Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

The three-headed hound stood on the opposite bank of the river. Its three heads moved independently, but all six eyes were fixed dead on Uchiha Taiga.

Its sheer size was staggering, making the river beneath its feet look like a mere ditch. One paw rested on the riverbank, causing a large chunk of earth to cave in, while another stepped into the water, sending a massive splash into the air and churning the river into a muddy mess.

Standing on the near side of the river, Taiga looked up at the behemoth, his expression completely unchanged.

His hands remained casually tucked in his pockets.

The Animal Path stood atop the hound's central head, its black cloak snapping in the wind. Those Rinnegan eyes stared down at Taiga, equally devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

Taiga already had a good read on the situation.

The opponent's attack was merely a probe.

Nagato needed to gauge his strength, or rather, his bottom line. That was the purpose of this test.

But Taiga also knew that a conflict was inevitable.

His very existence was already a threat to Nagato. Not because he harbored any hostility toward the man, but because of his interest in the Tailed Beasts. He wanted to acquire Tailed Beast chakra for his experiments.

Nagato's plan was to collect all the Tailed Beasts, revive the Ten-Tails, and achieve peace through his own methods. Anyone interested in the Tailed Beasts was a potential rival.

A clash over the Tailed Beasts was bound to happen eventually.

If not today, then tomorrow.

If not here, then somewhere else.

Taiga was well aware of this, so he didn't bother wasting his breath. Empty words held absolutely no meaning in a situation like this.

Instead, he simply observed. His eyes brightened slightly as veins bulged around his temples.

He didn't use his telescopic vision to look at the three-headed hound; something that massive was perfectly clear to the naked eye. He was looking further out, scanning the surrounding forests, hills, and rocks for anyone hiding in the shadows.

His field of vision rapidly expanded, bringing everything within a radius of several kilometers under his gaze...

But he saw no one.

The control over the Six Paths of Pain had a range limit. Nagato used Yin-Yang Style black receivers to transmit his chakra into the bodies of the Six Paths puppets, controlling their movements through those rods.

This control was not infinite. The further away he was, the weaker the signal and the slower the reaction time.

Since the Animal Path was here, Nagato had to be nearby.

Somewhere not too far away, in a hidden location, Nagato was definitely lying in wait.

Yet Taiga couldn't find him. He pushed his vision to its absolute maximum range, sweeping from the riverside woods to the distant hills, from the grassy plains down into the subterranean caverns.

Still, there was no sign of Nagato. Nothing at all.

The veins around Taiga's eyes pulsed slightly.

He retracted the Byakugan's telescopic vision, his eyes returning to their normal state.

He looked at the Animal Path across the river, coming to a conclusion.

Nagato had already taken precautions against his eyes.

When the Six Paths of Pain were deployed, Nagato wouldn't hide nearby. He would conceal himself much further away—beyond the visual range of the Byakugan.

This way, even if an enemy discovered that the Six Paths of Pain were puppets, they wouldn't be able to trace them back to Nagato's true body.

The silences and pauses when the Animal Path spoke earlier were very telling.

It wasn't thinking; it was waiting for the signal to transmit.

Nagato would speak from afar, the signal would travel to the Animal Path through some medium, and then the Animal Path would vocalize it. Afterward, the Animal Path had to transmit Taiga's response back, and Nagato would listen before formulating a reply.

This back-and-forth naturally created a delay.

That was why the Animal Path's reactions were always half a beat slow, pausing for a long moment after every sentence.

Judging by the length of that delay, the distance between Nagato and the Animal Path had to be vast.

Realizing this, the corners of Taiga's mouth curled up slightly.

'Interesting.'

Nagato was far more cautious than he had imagined, and much smarter than Uchiha Obito. That guy Obito thought he was invincible just because he had Kamui, constantly running right up to his enemies' faces to show off.

And the result? He ended up fleeing like a beaten dog both times.

But Nagato was different.

This man had suffered losses and been deceived. He had been schemed against by Hanzo of the Salamander and manipulated by Uchiha Obito. His caution had been honed time and time again by harsh reality.

A person like that wouldn't be easy to deal with.

Taiga looked up at the three-headed hound, his smile deepening.

"Is this the power of the Rinnegan?"

The Animal Path stood atop the hound's head, looking down at him from its high vantage point.

Those Rinnegan eyes emitted a faint glow beneath the shade of the trees. The concentric purple ripples looked as if something was slowly rotating deep within the pupils.

After a two-second silence, the Animal Path spoke.

"I can share some Tailed Beast chakra with you."

Its voice remained deep and devoid of emotion, but the words took Taiga slightly by surprise.

