Scorching fire, razor-sharp wind, and massive stone…
They converged in a deadly onslaught, chakra waves of terrifying power flooding toward the Deva Pain.
Shinra Tensei!
Light flickered in the Deva Pain's Rinnegan as an invisible repulsive force radiated outward.
The Asura and Human Pain, closest to Deva Pain, were blasted away first. Almost instantly, the force caught up with the Naraka and Animal Pains, hurling them aside too.
The brilliant, dangerous jutsu hurled by hundreds of Konoha shinobi simply turned to dust before Shinra Tensei's might.
Blazing flames were snuffed from the sky, cutting winds dissipated, and heavy boulders were crushed to powder. The combined power of hundreds of ninjas was effortlessly repelled.
With so many jutsu coming at him, Nagato couldn't set Shinra Tensei to its maximum strength, lest he harm too many of his own bodies, but he still used it at high power. Inevitably, though, it would hurt some of the other Pains.
He had no choice: to minimize losses, he chose to spare the Naraka and Animal Pains. Naraka Pain would restore the Preta Pain, while Animal Pain could summon the real Nagato back into battle at any moment.
After clearing the jutsu, Shinra Tensei's residual force scattered the remaining Konoha shinobi arrayed before him. But because they were far enough away, none were killed, only a few suffered minor wounds.
Naraka and Animal Pains, now tossed far aside, suffered negligible damage. Hell Pain righted itself in midair and landed steadily, then raced toward the Preta Pain that Minato had blasted away.
Its mission was to quickly repair the Preta Pain, only its chakra-absorption ability could stem the incoming barrage of Konoha ninjutsu.
Yet the situation was already one-sided. Even if Hell Pain revived Preta Pain, the advantage was lost.
Nagato clearly saw that after losing the initiative, scattered as his bodies were, they could no longer turn the tide. The only hope now was to take as many shinobi down with him as he could.
The scattered Konoha shinobi regrouped, forming a new formation to unleash a second volley of mid- to long-range jutsu. At the same time, Guy led the close-combat squads toward the Deva and Asura Pains.
Seeing nearly a hundred Konoha shinobi charging, Deva Pain's expression remained cold. With Shinra Tensei on a five-second cooldown, if the ninjas launched another jutsu wave before he could react, he would be defenseless.
Deva Pain thrust out black rods from both palms, preparing for close-quarters combat against the charging shinobi. Once engaged, the Konoha forces would have to avoid long-range jutsu to prevent friendly fire.
The Asura and Human Pains still fought on, but after taking the brunt of Shinra Tensei up close, their bodies were damaged, making sustained combat difficult.
Animal Pain summoned a giant chameleon and swallowed it whole. Its massive form then disappeared, hidden from sight, both to conceal its summoning potential and to blind Deva Pain's vision.
Meanwhile, Naraka Pain reached the wounded Preta Pain and summoned the King of Hell to absorb its chakra.
The melee team quickly closed to within eight hundred meters. Instead of retreating, Deva Pain advanced against Guy's squad.
Yet… Guy's team wasn't charging Deva Pain at all. Their target lay elsewhere among the Pain bodies. Deva Pain's true opponent… was Minato!
As the hundred-strong melee force closed in, they split into two groups, flanking left and right.
"Hm?" Nagato's brow furrowed. The Konoha shinobi's actions sent a clear message: We're not fighting you.
"Your opponent… is me."
And again came the legendary yellow flash of the Fourth Hokage, Minato appeared before Deva Pain.
Deva Pain reacted instantly, swinging its right palm toward Minato's face. The black rod whistled as it cut through the air.
Minato bent his knees, ducking his head to avoid the strike. With his left hand, he caught Deva Pain's right wrist. At the same time, he formed a Rasengan in his right hand and drove it into Deva Pain's chest.
Deva Pain's eyes flicked downward as the Rasengan's pale glow entered his vision, ignoring Minato's incoming black rod, aimed squarely at the Hokage's core.
