Chapter 488: A Strike from the Shadows
Hotaru stood to the side, stunned. She did want to spend the rest of her life shamelessly with Utakata, but not with a ghost! This situation was far beyond anything she could have anticipated.
Her worldview and outlook on life had been shattered. It would take some time to rebuild them.
She didn't know how to handle their relationship, and her heart was in turmoil.
It had to be said, Tsunade was a rather wise old woman. She had been young once herself and knew that young people needed some time to think when they encountered someone like Ino, who didn't play by the rules.
She took it upon herself to ask Utakata many questions.
Where was he attacked? How many enemies were there? What were their specific attack methods?
Utakata was also eager to escape the awkward situation and answered everything he knew.
He described the abilities of the Six Paths of Pain's Rinnegan: Universal Pull, Almighty Push, various summons, chakra absorption, and the Asura Path's missiles and laser cannons.
"During the battle, I clearly killed the one who uses summoning jutsu and the one who devours chakra. But just before I lost consciousness, I saw them miraculously revive. I suspect there's some special connection between the six of them. They probably need to be killed at the same time."
Utakata shared his analysis.
In truth, his strength was not to be underestimated.
To be ambushed by the Six Paths of Pain and, fighting alone, manage to destroy both the Animal Path and the Preta Path was a remarkable feat.
Tsunade recorded this important information. On the other side, Hotaru had also come to terms with her own feelings.
Whether he was a man or a ghost didn't matter. She just loved Master Utakata. What was wrong with that? Before, it was a forbidden love. Now... it was still a forbidden love! There was no difference at all!
Ino made a piece of soul-nurturing wood for her.
Utakata could rest inside it during the day and come out for a stroll at night.
The process was less than ideal, but the result was good. At least, Ino thought it was a good result. It was better than Hotaru foolishly waiting for a man who would never return. This is good. You two can live happily ever after like this.
Land of Rain.
The boss, the Six Paths of Pain, had personally gone out to capture the Six-Tails jinchuriki. Feeding the Six-Tails to the Gedo Statue was one reason; the other was to deal with Ino.
Ino was too great a threat to Akatsuki. To eliminate her, Nagato had also put in a great deal of effort.
Nagato, Zetsu, and Kabuto, a three-way alliance, had formulated a battle plan.
Chakra was omnipotent, and sealing jutsu was omnipotent. Even someone as powerful as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki could be sealed. After scouring ancient texts, Nagato had finally found a way.
Those who are good at swimming often drown. Nagato would kill Ino in the area she was best at!
At this point, the Gedo Statue had already extracted all the chakra from the Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and Six-Tails, as well as parts of the One-Tail and Two-Tails.
Kabuto and Akatsuki had formed a temporary alliance. He had even given Akatsuki the Eight-Tails' horn that Orochimaru had cultivated back in the day, completing a piece of the Eight-Tails puzzle.
Zetsu emerged from the ground. He took out a vine that still had life in it from his robes. It contained Ino's Wood Release chakra.
"As you requested, I took this small piece of plant during their battle. It should be enough, right?" Zetsu asked.
Pain nodded. "Thank you for your trouble. Leave the rest to me."
Zetsu disappeared.
The Gedo Statue had already recovered some of its power. As the summoner, Pain had a degree of control over it.
With a thought.
The tall and sturdy figure, the Naraka Path, began to draw a summoning formula.
As the Rinnegan's ocular power was infused, the ground churned and melted like hot oil. Soon, an energy being wearing magnificent purple robes, with a golden "King" character on its forehead and eyes that were also ripple-patterned Rinnegan, emerged from the summoning formula.
It was the King of Hell!
He was once the ruler of the underworld. After being defeated by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, a spiritual imprint of the Rinnegan was branded onto his soul. Any ninja who used the Rinnegan could control him, summoning and dismissing him at will. His own abilities had become part of the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique. A truly tragic figure.
The Naraka Path summoned the King of Hell, and the Tendo Path controlled the Gedo Statue. The Gedo Statue slowly pressed one of its shackled hands onto the King of Hell's head.
The King of Hell began to tremble violently. The sound of invisible metal chains snapping echoed in the air.
The King of Hell was in great pain. A large amount of irregular purple crystalline matter overflowed from his mouth and nose. He was resisting, but with the Rinnegan's spiritual imprint inside him and the Gedo Statue's pressure outside, he had no choice but to go against the duties given to him by this world and use a forbidden jutsu that would harm both himself and others.
"Outer Path: Samsara of Life and Death Technique!"
The King of Hell opened his mouth wide, and the Animal Path forcibly stuffed the vine containing Ino's Wood Release chakra into it.
The King of Hell slowly closed his mouth until not even a sliver of a gap could be seen. Only then did he return to his calm state.
This was not a resurrection, but a slaughter, a forbidden jutsu that deprived the living of their life.
As the former ruler of the underworld, doing this was a great harm to his very existence. But Pain didn't care. Why would I care about the thoughts of a "tool"? What a joke!
The Samsara of Life and Death Technique, using the Wood Release chakra as a source, quickly traced its way back through time.
At this moment, on the other side, Tsunade was still advising Hotaru and the others that it would be best for them to hide, as the ninja world was about to become chaotic.
Ino, bored, had picked a blade of grass from the roadside and was poking Tonton's nose with it.
Tonton tried to escape her demonic grasp, but she held onto the pet pig's little tail, poking and prodding with the blade of grass.
"Ohohoho—" Ino let out the laugh of a great demon king.
As she was laughing, she suddenly felt an aura, so cold it chilled her to the bone, surround her. It seemed to be chakra, but also not.
What is this? She instinctively turned her head. Before she could identify it, it was as if a "hook" appeared in the aura and latched onto the back of her neck.
She had no time to react. A vortex appeared out of thin air and sucked her in. This was ultimately not a forbidden jutsu cast with the King of Hell's own will, so it wasn't very precise. As it pulled Ino in, it also took Tonton along for the ride.
In the vortex of negative energy, Tonton squealed "oink, oink!" Ino was also caught off guard; she had no idea what this was.
Whatever the enemy wants to do, I can't let them succeed.
Since someone wants me dead, I will live!
Ino used her Yin Release chakra to resist the corrosion of the negative energy on her body's cells while taking out her Shinigami Rosary.
With a crack, one of the beads was crushed.
Two of the criminals still repairing the "house" on the Shinigami's end died on the spot without a sound.
Danzō: "???"
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