An strong repulsive force surged from the Deva Path's palm. Yet, Isshiki simply raised his hand as well, and a unique pulse emanated from his palm.
The repulsive force of the Almighty Push vanished significantly upon contact with this unique pulse. Fortunately, it wasn't completely neutralized, some of the force still reached Isshiki, and his body was thrown backward.
But it was no longer enough to cause any real damage.
'The Almighty Push actually failed.' Nagato's eyes narrowed, his focus becoming sharper than ever before. He finally understood the meaning behind Naruto's earlier warning about the risk of a total wipeout if they were careless.
Just one brief exchange had broken the Akatsuki's formation and injured several core members.
Isshiki's strength was indeed formidable.
However, Nagato's attack wasn't completely futile. While the Almighty Push hadn't harmed Isshiki, it had successfully signaled the start of their counterattack.
"Dance of the Crescent Moon!"
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
A black and a white figure shot forward, a katana and palms simultaneously striking toward Isshiki.
*Clang!*
A black longstaff appeared in Isshiki's right hand, effortlessly blocking Sasuke's katana. Isshiki leaned back slightly, evading Neji's attack, then his left hand snapped shut on Neji's wrist, immobilizing him.
With a powerful throw, Isshiki sent Neji flying, then followed up with a swift strike of the staff, forcing Sasuke to retreat as well.
"That black longstaff is a product of Yin-Yang Release," Nagato observed, recognizing the black rod in the opponent's hand as originating from the exact same source as the Black Receivers he used to control the Six Paths of Pain.
"Mortal, you have some knowledge." Isshiki's tone carried a condescending attitude, like a god looking down on struggling ants.
'Mortals? Me?'
Nagato, who considered himself a god, froze for a moment upon hearing Isshiki's arrogant words.
"You looking down on us?" Kakuzu performed a kip-up, leaping to his feet from the ground. Due to the unique nature of his body, he wasn't particularly afraid of taijutsu, while injured, it wasn't a fatal blow.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage,"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness,"
"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work,"
"Water Release: Water Formation Tent,"
"Earth Release: Earth Spear"
His hands flew through a series of hand seals, unleashing five ninjutsu of different natures in one breath, all aimed directly at Isshiki.
Each one possessed considerable destructive power.
"Kakuzu is pissed," said Hidan, who had also gotten up. This guy was spraying blood everywhere but charged at Isshiki, scythe in hand, as if nothing was entirely wrong.
"You broke my Hiruko." Sasori's true form, a red-haired youth, emerged from the shattered puppet shell. With a slight movement of his right hand, he tossed out a scroll.
A puppet of a blue-haired, middle-aged man then appeared before Sasori.
The Third Kazekage puppet.
"Pay me back with your life!"
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle"
A wave of iron sand, like a dark tidal wave, crashed down upon Isshiki with overwhelming force.
'Hmph!' Isshiki paid no mind to the attacks from these individuals. He merely raised his hand slightly, and a miniature black hole formed in his palm, sucking in Kakuzu's terrifying five-element ninjutsu attacks completely.
He then backhandedly kicked Hidan, sending him flying back again.
Compared to Isshiki, Hidan's taijutsu was truly insignificant.
'Hmph!' Faced with the sky-filling rain of iron sand needles, Isshiki let out a scoff. A massive vortex immediately appeared before him, swallowing all the lethal needle rain.
Spatial Ninjutsu.
After using several powerful abilities in succession, Isshiki began to breathe slightly heavily. This body's physical constitution was far too poor.
Unfortunately, those present had no intention of giving him a chance to catch his breath. A giant Eight Trigrams diagram manifested on the ground, and a white figure transformed into a bolt of lightning, arriving right in front of Isshiki.
"Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!"
"Sukunahikona!"
Isshiki's body rapidly shrank, allowing him to deftly and easily evade Neji's sweeping attacks with his nimble stature.
Just as he intended to launch a counterattack, the assault from the second person arrived.
Under the Mangekyo Sharingan's visual prowess, Isshiki's diminutive figure was perfectly locked on.
Sasuke Uchiha closed in on Isshiki, who had shrunk his body, placing his palm on a thick, black weapon.
"Rod Extraction Jutsu!"
"Iai, Smash!"
Isshiki was sent flying like a baseball.
A perfect home run.
Even with Isshiki's robust physique, that sheer impact made blood trickle uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth. His body then returned to its original size.
Behind him, a figure had been waiting there for some time.
Sasuke hadn't struck randomly, he had a meticulously planned attack trajectory.
That figure was Kisame, shouldering Samehada.
*Ptooey!* First, a bloody glob of phlegm was spat toward Isshiki, who dodged it with a disgusted sidestep.
At the exact same time, the massive Samehada's attack arrived.
'Samehada isn't for cutting, it's for shaving!'
Kisame swung hard at Isshiki.
Isshiki sidestepped again, easily avoiding the deadly swing. Kisame showed no regret at missing, instead, he grinned. Isshiki suddenly felt a chunk of his chakra vanish abruptly.
His chakra had been forcefully absorbed.
"Looking to die?" Isshiki felt a flicker of genuine crisis for the first time. Chakra was his life source. Killing intent surged from him, and black chakra instantly enveloped his right fist as he threw a brutal punch at Kisame.
Even Kisame would be severely injured or killed if he took that fierce blow.
Just as Isshiki was about to hit Kisame, a bald figure blocked the path, meeting Isshiki's fist head-on with an iron fist of its own.
The Asura Path!
"Thanks, boss!" Kisame seized the opening created by the blocked attack, swinging Samehada at Isshiki again. Another portion of his chakra was aggressively stripped away.
"Get lost!"
Isshiki slapped the Asura Path aside and moved to kill Kisame, but the Human Path and Preta Path joined the fray.
Kisame grinned, timing his strike perfectly. Samehada came down once more, stealing yet more of Isshiki's precious chakra.
*Burp!* After the third theft, a tongue suddenly emerged from the top of Samehada's blade, letting out a satisfied belch.
"This guy's chakra reserves are huge. Samehada's full after just three hits." Kisame chuckled as he retreated from the combat zone, quickly rejoining the other Akatsuki members.
As chakra flowed from Samehada's blade, Kisame's injuries visibly healed at a rapid pace.
"Hold on, I'll top up everyone's chakra."
As Kisame spoke, Kakuzu, Hidan, and Sasori jolted in unison. A blue chakra aura rose around each of them, restoring them to full health, chakra, and combat readiness.
Well, except for the shattered Hiruko, that one really couldn't be fixed.
Samehada's distinct ability was to steal chakra and transfer it to its wielder. Kisame used this to distribute the chakra stolen from Isshiki among the others, replenishing them and healing their injuries.
Individually, none of the Akatsuki members were a match for Isshiki. But when they fought cohesively as a team, they were truly formidable.
They could tank, deal damage, support, heal, push objectives, and unleash incredible explosive power.
Especially with an all-rounder like the Six Paths of Pain leading the team. Even if the other five paths were destroyed, as long as the Naraka Path remained, he could perfectly repair them all.
If it were Isshiki's actual body, rather than parasitizing Jigen's body, he naturally wouldn't fear the combined attacks of the entire Akatsuki, he might even completely ignore them. But being stuck in Jigen, a mortal, would die for real if killed.
After all, a certain big shot who wanted to become an ally of justice once said, people die when they are killed.
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