It was a lightning-fast decision... Though the Rasengan was slightly quicker, the rod had reach on its side. Both attacks would land almost simultaneously.
A virtual mutual kill, yet Minato's lips curled into a smile. Once the Flying Thunder God mark was placed, Deva Pain would become prey he could not escape.
Whoosh!
Without any visible motion, Minato simply vanished, his foe's rod thudding into empty air.
Nagato, long accustomed to Minato's Flying Thunder God jutsu, grew immediately alert. He hurriedly adjusted Deva Pain's stance in anticipation of Minato's reappearance.
But no matter how ready he was, he could not keep up with Minato's speed, unless he possessed a defense so exceptional as to create an opening within his own block.
Nagato knew that as long as Minato's mark remained on Deva Pain, the threat of another lightning-fast teleport strike would persist. If he could somehow match Minato's speed, and have the power to withstand his assault, then a counter would be possible.
Hashirama could overcome Minato's Flying Thunder God because his reaction speed was nearly on par and his own speed wasn't far behind. Coupled with understanding Minato's technique habits, he could anticipate and break the jutsu.
Nagato's reflexes were sharp, but Deva Pain's speed was nowhere near that of Flying Thunder God. And with Shinra Tensei on cooldown for five seconds, once Minato's mark was set, the battle was effectively decided.
Unless… Deva Pain had the Preta Pain's absorption ability.
"Four seconds until Shinra Tensei is ready again. Every time he appears, it's on my left side. If I anticipate it… I can be even faster!" Nagato thought.
At that moment, Minato reappeared unpredictably, true to his ghostlike nature, always the most vexing kind of foe.
But this time, he didn't show up on Deva Pain's left. He appeared on the right.
In their earlier exchange, Minato had seized Deva Pain's right wrist, leaving a Flying Thunder God mark there. Now, after vanishing, he reemerged precisely on that marked wrist.
A shift from left arm to right arm may seem small, but it can make all the difference.
The Rasengan glowed with menace as Minato slammed it into Deva Pain's ribs, where he least expected it.
Boom!
Deva Pain flew back through the air. Yet Minato wasn't done.
Instead of a Wind Rasengan, he'd used ordinary chakra to form a basic Rasengan, saving chakra but still packing enough punch.
After the first blow, he used Flying Thunder God to chase Deva Pain midair, and from above unleashed a second ordinary Rasengan onto his form.
Another muffled explosion rang out.
Deva Pain's body was smashed from the sky into the ground.
"A twin-shot Flying Thunder God Rasengan!"
Adjusting his posture in midair, Minato landed with unruffled grace. From start to finish, his every movement exuded the cool confidence of a hero, though his nickname for the technique was admittedly uninspired.
Standing over the motionless Deva Pain, Minato offered a victorious smile. He knew the fight wasn't over, once this was dealt with, he'd teleport directly to aid the Third Hokage's team.
Thus, to conserve his dwindling chakra, he'd used only two ordinary Rasengan.
Maximizing effect with minimal expenditure is the mark of an elite shinobi. It's not about mindless chakra blasts, but about wisely managing one's reserves.
For instance, he could have finished Deva Pain with a single Wind Rasengan, ten times the chakra cost of a normal Rasengan, but he chose the more economical option, accepting a slight risk because the outcome remained firmly in his control.
This philosophy had guided Ye Zi from the start. Once he gained access to Shokui's abilities, he too no longer worried about chakra shortages, nor needed to meticulously plan every jutsu.
"Guy's squad should be arriving soon. After that, we just need to finish off the remaining puppets," Minato said, glancing at the unmoving Deva Pain as he prepared to face the other Pain bodies.
He no longer feared that Deva Pain would be summoned back, by the time that happened, the real mastermind would have no chance to revive him again.
Within the giant tree, Nagato's face was ice-cold. Deva Pain's ability alone was no match for Minato.
He took a deep breath, then used Animal Pain's summoning technique to pull Deva Pain back into the tree's interior.
