, explosive Sage Techniques and Rasengan barrages complemented Sasuke's precise, efficient, surgical-strike violent Taijutsu perfectly.
They needed few words. A look, a gesture, even a shift in rhythm conveyed their intent.
With their tacit cooperation, within ten minutes, the six figures that had brought destruction to Konoha were reduced to ruins.
As the last Pain crumbled in the dust, the clamor of battle subsided.
Having defeated the Six Paths, they didn't stop. Using clues from the battle and their perception, they quickly located Pain's main body.
…
Not far from Konoha, inside a giant paper tree.
Within the tree's hollow space, the emaciated Nagato was connected to the Gedo Statue's conduits, Konan watching over him.
As Naruto entered, seeing Nagato's pitiful state and hearing his theory about 'peace through pain', his anger was gradually replaced by complex emotions.
He tried to use his usual [Talk-no-Jutsu] to understand and persuade Nagato.
Sasuke, however, watched coldly.
As Nagato continued talking about his 'ideals' and 'sacrifices', Sasuke suddenly spoke, his voice icy: "Naruto, what's there to discuss with this heinous, teacher-killing scum?"
Sasuke's gaze, like icicles, pierced Nagato:
"He lives in the lies he's woven. Even if you shatter one illusion, he'll immediately weave another to deceive himself, continuing down this self-righteous path of destruction."
Sasuke's tone carried a deep disgust: "To kill without hesitation the teacher who loved him, taught him, gave him everything... such a person is beyond redemption."
"..." Naruto opened his mouth to speak, looking at Sasuke's unusually agitated expression, his heart filled with confusion.
'Pervy Sage was my teacher... But why does Sasuke seem even more agitated than me?'
Nagato weakly retorted: "This is... for peace... necessary sacrifices..."
"Peace?" Sasuke scoffed, done with words. "I can't be bothered with your self-deceiving nonsense."
He flashed before Nagato, extending his right index finger, a point of strange spiritual energy coalescing at its tip, and lightly touched Nagato's forehead.
"Take it up with my fist! Genro Mao Ken!"
Nagato's body shook violently, his eyes instantly losing focus.
"Nagato!" Konan cried out, trying to approach, but was kicked away by Sasuke.
Sasuke, controlling the dazed Nagato, said coldly: "I heard from Master that the Rinnegan can revive the dead."
"Then use your life to atone."
Under Sasuke's forced control, Nagato was compelled to form the seals for that forbidden technique.
"Outer Path: Rinne Tensei Technique!"
Green life energy surged wildly from Nagato's body, transforming into countless points of light that traversed space, flew to Konoha's ruins, and entered the bodies of the recently deceased Ninjas...
Konoha's dead began to revive, one by one.
As his life energy was completely drained, Nagato, with endless pain and a sense of release, completely lost his life, becoming a withered corpse.
"No!" Konan cried out in anguish, lunging for Nagato's body. At the same time, countless paper sheets around her began to spin wildly, transforming into sharp blades attacking Sasuke.
"I'll kill you!"
Sasuke's gaze didn't waver. He simply, once again, threw a punch.
Bang!
Pure physical force shattered the paper defense, piercing Konan's heart.
Konan's movement ceased abruptly, the light in her eyes fading rapidly. She finally fell beside Nagato's body.
Sasuke stepped forward, expressionless, extracting the Rinnegan from Nagato's hollow eye sockets and sealing them in a specialized container.
Naruto, watching, had complex feelings. He hadn't been able to stop Sasuke from killing Konan.
He could only smile bitterly: "Sasuke, I don't think they were truly evil. Maybe there was a chance to completely resolve this hatred."
Sasuke replied calmly: "Tell me, has the hatred been resolved or not?"
Naruto: "..."
In the sky above, Setsuna, who had just returned to the Naruto World, had witnessed the entire scene.
"Well done. You have the air of a conqueror." Setsuna nodded slightly.
Though he had good relations with the Nagato and Konan of another timeline, he had no intention of stopping Sasuke.
Different experiences, different lives. He naturally wouldn't consider the Nagato of this timeline the same person.