Meanwhile, on the western side of Amegakure…
Kakashi led the Konoha shinobi through a narrow alley flanked by towering sheet-metal buildings.
Rainwater poured from the rooftops, forming swift currents around their feet.
Guy walked directly behind him, his wary gaze constantly sweeping their surroundings.
Kurenai gripped her kunai tightly.
Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Tenten, and the other genin followed close behind. Every one of them held their breath, hardly daring to make a sound.
"Kakashi-sensei…"
Shikamaru suddenly stopped, his brow furrowing deeply.
"Something's wrong. This street is too quiet. It's like someone deliberately cleared everyone out."
Kakashi was well aware of that.
From the moment they entered Amegakure, he had sensed a faint presence watching them.
It wasn't pursuit or ordinary surveillance.
It was an omnipresent pressure that permeated every corner of the village like the air itself.
The enemy's sensory range was so vast that Kakashi had no way to determine their location.
It felt as though the entire village lay beneath that person's gaze, with every raindrop serving as their eye and every whisper of wind as their ear.
"Everyone, stay alert," Kakashi whispered, his right hand already resting on the ninja-tool pouch at his waist. "The enemy may be nearby."
The instant he finished speaking, a figure appeared through the rain ahead.
The man wore Akatsuki's black cloak patterned with crimson clouds.
Orange hair obscured much of his face, but the most striking feature was his eyes.
Concentric rings surrounded pale purple pupils.
They were eerie yet solemn, as though they belonged to a being from another world.
"The Rinnegan…"
Kakashi's pupil contracted sharply.
The Kazekage's intelligence was true.
The Rinnegan really existed.
It was right in front of him.
Those eyes belonging to the progenitor of creation were now staring coldly at them.
The Deva Path raised one hand, aiming his palm at the Konoha shinobi.
His movement was slow—slow enough for everyone to clearly see the lines across his palm.
Yet the sense of impending death arrived too quickly for anyone to react.
"Almighty Push."
An invisible repulsive force crashed into them like a tsunami.
Kakashi barely managed to throw himself over Shikamaru and Ino before the force struck.
The ground shattered, and the sheet-metal walls of the surrounding buildings caved inward.
Everyone was swept away as though struck by an invisible giant hand.
Some slammed into walls, others crashed against the ground, and the rest disappeared into piles of rubble.
Kunai flew from their hands, and ninja tools scattered everywhere.
Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths.
Kakashi climbed out of the rubble.
A sharp fragment had torn open his right arm, and blood ran down his fingers.
"Spread out…"
His voice was hoarse.
"Don't stay together. His ability is repulsion. He can deflect every physical attack…"
Guy was already charging forward.
He opened the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates, and green chakra blazed around his body.
He moved so quickly that he left a long afterimage across the rain.
His fist slammed into the Deva Path.
The Deva Path made no attempt to dodge.
The blow forced him several steps backward, but he quickly regained his balance.
The impact didn't feel like striking a living person.
It was more like hitting a puppet, a corpse, or something that had never been alive in the first place.
Guy's thick eyebrows drew together.
"This man isn't alive. He has no body heat, no heartbeat—not even breathing."
"It's the Six Paths of Pain." Kakashi recalled the description in the intelligence scroll. "Six controlled corpses, each possessing a different ability."
"The one before us should be the Deva Path. He controls attractive and repulsive forces. Don't confront him head-on."
Kurenai moved in from the side.
"Genjutsu: Tree Binding Death!"
Invisible chakra wrapped around the Deva Path, attempting to restrain his movements through genjutsu.
His footsteps paused.
But only for an instant.
The Rinnegan shifted slightly.
Kurenai grunted, and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
"Genjutsu doesn't work on him…" She clutched her chest, her face pale. "Those eyes can reflect genjutsu attacks…"
Kiba and Akamaru launched a surprise attack from behind.
Shino's insects silently closed in through the rain.
The Deva Path didn't even look at them.
He merely raised his other hand.
"Universal Pull."
Kiba's body flew toward him uncontrollably.
Akamaru bit down on the hem of Kiba's clothing and desperately tried to pull him back, but the attraction was too powerful.
Even Akamaru was dragged through the air with him.
Just before the Deva Path could seize Kiba by the throat, a green figure charged in from the side.
