"I have no interest in puppets."
Kaede cast a cold glance at the Six Paths of Pain. Then, with a flicker, his body transformed into a streak of golden lightning, flashing through the air.
Whoosh!
With just a single blink, Kaede appeared right in front of the Naraka Path.
Although the Naraka Path could see his trajectory thanks to the Rinnegan's visual prowess, its body simply couldn't react in time. It could only stare helplessly as the Kusanagi Sword in Kaede's hand came crashing down, slicing it cleanly in two!
Golden chakra surged forth, completely tearing apart the puppet of the Naraka Path.
"Bansho Ten'in!"
Deva Path Pain shouted, reaching out and pressing downward with his hand.
A powerful gravitational pull locked onto Kaede, trying to drag him downward and slam him into the ground.
Kaede remained calm and unfazed. With just a slight movement of his body, he resisted the Deva Path's technique head-on. Then, with a swift reverse slash of his sword, he cleaved the Animal Path in two as well.
Immediately after,
He stabbed backward without turning, skewering the Human Path that had been trying to sneak up behind him.
"How… How is my Bansho Ten'in not working?!"
The Deva Path's expression twisted with disbelief.
This wasn't like the battle in Konoha!
Though his true body was still in Obito's Kamui dimension, the Geto Statue was right beneath Amegakure. Through that connection, Pain's chakra was at full power!
"Your chakra is slightly stronger than last time," Kaede said flatly. "But even so, you're still just a slightly larger speck of dust. Sweeping you away is no more difficult than before."
With that, he launched a powerful kick.
Boom!!!
The air visibly twisted around the force of his strike, wrapped in golden chakra. The blow landed squarely on the Asura Path, crushing the missile it was about to launch and caving in its entire body before slamming it into the ground.
Kaede followed up with another sword swing.
The Preta Path raised its arms, absorbing the chakra of the attack, but Kaede's slash wasn't just infused with chakra. It was also a devastating physical strike that ripped through the air itself!
Though the Preta Path absorbed the chakra, it couldn't nullify the physical force. A loud crack split its body down the middle. Though not completely destroyed, it split apart and plummeted to the ground.
In an instant,
Five of the Six Paths of Pain had been reduced to scrap.
"Konan! Run!"
Deva Path Pain barked at her, then flew straight at Kaede, arms extended.
With all of the Six Paths defeated, their power now focused entirely in the Deva Path. Pain intended to face Kaede head-on with the full might of the Rinnegan.
Konan immediately turned and flew off into the distance.
But before she could get far,
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion erupted behind her.
She glanced back, only to see Deva Path Pain with arms outstretched, a visible repulsive force expanding out about three feet from his body, barely held back by Kaede's golden blade.
Zzzzt!
Kaede's Kusanagi Sword clashed with the Shinra Tensei, sparks and golden lightning arcing around them. The surrounding air sizzled with the collision of forces.
"Even the combined strength of five Pains…"
Konan's face filled with shock. At this moment, she fully believed what Uchiha Obito had said before: No one can stand against the Silver Flash.
Not even Nagato, blessed with the Rinnegan and the full power of the Geto Statue, could resist.
Deva Path Pain's body was tense, overflowing with chakra. He released it forward as pure repulsive force. Although it looked like a small, three-foot push, the true power behind it could level the entire village below.
But even that overwhelming power was completely stopped, held back by Kaede's glowing sword, unable to move forward by even a hair.
What stood against it,
Was the chakra of a Sage's body, combined with the immense might of the Nine-Tails!
To Konan, it was a shocking spectacle. But the rain shinobi below, sensing the commotion, could only look up in confusion and fear.
Finally,
Under the pressure of the immense chakra surging through Kaede's sword, Deva Path Pain's repulsive force was slowly pushed back, inch by inch.
The golden blade pierced through the three-foot barrier and drove Pain down from the sky.
BOOM!
He crashed into the ground like a meteor, and the impact exploded outward like a bomb.
BOOOOM!!!
A thunderous roar shook the earth.
The ground shattered like a spiderweb from the point of impact, spreading in all directions. Buildings crumbled and collapsed in waves.
The rain shinobi who had managed to remain standing atop rooftops watched in horror as the entirety of Amegakure seemed to fall apart before their eyes!
=============
Inside the Kamui dimension,
Nagato, still holding his hand seals, suddenly flinched. A wave of feedback surged through the Rinnegan and violently struck back at him.
"Gah!"
He staggered and coughed up blood.
Staring wide-eyed, he muttered in disbelief: "That kind of chakra…"
"I told you already."
Uchiha Obito stood nearby, arms folded, his voice low and heavy. "I didn't expect him to suddenly appear here. He must've used a space-time jutsu. From now on, we'll need to be far more cautious."
Nagato gasped for breath, then looked at Obito. "Konan is still out there."
Obito replied coldly, "We can't save her. If you go out now, you're just throwing your life away. I can't save her either."
"..."
Nagato stepped forward and grabbed Obito by the collar.
Obito stared him down with icy eyes, and the air between them grew tense and still.
=============
Outside,
Kaede stood at the bottom of a massive crater.
Before him, only faint remnants of Deva Path Pain could be seen, mere scraps.
Kaede raised his head, casting a cold gaze over Amegakure. Then, with a sideways swing of his Kusanagi Sword, a golden arc of light slashed through the air.
Schlick!!
The shattered buildings of Amegakure were sliced cleanly down the middle.
The sword light continued forward, brushing past Konan at the village's edge. Her body shattered once more into countless paper fragments and scattered apart.
The paper began to reform again, fleeing into the distance.
But she didn't get far.
Her body froze midair, Kaede, bathed in a pale golden glow, had appeared in front of her, silently and without warning.
"It's useless."
"You can't escape."
He had come all this way, and though he couldn't catch Nagato or Obito, he wasn't about to let their "money printer" get away too.
==========
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