"Back-up arrived fast, huh."
Natsuki muttered, watching Animal Path without making a rash move.
The thick-skinned, iron-bodied giant rhino had tanked the wooden spikes and was still hopping around—clearly, those summons were ridiculously tough.
Before long, Tendō Pain was spat back out by the Hell King, and then Naraka Path—along with his severed arm—was swallowed to undergo repairs.
Fast repair speed, that.
But the Hiraishin mark on Tendō's back was still there.
A Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) formula can't be removed by anything short of Six Paths-tier power, so if Tendō kept fighting like this, he wouldn't be Natsuki's match—unless he gambled everything on Chō Shinra Tensei (Super Almighty Push) to level Konoha.
That, however, would drain Nagato's life.
We'd see what he chose.
Just then, several shinobi from the Torture & Interrogation Force rushed over. Seeing Natsuki, their eyes lit up. "Jōnin Natsuki! So you're here!"
"You guys from Interrogation were chasing Animal Path?" Natsuki asked, surprised.
"Yes," one of them answered quickly. "We planned to deal with the summons, but they were too strong. So we figured we had to defeat Animal Path. Captain Ibiki led us to pin her down. We'd already trapped her, but she was too capable—Captain Ibiki got injured!"
"Ibiki-senpai's hurt? How badly?!" Natsuki pressed.
"He's okay—we already sent him to Medical! He told us to keep Animal Path tied down, stop her from spamming summons. But she suddenly rode off on the rhino, and we tailed her here. Jōnin Natsuki, what's the situation?"
"Oh, I just wrecked two of the Pains—almost tore one apart—then Animal Path barged in on that rhino to block me."
Natsuki said it casually, but the Interrogation shinobi lit up with joy.
Of course someone like Jōnin Natsuki would pull this off—suppressing two Pains. As expected of Konoha's legendary Demon Blade!
At that moment, the Hell King spat Naraka Path back out as well—his severed arm already restored.
Natsuki warned, "That's Naraka Path's ability—Rinne Tensei no Jutsu (Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique)—he can restore damaged Pain bodies. So even after you beat a Pain, don't drop your guard!"
It can restore them?!
Hard enough already, and it still has that? What a headache.
The Interrogation team swallowed hard and nodded, spreading out to screen for Natsuki.
Natsuki didn't waste time. He vaulted high, and laser motes rained down like a storm. "Yasakani no Magatama (Eightfold Magatama)!"
Shoom! Shoom! Shoom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A tight chain of explosions engulfed the three Pains and the rhino entirely—no way to tell if they were still standing.
Yeah, the collateral would be rough—but better to erase them first. Otherwise, if they got mad and fired off Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push), would Konoha even still be here?
A heartbeat later—bang!—everything blasted away.
Tendō fired Shinra Tensei again, and the three Pains scattered in different directions, while the rhino charged straight at the Interrogation squad.
"You're real annoying, you know that? Watch me make yakiniku outta you!"
From midair, Natsuki dropped a light-speed kick—Ranton (Storm Release) lancing from his heel—and blew the rhino's head apart. The summon collapsed instantly.
But the beast was studded with black receivers. If they didn't pull them out, Naraka Path would just bring it back.
And Natsuki couldn't exactly attack the Hell King itself—that thing was a summoned effect; weird rules applied, and it was smarter not to test them.
Taking out Naraka Path was the practical play.
"Jōnin Natsuki is incredible! One kick to down a giant rhino!" the Interrogation shinobi cheered.
"Don't just celebrate. Team up and yank the black receivers from its body—that's the chakra receiver array, the key to Pain controlling the rhino!" Natsuki barked quick orders.
"Leave it to us! Natsuki-dono, fight without worry!"
…When did it become "Natsuki-dono"?
Ignoring that, Natsuki's gaze tracked Animal Path, Naraka Path, and Tendō. The three stood apart, but within mutual support range—far enough to avoid being group-bombed, tight enough to cross-cover. Obviously, they were wary of his Yasakani no Magatama.
Even so, Natsuki's fighting spirit surged. One versus three Pains? Light work.
For the first time, Tendō's face tightened. "I hadn't expected such strength. You're the greatest obstacle to our plan. We have no choice but to remove you."
Elsewhere in the village—
Tsume and Kiba rode their respective hounds, tearing into the multi-segment split dog. They held the advantage, but bringing it down fast was tough—and every hit made it split again, multiplying and swarming them. Huge hassle.
Thankfully, Kiba's sister Hana arrived, taking the pressure off.
Chōza and Chōji, meanwhile, had already wrecked the ox with Baika (Expansion)-driven power and were now charging the giant centipede.
Aoba's squad was still tied up with the Hell Crab.
Earlier, Yakumo had pinned it down with drawn counterweights, while Aoba and Rinya barraged it with Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique)—not very effective—and the crab eventually broke free.
Good thing Yakumo was fast—she sketched several massive spikes to nail its claws to the ground, then drew a colossal lightning bolt that zapped the crab to a crispy, and that finally ended it.
"Yakumo, beautiful work!"
Aoba and Rinya gave thumbs-up, then asked, worried, "You okay? Sorry—your body's the frailest, and yet we only won thanks to you."
Yakumo shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm a lot healthier after training these two years. Let's go help the others—everyone else is probably having a rough time too!"
As she said it, the Yatagarasu—that big summoned bird—wheeled overhead, dropping "eggs" that kept exploding.
Yakumo said at once, "Nobody's free to deal with a flying summon now. Sensei Aoba, Rinya—cover me. I'm going to strike that bird!"
Aoba and Rinya flanked her immediately.
Yakumo's brush flew—she slashed a titanic lightning stroke across the sky. Crack! It nailed Yatagarasu squarely.
No time to celebrate—Yatagarasu tanked it, spotted their position, and came screaming their way.
Yakumo didn't flinch; she drew another bolt. She'd fry that rotten bird if it took all day!
As for the enemy's chameleon—Asuma had a team on it, so no worries there.
Konoha was chaos, buildings shattered everywhere—but everyone was fighting in concert, each enemy had a squad on them. At this rate, it was only a matter of time.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]