A fist smashed into the Deva Path's face.
His head jerked sideways.
The attractive force vanished, and Kiba and Akamaru crashed to the ground before scrambling away.
"Guy…"
Kakashi's voice was filled with alarm.
Guy stood directly before the Deva Path.
He was drenched from head to toe, his short black hair plastered against his forehead. His dark eyes remained intensely vigilant.
"Kakashi, is everyone all right?" Guy asked without turning around.
"Be careful—"
Before Kakashi could finish answering, the Deva Path raised his hand again.
"Kakashi, get serious!" Guy said sternly.
"Understood."
Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan.
"Shikamaru, take the others and withdraw. This isn't an enemy you can handle."
The instant he finished speaking, the Asura Path dropped from the sky and landed in front of him.
Countless gun barrels extended from its mechanical body and aimed at the Konoha shinobi.
"Everyone, defend yourselves!"
Kakashi's shout thundered through the rain.
…
At the position occupied by Iwagakure's forces, the Animal Path stood atop a field of ruins.
Its hands formed seals as the light of the Summoning Jutsu flashed beneath the rain.
A massive chameleon, giant wolves, and rhinoceroses emerged from the smoke one after another.
Every summoned beast possessed an enormous body and terrifying destructive power.
A rhinoceros sent Akatsuchi flying.
He slammed into a wall and was half-buried beneath falling rubble.
Blood erupted from his mouth.
Iwagakure's elite shinobi were forced steadily backward by the summoned beasts.
The defensive walls created with Earth Release were corroded by the giant crustacean's foam.
Stone fists shattered against the rhinoceroses.
An Earth Dragon Bullet was swallowed whole by the chameleon, vanishing without a trace.
"What kind of monsters are these…?"
Akatsuchi gritted his teeth and attempted to stand, but his legs refused to support him.
The rhinoceros charged again.
Its horn was aimed directly at his chest, intending to impale him against the wall.
Just before the horn pierced him, Akatsuchi rapidly formed a hand seal.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A wall of earth erupted from the ground.
At the same time, he hurriedly pulled himself from the rubble and scrambled to safety.
The Animal Path watched him without expression.
Its hands formed another series of seals.
More summoned beasts emerged from the smoke.
They filled the surrounding area, seemingly without end.
Akatsuchi gritted his teeth and increased the speed of his attacks, but the summoned beasts never stopped coming.
Every time they killed one, two more appeared.
They were like a tide that would never run dry.
…
On Amegakure's southern side, the Preta Path and Human Path worked together against the Kumogakure elite led by Darui.
The Preta Path absorbed every ninjutsu attack.
Whether Lightning Release, Fire Release, or Water Release, every technique vanished without a trace the instant it touched his body.
He had absorbed Darui's Lightning Release countless times.
Every attempt had been futile.
The Human Path specialized in dealing with shinobi who fought at close range.
Anyone touched by his hand had their soul ripped from their body.
Five elite Kumogakure shinobi had already died at his hands.
Darui's expression was grim.
He had never encountered opponents with abilities this bizarre.
Ninjutsu was useless, yet no one dared approach them with taijutsu.
They couldn't even retreat.
The enemy clung to them relentlessly, leaving them trapped between advancing and withdrawing.
"Darui…"
Yugito's voice came from the distance, carrying a trace of anxiety.
"How are things on your side?"
"Not good…" Darui's voice was strained. "What about you?"
"Not good either…"
They both fell silent.
The Six Paths of Pain were far too powerful.
They weren't enemies this group could handle.
They hadn't even seen Pain's true body, yet these puppets had already brought their advance to a complete halt.
In a dark corner, the Naraka Path stood silently with his hands pressed together and his eyes closed, as though in prayer.
He did not participate in the battle.
He merely stood there and watched.
Whenever one of the other Paths was defeated, he would step forward and restore the corpse, allowing it to rise once more.
Ninjutsu was useless. Their taijutsu was countered. They held no advantage in numbers, and their intelligence was incomplete.
The outcome of this battle had been predetermined from the very beginning.
The elite shinobi from each village simply refused to admit it.
The rain grew heavier.
Thunder roared like war drums—or mournful cries for the dead.
This battle had only just begun.
(End of Chapter)
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