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Even though the Preta Path was over a hundred meters away from Might Guy, Nagato Uzumaki, controlling it from behind the scenes, instinctively felt a pang of unease.
"S-rank ninjutsu… no, even beyond that. Chakra absorption—"
Before the Preta Path could activate its chakra absorption ability, the ferocious white tiger had already appeared before it.
The Rinnegan was the pinnacle of the Sharingan and naturally inherited the Sharingan's ability to perceive chakra.
"This attack isn't formed by chakra!"
As darkness engulfed its vision, the Preta Path provided its last bit of value to Nagato—confirming that Might Guy's attack wasn't based on chakra.
Through the perspective of the Naraka Path, Nagato's expression turned grim. Among the Six Paths of Pain, the Preta Path's chakra absorption ability was undeniably one of the most crucial.
The Naraka Path primarily served as support, capable of repairing damaged, immobile Paths through the King of Hell's cycle of rebirth.
But that required the body to remain relatively intact.
Under Guy's earlier strike, the Preta Path had been reduced to scattered pieces of flesh, completely irreparable.
"Damn it!" Nagato cursed under his breath. The complete loss of the Preta Path significantly weakened the Six Paths of Pain's overall combat power.
The abilities of the Six Paths weren't arbitrarily granted. Besides the critical factor of the Rinnegan, they also required specialized modifications. At this point, there was no time to create replacements, meaning Nagato could now only control the remaining four Paths of Pain.
However, Might Guy's assault showed no signs of stopping.
"Youth!"
Accompanied by an electrifying roar that sent shivers down everyone's spines, Might Guy launched another attack.
"Morning Peacock!!!"
To the untrained eye, it simply looked like Guy punching while standing in place, unleashing a torrent of fire attacks against the enemy.
But those with chakra vision knew better. These flames weren't generated by chakra—they were created by Guy's high-speed punches. While the flames themselves were destructive, the true terror lay in the overwhelming force and fiery momentum carried by each punch.
In an instant, the four remaining Paths of Pain, who had been evenly matched in their previous battles, were struck by a devastating assault.
The Deva Path fared better, using Shinra Tensei to shield itself.
The Asura Path, with its impressive natural defenses, was caught off guard but managed to survive, albeit looking disheveled as its clothes were burned to ashes.
The Human Path and Naraka Path, however, weren't so fortunate. They were never designed for high-intensity combat.
The Naraka Path, serving as support, held on valiantly for a while but ultimately succumbed to Guy's Morning Peacock, being torn apart into a gruesome mess.
"Another one gone?!"
From the shadows, Nagato could clearly sense that something was amiss. Less than ten minutes into the battle, he had already lost more than half of his forces. It was obvious that his intelligence had been leaked to Konoha.
In any world, intelligence was paramount. Once compromised, it became easy to be targeted.
Nagato, the young man who had remained relatively obscure in the ninja world until now, finally tasted the bitter fruit of an intelligence leak today.
"Who leaked my information? My intel should have been classified! Was it Konan? No, Konan would never betray me.
Could it be that masked Madara? He's been mysterious ever since he appeared, but judging by his fight with Konoha, he doesn't seem like someone who would sell me out. Damn it! The situation is turning against me. I need to adjust my strategy quickly, or the Six Paths of Pain will be annihilated."
Nagato, who had been brimming with confidence, now felt his morale drop by half.
However, having endured countless moments of despair, Nagato quickly recomposed himself.
"Shinra Tensei!"
An indiscriminate area-of-effect blast was unleashed. Nagato had given up on relying on Amegakure's complex terrain to gain an advantage.
But as the Deva Path unleashed its ultimate technique, all of Konoha's forces seemed to anticipate it and hastily retreated.
Though some were inevitably caught in the wide radius of Shinra Tensei, the Konoha shinobi present were battle-hardened elites. With extraordinary agility, they adjusted their positions mid-air and landed almost unscathed.
Watching this unfold, Nagato felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. Clearly, the enemy had come prepared.
However, Nagato didn't let this discourage him. Instead, he narrowed his eyes slightly, exuding an even more dangerous aura.
"The enemy is coming!" Kakashi warned first.
The Asura Path was now unrecognizable, its feet erupting with intense flames as it transformed into a rocket, charging straight toward the Konoha forces.
But that wasn't the most perilous part. Kakashi noticed the Human Path held in the Asura Path's hand.
This was the specially modified Pain created from Kakuzu.
During the earlier battle, Kakashi had already deduced Kakuzu's identity as the Human Path. And the Human Path's ability—
"All units, scatter! Don't let it touch you!" Kakashi shouted urgently.
Nagato revealed a sinister smile as he manipulated the Asura Path to hurl the Human Path toward the enemy.
An ancient relic from the era of the Sage of Six Paths, Kakuzu appeared young but was nearly as old as Ōnoki.
Though Kakuzu only mastered the basic five elemental natures, that wasn't the key. His true value lay in the forbidden jutsu of Takigakure he obtained through body modifications—the Earth Grudge Fear.
A twisted technique that granted near-immortality by stealing others' hearts, it also allowed him to gain lives through the stolen hearts. Its sole drawback was that his strength would hardly improve after the transformation.
But none of that mattered to Nagato. The true value lay in the tentacles gained from the Earth Grudge Fear, which extended Kakuzu's physical reach. The Human Path's ability was to harm or steal souls through physical contact.
Despite Kakashi's warning, the speed granted by the Asura Path was too great. In the blink of an eye, the attack landed on several Konoha jonin.
Though accustomed to the sacrifices of comrades, this still left Kakashi deeply frustrated.
"Damn it!
Lightning Release: Lightning Transmission!"
{T/N: Can be found in the wiki, also Shippuden episode: 326}
Kakashi immediately created a Shadow Clone, combining two Lightning Cutters into a massive blade of electricity, which he swung fiercely at the Human Path.
With the Preta Path out of commission, Kakashi no longer needed to hold back on using offensive ninjutsu.
As Kakashi's close friend, Might Guy found his own opponent.
Before the battle, Kakashi had explicitly warned Guy not to engage the Human Path—it was a natural counter to him. Thus, Guy charged toward the Asura Path instead.
"This is the power of youth! Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
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