Hanzo of the Salamander indeed only wanted to escape.
Facing the strangeness of the Deva Path of Pain and the duo of Nagato and Konan, this Ninja Demigod knew that his chances of winning were pitifully low.
Rather than relying on the salamander for a counterattack, it was better to avoid injury and preserve his strength and chakra to make an escape.
Seizing the chaos created by the Almighty Push, Hanzo of the Salamander suddenly vanished from his spot, using a combination of the Substitution Jutsu and Instantaneous Jutsu to flee into the distance!
But with every step Hanzo of the Salamander took to escape, his terror grew.
Because every inch of land he stepped on was composed of stacks of paper bombs. How vast was this area covered by the explosive charms!
"Heavenly Attraction!"
With a soft murmur from the Deva Path of Pain, Hanzo suddenly found his body uncontrollably flying backward toward the Deva Path!
Hanzo of the Salamander quickly formed a hand seal and spat out a massive wave: "Water Release: Water Rushing Wave!"
He wanted to use the power of the wave to repel Pain, or at least find a way to escape this inexplicable gravitational pull.
However, a chubby orange-haired man appeared between them, emitting a white glow from his body. He merely extended his palm and absorbed the chakra of the Water Rushing Wave.
It was Preta Path Pain.
"Ninjutsu attacks are ineffective, then?"
Hanzo of the Salamander snatched his scythe from his back, using the momentum from the Heavenly Attraction to soar into the air!
The Deva Path Pain ignored Hanzo's scythe, looking at him blankly and saying, "Hanzo, I will never forget Yahiko's pain..."
"...The resurrected dead... why do they also have a pair of Rinnegan?"
Hanzo of the Salamander's eyes flashed with a trace of fear, and gripping his scythe in uncertainty, he slashed at the Deva Path Pain before him!
"He really is already dead."
The Deva Path Pain crouched and evaded Hanzo's scythe, placing his palm on Hanzo's chest: "What stands before you now... is the true god of this world!"
Crack!
A black rod emerged from Pain's palm!
This Yin Yang Release Black Rod suddenly pierced through Hanzo's body!
Seizing the moment when Hanzo of the Salamander's chakra was stalled, the Deva Path Pain kicked hard at Hanzo's head, sending him crashing to the ground!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four black rods shot out in succession!
Hanzo of the Salamander was pinned completely to the ground!
The Yin Yang Release Black Rod not only restricted his chakra but also his movements. Now, he was utterly immobilized, left at someone's mercy.
The Deva Path Pain walked up to him and stepped on Hanzo of the Salamander's head: "I thought I would relish a satisfying revenge, but instead, there's nothing but endless disappointment. You are truly weak, Hanzo..."
Hanzo of the Salamander looked up at the Deva Path Pain that insulted him, suddenly coughing up a mouthful of blood, not knowing whether it was due to injury or anger.
"Just kill him already!"
Konan glanced at Hanzo of the Salamander with some displeasure, raising her palm: "Humiliating someone like him is meaningless!"
Nagato remained silent for a moment, then turned to look at Uehara Naraku beside him: "Go on, Uehara, kill this belief-lost waste. He's not even worth Pain's effort anymore."
Uehara Naraku: "..."
What do you mean by that?
Not worth Pain's effort, so let him do it?
Every time, with one sentence, he could insult two people. You truly never disappoint, Nagato!
Not only Uehara Naraku but even Konan found Nagato's words a bit too much.
Uehara could somewhat understand their feelings, like painstakingly plotting to assassinate a big boss, only for them to throw a shuriken...
And the boss was defeated.
Long ago, when Hanzo of the Salamander was misled by Shimura Danzo and, in an attempt to secure his power, tried to assassinate the Akatsuki only to be nearly killed in return, his heart had already died.
Or rather, from then on, Hanzo only thought about survival.
Who could be blamed for that?
Shimura Danzo is to blame.
In this Ninja World, there's hardly anyone who gets involved with Shimura Danzo or gets brainwashed by him that meets a good end.
Hanzo of the Salamander, Yakushi Nono, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi...
Of course, there's someone who can specifically counter Shimura Danzo.
That is the Third Hokage of Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen. With a mouthful of the Will of Fire, he forcibly re-brainwashed those who nearly went astray because of Danzo.
This is where I have to praise Hatake Kakashi.
