Bang! Whoosh! Bang! Whoosh! Boom!
Guy landed three consecutive kicks, using his bandages to pin Naraka Path in place, ensuring it couldn't escape and forcing it to endure every blow.
This combo was extremely fluid; Naraka Path had no chance to defend itself and could only passively take all the damage.
Finally, after being heavily struck, Naraka Path plummeted like a falling bomb into the ground, completely tearing apart both walls of the alley. The shockwave spread outward from the point of impact, causing nearby houses to collapse underground as well, turning the area into a wasteland.
This move of Guy's, performed after opening the Third Gate, was a powerful taijutsu technique—restricting the enemy's movement with bandages before launching continuous attacks at an incredible speed. Even the Sharingan would struggle to track his movements, and he could even reach the point of walking on air.
This move was first used years ago when Guy's first student, Lee, faced Gaara—it overwhelmed even Gaara's sand manipulation, leaving him no chance to retaliate, as his sand controlled by sheer willpower couldn't keep up with Lee's speed.
And now, as Lee's teacher, Guy wielded this technique with even more devastating force.
"Hmph, should be alright now. Taking all my attacks head-on, even Hokage-sama probably couldn't handle that."
Guy landed lightly on the roof of a collapsed house, confident in his technique.
As for the destruction caused by this move, he had his own limits—he knew beforehand there were no civilians in these buildings, so he held nothing back during the fight.
Still, the scale of destruction exceeded his expectations; the affected area was twice what he imagined, clearly showing how effective recent training had been.
Brushing those thoughts aside, Guy reminded himself that his real focus was the enemy—not how much stronger he'd become.
He turned his eyes once more toward the center of the crater. Ever since the enemy crashed into the ground, it hadn't moved—an indication it must have suffered serious injuries.
This outcome shocked him deeply—it turned out to be much weaker than he had anticipated. Perhaps its level wasn't overwhelmingly strong, or maybe it was simply someone he could easily dominate in taijutsu. Still, whether it possessed some hidden and formidable ability remained something Guy needed to stay cautious about.
So despite having gained a massive advantage, Guy didn't lower his guard. Once his breathing steadied, he crouched slightly and leaped down toward the enemy, intending to either finish it off or capture it outright and hand it over to the village's interrogation squad.
"Truly amazing taijutsu! I suppose this isn't yet your limit. Otherwise, Saitama wouldn't have taken you so seriously."
Just as Guy landed and took one step forward, the enemy started speaking, slowly rising from the ground. Though its movements were stiff and mechanical, its expression remained unchanged—cold and emotionless.
"This is... Is my taijutsu really ineffective? Or was the damage just not enough?"
Guy halted appropriately, surprise flickering briefly in his eyes.
The enemy didn't seem seriously injured, which was far from what he had anticipated earlier.
Although the opponent's movements appeared stiff and somewhat mechanical, his physical strength seemed abnormally high. Yet during their previous fight, he clearly wasn't skilled in taijutsu at all?
Crack! Crack!
Naraka Path circled around Guy while twisting its neck, producing a series of cracking sounds. A trickle of blood ran down from the corner of its mouth.
Those previous attacks were indeed powerful, causing extreme impact to this vessel. Even neural signals experienced some delay, but fortunately it's gradually recovering now.
He just noticed—the Konoha ninja's last attack was purely taijutsu, just brute force without any traces of chakra-infused ninjutsu techniques whatsoever.
To reach such an exaggerated level using only human flesh and bones is extremely rare throughout the Shinobi World. Even Kumo ninja famous for their taijutsu would fall slightly short by comparison.
This ninja named Saitama specifically mentioned—the user of kinjutsu—indeed lived up to his reputation. He definitely deserved attention. But based on currently displayed capabilities, he still couldn't pose any fatal threat to someone like himself who possessed the Rinnegan. At most, another strong enemy had simply appeared.
Thinking thus, Naraka Path fixed its gaze upon Guy. Rather than letting him become future trouble, better to seize this opportunity and eliminate him right now!
As soon as this thought arose, Nagato reached a decision.
Though he was currently controlling six puppets to wage battle across multiple fronts within Konoha Village, under present circumstances, he would still spare time specifically to kill Guy.
