Chapter 479: Shōten no Jutsu
At the precipice of life and death, Yugito truly began to panic, losing her usual sharpness.
She couldn't help but wonder, Are all the kunoichi from Konoha this literal nowadays? I say a few tough words, boast a little, and that's not allowed? In contrast, the Two-Tails, Matatabi, remained calm.
"Don't worry, that person is already here."
The next second, the giant boulder Hidan had used to block the cave entrance was blasted open by a Giant Rasengan. The nine members of Akatsuki all turned to look at the entrance.
Seven of them were just humanoid chakra phantoms created by the Magic Lantern Body Technique; only Kakuzu and Hidan were physically present.
The two were startled.
Kakuzu recognized Ino. Just a short while ago, he had been contemplating the 130 million ryō bounty on her head. But after seeing her Wood Golem rise from the earth from a distance, he knew he was no match and had retreated. He never expected that after running into her while on a private job, she would now come knocking while he was on "official business."
A ninja's strength was not directly related to their age. Orochimaru was more than a decade older than Itachi's father, but age meant nothing. If you couldn't win, you couldn't win. Kakuzu faced the same problem now. Having lived to the age of ninety, he was very clear about the gap between himself and certain prodigies.
He was shocked; Hidan was terrified.
This was the first time Hidan had seen Ino, but it was not the first time the Evil God had encountered her.
In Western fantasy terms, Hidan was something of an Evil God's chosen one. The Cult of Jashin had been destroyed, and the sacrificial stone the Evil God used as a host had been mostly chopped off by Ino and given to the Shinigami.
The current Evil God could hardly be defined by human terms like waking or sleeping. It had stored a part of its consciousness within Hidan to nurture it. Now, this part of its consciousness "saw" Ino and immediately sent a signal to Hidan: fear.
"Damn it, it's a Konoha ninja! How did she track us here?" Hidan didn't know where the fear in his heart came from. He forced himself to remain calm and asked his partner, Kakuzu, with some surprise.
Kakuzu subconsciously looked toward Tendo Pain.
Pain, who could rival Conan's "shadowy figure" in his ominous presence, spoke casually. "It's just one Konoha ninja. You two continue. Where is the sacrifice? I will hold her off."
Kakuzu snapped his fingers. One of his dazed-looking subordinates walked out from a corner, looking up at Pain with a numb expression.
The Rinnegan activated. Pain's chakra was channeled across the distance into the sacrifice's body, completing the Rinnegan's "Shōten no Jutsu."
From the sacrifice stepping out of the shadows, to the chakra infusion, to the successful transformation, all three steps were completed with extreme speed. By the time Ino had completely shattered the obstructing boulder and rushed in, the middle-aged man who served as the sacrifice had already raised his right hand toward her.
Silently, a massive repulsive force slammed into her.
"Oof!?" Ino was forcibly pushed back seven or eight steps. She looked at the man with purple, ripple-patterned eyes who had emerged from the shadows. At first glance, she really thought one of the Six Paths of Pain was waiting for her here.
But upon closer inspection.
Well now, this was an imposter of an imposter.
Madara Uchiha had given his Rinnegan to Nagato. Nagato used the eyes to create the Six Paths of Pain, controlling the six corpses from the shadows. Now, Pain was using the Shōten no Jutsu to create a remote-controlled "copy."
After so many layers of nesting dolls, if the power of the Rinnegan before her was a 1, then Teacher Six Paths' Rinnegan would be 100,000.
Having periodically attended lectures with Teacher Six Paths, this kind of bootleg Rinnegan no longer had much effect on Ino.
The middle-aged man opened his left hand, and a powerful attractive force pulled at Ino. She went with the flow, flying forward. After covering a dozen meters, she threw a kunai at Yugito's position.
The middle-aged man immediately changed his tactic, trying to switch from attraction to repulsion. Ino thrust her staff at his face, forcing him back. Then, sensing her kunai marker, she tore open space and appeared beside Yugito.
Hidan swung his scythe at her neck. She sidestepped to dodge, then swept her staff horizontally, sending the Jashin follower flying.
Kakuzu, completely disregarding Yugito, who was still having her chakra extracted, and Hidan, who was still within range, formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"
Ino formed a hand seal with one hand.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall."
Using the water wall to block the searing fire style, she launched a kick at Yugito's rear.
Because her Tailed Beast chakra was being extracted, Yugito's body was suspended in mid-air. The kick should have sent her flying, but Ino found that it had little effect. The immense suction from the Gedo Statue's mouth still held Yugito firmly in place.
"Be gentle! You're killing me!" Seeing that reinforcements had arrived, Yugito's spirits recovered quickly. She was well aware of Ino's abilities. As an enemy, she was a huge headache; as an ally, she inspired complete trust.
Ino bypassed the middle-aged man, repelled Hidan, and blocked Kakuzu's fire style. In a flash, she was beside Yugito. Realizing her kick had failed, she finally had a moment to look at the Gedo Statue.
That thing was truly ugly, and it radiated an evil aura!
About half of the chakra in Yugito's body had been extracted. Now, this extracted chakra had become an accomplice, acting like an unbreakable rope that held Yugito fast.
Ino tried three different methods, but none could break the connection.
Attack the Gedo Statue? That thing was just a phantom; its real body wasn't here.
The five elemental natures of chakra appeared on her right fingertips. With her left hand, she tore open Yugito's top, about to use the Five Elements Seal to seal the Tailed Beast. Let's see you extract chakra now.
"Don't let her complete the seal!"
A bootleg Almighty Push hit Ino's right hand. The balance of the five chakra natures was disrupted, and the seal failed.
The Rinnegan-wielding middle-aged man, Hidan, and Kakuzu closed in from three directions.
Ino showed no fear. She raised her hand and fired off a dozen custom kunai in different directions. She began to teleport between them.
She struck Hidan's left ribs with a fierce punch, then thrust her staff diagonally toward Kakuzu's eyes. 0.1 seconds later, she kicked the Rinnegan-wielding man away.
Her speed was so fast it was as if she had split into three people, beating back her three attackers.
She then used Shisui's Body Flicker Technique, a move that combined taijutsu and genjutsu. With the combination of Flying Thunder God teleportation, high-speed movement, and illusions, the three Akatsuki members now found themselves on the defensive, as if they were the ones being surrounded.
Hidan roared in anger, but his movements were as slow as a snail in Ino's eyes.
BOOM!
A loud crash echoed as a human-shaped hole was punched through the side of the cave wall. The Fourth Raikage, who had set out only a step behind Ino, had also arrived.
Ino had traveled using the Flying Thunder God Technique; this powerhouse had run all the way here on his own two legs.
The Fourth Raikage quickly scanned the battlefield. The situation was under control. The figures on that strange statue were all phantoms. There were only three enemies on site!
Even without Ino's help, he wouldn't have been afraid.
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