The Deva Path yanked Vincent in with a crushing pull, then unleashed Almighty Push.
Boom.
First an invisible hook tore him forward, then a brutal repulsion slammed him away like a shot shell.
Yahiko was not done. After trading several rounds, he had fixed on the obvious prize. If he could turn this body into a new Path, Pain would gain a terrifying piece on the board. Perfect for the plan to come.
A row of black receivers slid into his palm. He flicked his hand and fired them in a tight spread, then layered on another Almighty Push to drive the spikes clean through Vincent midflight.
Crack.
Vincent did not resist. He let the wave hurl him through a run of walls, vanishing into a boiling cloud of dust.
The receivers howled in after him.
Armament Haki.
Black sheen crawled across Vincent's skin beneath the tattered shirt.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Each rod struck with a bite of pain but failed to pierce. Vincent rose, rolled his shoulders, and met the incoming spikes with alternating lefts and rights, shattering any that dared come close.
Shards piled around his boots like charcoal gravel.
"If this is all you have, you will not be taking my life." He stepped out of the dust and broke into a blur. "Now you can feel some pain."
He was on the Deva Path in a heartbeat and threw a clean, straight power shot.
More rods whipped from Yahiko's sleeves to catch the fist.
"Blaze."
Vincent's knuckles flashed, turning to living flame and slipping between the receivers. Fire roared point-blank at Yahiko's face.
"Almighty Push."
A compact wave bulged out and held the flames at arm's length. At the same instant the Preta Path appeared behind Vincent and locked both of his arms.
"Fire release, is it?" Yahiko murmured. His rings cut sideways. The Preta Path moved to drain the chakra.
Nothing came.
The Preta Path tried to drink a dry well. Vincent had no chakra to take.
Vincent tightened his shoulders and tore free.
Rip.
Both of the Preta Path's forearms came off in his hands. Vincent spun and drove a fist through the man's head.
The body went limp and dropped.
Of the Six Paths, five were now down.
Only the Deva Path remained.
Facing Vincent's relentless advance, Yahiko finally stopped holding back.
"Almighty Push."
The five second rhythm returned. He blasted Vincent again.
"Useless."
Vincent planted his feet, wrapped himself in Armament, and leaned into the wave. "Blaze."
A fire-wreathed fist punched forward.
"What…" Yahiko snarled as his barrier warped and buckled. Vincent's strike did not stop. The shock rebounded through the Deva Path's own technique and slung him end over end through a line of buildings. They tumbled out of the village and into the rain country's outskirts.
"Feel my pain yet?"
Vincent cut the distance, a streak over standing water.
"My pain outranks yours."
Something in Yahiko's tone twisted. He hammered a fist into the ground.
"Universal Pull."
Stone ruptured. Underground aquifers tore open and geysered into a newborn lake. Yahiko skimmed the surface, juking through Vincent's staccato bursts of flame. The barrage turned the horizon into a run of orange flares.
"Almighty Push."
Yahiko went prone, palms forward. A clear wall swelled and shoved every fireball aside. Splashes became towers of steam.
"That it?"
He smirked across the haze.
Boom.
A massive comet of flame punched through the vapor. It split at kissing distance into a swarm of bomblets and hammered in from every angle. Yahiko tumbled through air, caught himself, and lanced beams to shred the jagged ridge ahead.
"Universal Pull."
Cooldown ticked over. A mountain slab ripped loose and came down toward Vincent like a falling sky.
The rock swallowed him whole.
"Just that?" Yahiko scoffed.
Boom.
The slab jumped.
Boom.
It burst apart. Vincent vaulted from the rubble.
"Mountain Stamp."
He snatched a boulder, flash-melted it to a half-liquid glow in his fist, and hurled it. The Deva Path threw up another barrier. The slag detonated across the invisible wall and rained behind him.
Boom. Boom.
Secondary blasts flowered along the shore.
Vincent drove through the smoke and went hands-on, hammering Yahiko with straight, heavy shots. The Deva Path parried and parried, losing ground with each step, until a hook caught him and sent him skidding.
"Almighty Push."
Water sheeted away in a perfect ring.
"Flame Fist."
Vincent's punch burned straight through the barrier and closed on Yahiko's face. His fingers opened, clamped the head, and fire crawled through orange hair with a hiss. The stink of scorched keratin hit the air.
"What… It pierced my Push this time?"
The backlash hit again, contorting Yahiko's features. He reacted on instinct, receivers scissoring for Vincent's unflamed arm.
Clang.
Metal kissed tempered skin. The black rods did nothing more than knock his burning grip away from Yahiko's skull.
"Try dodging this one."
Vincent's fist came back blazing for the kill.
Yahiko killed his technique entirely and let the rebound hurl him, using the kick to open space. He overcooked it. His body speared a cliff face and stuck in a graceless sprawl.
Vincent almost laughed.
He set his stance, drew his right hand to his hip, and began to load a Serious Punch.
A pair of hands punched out of the rock. Palms slapped together.
"Universal Pull."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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