Flashes of light flickered within his Rinnegan—he continued calculating.
"It seems I've underestimated Akatsuki members again. Then allow me to become even more serious! Regarding enemies who kill fellow villagers, I will show absolutely no mercy!"
Guy naturally didn't know about Naraka Path's inner thoughts. He regarded the current Naraka Path entirely as a full-fledged living person.
Therefore, after realizing his previous ninjutsu hadn't achieved its purpose, he immediately wanted to continue employing the Eight Gates Release Technique—to end this quickly before rushing to reinforce other areas of the village!
He crouched low, extending his left arm forward while forming a fist with his right hand placed at his waist. Suddenly, a current of energy began swirling around his body, kicking up dust into spiraling clouds.
His eyes sharpened like a hawk preparing to strike—filled with fierce determination.
Guy was a very pure-hearted ninja, born and raised in Konoha, bearing deep affection for this land. Everyone living here, he automatically considered comrades—even though both he and his father once suffered endless ridicule during his childhood.
"In that case, let's keep going... Hmm?"
"It seems I can't deal with you first either. A more important target has already been found!"
First clenching his fist toward Guy as if ready to seriously engage him, Naraka Path's expression suddenly changed a second later when critical information arrived from another puppet position, prompting immediate change of plans and slowly loosening its grip.
Frowning, Guy noticed the enemy's emotional shift. Just to be safe, he decided to strike first.
In battle, landing the first blow often means winning half the fight. That's what he'd concluded from years of combat. As a Taijutsu specialist, he couldn't afford to give those "spellcasters" time to prepare their techniques.
Whoosh!
He leaped high into the air and immediately launched a powerful kick downward toward Naraka Path below. Air compressed around his leg with a faint popping sound.
"I hope you're still this energetic the next time we meet. I'll remember your name, Might Guy!"
Facing Guy's attack, Naraka Path showed little reaction, simply relaxing his body and standing in place.
His hands remained completely relaxed at his sides, ten fingers hidden within the wide sleeves of his robe.
He stared straight at Guy, as though etching his face into his mind.
Finally, he slightly opened his mouth and muttered something barely audible—yet only to his own ears.
Swish!
A puff of white smoke appeared on the spot, and Naraka Path vanished.
The next moment, Guy's foot slammed down exactly where Naraka Path had stood.
Boom!
His kick struck the ground with tremendous force, instantly shattering nearby rocks, yet Naraka Path had disappeared just an instant earlier.
"What the hell?"
Guy felt momentarily stunned—how did his target vanish so suddenly?
If he could move that fast, why had he passively taken hits before?
Swish! Swish!
He leaped up and darted around, eyes scanning the shadows for the enemy.
He assumed the opponent had finally decided to take this battle seriously, revealing his full strength and increasing his speed accordingly.
But soon, he sensed something was off again.
Because the enemy truly wasn't around anymore—it wasn't like the foe had dodged aside waiting for a chance to counterattack, as Guy had suspected. He had genuinely vanished.
"Space–Time Ninjutsu? A technique similar to what the Hokage possesses?"
More thoughts flashed through his mind, making his already thick eyebrows twist even further.
If the enemy had mastered a jutsu like this, the fight would undoubtedly become extremely troublesome, and victory wouldn't come easily.
So now, the most important task was to find the enemy first?
Guy scanned the area all around him. The air was eerily silent, as if he were the only one breathing for dozens of meters around.
"Did I misjudge something?"
After a long pause, Guy finally let his fists drop, puzzled by the enemy's sudden disappearance.
Whatever reason caused this enemy to leave, he needed to continue supporting other areas of the village!
With that thought, he pushed off several surfaces to gain momentum and leapt onto a relatively intact rooftop, then turned his gaze toward other parts of the village.
Strangely, before fighting this enemy, there had been at least several active skirmishes across the village, but now everything had gone eerily quiet—as if those foes had vanished only moments ago?
"That's odd! Did all the enemies retreat? What happened?"
Unease crept into Guy's heart. Akatsuki shouldn't have withdrawn so easily; something bigger must be brewing.
His figure darted toward the distance. Guy quickened his pace heading toward the village's center, believing the answers lay in that direction.