Seeing Deva Pain's battered form, Konan's eyes narrowed. Again defeated so soon after striking out? she wondered.
"Hm? Nagato, there's a team heading this way, around five hundred people." Konan had been about to speak, but suddenly sensed a large number of people approaching. Her words immediately changed.
Nagato's expression remained cold and unchanged. He said calmly, "Take Yahiko and go. Return to Amegakure and wait for my message."
Konan fell silent. Though she was reluctant to leave Nagato behind, she knew staying would only be a burden to him.
No arguments. No hesitation.
In silence, she reached toward Yahiko's body. Sheets of paper flew toward it, quickly wrapping him like a mummy. Then she lifted the "mummy" into the air.
"I'll wait for your return."
Wings of paper unfolded behind her like those of an angel. Looking at Nagato, her expression and voice were solemn and serious.
"Mm." Nagato nodded slightly and turned his gaze toward the direction from which the Konoha forces were arriving. The paper that had formed the giant tree slowly unfurled and scattered into the sky, letting light pour in.
"Go." As the paper dispersed ahead of him, Nagato could already make out the Konoha force drawing near, nearly five hundred shinobi.
Konan said nothing more. She took Yahiko and flew off with her wings, silently leaving the place.
Staying behind was pointless now. She believed Nagato would succeed and return to Amegakure with the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. That was why she would wait for him there.
Staying would only be a hindrance, and during retreat, fewer people meant better odds.
Flying in the air, Konan pressed her lips tightly together. She turned back to look at Nagato's silhouette, silently staring at his back for a few seconds before turning to face forward again.
"Nagato won't fail." She thought to herself.
The squad led by the Third Hokage was closing in.
"There are two people, one can fly and escaped. The other remained behind, and… they have an enormous amount of chakra."
A member of the Hyūga clan, responsible for reconnaissance, reported what they saw.
"Pick up the pace!" The Third Hokage nodded slightly, a serious glint in his aged eyes.
This one who stayed behind was likely the one controlling all the puppets.
But the phrase "an enormous amount of chakra" didn't quite fit Nagato. He had expended a lot during the earlier battle. Had he been at full strength, his chakra would've terrified even the Hyūga sensory nin.
Nagato watched the Konoha force grow closer. As they neared, he leapt down from the air. Around the same time he summoned back Yahiko's body, the Deva Pain had been defeated again by Minato, and the remaining Paths of Pain, except the Animal Pain, which had cloaked itself with the chameleon, had all been defeated.
Deva Pain had fallen, and even though the Hell Pain had tried to restore the Preta Pain, the latter was taken down again almost instantly, this time by the green-clad taijutsu expert.
"The outcome wasn't ideal, but this is the limit." Nagato's body rose into the air, floating upward, heading toward the Third Hokage's unit himself.
The Six Paths of Pain had run their course. Now it was up to him personally. The Animal Pain was still functional and could summon him to Konoha at any moment.
But he hadn't gone immediately. He wanted to stall this squad for just a little while, to give Konan a better chance to escape.
"The enemy is approaching on their own, not moving fast, but from the air." The Hyūga member reported again when the distance between both sides had narrowed to less than 600 meters.
"Prepare for battle," the Third Hokage said, his voice aged but firm, carrying clearly through the Konoha ranks.
Soon, Nagato floated into view before the Konoha forces, hovering in midair, high above them.
His target… was still Minato.
"Shinra Tensei!" The five-second cooldown had passed.
At that moment, floating in midair, Nagato spread his arms. Before the Konoha shinobi could organize an attack, a massive wave of repulsive force burst out from around him.
Like an invisible expanding sphere, it surged in all directions.
The forest beneath Nagato's feet was flattened as though stomped by countless giant feet, trees buckling and snapping, earth ripping up in massive waves.
The repulsive force of Shinra Tensei swept up massive trees and vast amounts of soil, kicking up thick clouds of dust and smoke. In an instant, the entire Konoha unit was engulfed and swept far into the distance.
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