Nagato clearly understood that all the advantages of his puppets had already vanished, so he decided not to waste any more energy.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before Pain's numbers dwindled again, and failure of the mission itself wasn't out of the question. It was like an avalanche—once the snow on top started sliding, there was no way to stop the whole thing.
His overconfidence and Konoha's surprising strength were what led to this sudden shift in the battle. To confront a major ninja village head-on with just his own power appeared somewhat inadequate. The enemy only needed its elite ninja to hold their ground, even gaining the upper hand.
He understood this clearly and realized that the turning point lay precisely in the trump card he now prepared to deploy.
The Rinnegan's might was beyond ordinary comprehension. Originally, he intended to save this technique for confronting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but given the current circumstances, he had no choice but to use it early to manage the situation.
This attack aimed at the Nine-Tails had completely gone off track; capturing the Tailed Beast was no longer a must-accomplish task unless Nagato decided to fight without regard for losses.
He truly hadn't expected that simply revealing some information during their first encounter would lead to a complete loss of advantage by now.
Pain's defeat was unstoppable.
Fortunately, Nagato remained relatively composed, not yet succumbing to madness or obsessive stubbornness.
Perhaps taking this opportunity to announce the resumption of war wasn't such a bad idea—it at least made for an impressive opening move.
Huge quantities of chakra were compressed in his palms, undergoing unusual changes under the influence of the Rinnegan.
Deva Path slowly brought his hands up in front of his chest, forming a ceremonial gesture as he gathered power. A black energy sphere formed between his palms, created from focused and condensed chakra, hovering in place.
As large volumes of chakra continued flowing into the small orb, it grew from the size of a grain of rice to that of a small ball, radiating an extremely dangerous aura—a deep darkness as if it might swallow everything in the next instant.
This was the "core" of Nagato's ninjutsu, visually similar to the Tailed Beast Ball.
The moment this chakra ball appeared, Jiraiya and others became highly vigilant.
Everyone halted mid-charge toward Deva Path, standing rooted on the spot on high alert, ready to dodge or retreat at any time.
This black energy ball emitted tremendous power, bearing a resemblance to the Tailed Beast Ball, thus causing everyone to frown in shock.
Even Guy, who had never seen the Tailed Beast Ball, could feel the danger right away.
He maintained his stance, prepared to fall back instantly should any anomaly occur.
Minato also tightened his grip on the kunai—if the enemy hurled this chakra ball resembling a Tailed Beast Ball toward the village, only he possessed the ability to intervene or prevent total catastrophe.
Simultaneously, he came to a realization.
Earlier teamwork had been effective, placing the enemy at a disadvantage.
Clearly, the recent withdrawal of other Pains was to reduce losses—a desperate gamble.
All eyes present focused on the hands of Deva Path.
The previous "Ultra-Shinra Tensei" that covered the entire Konoha had already drained Nagato significantly. Now he was forced to use another highly chakra-consuming jutsu.
This placed a heavy burden on his body. The slight trembling of Deva Path's hands revealed Nagato's current state of weakness.
However, this technique was among the most powerful abilities granted by the Rinnegan. It was normal for it to consume large amounts of chakra—after all, power and consumption went hand in hand.
"Stop him, Jiraiya!"
Fukasaku was the first to snap out of their cautious stance. No matter what came next, they couldn't allow the enemy to continue.
His words quickly brought the others back to their senses. They exchanged glances and saw identical determination in each other's eyes.
[Sage Art – Hair Needle Senbon!]
[Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!]
[Heavenly Foot of Pain!]
Except for Guy, Lee, and Saitama, who could only fight up close, Jiraiya, Minato, and Tsunade immediately unleashed their jutsu without hesitation.
Jiraiya's hair grew longer and harder, then shot forward as countless white senbon needles so dense they resembled falling rain. Minato, using a rarely employed long-range ninjutsu, first threw several shuriken, then formed hand seals rapidly. The number of shuriken multiplied, completely filling the direction with blades just like Jiraiya's senbon storm.
As for Tsunade, although usually a close combatant like Guy, her Monstrous Strength gave her the ability to attack from a distance.
