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On the other side, Natsuki was locked in a fierce battle with Tendō Pain.
His lightning-swift body flicker, Shunshin (Body Flicker Technique), flashed nonstop; his White Fang blade style flowed to perfection. Paired with the eerie, overpowering demon blade Thousand Blades, even the wielder of the Rinnegan—Pain—struggled to keep up.
Tendō tried to parry with black receivers. He could match Natsuki's speed, but he was outclassed in technique.
Whenever he couldn't stop the demon blade's slicing shards, he'd blast them away with Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push).
But that opened a window for Natsuki—Shinra Tensei had a five-second cooldown. Five seconds sounds short, yet to someone truly fast, it's an eternity.
"Here!"
Natsuki seized a chance, suddenly accelerating as the demon blade's edge streaked straight for Pain's heart.
Tendō had just used Shinra Tensei; with the technique on cooldown, he knew black receivers couldn't block that blade—he looked finished.
Right then, a figure barreled in from the side at shocking speed, slamming toward Natsuki. Natsuki had no choice but to abort the strike and flicker away with Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique).
Taking a closer look, the burly face studded with black rods belonged to none other than the Jigokudō (Naraka Path). This one could summon the Hell King to interrogate and rip out tongues from liars—and more importantly, use Rinne Tensei no Jutsu (Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique) to have the King of Hell swallow damaged Pain bodies and restore them.
In the original tale, it was Jigokudō's handiwork that repaired multiple defeated Pains, turning Konoha's hard-won efforts into nothing.
Natsuki hadn't expected Jigokudō to stay close instead of withdrawing—it was sticking to Tendō like a shadow.
Why not take out Jigokudō first? With no Rinne Tensei no Jutsu, let's see how they keep "playing god."
"You've got some skill," Pain intoned. "To fight a god to this degree—you're remarkable. But stop struggling. Mortals cannot defeat gods. Hand over the jinchūriki now, and I'll spare you."
His tone dripped with hauteur; the posture, the cadence—pure menace and gravitas.
Natsuki just laughed. "So this 'god' can't finish me for half a day, was nearly killed just now, and needed help to escape. If that's a god, that god's too weak. At this rate, I might as well become a god myself."
"Hmph! Ingrate! In that case, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Spitting threats, Tendō grew even more cautious. He'd heard Natsuki was formidable, but hadn't cared—before the Rinnegan, all things are paper.
Only by fighting him personally did he realize how wrong he'd been.
This Natsuki was terrifying. With only the White Fang blade style and the demon blade Thousand Blades, he'd tangled evenly with Pain for ages. His battle sense was razor-sharp—he nearly landed a killing blow just now.
Yes, these were puppets—damage could be undone by Jigokudō. But losing composure would shatter the mystique.
He was Tendō Pain—the head of Akatsuki, a god. How could a Leaf upstart drive him to disgrace?
Unacceptable.
Given Natsuki's strength, perhaps only the might of Chō Shinra Tensei (Super Almighty Push) could end this.
He was thinking that when Natsuki suddenly sheathed the demon blade, clapped his hands, and started weaving signs.
"Mokuton: Jukai Kōtan (Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence)!"
Huh? Mokuton?! This kid can use Wood Release?!
The ground erupted in frenzied growth, titanic trunks surging up and expanding into a miniature forest in a heartbeat. A storm of branches lashed out and wrapped Jigokudō tight.
This was Natsuki's chance.
"Speed is power. Ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
Before the words finished, he was already in front of Jigokudō. His Ranton (Storm Release)-amped flicker was faster than expected—light lanced from his foot as he swept a laser kick toward Jigokudō's forehead.
Tendō reacted in a panic: "Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!"
Boom—crushing repulsion ripped through the grove, clearing trees in a sweep and tearing Jigokudō free.
But Natsuki was nowhere to be seen—the blast hadn't touched him.
A bad feeling jolted Pain. The next second, he sensed someone behind him. But Shinra Tensei was still in its five-second read time; he couldn't repel it.
He whipped a black receiver backward with a snap.
Natsuki didn't attack. Instead, he pressed a Hiraishin formula onto Pain's back and flashed away.
When he reappeared, he stood facing Pain again. That aggressive rush at Jigokudō—and the certainty that Pain would intervene—had never been meant to land a killing blow. Forcing Shinra Tensei was the goal.
During those five seconds, he blinked in with Ranton Shunshin (Storm-Style Body Flicker) to tag Pain with a Hiraishin marker. That's tactics.
With a Hiraishin seal in place, the fight just got a whole lot easier.
"No surprise, Tendō Pain—quite the flashy coat over hollow insides."
Smiling, Natsuki vanished mid-sentence, then reappeared—another "light-speed kick," faster than before, the laser edge promising to shred anything it touched.
Pain didn't hesitate: "Shinra Tensei!"
Repulsion detonated outward, blasting everything away—yet Natsuki had already flickered out with Hiraishin, only to reappear behind Pain the instant Shinra Tensei ended.
Another light-speed kick—this time it landed.
Thud! Pain was sent flying, Ranton's laser boring straight through his side, blowing open a savage hole at his waist.
"I underestimated you."
Jigokudō's face twisted; he moved to summon the Hell King at once.
Natsuki was already there with another light-speed kick, launching Jigokudō as well—laser impact severing one arm and hurling him through the air.
Crash! Like Tendō, he smashed through a building.
Natsuki grimaced. "The battlefield's inside the village. Collateral damage's inevitable… I hope my wife's family properties are intact. And my cheap father-in-law's ninja tool shop? Still standing? Maybe… fight near Ichiraku's instead? Surely I won't wreck the ramen shop, right?"
Even as he muttered, Jigokudō frantically summoned the Hell King, having Tendō swallowed for repairs. Jigokudō scooped up his own severed arm, waiting his turn to be fixed.
Natsuki wasn't going to wait. He clapped again—Mokuton surged as countless wooden spikes thrust from the ground, all aiming at Jigokudō.
Take down Jigokudō first, and no one can cast Rinne Tensei no Jutsu.
Jigokudō understood that perfectly—but even more clearly, he couldn't beat Natsuki right now.
Just as the spikes were about to tear him apart, a gigantic rhino crashed through the houses, charging in to shield Jigokudō and absorbing the storm of wooden lances.
On the rhino's back stood—Chikushōdō (Animal Path).
(End of Chapter)
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