Unfortunately, Animal Path, which is responsible for summoning creatures to tank damage, hadn't even had a chance to join the battle before Naruto turned it into a bloody mist.
Otherwise, with various bizarre summoned creatures holding the front line, the Pains could have focused on outputting damage.
The current situation was that Deva Path and Naraka Path were fighting desperately, but they were still being knocked aside like children.
After smashing the two away, Naruto walked straight toward the giant, terrifying head.
Driven by the Naraka Path, the King of Hell's head opened its mouth, extending two purple hands to grab Naruto.
It might seem unremarkable, but if caught by the King of Hell's hands, one's soul could be seized.
Human Path had a similar ability, and through palm contact, it could use [Soul Removal] to extract souls.
The empty shell left behind after the soul was extracted would naturally die.
In comparison, these hidden skills were more like the killing moves of the Six Paths of Pain.
Unfortunately, their opponent was Naruto, who could briefly foresee the future.
It was impossible to even see what move Naruto made before the two arms were instantly severed.
Then, countless white, elongated hands extended from around Naruto's body.
When it came to numerical superiority-
These hands rapidly approached the King of Hell's head. Everything they brushed against disappeared… whether rock, soil, or Chakra, nothing could withstand the mouths on these hands.
The King of Hell's head still tried to struggle, but in just a few seconds, most of the head had completely vanished.
Having sustained 'fatal damage', it triggered the underlying mechanism of the summoning technique and dissipated into a cloud of smoke.
Naruto, whose expression had become calmer, turned around and said lightly.
"Continue. Are there any more?"
He had successfully devoured the element that had been attracting him. Although he wasn't sure what it was, the world before his eyes had begun to change.
'Other dimensions' overlapping with the real world seemed to be peeling away in his vision.
Most of them were oddly shaped spaces, but Naruto keenly recognized one of the 'illusions' as Mount Myoboku, which he had visited before.
So, these overlapping worlds are all real places.
Naruto could feel that he seemed able to touch these spaces, and he just needed to break through the 'invisible membrane' blocking him.
Although he hadn't seen it, perhaps by going further, he could actively leave this place and travel between the One Piece World and the Ninja World.
Unfortunately, this special vision only lasted for a short while before everything returned to normal.
It seemed the key lay with this Pain.
So, Naruto wasn't joking when he said this… he was genuinely patiently waiting for the Naraka Path to summon more projections of the King of Hell.
"...Damn it."
Even Nagato couldn't maintain the dignity of a 'God' any longer.
What should have been a crushing victory had turned into his side continuously losing members, while the enemy hadn't even suffered a scratch.
Naraka Path tried to summon the King of Hell again but was shocked to find that halfway through channeling Chakra, it was 'rejected' by the 'other side'.
This was an unprecedented situation.
The King of Hell, which had a contract with the Rinnegan, seemed to truly possess consciousness and was very reluctant to come to this place where it had been 'injured'.
Deva Path gritted his teeth, looked at the distance between the battlefield and the Land of Rain, and finally made a decision.
"This is... a necessary sacrifice. Become the foundation of peace."
As he said this, Deva Path's palms slammed together.
"Chibaku Tensei!"
At the same time, Nagato's true body, located in the tower of Amegakure, made the same gesture.
"Do we really have to go this far?"
Konan beside him seemed hesitant to speak.
On one hand, she was worried about whether Nagato's body could withstand such Chakra Output-
On the other hand, Konan didn't want to see this country, which they had 'saved', be severely damaged again by this blow.
No matter the outcome of the next move, Amegakure would definitely need to be rebuilt.
Houses were secondary… the key was the people.
If those Ninjas of the Land of Rain who joined them with admiration and risked their lives for 'peace' knew that they were about to become the price of peace, would they still be able to maintain their original beliefs?
"...Quiet, Konan. I need to concentrate."
Nagato might have struggled internally for a moment, but his original kindness and goodness had been buried in the grave along with his dear friend Yahiko's death.
Soon, a faint white light lit up in Nagato's palms, quickly turning black and transforming into a small, ink-black sphere.
This sphere then flew out of the tower, heading straight to the sky above the battlefield.
Naruto sensed something and turned his gaze upward.
Light poured down from the sky.
Followed by an incredibly powerful 'gravitational force'.
The ground shattered, mountains and rocks crumbled, and the surrounding houses were torn apart under this immense force.
Deva Path spread its palms, one facing Naruto, the other facing Karin and Sasuke.
Then countless stones 'stuck' to everyone, carrying them skyward under the gravitational pull.
"Whoa! What's happening?!"
Karin was lifted up. She tried to manipulate the wind to break free from the gravitational field, but it was futile.
It had to be said that she was still too inexperienced… both her physical stamina and her mastery of her Devil Fruit were far from sufficient.
"Be careful, Jiraiya-chan! This seems to be some kind of Sealing Technique!"
Fukasaku also warned.
"Damn it, I can't break free."
Sasuke burned away the surrounding earth and rocks with Calamity Flames, but the gravitational pull remained.
Hearing the voices around him, Jiraiya directly extended his hair to bind everyone. Then, ink began writing on his body autonomously.
[Heavy], [Fixed], [Immovable]-
His body sank downward like a weight.
Unfortunately, the gravitational force was too strong. The gravity enhanced by his Devil Fruit couldn't resist it, and the group could only fly skyward together.
They soon met Naruto mid-air.
Looking at the others, Naruto suddenly said to Jiraiya,
"Jiraiya-sensei, protect them."
Hearing this, Jiraiya immediately had a bad feeling.
Then, several large hands extended from around Naruto's body, grabbing everyone.
Following Naruto's lead, they assumed a 'throwing' posture.
In the next moment, everyone was thrown out of the gravitational field's range like cannonballs.
But as everyone knows, force is mutual.
The cost of this action was that Naruto's speed toward the sky increased even further.