Once Pain's abilities were analyzed, the combination of Konoha's elite ninja and Ōnoki made dealing with the remaining five Paths of Pain much easier.
Whether it was Deva, Animal, or Asura Path, all their abilities could be countered.
Kiyo Hyuga and Kouta Hyuga kept their Byakugan locked on Deva Path. The moment he began gathering chakra for a Shinra Tensei, Kiyo would alert the team so they could prepare in advance.
As for normal Shinra Tensei, it had a five-second interval, and its repulsive force could be weakened or defended against.
Earth Release weakened the repulsion, Hiruzen Sarutobi's Adamantine Staff could form a tight barrier, and both Kiyo and Kouta could use Rotation to neutralize it.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
Kiyo and Kouta attacked in unison, launching a devastating chakra blast just as Deva Path finished using Shinra Tensei, sending Asura Path flying. While Asura Path's weapon-crafting was formidable, it was completely suppressed by the Byakugan's insight—it saw through everything.
With Rotation and their Taijutsu speed, both Kiyo and Kouta had an edge.
After Asura Path was blasted away, Kiyo charged in. The previous attack hadn't completely incapacitated Asura, so he wanted to finish the job.
"Elder Kiyo—"
Kouta was alarmed. Pursuing a retreating enemy should be his job as a branch member. Elder Kiyo was being too reckless!
"Banshō Ten'in."
Though Shinra Tensei was still cooling down, Deva Path used the rarely seen Banshō Ten'in instead, reversing gravity to pull Kiyo toward him while forming a black rod in his right hand.
"Vacuum Palm!"
Kouta reacted quickly and launched another attack to stop Deva Path.
Seeing the attack coming, Deva Path gave up on finishing off Kiyo and activated another Shinra Tensei, sending both Kiyo and the attack flying.
Ōnoki saw this as a golden opportunity. He immediately formed a glowing white cube and shouted, "Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
Ōnoki was fast. Though Deva Path sensed the danger, he had no time to dodge after using Shinra Tensei.
One arm, one leg, and a good portion of his body were grazed by the Dust Release beam and disintegrated at the atomic level.
The assembled Konoha ninja, all elite jōnin, combined with Ōnoki's Iwa-nin squad to split the battlefield, forcing Nagato to manage five separate fronts. If he shifted focus to help one Path, the others would be overwhelmed.
This wasn't like dealing with Iwa-nin before. The enemy clearly anticipated his use of Shinra Tensei.
"This mission may fail... but at least I'll retrieve Yahiko."
Nagato's eyes were cold. The other Paths didn't matter—only Deva Path couldn't be discarded. Though damaged by Ōnoki's Dust Release, it could be restored later through Naraka Path.
Konoha's team coordination was excellent. The other Paths' offensive abilities weren't enough, and under pressure from both Konoha and Iwa-nin, they were on the brink of defeat. Nagato decided to focus solely on controlling Deva Path.
Under Nagato's direction, Deva Path left the battlefield and began floating upward.
Nara Shikaku's face changed. "Everyone be careful! He's likely preparing to use that wide-range repulsion jutsu again!"
Both Chibaku Tensei and Super Shinra Tensei required time to gather chakra. But the elite ninja weren't about to give Nagato that chance. With Byakugan locked onto Deva Path, they would act the moment he made a move.
"Kouta, withdraw and report on that Rinnegan's chakra status."
"Yes, Elder Kiyo."
Kouta responded and used Body Flicker to return to Shikaku's side, monitoring Deva Path with his Byakugan.
His range was farther than Homon's, so he could clearly observe the chakra activity inside Pain's body.
Meanwhile, the others focused on finishing off the remaining Paths. Aside from Deva's gravity techniques, the only troublesome abilities left were Animal Path's summoning and Asura Path's weapons—but Shikaku had already developed countermeasures.
Without Deva's support, the remaining four were quickly defeated by Konoha and Iwa-nin, sealed into scrolls.
"His chakra is building—more than before. Commander Shikaku, this Rinnegan doesn't seem to generate its own chakra. It's being transmitted from elsewhere."
Kouta's Byakugan veins bulged as he focused intently on Deva Path.
"Transmitted from elsewhere?" Shikaku asked, frowning deeply.
"Yes. He isn't forming it himself. I'm not certain how... but it's being sent from somewhere else."
Because of the distance, Kouta couldn't confirm the exact mechanism. Elder Kiyo might've had better insight.
Ōnoki was the only one capable of engaging Deva Path in the air. But with no cover, his Dust Release would be harder to land.
After the other four were defeated, Hiruzen ordered a retreat. Ōnoki and the Iwa-nin formed a defense line—two stone giants were summoned, Hiruzen added a Mud Wall, and his Adamantine Staff created a barrier.
These four layers of defense were Shikaku's trump card against Super Shinra Tensei.
"He's about to attack!"
Kiyo shouted as she saw Deva Path release an enormous surge of chakra.
As she finished, a deafening boom echoed—like thunder from the heavens. Even from the crater where they had taken cover, the force felt like a natural disaster.
Sixteen Iwa-nin continuously poured chakra into the defense, keeping the stone giants and barriers stable.
Though they had faced Super Shinra Tensei before, standing against it again still filled even Ōnoki and Shikaku with unease.
Not even a Tailed Beast rampage was this troublesome. Without Konoha's help, Ōnoki knew Iwa-nin alone couldn't take on the Rinnegan's wielder.
Under the overwhelming force, the stone giants quickly fell, and Hiruzen's Mud Wall shattered. But the Adamantine Staff held firm—its durability even withstood the Kusanagi Blade. Shinra Tensei alone couldn't break it.
After a dozen seconds, the tremors outside finally lessened.
"He's escaping!"
Kiyo quickly called out.
Hiruzen immediately removed the staff barrier, and the group leapt from the defensive formation.
"Lord Tsuchikage, chase him from the air. We'll follow—"
Before Shikaku could finish, they saw Deva Path dissolve into smoke mid-air.
"A reverse summoning technique?" Hiruzen frowned. "Shikaku, should we search the area?"
Shikaku hesitated, then shook his head. "Better not, Lord Third. Mobilizing a search team would take too long. Kiyo and Kouta have expended too much chakra."
Besides, Shikaku doubted the one using the Rinnegan was the true leader of Amegakure. Though Pain's significance was clear from the memories in Jūzō Biwa's mind and the other Paths' reverence, Shikaku was certain the true Rinnegan wielder was someone else.
"Lord Third, Lord Tsuchikage, let's return and recover. We should focus on uncovering the secrets of these five corpses."
He had a point. Aside from the Third Hokage and Ōnoki, most were exhausted. Shikaku himself would've collapsed if not supported by others—his Shadow Techniques had been critical in distracting Pain.
Everyone agreed. Further combat would require soldier pills, and they might not find the enemy anyway. Better to extract intel from today's spoils.
They returned to their rendezvous point for medical treatment. All had sustained injuries in the fight against the Six Paths. Kiyo had taken a direct hit from Shinra Tensei, breaking two ribs—if not for emergency treatment, it would've been worse.
After basic healing, Shikaku ordered the intel relayed back to the village and requested Tsunade to send more analysts to the front.
Ideally, they would send the corpses back, but since Iwa-nin also contributed, they wouldn't agree to that. So, Shikaku could only ask Tsunade to deploy experts to examine the bodies on-site.
(End of Chapter)