...
"Jiraiya."
Tsunade was stopped by Jiraiya and felt somewhat puzzled.
The enemy clearly seemed to be preparing a major move. Why not act now? Was he actually waiting for the opponent to strike first?
"Tsunade, something isn't right. Maybe you should leave here first?"
Jiraiya wore an intense expression, his eyes fixed firmly on Deva Path who had already risen several meters into the air. His tone was extremely serious.
Tsunade frowned, eyes fixed on Pain as she carefully evaluated his next move. She completely ignored what Jiraiya had just said.
Flight was a rare ability in the Shinobi World. The most widely known user of this ability was currently the elderly Tsuchikage Onoki.
That stubborn old man, with his flight combined with Dust Release, was considered an unstoppable killing force in the current shinobi world. Although he had aged significantly, his power still ranked among the highest in the ninja world!
And now, another ninja possessing the ability to fly appeared before them—and this one was an enemy!
"What is he planning to do?"
Tsunade softly asked, tightening her mind, a vague sense of unease creeping in.
"I don't know, but I do know it won't be anything good!"
Jiraiya shook his head. Initially, he had wanted to attack, but that bone-chilling sensation told him not to act recklessly, or he would surely suffer consequences. Therefore, he could only suppress his impulse and watch how things developed.
He didn't know what jutsu Pain was about to perform. So although concern lingered in his heart, he still maintained a degree of confidence in facing whatever came next—he still had allies standing beside him.
...
"Konan, what are you doing?"
Konan suddenly found herself summoned beside Nagato, thus asking in confusion.
"I've located the Nine-Tails, so there's no need for you to keep risking your life anymore!"
Nagato inserted both hands into the device capable of amplifying and transmitting his chakra. Without changing his gaze, he spoke to Konan.
"If you've found him, why remove all of us from the battlefield? If we work together, our chances of success will increase greatly."
Konan glanced around and saw that the other Six Paths Puppets had also been summoned here with her.
"Where's Yahiko? Nagato, what are you planning to do?"
Her eyes swept over everyone present when suddenly she noticed the critical issue, her tone abruptly shifting, becoming urgent.
She understood what Nagato was about to do next—but carrying it out…
"Konan, don't try to stop me. My decision is final! Pain is the ultimate catalyst for peace. Konoha will be the first village to witness this transformation!"
"No one can escape the cycle of conflict that plagues this world. That is why I will rebuild this corrupted world."
"This is what a god should truly be like!"
"Once, I was only a god for myself. Now, I will become the god of this entire world!"
Over the years, Nagato's red hair had gradually dulled, with streaks of gray appearing here and there.
At this moment, as he slowly finished speaking, his long hair scattered across his shoulders lifted as if caught in a windless storm.
Konan stared at Nagato without another word. She already understood his intentions.
Nagato in this era was in much better condition than the one Saitama remembered from when he invaded Konoha. Therefore, Konan quietly accepted that Nagato had sacrificed part of his life to unleash this attack. Just this single move wouldn't worsen his condition beyond what he could endure.
This was also the dream staircase Nagato once promised to his comrade Yahiko—and to himself. Although many people would die from this single act, that was reality!
She was no longer the little girl who used to be chased and beaten by fish sellers in Amegakure, crying helplessly in the end.
Growth was a strange thing—it turned people ruthless, contradictory, and unpredictable...
But as Nagato had said long ago: those who've experienced pain would eventually grow into roles they once hated themselves for becoming. And even then, they'd continue living strongly.
This was the world of shinobi. This was reality.
That's exactly why they needed to change everything!
"So, give me the flower of hope we once vowed, Nagato!"
Konan narrowed her eyes, her gaze determined.
Above Konoha Village, the Deva Path had already become a tiny black silhouette.
The village's ninja thought they'd won when the invaders vanished—but soon spotted something strange in the sky.
"Who is that?"
"It looks like one of the enemies from before!"
"..."
High above, powerful winds howled past, whipping the Deva Path's cloak furiously.
"Yahiko, can you see this?"
The Deva Path widened his eyes, stretching both arms outward to each side of his body, then lifting them gradually until holding them suspended high over his head.
"Now, let the world feel pain!"
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