A special thank you to my patrons:
—Shahzaam, Jacob Mooe, kevin Williams, Jose Sierra, Pasang Sherpa, Acedia, kurtis newman, Nhoxious, sediaz, Targaryen, King Scales.
This story is complete, you can read the rest of the chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
-------------------------------------------------------------
If he could just land a solid, direct blow on the Deva Path, the Raikage was absolutely confident in his own strength—more than enough to completely shatter the Deva Path in a single, devastating strike. And this opportunity was not one to be squandered. It had been meticulously manufactured through the combined, coordinated efforts of both Jiraiya and the Tsuchikage.
Who knew when another chance like this would ever present itself? For that reason, when the Raikage unleashed his technique, he held nothing back, pouring every last ounce of his formidable power into the attack. His singular, burning objective was to annihilate the Deva Path in one decisive blow.
The Liger Bomb hurtled towards the Deva Path like a thunderbolt made flesh, a blinding, crackling torrent of raw electrical energy so intense that those on the ground below could not even bear to look directly at the sky.
"Did it land?!"
Jiraiya averted his gaze from the blinding flash above, the desperate thought blazing through his mind.
"Could it truly... have gone that smoothly?" Fukasaku also lowered his head, but a faint, gnawing sense of unease stirred restlessly in his heart.
If Hiruzen had genuinely been defeated by the Deva Path, how could the same opponent possibly fall so easily to Jiraiya?
Onoki did not allow himself the luxury of such speculation. Or rather, he simply did not have the time to entertain these thoughts. From the very beginning, he had never truly harbored the expectation that the Raikage could actually kill the Deva Path.
That was why his hands had never stopped moving, continuing to weave through a rapid, intricate sequence of hand seals. If the Raikage failed to inflict critical damage, Onoki could launch an immediate, unbroken follow-up assault. And if, by some miracle, the Deva Path was genuinely destroyed, then the other Paths of Pain surrounding him would serve as equally valid targets.
Either way, his jutsu would not be wasted. In short, he would unleash his technique first; whether it actually connected with the Deva Path was a matter to be dealt with afterward. Moreover, the Deva Path had still not resorted to the Almighty Push, which only deepened Onoki's conviction that their opponent was withholding yet another hidden maneuver.
The Raikage streaked through the air like a living bolt of lightning, descending upon the Deva Path with the overwhelming, crushing momentum of a raging thunderstorm. There were only two possible outcomes: either the Deva Path would be obliterated by his strike, or the Deva Path would employ the Almighty Push to repel him.
It all happened in a fraction of an instant, so fast that even the Raikage himself had no time to process the result. His Liger Bomb was unleashed, and his forearm seemed to connect with something—perhaps the Deva Path's body, perhaps nothing but empty air. His entire form continued its forward trajectory, passing clean through the space where the Deva Path had been standing.
It... it missed...
Cold sweat erupted across the Raikage's forehead. He had no idea how the Deva Path had evaded his attack. But the fact that the Deva Path had neutralized the Liger Bomb without even resorting to the Almighty Push meant that their next attempt would, in all likelihood, simply be handing their opponent another opportunity.
Jiraiya stared straight ahead, his voice rising in a shocked roar: "The Deva Path is on the ground!"
The Raikage whipped his head around. The Deva Path now stood alongside the other five Paths of Pain, fully regrouped.
"The three of you are truly formidable. If it were not for the Animal Path summoning me to his side at the critical moment, you might very well have succeeded in inflicting serious damage upon me.
But I am afraid an opportunity like that will never present itself again," the Deva Path stated calmly.
After landing back on solid ground, the Raikage looked up at Pain and forced a defiant grin. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. If it happened once, it can happen again."
"Then by all means, try!" the Deva Path roared.
Onoki and Jiraiya exchanged a quick, grim glance. Neither of their expressions was remotely encouraging. The Deva Path was undeniably powerful on his own. But the other five Paths provided him with tremendous, indispensable support. They needed to redirect their focus, shifting their primary offensive onto those five supporting Paths first. However, because the Naraka Path's King of Hell remained in play, even if they managed to destroy one of the
Paths, it could simply be restored and resurrected. A fundamental change in strategy was absolutely imperative.
"Lord Raikage, leave the Deva Path to Lord Tsuchikage and myself for the time being," Jiraiya called out.
"What...?" Onoki was momentarily taken aback, but he quickly clamped his mouth shut. The enemy numbered six in total. If he and Jiraiya handled the Deva Path, that meant the Raikage would be tasked with eliminating the remaining five Paths using his formidable nin-taijutsu.
