In just one encounter, Animal Path was taken down, and Preta Path was half-crippled. Only Asura Path could barely put up a fight against Karin.
And this was while Karin hadn't even used her full abilities.
Meanwhile, Naruto had already dismantled one Pain and was about to press forward when Deva Path's skill cooldown finally ended.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Another wave of repulsive force spread out.
This time, Nagato used more Chakra, aiming to completely create distance.
At the same time, Naraka Path began summoning a presence from another world.
Amidst a circle of purple flames, a giant head emerged… this was the Naraka Path Pain's special ability: summoning the King of Hell.
This head possessed the ability to discern lies and extract souls. More crucially, it could fully repair damaged or even destroyed Pains.
Taking advantage of the Shinra Tensei's reprieve, the half-crippled Preta Path dragged itself back to Deva Path. The King of Hell's head then opened its mouth and swallowed it.
In less than a few seconds, a fully intact Preta Path reappeared, rendering Sasuke's earlier attacks futile.
In the distance, Naruto, who had been sent flying, narrowed his eyes as he watched this scene, not rashly launching an attack.
Because he felt a strange sensation from that head.
It was a primal craving for evolution.
Something within that head seemed to be calling to him.
The so-called [King of Hell] was actually just a 'partial projection' of some entity from another dimension, summoned by Nagato using the Rinnegan's power.
Including Asura Path's weapons and Animal Path's summoned creatures, these things, which clearly weren't native to the Ninja World, all originated from different dimensional spaces.
Even Nagato himself couldn't fully explain the nature of those things.
"Sorry for the wait."
At that moment, Jiraiya's voice arrived belatedly.
Naruto turned to see Jiraiya, with the two sages Fukasaku and Shima perched on his shoulders, landing beside him.
Jiraiya was now in Sage Mode.
"It seems the enemy has the ability to heal their allies. We need to take that one out in one go." Jiraiya said, referring to Naraka Path.
Taking out the healer first in a team fight was standard tactics.
"Leave it to me-"
"No."
Naruto suddenly spoke up to stop him.
"Jiraiya-sensei, leave him to me."
Jiraiya was slightly taken aback as he looked at Naruto. By now, he had also sensed that something seemed off about Naruto's emotions.
But with a powerful enemy before them, there was no time to delve into it.
So he nodded and charged toward Human Path on the other side with Fukasaku and Shima.
"Hey, Hubby, did you sense it?"
Using the [Sage Art: Amphibian Technique] to anchor herself to Jiraiya's shoulder while helping him gather and concentrate Natural Energy, Shima spoke to Fukasaku beside her.
Hearing this, Fukasaku simply nodded.
"Yeah... that kid Naruto-"
The two old toads' words were somewhat cryptic. Jiraiya wanted to ask more, but the enemy was already upon them.
Human Pain didn't seem to possess the long-range attack capabilities of the other Pains.
From the way he charged forward holding two black rods, it was clear.
But Jiraiya didn't dare underestimate him.
"Kid, prepare the oil. Hubby, use Wind Release."
Shima pushed that strange feeling aside and issued instructions to the other two.
"Got it!"
"Understood!"
The man and two toads formed hand seals simultaneously, then spat out wind, oil, and flames respectively.
[Sage Art: Goemon!]
The oil surged toward the several Pains like a tidal wave.
The scorching flames, amplified by the wind, spread rapidly. These weren't ordinary flames… they were formed using Senjutsu Chakra, with destructiveness and persistence far surpassing normal Ninjutsu.
Even Karin and Sasuke had to create distance to avoid being caught in the sea of fire.
"Wow! Jiraiya-sensei, you're this powerful?"
This was the first time Karin had seen Jiraiya go all out. Previously, she had only seen him use techniques like the Rasengan.
Sasuke, meanwhile, watched the overwhelming sea of flames without speaking.
The power of this flame was much greater than his own Fire Release, both in destructiveness and scope.
Of course, as long as it was fire, he had nothing to fear.
Huodou's innate ability allowed him to devour flames. An attack like this was nothing more than nourishment to Sasuke.
Human Path on the other side didn't have the ability to ignore the Sage Art: Goemon, but fortunately, he wasn't just waiting to die.
The now fully repaired Preta Path acted again, placing his palms forward and absorbing the flames, oil wave, and hurricane all at once.
When facing pure Ninjutsu, the Preta Path still held a significant advantage.
Human Path seized this opportunity to charge at Jiraiya.
His attacks required closing to a certain range to be effective.
"Don't space out, Jiraiya-sensei!"
Seeing Jiraiya momentarily stunned after executing the Sage Art, Karin dove down from mid-air, crashing straight into Human Path.
Screech-
The black rods, made of unknown material, clashed with her metallic wings without breaking.
It was clear that Human Path's close combat Taijutsu Abilities surpassed those of the other Pains. He wielded the two black rods with such speed that afterimages appeared, fighting evenly with the beast-transformed Karin.
At that moment, Asura Path also charged forward, engaging in a '1v1 real man's battle' with Sasuke, who was wreathed in Calamity Flames.
When the Calamity Flames hit those weapons, it immediately made them brittle and aged… they shattered into pieces with the slightest impact.
But Asura Path had no shortage of weapons.
If one blade broke, it didn't matter… he had plenty more.
Sasuke, caught off guard, was hit by lasers and missiles, sustaining several wounds.
But these injuries didn't slow him down… instead, they further increased his power.
[Karma] was still in effect, boosting Sasuke's attack power and reaction time.
Soon, Asura Path was at a disadvantage.
Deva Path wanted to help, but Naruto was already upon him.
With Shinra Tensei still on cooldown, he could only attempt to attack Naruto in close combat, much like Human Path.
Although not as skilled as Human Path, Deva Path's physical combat skill was still quite exceptional.
After all, Yahiko had been a disciple recognized by Jiraiya...
Unfortunately, Deva Path didn't hold out for long before Naruto kicked him away.
Naruto's real target was Naraka Path.
More precisely, the King of Hell's projection summoned by the Naraka Path.