Positioned to Jiraiya's left, she lifted her right leg high before slamming it down onto the ground.
Monstrous Strength surged into the earth, spreading toward the Deva Path like a collapsing mountain.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Maintaining his jutsu formation, the Deva Path slightly opened his mouth and activated the technique that repelled everything.
Jiraiya's hair senbon all stopped several meters in front of him. Minato's shuriken also encountered invisible resistance and lost their momentum.
Though Tsunade's Heavenly Foot of Pain was an invisible force, as it approached the Deva Path, its momentum faltered and was ultimately repelled.
Shinra Tensei didn't merely repel simple techniques. It could reflect every harmful attack against the user, keeping them all at bay before pushing them outward.
In this way, none of Jiraiya's team's attacks achieved any effect, making everyone increasingly uneasy.
These were all the techniques they could manage in such a short time. Jiraiya and Minato had specifically gone for the quickest to execute and hardest to ignore.
But the result proved insufficient.
And now, there was no time left for a second assault.
"It's done!"
Hidden behind, Nagato slightly narrowed his eyes, then exhaled softly.
The black energy sphere in the Deva Path's hands had reached its physical limit, with a faint but powerful suction force radiating from its center, drawing swirling air inward.
And apparently, this gravitational pull was still under suppression.
"Be buried beneath endless stones! Konoha!"
The Deva Path exhaled deeply, his eyes flashing with light. Then, aiming at the sky above Konoha, he threw the sphere with both hands.
The small black orb shot straight out, radiating a terrifying gravitational pull.
"Fall back!"
Jiraiya, being the closest, was the first to sense danger. Before he could even shout, Tsunade had already begun retreating behind him.
The earth trembled violently as the orb moved, and scattered objects lifted slightly under an invisible force, as if trying to fly into the sky.
RUMBLE... RUMBLE...
The ground shattered more completely, like countless Tsunades continuously pounding it, recklessly expending strength.
Cracks in the earth's surface were pulled upward by the [Gravitational Core] in the sky, defying Newton's laws of physics.
[Planetary Devastation!]
At this moment, Deva Path called out the technique's name, raising both hands high above his head, his otherwise lifeless face flushed with an unnatural color.
This move wasn't just one hell of an attack—it also worked like a deadly trap, locking enemies in place.
Under the gaze of the Rinnegan, anyone caught within its range couldn't escape. Eventually, they would be dragged skyward, pinned tightly, and buried beneath endless layers of rock until completely immobilized.
This was the first time Nagato had used this technique.
Its area wasn't as wide as the previous Shinra Tensei, but visually, it was just as impressive—if not more so.
[Gravitational Core] rose hundreds of meters into the air, and instantly the land below began breaking apart and flying upward. The several figures standing upon that ground changed expressions drastically.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
All four bodies were dragged toward the sky, entering a weightless state with absolutely no ability to resist.
The pulling force came suddenly and intensely, giving them no chance to react before they were literally yanked skyward together with the earth beneath their feet.
It felt hopeless—like ants trying to fight a thunderstorm.
This clearly went beyond the realm of ordinary ninjutsu.
Jiraiya kept hopping from floating boulder to boulder, fighting like crazy to break free from that pull. But the more he struggled, the farther away from the ground he became.
This constant downward jumping merely slowed his ascent temporarily, and the situation filled Jiraiya's face with worry.
Others faced similar struggles, all leaping atop the rocks and objects being sucked into the sky. Yet as time passed, they continued rising higher and higher.
"So what's the plan now? Looks like we're in deep trouble, little Jiraiya!"
Shima whacked an incoming rock with her tongue and shouted at Jiraiya.
This enemy ninjutsu had tremendous effect—the entire landscape beneath them was affected. All the rocks and dirt beneath them shot into the air at once. The whole landscape was ripping apart.
In the sky, the black sphere that Deva Path had hurled upward had already vanished.
Replacing it was a massive rocky sphere formed entirely from the earth's lifted stones, appearing extremely dense.
If these people were pulled onto that mass, they'd soon be buried underneath countless layers of rock until death. There'd be absolutely no hope of escape.