"Understood," the Raikage replied, his brow knitting into a hard, determined knot. Killing the Deva Path in a short span of time was, as a practical matter, virtually impossible.
Moreover, the other five Paths could, at any moment, provide the Deva Path with immediate reinforcements. Given that reality, it was far more practical to eliminate the supporting Paths first.
After this brief exchange, the three shinobi immediately sprang into action. Jiraiya, in concert with Fukasaku and Shima, unleashed the devastating Sage Art: Five Elements Great Flame.
Oil, Wind Release, and Fire Release erupted simultaneously from the mouths of one man and two toads, merging into a single, cataclysmic conflagration.
The Deva Path watched in cold, silent assessment. When large-scale Fire Release techniques were combined with oil, their destructive power multiplied exponentially. And with the addition of Wind Release, the flames became even more ferocious, more voracious, more all-consuming.
The Deva Path moved backward, while the Preta Path surged forward, positioning himself directly in the path of the oncoming inferno. He spread his arms wide, preparing to utilize his unique ability to absorb the Five Elements Great Flame directly into his body.
But suddenly, from four separate directions—front, back, left, and right—massive stone pillars, each with a radius of half a meter, erupted violently from the earth, angling inward to strike the Preta Path from all sides. The Five Elements Great Flame bore down on him from the front, while the earthen pillars converged from every other direction, completely surrounding the Preta Path.
If he did not evade, the full force of these attacks would crash directly upon him. But if he did evade, the Deva Path behind him would be left exposed.
Without a moment's hesitation, the Preta Path raised both hands, bracing himself against the incoming flames and the foremost earthen pillar. The other three pillars slammed into his body, but the glowing aura surrounding him absorbed them all, swallowing the chakra-based attacks entirely. The ferocious Fire Release was likewise drawn into the Preta Path's body, nullified with equal efficiency.
However, seizing this exact, critical window, the lightning-swift Raikage suddenly materialized beside the Preta Path. His hand, crackling with concentrated Lightning Release chakra, drove directly into the Preta Path's throat. The force of the blow was so immense that the Preta Path's head was cleanly separated from his neck.
The Asura Path immediately raised his left arm. The wrist split open, revealing a mechanical aperture, and a rocket-propelled fist launched forth with explosive force.
"Die, damn you!" the Raikage roared.
His chakra-engulfed fist met the incoming Asura Path rocket fist head-on, striking it with titanic force. The sheer, concussive impact drove the Raikage backward a full two steps.
His right arm, having absorbed the brunt of the collision, now hung limp and unresponsive at his side. He could no longer even lift it. Although he had utterly pulverized the rocket fist, the corresponding damage to his own arm had been severe. Even so, the Raikage did not regret his actions for a single instant. If he had flinched, if he had retreated, the damage would not have been limited to just his arm.
"Lord Raikage, are you alright?!" Jiraiya shouted with urgent concern.
The Raikage shook his head, but his eyes remained fixed on the Naraka Path. The Asura Path had already been destroyed once before, only to be restored by the Naraka Path's King of Hell.
The Raikage knew he had to remain hyper-vigilant against the Asura Path's interference, or else the Preta Path would simply be resurrected as well.
At that precise moment, a transparent, geometric cube abruptly materialized, encasing the fallen Preta Path's body within its crystalline confines. An instant later, a blinding, incandescent radiance erupted outward from within the cube.
The sheer, cataclysmic energy released by the technique generated a shockwave so immense that everyone near the Preta Path was forced to scramble backward to avoid being caught in the blast.
This sudden, unexpected development caught not only the Raikage by surprise but the Deva Path as well. By the time the luminous cube finally faded from existence, the body of the Preta Path—which should have been lying there, broken and defeated—had simply vanished into nothingness.
The Deva Path stared at the empty space where the Preta Path's remains had lain, his expression growing colder and more murderous by the second. The Raikage, meanwhile, immediately shifted his gaze to the Tsuchikage.
Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu. It was a technique born of a Kekkei Tota, a fusion of three chakra natures—Wind, Earth, and Fire. It was a jutsu that could only be performed by the Tsuchikage himself.
"That was... rather abrupt," the Raikage remarked, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips, though his tone carried a trace of reproach.
"Heh heh... If we had telegraphed every single move in advance, would we ever have succeeded in permanently dealing with that troublesome King of Hell's resurrections? Until we manage to neutralize that monstrous thing for good, we must handle the remains of these Paths with extreme care. Now, at least, that one can never be brought back, no matter what they try," the Tsuchikage replied with a knowing grin.