As the richest woman in the Ninja World, and also a divine-level support ninja,
objectively speaking, Konan's strength is impressive.
Given enough time, suitable battlegrounds, and sufficient explosive tags,
even Obito—without relying on the kinjutsu Izanagi—wouldn't be her match.
Of course, even without massive reinforcements from explosive tags,
her abilities are firmly at the Kage level.
Her [Dance of the Shikigami] rendered physical attacks useless, effortlessly neutralizing Sasori.
All of this clearly showed that this "Angel" was anything but weak.
She manipulates paper like it was flower petals...
Unfortunately, she picked the wrong opponent,
or rather, underestimated her opponent.
["Shadow Clone Jutsu!"]
Having just finished eating, Shimoku wasn't eager to move around much.
He simply sent out one shadow clone to fight against Konan.
Though it's a shadow clone, unable to replicate the Sage Body's powerful physique and regeneration,
after dividing up 1800 chakra units,
Shimoku's clone could rival an average tailed beast.
More than enough to play around with this 'Angel' and still have power to spare.
...
"A mere clone? How arrogant!"
Konan frowned, feeling looked down upon.
[Dance of the Shikigami!]
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!]
She unleashed countless sharp paper blades. They collided violently with the massive fireball spat out by Shimoku's clone.
Alas, as soon as they met,
Konan immediately realized:
The opponent's "Great Fireball Jutsu" had insane power!
Even scarier than combined Fire Releases from an entire team of ninjas!
More terrifying than Jiraiya-sensei's Fire Ball Jutsu!
It instantly covered half the battlefield, directly devouring all her paper knives…
forcing Konan to quickly scatter her main body to evade the fireball.
Then, she reformed over a hundred meters away.
"What incredible Fire Release!"
Astonished, Konan's expression grew serious.
Yet her attacks never ceased.
She once again summoned a large batch of paper hand shuriken, firing them from all directions.
She refused to believe a single Fire Release could block attacks coming from every direction!
Furthermore, she started charging energy.
Raising her right hand high, she gathered paper into a sharper circular spiral paper hand shuriken, preparing to launch it.
[Ninjutsu: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!]
Shimoku clapped his hands, instantly unleashing thousands upon thousands of Shadow Clone Shuriken.
Their number exceeded Konan's paper hand shuriken several times over!
In an instant, they overwhelmed all paper hand shuriken through sheer numbers, blocking every angle of attack.
From afar, Konan was left even more stunned.
This was the first time she'd seen someone so reckless with chakra!
A shadow clone alone creating tens of thousands of Shadow Clone Shuriken?
Exactly how much chakra did this kid possess?
Could he really afford such extravagance?
While shocked,
Konan attacked again.
She fiercely launched the already-formed "Giant Circular Spiral Paper Hand Shuriken."
The Spiral Paper Shuriken spun rapidly, razor-sharp and unstoppable, carving a direct path through the air, deflecting numerous Shadow Clone shurikens and rushing straight toward Shimoku.
Seeing this, Shimoku's clone didn't panic.
Instead, he performed another Fire Release technique.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!"
This time, an even larger sea of flames erupted violently, instantly engulfing the entire plaza spanning hundreds of meters.
In an instant, it consumed the Spiral Paper Shuriken entirely.
And left no space for Konan to retreat.
It even forced Orochimaru—who had been watching from the sidelines—to grimace and hastily retreat.
"This kid's Fire Release techniques keep getting more absurd!"
Right now, such a massive inferno truly overwhelmed Konan.
Although her origami techniques could divide and reassemble, rendering physical attacks useless,
She couldn't pass through walls, nor could she resist ninjutsu attacks.
Such terrifying power, immense range, covering every single angle—
Left her completely helpless...
Helplessly, Konan quickly retracted all her paper scraps, transforming them into a pair of enormous paper wings.
She wrapped herself within it to shield against the flames.
...
"Whoosh——"
The fierce blaze roared for over ten seconds straight.
Bathing the entire hall in red-hot heat.
It directly burned through Konan's giant paper wings, forcing her to end [Dance of the Shikigami],
Leaving her rather disheveled.
If the fire technique had lasted just ten more seconds, she might've suffered burns.
Pity Shimoku didn't know any Toad Oil Bullets or similar jutsu.
Otherwise, with elemental advantage,
Just one move would've controlled her completely, dousing Konan entirely in sticky, slimy oil.
Of course, Shimoku had only been toying with her earlier.
You must understand, even just with his clone's chakra reserves, he could sustain [Great Fire Destruction] for dozens of minutes straight.
That alone would have been enough to burn every enemy to ashes!
The reason he held back was simply to draw out the true figure behind this.
...
Sure enough.
The next moment, a figure suddenly dropped down, landing right in front of Konan.
Pain's Animal Path—appearing on scene!
As soon as he entered.
Controlled by Nagato, Pain's Animal Path wasted no words.
He attacked immediately.
From observing the previous battle, he already confirmed:
This little brat named Shimoku Uchiha was extremely powerful!
Even a mere clone had enough strength to defeat Konan—who wielded full Kage-level power!
Under normal circumstances, someone with such strength as a rogue ninja would definitely deserve an invitation to Akatsuki.
However, given he knew about Rain Hidden Village, and was also part of the Uchiha Clan,
It would be safer to eliminate him directly.
To prevent exposing Akatsuki's connection to Rain Hidden Village, thus bringing war back to Rain once more.
Thus, Nagato decided to take action personally.
Deploying Pain's Animal Path to kill this child!
Naturally, chances of failure—even if he himself took action—were extremely low!
If things really went that badly, then they could discuss it later…
...
"Summoning Jutsu!"
In a puff of white smoke, Pain's Animal Path summoned a chameleon-like summon.
And swiftly absorbed himself and Konan, then activated the Invisibility Technique to vanish from sight.
Next, he initiated the [Summoning Jutsu].
He summoned another 'Hell Hound' and applied the 'Amplified Summoning Technique' onto it.
This meant that once the 'Hell Hound' took damage, it would instantly split and multiply uncontrollably until Pain's Animal Path was taken down!
It was basically a glitch within the summoning techniques!
Except for special Dojutsu like [Amaterasu], there was almost no way to counter it!
Worse yet, if you didn't understand how it worked and attacked blindly,
you'd only end up increasing the number of 'Hell Hounds', making them even more annoying until they literally wore the enemy out completely.
It was regarded as one of the most practical and beloved summoning beasts used by Pain's Animal Path!
More importantly, it highlighted just how crucial intelligence was in battle!
Unfortunately,
no matter how carefully Nagato planned, he had no idea at all
that this brat standing before him had already become thoroughly familiar with all of the Six Paths of Pain's abilities.
In fact, he might even know the strengths and weaknesses of the Six Paths of Pain better than Nagato himself.
"Go easy! Don't kill the guy right away!"
Shimoku himself shouted at the Shadow Clone and then tuned everything out.
Instead, very leisurely, he pulled out a chair and table from his personal Spatial Scroll, poured a glass of orange juice,
and sipped it slowly while watching the ongoing battle in the distance.
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