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Gamahiro set his sights on the largest summon the giant centipede. However, despite its massive size, it was actually the weakest of the bunch. With a swift cross-slash of his twin swords, Gamahiro cut the centipede down in an instant.
Both humans and toads were showcasing their skills except for Gamaken, who was simply getting beaten up.
As the most honest of the three toads, Gamaken had let Gamabunta and Gamahiro pick their opponents first. Left with no other choice, he charged at the one summon no one else wanted to deal with the ever-dividing splitting dog.
Leaping high into the air, Gamaken thrust his steel trident down, pinning the splitting dog to the ground. However, this was only the beginning of his nightmare.
The dog immediately split into three one remaining under the trident, while the other two leapt out and sank their teeth into Gamaken's arms.
Though Gamaken always claimed to be clumsy, his reflexes were sharp. He quickly detached the shield from his back and struck both dogs away with a loud duang, duang!
Unfortunately, those two dogs turned into four.
With every hit, the number of enemies multiplied. Before long, Gamaken was overwhelmed, his body covered in deep bite wounds, blood flowing freely. The scene was nothing short of tragic.
Fortunately, his two brothers soon finished their battles and rushed over to assist, relieving some of the pressure. However, even with all three of them working together, they quickly found themselves struggling against the swarm of ever-multiplying dogs.
While the three great toads fought, the others weren't idle.
Minato retrieved his Flying Raijin kunai and used Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, filling the sky with kunai aimed at the Six Paths of Pain. Faced with the overwhelming assault, Tendo (Deva Path) had no choice but to activate Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push) to repel all of them.
Tsunade, Sakura, and Kimimaro took advantage of the opening and charged forward. Two of them had immense durability, while one had formidable defences it would be a waste not to have them act as tanks.
However, the Asura Path quickly launched a barrage of mechanical weaponry, attempting to halt their advance.
Jiraiya countered with defensive jutsu, while Minato followed up with Rasenshuriken. Unfortunately, the Preta Path absorbed the attack effortlessly.
Suddenly, a powerful storm swept through the battlefield, carrying large droplets of water like a torrential downpour.
The unexpected gale affected everyone. Lee, who was directly facing the wind, had to shield his eyes with his arms just to see.
Minato's cloak billowed violently, his usually neat hair swept back by the force. "This feeling… Is that Gai's Hirudora (Daytime Tiger)?"
Indeed, this violent shockwave was the aftermath of Gai unleashing Hirudora to finish off Kisame. The sheer force of the technique had reached them from kilometres away.
Pain narrowed his eyes. That was the direction Kisame had gone in, but he didn't recall Kisame possessing such a technique. That meant… Kisame was in trouble.
"This level of power… not good!"
He wasn't worried about Kisame's fate. Instead, he was concerned about the Animal Path.
The summoner had hidden inside the chameleon's mouth to remain invisible, but the chameleon's massive body naturally blocked part of the storm, making its location obvious.
Kushina immediately noticed. "Found you!"
Her chakra flared, and a massive golden-red fox leapt into the air, slamming the chameleon to the ground. With a deafening roar, she unleashed a powerful energy blast directly at its head.
The chameleon instantly became visible again, its skull partially obliterated. The Animal Path tumbled out of its mouth, charred black, unmoving.
With its summoner defeated, all of the summoned creatures, including the troublesome splitting dog, disappeared in puffs of smoke.
"Was the summoner taken out?" Gamabunta finally took a proper puff from his pipe. His massive smoking tool wasn't so easy to put out.
Gamahiro sheathed his twin swords. "Getting pushed this far… how disgraceful."
Gamaken, still battered and bloody, simply said, "It's because I'm clumsy…"
Kushina extended her golden chains, wrapped them around the Animal Path, and sealed them with ease. She then sprinted forward, her massive fox claws swiping at the remaining five Paths of Pain.
Tendo Pain raised his hand. "Shinra Tensei!"
BOOM!
A powerful ripple of repulsive force exploded outward. The fox-shaped chakra surrounding Kushina suddenly froze in place.
"ORA!!"
Kushina roared in frustration, trying to resist the force.
From his location, Nagato frowned. This wasn't enough. He gritted his teeth, poured more chakra into the technique, and increased its intensity.
The repulsion expanded instantly. Everything except the small area where the Five Paths stood was swept away soil, debris, and even the grass and trees were stripped away.
The reason he hadn't used Preta Path to absorb the chakra instead? Simple absorbing tailed beast chakra wasn't instantaneous. With the sheer volume of Kurama's chakra, trying to absorb it all would leave them vulnerable to a counterattack.
The colossal golden-red fox was ultimately sent flying, crashing through the landscape and carving a deep trench into the earth.
Minato, however, remained calm. He didn't fall into the typical male protagonist trope of panicking when the female lead was hit, giving the villain an opening to attack.
Instead, he focused on something more productive using Flying Raijin to teleport his teammates away before they could suffer further injuries from the blast.
Even the three great toads, unable to recover in time, were thrown through the air. Realizing this, Minato promptly dispelled their summoning, returning them to Mount Myōboku.
---
By the time Naruto, Itachi, and Gai arrived, the scene before them was chaotic.
A massive golden fox lay on the ground, a forest ravaged by battle, and thick scars gouged into the earth where Pain's Shinra Tensei had torn through the terrain.
Yet, despite the destruction, no one seemed to be gravely injured.
Naruto chuckled. "That brat Pain… is he making the Earth 'feel pain' again?"
From afar, Nagato muttered, "The other Nine-Tails Jinchūriki has returned… Looks like Kisame really failed. Deidara's side also seems quiet. And as for Tobi…"
Konan, who was protecting Nagato's real body, urged him, "Nagato, let's retreat for now. That man isn't entirely trustworthy. It's better to conserve our strength."
"The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki is right in front of me, and not just one, but both of them… How can I just let this opportunity slip away?!"
Nagato's mind was set. He still had one final move left one that could turn the tides.
In gaming terms, his mindset was clear:
"I have my ultimate ability ready. I can still turn this fight around!"
Konan, however, was more rational. "This situation is no different from attacking Konoha directly. If we fail here, we may never get another chance!"
Her goal had always been to help Nagato and Yahiko achieve their dream whether it was through the Moon's Eye Plan or another method didn't matter. But she was starting to doubt "Uchiha Madara." Something about him felt… off. She didn't want Nagato to take unnecessary risks because of him.
Nagato pressed his hands together. "Enough, Konan. Let me try one last time. If this doesn't work… we'll do things your way."
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