"But you must accept my invitation and become my comrade."

Taiga raised an eyebrow.

He was surprised, not by the invitation itself, but by the fact that Nagato hadn't referred to himself as a "God."

In his memories, Nagato loved to call himself a god, suffering from a bit of a superiority complex.

That arrogance wasn't feigned; it was Nagato's genuine perception of his own abilities after enduring so much pain.

But now, the Nagato standing before him... no, this Path of Pain, was speaking to him as an equal.

This was very interesting.

Nagato didn't treat him as a subordinate to be ordered around, but as someone who demanded equal footing.

This meant Nagato evaluated him very highly.

Taiga chuckled.

"Become comrades?"

As he spoke, he pulled his hands out of his pockets and let them hang by his sides. His posture was relaxed, completely devoid of any defensive stance, as if he were just chatting with an ordinary person.

"To be honest, I haven't really had any friends growing up, let alone comrades."

His tone was casual.

"What gives you the confidence to make such an offer?" he asked, looking at the Animal Path.

There was no mockery or provocation in his voice, just a question born of genuine curiosity.

The Animal Path fell silent.

It seemed to be transmitting a signal again.

A few seconds later, it finally spoke.

"It seems you have rejected my goodwill."

Its voice hadn't changed at all. It was still deep and steady, as if it had anticipated this outcome all along.

Then, it moved.

More accurately, it wasn't the Path itself that moved, but the three-headed hound of hell beneath its feet.

The behemoth lowered all three of its heads simultaneously, its six eyes locking onto Taiga. Its front legs bent, its hind legs dug into the earth, and its entire body coiled with power like a fully drawn bow.

Then, it lunged.

The river water shattered beneath its paws, spraying outward as if a wall of water had been violently torn apart. It was so massive that the entire width of the river wasn't even enough for a single stride; in just one step, it crossed from the opposite bank to the near side.

Three gigantic maws opened at once, their razor-sharp teeth glinting coldly in the sunlight as they snapped down toward Taiga's position.

Three directions, three angles—sealing off every possible route of escape.

The central head bit straight ahead, the left head snapped toward the back-left, and the right head lunged toward the back-right.

The three massive jaws clamped shut simultaneously, like a colossal man-eating flower closing its petals.

Taiga moved as well.

He didn't retreat; instead, he charged forward.

Pushing off with his right foot, he launched himself into the air, shooting toward the central head like a fired arrow.

His speed was incredible, so fast that the hound's eyes couldn't even track him. Before the three heads could fully close, he was already airborne right in front of the central head.

Then, he delivered a kick.

It was a simple, unadorned kick that landed squarely on the creature's chin.

Bang!

The massive head jerked upward violently, as if a giant, invisible hand had shoved it hard from below. Its jaws were forced open, its teeth biting nothing but air. The sheer force of the blow sent its entire body reeling backward, and the colossal beast crashed heavily onto the opposite bank of the river.

Dust billowed into the air, and the river water surged backward.

The other two heads were thrown off course by the impact, snapping wildly to the left and right but catching absolutely nothing.

Taiga landed back on his side of the river, standing in his original spot without moving an inch.

He hadn't even broken a sweat.

The moment the central head was kicked upward, the Animal Path had already leaped backward to retreat.

Its body was as light as a feather, floating off the hound's head and landing further away on the opposite bank.

It seemed to have known this would be the outcome all along.

A mere summoned beast could never stop this man.

While still in midair, the Animal Path's hands had already begun weaving signs. This time, the hand signs were formed so rapidly they were nothing but a blur.

By the time it landed, the hand signs were complete.

The next moment, it slammed its hands onto the ground.

Summoning Jutsu!

Poof!!

A massive cloud of white smoke erupted once more.

Immediately after, the sound of footsteps echoed from within the smoke—the footsteps of several people.

Some were light, some heavy, some hurried, some steady. The different footsteps intertwined, moving in perfect unison.

Then, five figures of varying heights walked out of the white smoke.

Five people, five distinct postures, five pairs of Rinnegan eyes, both male and female.

Counting the Animal Path standing behind them, there were six in total.

The Six Paths of Pain had fully assembled.

Six pairs of Rinnegan eyes all locked onto Uchiha Taiga.

The purple glow flickered in the dim forest, shining eerily like six will-o'-the-wisps.

The wind blew across the river, rustling the cloaks of the six figures. The black cloaks with red clouds billowed in the wind like banners.

Standing on his side of the river, Taiga looked at the six figures on the opposite bank, the curve of his lips never changing.

"So, all Six Paths have come out to play."