At that moment, Chikushōdō (Animal Path)—whoever this lieutenant was, he was gutsy—had actually managed to get one of the Paths knocked down?!
Even so, Natsuki didn't hesitate. He drove the Senju Kannon (Thousand-Armed Kannon) to rain blows down—but Chikushōdō was nimble, grabbed Shuradō (Asura Path), and flashed away, handing him off to Jigokudō (Hell Path) in an instant.
"Not a chance!"
The Kannon moved to intercept, but Tendō (Deva Path) appeared and used Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push), bouncing the dense barrage back.
Asura Path was safely shoved into the Jigoku no Ō (King of Hell)'s mouth.
Natsuki clicked his tongue, then used Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) to blink behind Deva Path. He swept in with a Kōsoku Kikku (Light-Speed Kick)—this time Deva caught it on a black rod.
The Kuroi Bō (Black Receiver) shattered under the blow and Deva was hurled away, but he wasn't badly hurt.
Looked like he'd gotten used to that light-speed kick.
Thinking fast, Natsuki focused the Kannon's full assault on Animal Path. That one would surely Kuchiyose (Summon) more Paths to be repaired—better to crush him first.
Chikushōdō sprang and dodged, and when a hit was inevitable he summoned a Ishi Panda (Stone Panda) to tank the strike.
Natsuki seized the opening, flashed behind Animal Path with Ranton Shunshin (Storm-Style Body Flicker), and condensed a blade in his hand—Ranton Reizā Ken (Laser Sword)—poised to run him through.
But Asura Path, fresh from the King of Hell's maw, dashed in, shoved Animal Path aside, and lost one of his six arms to the laser cut.
No matter—he still had five.
Animal Path, knocked toward the King of Hell, immediately used Kuchiyose again and pulled in Gakidō (Preta Path) as well.
Preta looked even worse off than Asura had—but Jigokudō stuffed him into the King of Hell's mouth just as fast.
"Give me a break—!"
Natsuki cursed, and the Kannon's Buddha palm hammered the King of Hell's head. It didn't even flinch, ignoring everything but restoring Preta.
He forced a long breath, tamping down his irritation.
He was strong, no doubt—but a single fighter against a well-oiled formation of multiple Pains was tight, even for him.
Natsuki thought it wasn't enough; the watching shinobi did not agree. To them he was overwhelming—Senju Kannon and the Stone Golem were already jaw-dropping, and he was pressing three… no, four… actually five Pains at once and still dictating the pace. Unreal.
Even that nightmarish giant centipede had been pinned like a bug under a hand—absurd.
"No wonder he's our Konoha Demon Blade! Too strong!"
"He's using Mokuton (Wood Release) like the First!"
"Not just Mokuton—he's got the Fourth's Hiraishin too! And Ranton (Storm Release)! He's busted!"
"Waaah! I wanna have Natsuki-sama's babies!"
"You hush, oba-san! Natsuki-sama's girlfriend is Tenten-jōnin—young, gorgeous, and deadly. Not your turn!"
They gossiped and bickered at the sidelines. It wasn't that they didn't want to help—they couldn't. Rushing in now meant dying…and tripping Natsuki up.
At least they remembered to run in and yank the black receivers from the giant centipede—that was Pain's chakra controller; remove it and the summon would stop being controlled.
Natsuki now stood off against four Paths… correction, five—the Gakidō (Preta Path) had just been spat back out.
Thankfully the Jigoku no Ō (King of Hell) was retracted by Hell Path, maybe due to a time limit—or maybe because, at five-on-one, they felt it was in the bag.
Both sides held fire, tension tightening like a wire. Anyone with eyes could see it: Pain was wary of Natsuki's solo power.
Two figures flickered in beside Natsuki.
"Hey hey, lively spot. Five Pains already, huh?"
Sasuke actually smiled, excited. "Natsuki, you're greedy, aren't you? Fifteen sounds fun—share a few with me?"
Kakashi glanced over Natsuki, found no wounds, and exhaled. "We aren't late, are we?"
Natsuki let out a breath too. "About time—you had me juggling alone. Sasuke, it's not like I want to fight this many Pains. Take as many as you like."
"Then I won't be shy!"
Sasuke's tomoe spun—Mangekyō Sharingan bloomed—and a blue skeletal giant wrapped around him: Susanoo reared up, menacing.
Take note—Sasuke has entered Cool Mode.
Boom! Susanoo's fist crashed down; Deva chose to dodge.
He wasn't truly afraid of Susanoo—he was wary of Natsuki sneaking in with Hiraishin; after all, Deva still had a marked formula at his back.
Sasuke, bold as ever, had gone straight for Deva—the strongest target. Was he getting cocky again?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Susanoo's barrage chased Deva into evasions.
Asura slammed in and tried to ram Susanoo—only to crack his own body on the construct.
Natsuki immediately sent the Kannon into another storm—fists and palms pounding down in a torrential squall, giving the Pains no option but to scramble.
Deva warped to Animal Path's side and fired Shinra Tensei, clearing all incoming strikes.
Animal Path seized the window, Kuchiyose flaring—Ningendō (Human Path) and the remaining summons blinked back onto the field. Most of the beasts were done for; only the chameleon and the multiplying hound were still lively.
Ah, and Konan reappeared as well.
Across the village, the Inuzuka trio who had been locked with the splitting hound froze.
Tsume barked a laugh. "Ha! Knew it—afraid of the Inuzuka, so it ran!"
Hana and Kiba sighed. "Kaa-san is amazing…"
Sure. The whole family suffered from glorious overconfidence—where exactly did that hound look 'afraid'?
Elsewhere, Asuma finally breathed easier. The chameleon had been a pain—especially with a squad of chūnin in tow. With it gone, the fight had been hard; better that it disappeared.
Unlike Tsume, though, he guessed the real reason: the fight elsewhere had escalated and they needed the summons back.
Which meant—support was urgent.
"Get the wounded to the Medical Corps—now! I'll head over alone!"
Asuma gave the order and sprinted toward the loudest front. Soon, he found the giants. Only ten meters tall, but plenty eye-catching.
Yamato, Genma, Raido, and Iwashi arrived right behind him.
"Asuma, you okay?" Raido asked quickly.
"I'm fine. But the chameleon I was fighting got reverse-summoned. They need backup there," Asuma said, lighting a cigarette to steady himself.
"The Ningendō (Human Path) we were fighting got summoned away too," Yamato said gravely. "That has to be the main battlefield. Let's move—we can only hope everyone's still okay."
(End of Chapter)
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