Inoiki lay sprawled in the centre of a massive crater, his body aching and broken, his gaze locked onto the vast, cloud-smeared sky above. Each breath he drew came with a sharp gasp, his lungs struggling against the pain radiating through his torso. The devastating impact of the Deva Path's Almighty Push had struck him squarely in the stomach, sending shockwaves of agony through his entire body. The sheer force of the blow and impact on ground had fractured his head and leg, though thankfully not severely—thanks only to his last-minute use of psychokinesis.
Just before he hit the ground, Inoiki had summoned every ounce of his psychic power to shield his head and core, forming a protective buffer around his vital areas. Without that desperate defence, his injuries would have been far worse—potentially fatal.
Still, the damage was significant. His fractured leg throbbed violently, and his left arm felt like it was on fire, likely cracked or worse. Pain pulsed through him in relentless waves, clouding his thoughts and blurring the edges of his vision. Yet even as his body screamed for rest, Inoiki gritted his teeth and fought to maintain control of his mind. He knew he couldn't stay down—not for long.
Somewhere nearby, the mechanical sound from the Asura Path echoed faintly, and the ominous silence of the Deva Path loomed like a shadow over the battlefield. If either moved now, it would mean his death.
Meanwhile, the Deva Path floated in the sky, gazing down at Inoiki's broken form. The dust from the earlier impact had finally settled, revealing the young warrior's body partially embedded in the fractured earth. Nagato, hidden far away but fully immersed in his control of the Deva Path, assessed the situation with cold precision.
He could see it—Inoiki wasn't giving up. Despite the injuries, despite the pain, the boy was trying to rise again. He was attempting to push himself off the ground, his psychic aura flickering faintly around him like a dying flame refusing to be extinguished.
Nagato narrowed his focus. That could not be allowed.
If Inoiki managed to stand, if he gathered his strength and regained his fighting stance, the tide of battle could shift. The boy had already proven to be dangerously resilient and resourceful. Letting him rise could turn this difficult battle into something far more complicated.
And Nagato, through the eyes of the Deva Path, was not about to take that risk.
Without a moment's hesitation, the Deva Pat, positioned himself directly above Inoiki's broken form. He hovered there in silence, a grim spectre in the sky, his emotionless eyes locked onto the young psychic warrior below. Then, without warning, he extended his hand—and unleashed another devastating Almighty Push.
This time, the force behind the attack was far greater than before. The air trembled with invisible pressure as the technique roared to life. Had such a colossal release of energy been unleashed at the center of any major village, it would have razed entire districts—half the settlement wiped clean from the map. But now, all that immense, overwhelming force was focused on one single target: Inoiki.
Still trying to rise, Inoiki had just begun to piece himself together using sheer willpower and psychokinesis. His body, fractured and bloodied, responded sluggishly as he forced his shattered limbs to align and stabilize. His mental energy reached out toward the scattered blades around him—his swords—ready to pull them back under his control.
But before he could complete the motion, before his mind could fully extend, a suffocating wave of gravitational pressure slammed down upon him.
The world seemed to collapse inward.
A horrid crackling sound filled the air as his bones strained under the sudden weight. His spine arched unnaturally, and his body was flattened against the jagged crater floor. He could feel the metallic taste of blood flood his mouth. Crimson began to pour from his nose, eyes, and ears. His entire body screamed in protest, nerves alight with searing pain.
Despite the agony, Inoiki refused to give in. With a furious mental cry, he erected a psychic barrier around himself—translucent and trembling—trying to hold back the destructive force. Simultaneously, he summoned elemental chakra, weaving defensive barriers of wind and earth between himself and the Deva Path.
None of it mattered.
The Almighty Push shattered everything.
His psychic shield cracked like glass, the elemental defenses were ripped apart like paper, and even the very ground beneath him defied his control. Desperate, he tried to sink into the earth, to slip away like a ghost, but his focus was in ruins. The pain had fractured his thoughts, his precision unraveling as panic and fury took hold.
Each desperate maneuver was crushed beneath the sheer, merciless pressure of Deva Path's attack.
"Damn it…" Inoiki gasped, his voice broken and hoarse. "I can't… die like this... I haven't reached the top yet…"
He clenched his jaw, blood dripping from his lips, and forced out a final cry—one filled with defiance, sorrow, and the raw ache of dreams slipping away.
"I won't accept this!" he roared. "Not here! Not like this!"
His scream echoed across the barren land, fierce and full of life—but it was short-lived. The moment faded. His voice cracked… and then fell silent.
Far above, the Deva Path finally ceased his attack. The air grew still, the unbearable pressure lifting like a receding tide. But even the puppet body of the Deva Path showed signs of instability after releasing such a colossal force. Its balance faltered midair, and it slowly descended from the sky, landing softly on the fractured earth below.
The entire battlefield had been swallowed by a thick, swirling cloud of dust. The force of the attack was so intense that the ground itself trembled for miles. Even at a distant location, where Konan stood vigil beside the real Nagato, the shockwave was felt. The air shifted unnaturally, heavy with the aftershock of overwhelming power.
Nagato suddenly coughed violently, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and staining his pale lips. His body trembled from the recoil of the technique.
Konan turned toward him, her amber eyes narrowing with a mix of worry and reprimand. Her voice was calm, but her concern could not be hidden.
"Why did you use that technique? And with such destructive force?" she asked, her tone edged with quiet disapproval.
Nagato remained silent for a moment, catching his breath and steadying his frail frame. His voice, when it came, was ragged but resolute.
"I had no choice," he said. "Inoiki was becoming increasingly difficult to defeat. I had to put an end to him—decisively. If I didn't use that level of force, he might have stood back up again. By now… he should be nothing more than a smear on the ground."
Konan looked away briefly, sighing through her nose. She didn't respond—not because she agreed, but because she knew arguing with Nagato was futile. When he made up his mind, he pursued his course with unshakable conviction, often regardless of consequence. What could she possibly say to a man who had chosen to bear the burden of godhood?
Back on the battlefield, the Deva Path stood motionless amid the wreckage, his body poised in eerie calm. Beside him, the Asura Path's mechanical form, previously collapsed when Nagato had momentarily severed control to concentrate entirely on the Almighty Push, was now reactivated. The body stirred to life, its limbs shifting into place with metallic precision as it awaited further orders.
A tense stillness settled over the area.
Then, at last, the dense cloud of dust began to clear, thinning in the arid wind. As visibility returned, the ground where Inoiki had been struck came into view—and what Nagato saw through the eyes of the Deva Path stopped him cold.
Inoiki was still there, lying at the heart of the crater. His arms and legs were in grotesque condition, mangled and crushed, looking more like pulp than flesh. But astonishingly—impossibly—his chest and head were intact. Surrounding the upper portion of his body shimmered a faint, translucent blue barrier, its light flickering weakly in the sunlight. Damaged, yes—but it had held.
More incredibly, his heart was still beating.
Nagato's eyes narrowed in disbelief. Despite the intensity of the Almighty Push, despite being hit with a force that could level an entire city block… Inoiki had survived.
The Asura Path, without hesitation, stepped forward. Its targeting systems engaged, weapons shifting into place. It moved swiftly, aiming to finish the job while the enemy was still vulnerable.
But before it could strike—before it could even reach Inoiki—a sudden force halted it in its tracks.
Inoiki's battered body rose from the crater, slowly and without any visible effort, as though lifted by the sky themselves. A radiant, sky-blue glow enveloped him, pulsating brighter with each passing second. Even in the full light of day, the radiance was undeniable—blinding, divine.
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