"Hmph, just letting your subordinates go to their deaths like that?"
"Konoha's Ninjas are as cold-blooded as ever."
Hearing Asura Path's merciless taunt, Naruto's face showed no anger.
While slowly closing in on the opponent, he smiled and explained point by point.
"First, I'm no longer a Konoha's Ninja, and those two aren't my subordinates."
As he spoke, Naruto rolled up his sleeves.
"Second, I have full confidence in them. A guy of that level isn't a threat to them."
By the time he said this, Naruto was already five meters away from the Asura Path.
"Finally, compared to them, you'd better worry more about yourself."
"Do you think you're safe?"
Naruto's palm pressed against the three faces before the other could react, then with muscular force, he slammed them into the floor.
Blade strikes hit Naruto's body, producing the sound of metal clashing.
Even Asura Path's large tail couldn't pierce Naruto's skin.
Compared to this 'combant android', Naruto was more like a weapon forged from steel.
Bang!
Because he deliberately held back, this punch only dented the opponent's head without directly destroying the body.
"Speaking of which, there's a guy in your organization with Sharingan, right? Can you tell me where he is?"
Asura Path showed no intention of answering, only struggling to counterattack, but it was all in vain.
His attacks were nothing but trivial irritations to Naruto.
"Ah… so uncooperative. Whatever, I'll chat slowly after I find your main body."
…
On the other side, inside the power room.
"Great Body Diamond Thousand Feathers!"
Golden feathers rained down like they were free, saturating the area below and covering the suspicious device and Shinno.
Both Shinno and the Zero-Tails couldn't ignore such pure physical attacks devoid of Chakra.
The damage from the feathers accumulated quickly, soon covering the guys below with wounds.
But it's no use!
Even with half his head shaved off, Shinno still stood there firmly, showing no sign of falling.
The wounds on him and the Zero-Tails healed at an extremely fast rate.
But at the same time, the old man was secretly shocked by the transformations displayed by Karin and Sasuke.
He had never seen abilities like this before.
Although the device could extract a portion of the Chakra dispersing from the two, as long as they didn't use Ninjutsu, this amount of Chakra couldn't even complete one healing for him.
'Damn it, who are these two? Since when does Konoha have such power?'
As a participant in the Second Great Ninja War, Shinno naturally knew Jiraiya, but whether Jiraiya knew him was another story.
After all, during that period, Jiraiya was still facing off against Amegakure's Hanzo alongside Tsunade and Orochimaru, earning the title of [Konoha's Sannin].
While Soragakure's Ninjas under Shinno were gloriously eliminated in the first conflict.
Seeing that Karin's attacks weren't producing actual results, Sasuke, who was nearby, jumped out.
"Let me do it."
"You-"
Karin was somewhat unconvinced, but Sasuke couldn't be bothered to wait for her response and jumped down on his own.
His reverse-bent legs stepped onto the ground. The consequence of physical contact was a sudden strengthening of the suction force from the Zero-Tails.
Shinno was somewhat surprised, 'Why had this guy given up his advantage and come down to deliver himself?'
Sasuke also felt the Chakra-absorbing force, but his face showed no worry.
"You like to suck? Then suck all you want!"
Black-red Calamity Flames instantly erupted from his body, sweeping out in all directions.
Lifeless objects touched by them rapidly began to decay and age, while Shinno and the Zero-Tails felt an intense pain emanating from their very souls.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Driven by pain, Shinno fiercely launched an attack at Sasuke. A Super Revival Fist struck Sasuke's body with extreme speed.
Bang!
A giant claw firmly caught the punch. The lower half of Sasuke's face, which remained humanoid, also revealed a smile.
"It doesn't... hurt at all."
This was, of course, a lie.
Even after consuming a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, Sasuke's body wasn't as nearly 'non-humanly' powerful as Naruto's, capable of completely ignoring Shinno's strength.
But this level of damage was just right for Sasuke.
The feedback from [Karma] caused Sasuke's strength and speed to surge dramatically once more.
Sharp claw tips traced a perfect arc through the air. The Calamity Flames attached to the claw blades, directly drilling into Shinno's skin and flesh through the torn wounds.
"Ahhhhh!!"
It was torture even more excruciating than before. The Zero-Tails behind him also descended into madness, countless black arms extending from its body, trying to grab Sasuke.
But a waterfall-like torrent of feathers timely flew down from above, severing them one by one.
The Zero-Tails' regeneration was fast, but Karin's feathers seemed endless as well… this was the power of a Mythical Zoan.
As if realizing it couldn't deal with Sasuke without eliminating Karin above, the Zero-Tails very 'humanely' shifted its target.
Then, a large mouth split open beneath its mask, and a beam of purplish-black light composed of Dark Chakra shot out violently.
"Adamantine is Unbreakable!"
Karin in mid-air directly blocked in front of herself with her wings, her whole body curling into a golden, radiant sphere.
The beam struck Karin in this state, only managing to push her backward a short distance, but couldn't break her defense at all.
"It shouldn't be! Impossible!"
"This shouldn't be happening!"
Whether stimulated by the intense pain into madness or unable to accept the impending fate of failure, Shinno's twisted old face began to become hysterical.
Slash!
Another claw attack tore through his upper body. This time, Shinno didn't even attempt any defense, stubbornly counterattacking Sasuke through the pain.
Bang!
This punch hit Sasuke's head squarely, sending his entire body flying backward.
The two-to-three-meter-tall giant slammed straight into the wall.
Shinno immediately let out a strange cry, leaping high to pursue and deliver a finishing blow.
But Sasuke, whose output increased with injury, climbed out first. Instead, he threw a punch at Shinno in mid-air.
[Hasshoken: Wolf Thrust!]
The fist, carrying an invisible shockwave, struck Shinno. Then, the force transformed into packs of fierce wolves that began to 'tear' at Shinno's internal organs.
This was a variant technique Sasuke developed for himself after deeply comprehending the Hasshoken combined with his Huodou Form.
Its damage was extremely high and almost ignored defense.
If hit by it carelessly, even Naruto in his current state would feel pain.
Shinno, bleeding profusely from his entire body, spun through the air and flew toward the control console behind him.
Crunch!
The control console was shattered upon impact by Shinno. Then, electrical sparks and Dark Chakra quickly enveloped him.
In an instant, the wails of the Zero-Tails and Shinno echoed throughout the entire control room.
But Naruto, who was still above punching Asura Path, seemed to sense something and frowned.
"Jiraiya-sensei, catching up should be about enough, right?"
"It's time to get down to business."
Having said that, he stopped holding back and punched through Asura Path's chest.
Then, as if still not satisfied, he formed his hand into a chop and cleanly severed Asura Path's head.