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"Visual communication?"
Itachi's gaze sharpened as he stared at the ripple-patterned Rinnegan of Pain in the distance.
"Does that mean we must avoid the sightlines of the other Pains during combat?"
His expression darkened. The situation was far more complex than he and Shisui had initially assessed.
Pain's bodies not only possessed unique abilities individually, but they also shared vision—a synchronized, seamless awareness of the battlefield.
Even Itachi felt a cold sweat trickle down his back. Facing these Pains without prior knowledge of their abilities would exact a steep toll, just to gather enough intelligence to fight effectively.
As for defeating them outright? That was impossible for the current Itachi and Shisui.
Itachi silently admitted to himself—he had never encountered an enemy as formidable as this.
BOOM!
A large bird-shaped summon swooped down again.
Knowing that ninjutsu was useless against the particular Pain he faced, Itachi swiftly evaded the attack. At the same time, Shisui was locked in his own battle, unable to gain an advantage.
The two regrouped in the midst of the chaos.
"The one I fought earlier absorbs chakra-based jutsu," Itachi reported, his tone steady but grim. "The only way to deal with him is through taijutsu or physical attacks."
Shisui wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, his expression equally solemn. "Aside from the one summoning those massive beasts, there's another... His power seems to involve the soul."
The Sharingan, deeply tied to the user's spiritual energy, resonated with this unique ability. Shisui, whose ocular powers had already surpassed the Three Tomoe Sharingan, had glimpsed traces of ethereal energy in the long-haired Pain's hands.
Itachi nodded as the two pieced together what they knew so far. Five Pains, each with terrifying abilities:
Mechanical weapons embedded within the body.
The absorption of ninjutsu.
Manipulation of massive, specialized summons.
A mysterious soul-based power.
Control over gravity and repulsion—the most devastating ability they had encountered.
"What about the sixth one?" Shisui murmured, eyes darting around. They had been fighting only three Pains, but a fourth had recently appeared.
One of them was missing.
RUMBLE!
A sudden tremor rippled through the ground beneath their feet. Loose stones vibrated ominously as the sound intensified.
"This feeling...!" Shisui's pupils dilated in alarm.
CRASH!
Several towering mountains behind them collapsed in a chain reaction, sending an avalanche of debris hurtling toward them. Massive boulders, sharp as shrapnel, rained down like cannon fire.
At the same time, a thunderous poof of smoke heralded the arrival of a massive three-headed dog summon, cutting off their retreat. Its jaws gaped wide, aiming to crush them both.
In this critical moment, the tomoe in Itachi's Sharingan spun violently.
"Shisui, can you handle it?" he asked, his voice steady despite the dire situation. He had seen that Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan powers had begun to recover.
"Of course."
Shisui's blood-red eyes shifted, the tomoe merging into a pinwheel-like pattern.
"Then stay behind me!"
A fiery red chakra erupted from Itachi, enveloping his body like a shield.
With perfect synchronization, Shisui focused on the three-headed dog while Itachi stood firm against the torrent of debris. Back to back, they braced for impact.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The boulders crashed down, shattering against a crimson, skeletal figure that had emerged to protect them. Itachi's Susanoo stood tall, deflecting the assault.
Meanwhile, Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan glowed ominously as he froze the charging summon in place, its massive frame trembling under his influence.
From the dissipating dust, six figures emerged.
The short-haired Pain at the center observed the halted summon and muttered, "Disturbed by another illusion? That troublesome eye technique again..."
His attention shifted to the crimson skeletal construct encasing Itachi. "Susanoo..." he murmured, his tone betraying faint surprise.
Itachi narrowed his eyes, recognizing the leader of the six Pains. This was the same Pain he had encountered before in the Akatsuki.
Shisui's expression hardened. "So he's repaired already? I dismantled that body earlier..."
Realization struck—it was not the bodies themselves, but the unseen puppeteer manipulating them from the shadows that made these foes so relentless.
The short-haired Pain took a step forward, his Rinnegan glowing with cold determination.
"The execution of you two begins... now."
---
BOOM!
As the orange-haired man finished speaking, an overwhelming surge of repulsive force exploded outward, ripping through the air with terrifying momentum.
Gravel and debris scattered violently, lifted from the ground by the sheer intensity of the invisible force.
BOOM!
The wave of power collided directly with Itachi's Susanoo. The crimson chakra construct trembled violently under the assault, its skeletal frame cracking under the strain.
"What incredible power..." Itachi muttered, his tone calm but his mind racing.
Though Susanoo's current form still had considerable defensive strength, Itachi's chakra reserves were limited. If he attempted to elevate Susanoo to a higher state recklessly, it would drain him completely. He needed to conserve energy until he fully understood the enemy's abilities.
The force of the attack pushed him backward despite Susanoo's protection.
Swish!
At that moment, four of the remaining Pains surged forward, moving in pairs to flank Itachi from both sides.
"I'll handle them!" Shisui shouted from behind.
ROAR!
The three-headed giant dog, still under Shisui's genjutsu, snarled and lunged at the two Pains approaching from the left—one armed with mechanical weapons and the other with the power to absorb ninjutsu.
Shisui himself darted toward the two Pains on the right: the summoner and the one wielding a soul-based ability.
The summoner began forming hand seals, aiming to release another wave of powerful creatures.
"Not so fast!"
Before the seals could be completed, a flurry of fiery blades sliced through the air, forcing the two Pains to evade. Shisui's figure blurred as he created multiple afterimages, attacking from every direction.
"Tch. Such troublesome eye techniques," the orange-haired leader muttered, glancing briefly at Shisui before refocusing on Itachi. His gaze grew colder.
"Your Susanoo won't last much longer," he said. His calm voice carried an edge of finality.
A second wave of repulsive force surged toward Itachi.
CRACK!
The cracks spiderwebbed across Susanoo's surface, the chakra armor beginning to splinter.
Itachi's sharp gaze hardened. He calculated quickly—Susanoo could withstand no more than two additional hits of this magnitude. Yet he would not remain on the defensive.
As the force ebbed, he made his move.
The crimson brilliance of Susanoo intensified, extending to form a massive chakra arm. He swung it directly at the orange-haired Pain, forcing him to retreat.
"As I thought..." Itachi muttered, his suspicion confirmed. The leader's powerful techniques came with a cooldown period—a vulnerability he needed to exploit.
But rather than pursue, Itachi shifted his focus to another target: the burly, elderly-looking Pain standing at the rear.
This Pain had remained strangely inactive during the battle. Itachi deduced that this one might be the key to the rapid resurrection of the defeated Pains.
He directed Susanoo's arm toward him, attempting to grab hold, but the Pain evaded just in time. The distance between them had narrowed, however, giving Itachi a better vantage point.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled.
BOOM!
Another wave of repulsive force erupted, shaking the terrain and widening the cracks on Susanoo. The chakra construct now looked as though it would shatter at the slightest touch.
Yet Itachi stood firm. He reinforced Susanoo's structure and endured the attack.
As the repulsive wave subsided, Itachi's right eye gleamed ominously. Blood trickled down his cheek as the kaleidoscope pattern spun violently.
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames ignited in an instant, targeting the inactive Pain.
The orange-haired leader intervened, stepping into the line of fire. The Amaterasu flames engulfed him, forcing him to the ground as they consumed his body.
"It's as I suspected," Itachi murmured between labored breaths. "He's protecting that one at all costs... He must be the core."
Despite the leader's overwhelming power, his actions revealed the true hierarchy among the six. The elder Pain's role was crucial—likely the one responsible for reviving the others.
"It seems I've found the linchpin," Itachi muttered, his Sharingan glowing with determination.
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