This white-haired Jonin from Konoha endured the darkness of youth, withstood Danzo's brainwashing, endured the Will of Fire's indoctrination... until Kakashi encountered a certain blond kid's 'Talk no Jutsu,' and finally couldn't hold on.
Uehara Naraku withdrew his myriad flying thoughts and walked step by step towards Hanzo of the Salamander, casually taking the Black Rod handed to him by the Deva Path of Pain.
Hanzo's gas mask fell off, and he gritted his teeth as he looked at the approaching Uehara Naraku, "Kid, do you think you can kill me?"
Honestly, Nagato and Konan terrified him.
The constant deception by Uehara Naraku however appeared despicable!
This kid deceived Kandachi of the Salamander, betrayed the Hidden Rain Village's feelings, and directly sentenced him to death!
Ever since the day Hanzo decided to accept a meeting with Shimura Danzo, he even received information suggesting that Danzo might concede. He felt a tingling of happiness, thinking he could once again leverage Konoha's power to resolve his threats.
Who would have thought that this was a complete and total deception!
Those bastards from Akatsuki even guided him to this place for execution!
"Goodbye, Lord Hanzo."
Uehara Naraku grasped the Yin Yang Release Black Rod and stabbed it towards the ground where Hanzo of the Salamander lay, softly saying, "If there is any resentment, go find Shimura Danzo!"
Hearing Uehara's words, Hanzo's mind even dulled for a moment.
However, in the life and death moment, Hanzo still reacted!
"You die first! Kid!"
Hanzo suddenly spewed a mouthful of poison gas, a deadly toxin from the Salamander Poison Sac within his body, even he couldn't withstand it!
However, Hanzo secretly hid a small vial of antidote in his teeth, which could be broken at any time to temporarily neutralize the poison.
This was his real killing move.
Taking advantage of how close Uehara Naraku was, while Nagato and Konan were far on the cliff, and the Deva Path of Pain was beside him unable to react in time, the Salamander's poison quickly spread!
As long as this group is hindered by the poison, he would have a chance to escape!
As long as he could survive, the future held endless possibilities!
"Uehara!"
"Naraku!"
Nagato and Konan's expressions drastically changed.
In their line of sight, the proud yet naive young ninja who always stayed by their side, showed no concern for the Salamander's toxic attack, firmly grasped the Yin Yang Release Black Rod and fiercely stabbed it into Hanzo's spine!
Side Quest: Fall of a Demigod (1/1), Mission Completed, Reward Skill: Star Infusion.
Star Infusion: Consumes 10% of current life energy and chakra energy to restore the same percentage of life energy and chakra energy to allies, with a cooldown of 6 seconds.
Side Quest: Harvest a New Kind of Deadly Toxin (1/1), Mission Completed, Reward Skill: Planting Mushrooms.
Planting Mushrooms: Uses chakra to generate an invisible poisonous mushroom, which can be placed in a target area to provide a small field of vision within that area; when a target steps on the mushroom, it explodes and poisons the victim, with each mushroom's size related to the chakra value, minimum consumption is 100 chakra points.
Uehara Naraku stood amidst the Salamander's poison, glanced at the two skills rewarded by the system, and felt that participating in the assassination of Hanzo of the Salamander this time was quite profitable, he could now become a medical ninja in the future...
Just need to think of an excuse.
Might as well take some time to learn some medical ninjutsu.
The Salamander's poison honestly didn't worry Uehara.
He possessed a purification skill, and just needed to leave the poisonous area to use purification and dispel it.
As for how to explain to Nagato and Konan?
With so many Hidden Rain Ninja corpses here, couldn't he find an antidote for the Salamander's poison on one of them?
Uehara's calculations were spot on.
Everything should be within his expectations.
But this time, he miscalculated one thing.
Konan, disregarding her own safety, quickly flew into the poison mist of the Salamander, grabbed Uehara's arm, and dragged him out!
"Konan, there's no need to rush…"
The Asura Path Pain pushed Nagato's wheelchair, appearing beside them with a tense expression, "I can let the Pain of Six Paths enter the poison mist to rescue Uehara."
"It's okay, let's find the antidote first."
Konan held Uehara Naraku tightly, urging softly, "Nagato, hurry up… I said I would protect Naraku!"
"..."
Uehara could only hide in her embrace.
Feeling a bit happy inside, yet slightly worried.