"Big Sis, I've got no idea either—if we keep going like this, we're done for!"
Jiraiya kept dropping downward, his hair shooting straight up under the pull of gravity while his entire body tensed in a desperate struggle against this immense force.
"Kid Jiraiya, aim for that black gravitational core! If we can destroy it, we should be able to neutralize this technique!"
Fukasaku slightly lifted his head toward the ever-expanding Stone Sphere, watching it grow like a newly formed celestial body.
"Looks like we've got no choice but to give it a shot. My strength alone clearly won't cut it—I need help from others."
As Jiraiya continued jumping, his eyes constantly scanned for other figures. Soon he spotted three more people, and while resisting the crushing gravity, he made his way toward them.
The others seemed to have noticed him too and were moving toward his position.
"Minato, we've got to destroy the core of this jutsu! Otherwise, not only will we die, but the entire village will be destroyed!"
After reuniting, Jiraiya shouted loudly, his gaze locked on the massive pit below, already dozens of meters deep.
This had once been the heart of Konoha, but under [Planetary Devastation], flat ground had transformed into a basin, its range continuously expanding as the technique kept activating.
The vanished earth had flown skyward, forming the massive Stone Sphere above with a diameter already exceeding one hundred meters.
"I was thinking the same thing, but I'm not sure if our combined techniques will be enough!"
Minato remained calm, though even within the gravitational field, he could still activate his Flying Thunder God Technique to escape.
"My Monster Strength isn't working here. The destruction rate can't keep up with how fast it's forming."
Tsunade punched through a rock nearly ten meters wide, panting as she spoke.
She'd done this over and over again along the way, now clearly running out of steam.
"Then let me evacuate all of you first!"
Minato thought for a moment—he knew they needed to handle the threat above, but right now, survival came first.
Within his vision, many Konoha villagers had already been drawn upward into the Stone Sphere.
He wanted to save them, but there was nothing he could do.
"Good!"
Others quickly gathered, placing their hands on Minato's shoulders.
Whoosh!
The four instantly vanished from this place.
"Hmm? They escaped..."
Below, Deva Path watched the four figures trapped in his gravitational pull, faintly furrowing his brows almost imperceptibly upon noticing their unexpected escape.
However, once [Planetary Devastation] had been initiated, maintaining control afterward became extremely difficult. Although Nagato's mental power still kept it balanced, he wasn't willing to stop at this point.
If this technique continued developing, Konoha wouldn't just be reduced to ruins—it would face complete destruction of its entire topography.
Such damage would be extremely hard to repair even through Earth Release techniques, and even if repairable, it would consume tremendous manpower and resources.
Deva Path stood unmoved below his own ninjutsu, quietly watching as it continued to wreak havoc.
At the same time, he remained alert. He knew there was no way that group would just let him destroy Konoha without pushing back.
"What is that, Mommy?" Naruto nervously tugged at Kushina's skirt, pointing toward the object in the sky—it looked like a stone sphere falling from the heavens.
Kushina didn't answer immediately, her expression filled with worry.
[Is this the power of the Rinnegan?]
She stared at the terrifying sight above, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Minato!
Her eyes locked onto the yellow figure flying through the air—she felt her heart tighten with worry.
But the very next moment, Minato vanished from sight.
She quickly turned her head, and sure enough, there he was beside her.
"Minato, are you okay!?"
She rushed over and reached out to him.
"I'm fine."
Minato glanced around, noticing nothing unusual.
"Master, what are you—"
Obito started, confused.
"Never mind that for now," Minato interrupted. "Master Jiraiya, do you think you can break through the outer layer of rock?"
Minato turned to Jiraiya. He had a bold idea.
If they couldn't destroy the threat directly, then he'd use ninjutsu to redirect it elsewhere.
"Sensei, if you're willing, I might be able to help with that!"
Guy stepped forward.
"Guy… you?"
Minato hesitated—not that he doubted Guy, but Guy had never shown such explosive destructive power before.
Looking Minato straight in the eyes, Guy gave a firm nod.
"Then let's do it!"
Jiraiya responded without hesitation.
"All right!"
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