"In other words, that boy… Kaito… he has abilities equal to the Rinnegan itself, or at least something just as terrifying,".
"Only two Paths left. This is going to be troublesome."
…
"What terrifying black lightning…" Fukasaku muttered from Jiraiya's shoulder, his tone hushed with dread.
Out on the battlefield, Kaito raised his head, eyes narrowing on the remaining two Pains. His voice carried clearly across the rain-soaked ruins.
"Do you still think you can kill me?"
Tendo Pain stood motionless, then spoke in that chilling, flat tone.
"God cannot be defeated."
Kaito smirked coldly. "The world is vast, and yet you dare to call yourself a god just because you wield the Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths? Your arrogance is laughable."
"Those who insult God will be punished," Pain intoned.
His chakra surged violently, flaring so strongly that the rain above reversed direction, pouring upward. The ground beneath him split apart with spiderweb cracks, the air itself bending under the oppressive weight of his power. For a moment, the battlefield was swallowed in a vacuum of stillness.
Then Pain's body trembled as he pressed his palms together, gathering strength.
"No… Jiraiya-boy, we have to move!" Fukasaku cried.
But even before the elder toad spoke, Jiraiya was already sprinting away. He didn't need to be told—he could feel the catastrophe Pain was building.
As he ran, Jiraiya glanced back in panic. Kaito was still standing there calmly, unmoved.
"Kaito! Don't just stand there—move!" he shouted desperately.
Fukasaku, however, shook his head. "It's no use, Jiraiya. The boy possesses the Sage's body. His strength is beyond what we can measure. We need to worry about surviving ourselves."
Kaito's mouth curled into a mocking smile, though his voice was laced with icy fury.
"Oh, you're this angry already? You must be impatient."
But then his eyes turned sharp, his tone deadly serious.
"You talk about godhood, but did you know? Among the tailed beasts you're hunting… one of them is important to me. Do you think I shouldn't be furious?"
As his words fell, an immense aura exploded outward from Kaito, shattering the clouds overhead and ripping open the heavens. Where Pain's presence had brought pressure and despair, Kaito's unleashed force was a raging storm. The downpour reversed, whipping into the sky, and the very air turned so cold that frost threatened to form on the ruined earth.
The gap between their powers was clear.
"Peace or war—it doesn't matter. If anyone dares to touch it, I'll make them pay a price they can't imagine!"
His words cut like icy blades, the kind of vow that came from the depths of his soul. Even Jiraiya, hardened as he was, felt the chill pierce his bones.
Pain narrowed his eyes. "So… one of the Nine Jinchūriki is your woman. Then I will seize her, and rip the tailed beast from her myself."
"Do you seek death?" Kaito hissed, his grin twisting into something predatory as black lightning enveloped his form.
Pain pressed his hands forward, eyes cold as stone.
"Super Shinra Tensei."
The world collapsed.
An overwhelming gravitational force erupted, flattening everything in its path. The ground caved in like fragile paper, while the rain turned into a wall of water and mud, surging forward as a monstrous landslide. The battlefield became an ocean of chaos, swallowing everything before it.
"You should feel honored," Pain said flatly. "You are one of the few to witness this technique."
Kaito's eyes gleamed with sharp amusement. "Then you should feel honored too… because you'll be the last to see mine."
Chakra surged from his body like a tidal wave. He bit his finger, weaving hand seals with precision before slamming his palm against the torn earth.
"Summoning Technique—Fivefold Rashomon!"
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
With a thunderous roar, five massive gates erupted from the ground in front of him, each towering higher than the last. Rashomon—the pinnacle of defensive barriers. In front of them, saplings burst from the soil, twisting into colossal trees that grew into a dense, living fortress.
The black tide of mud and rock crashed against the first Rashomon with a deafening impact.
Bang!
The first gate cracked, then shattered. The second fell in quick succession, followed by the third. The sheer power of Pain's jutsu was undeniable.
Jiraiya, still fleeing, risked a glance backward. His eyes widened in shock. "That's… Wood Style! The First Hokage's jutsu!"
"Calm yourself, Jiraiya-boy," Fukasaku said sternly. "If Kaito possesses the Sage's body, then it's no surprise he can wield Hashirama's Wood Release. Don't act like you've never seen the world before!"
Still, the tremor in the old toad's body betrayed his words. Even he was shaken.
Boom!
The tidal wave of debris smashed through the fourth Rashomon and battered against the fifth, its force waning. By the time it reached the final gate, the destructive energy had already begun to collapse in on itself. What little remained was easily smothered by the living trees of Kaito's Wood Style.
As the storm settled, Kaito stood untouched behind his defenses, cloaked in black lightning. He looked out from behind the wall of wood and iron, his sneer cutting deep.
"So this is your ultimate move? Then allow me to show you mine. Consider this your farewell gift."
____
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