The Fourth Raikage's greatest pride lay in the unparalleled speed and power he could unleash when combining his Lightning Release: Chakra Mode.
With such explosive power, he believed there were few in the ninja world who could stand against him!
Even in terms of speed, he always thought no one could surpass him.
Perhaps Minato Namikaze was an exception, but that man had been dead for over a decade. The Raikage had assumed no one else could rival him in speed.
But now, a seemingly unknown, yet terrifyingly powerful brat had appeared out of nowhere!
Not only had this brat mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, but also...
"He's learned my taijutsu as well?"
The Raikage's eyes widened as he watched Kitagawa Minamoto's figure flash, his body radiating dazzling lightning as he suddenly appeared beside the orange-haired man.
Then, Minamoto assumed the standard stance for the "Lightning Oppression Horizontal" technique.
Though the brat used a short blade instead of his hand, the stance was unmistakable!
"That damned brat..."
As the Raikage seethed with a mix of anger and shock, Minamoto's short blade slashed downward.
Boom—!
With a deafening roar, the ground beneath them split into a massive crack!
Minamoto raised an eyebrow. Before him, a wall of piled rubble had appeared out of nowhere, blocking his attack and giving Pain a chance to counter.
"Universal Pull?"
Minamoto immediately understood. Pain had pulled a mass of stones from the ground to shield himself.
"Looks like you've come prepared."
Seeing Pain charging at him, Minamoto rushed forward to meet him.
Clang—!
Clang—!
Clang—!
In an instant, their figures flickered through the forest, clashing repeatedly.
The White Fang short blade and Pain's black rods collided, producing ear-piercing metallic screeches.
As their Chakra output intensified, the metallic clashes turned into thunderous booms.
The surrounding trees snapped under the shockwaves of their battle, and the ground cracked like a spiderweb, spreading fractures in all directions.
With the dual enhancements of Lightning Release: Chakra Mode and Sage Mode, Minamoto's speed reached an unimaginable level!
For the first time, he felt his speed had reached such heights.
"And I don't have to worry about my eyes failing to keep up with my speed."
Kakashi, before acquiring the Sharingan, had nearly killed himself using the Lightning Cutter because his eyes couldn't keep up with his speed.
But Minamoto had no such problem. His vision was crystal clear!
"Still, Pain's taijutsu and physical durability are surprisingly strong."
As Minamoto launched a relentless barrage of attacks, he couldn't help but muse.
He knew this was Jiraiya's handiwork, and Pain's body had likely undergone modifications.
In his memory, no matter how much rampaging Naruto had beaten on Pain, it didn't seem to affect him.
Only after a Rasengan finally hit did Pain stop moving. Minamoto figured there were two possibilities:
One, Nagato had run low on Chakra after such a prolonged battle.
Two, the Rasengan had disrupted the Chakra flow within Pain's body, leaving Nagato unable to respond in time—especially since Naruto had quickly pulled out the black rods.
"Didn't Naruto himself say that pulling out those black rods renders Pain immobile?"
Regardless, Minamoto was confident he could handle the Deva Path Pain.
"After all, I know your secrets!"
Buzz—
With a sudden surge of Chakra, Minamoto threw several kunai and instantly flashed to Pain's side.
His White Fang short blade, crackling with purple lightning, slashed toward Pain's neck.
"Universal Pull!"
Pain had been on guard. The moment Minamoto moved, he crouched and pressed his hand to the ground.
Immediately, several massive rocks were pulled from the earth, forming a barrier around him.
But then he looked up sharply, noticing a kunai flying over his head.
In the next instant, a figure appeared, and a surge of Chakra erupted!
"Almighty Push!"
A powerful repulsive force exploded outward, sending Minamoto flying just as he emerged.
However, the purple figure twisted gracefully mid-air, landing steadily on a broken tree trunk.
"Your techniques are useless against me."
Pain didn't pursue. Instead, he spoke coldly.
"I've seen through you, brat."
"Is that so?"
Minamoto tilted his head, then smirked.
"But I'm curious about something.
When we encountered Obito Uchiha in Kirigakure, he was pretending to be Madara Uchiha.
And he's part of your organization.
Do you know his true identity?"
"You're about to die, and that's what's on your mind?"
Pain shook his head, his voice indifferent.
"Does it matter who he is? No, it doesn't.
What matters is what he can bring to us.
Whether he's Madara Uchiha or some nobody like Obito Uchiha, it's all the same to me.
So your question is meaningless."
"I see."
Minamoto nodded. That matched his expectations.
Obito's wanted posters were everywhere. As someone who had interacted with Obito, Nagato couldn't possibly not have doubts.
But whether he suspected or not didn't matter. What mattered was that neither he nor Konan had ever trusted Obito.
Obito's vision of peace involved trapping everyone in a dream world to create a new, ideal reality.
Nagato, on the other hand, sought to crush the entire world with his own power, becoming a "god" to enforce peace.
Using overwhelming force, he would ensure there was no resistance, no war.
Even if enemies remained, they would be his alone.
"A god, huh?"
For some reason, Minamoto suddenly recalled an old Gundam series he had watched long ago.
The characters in that series seemed to share similar ideals.
"Are you done with your questions?"
Pain, sensing the time was right, spoke coldly.
"Then it's time to move on.
I'm sorry, but like Jiraiya-sensei, you've walked the wrong path. You—"
"Wait. I think you're mistaken about something."
Before Pain could finish, Minamoto suddenly grinned.
"I have the Flying Thunder God Technique. I can come and go as I please.
Do you really think you can stop me?"
"..."
Pain raised an eyebrow, momentarily speechless.
"Besides, I think I've figured out your abilities: manipulating repulsive and attractive forces, right?"
Minamoto tilted his head, his smile unchanging.
"On top of that, I've discovered two little secrets.
First, the cooldown between your techniques—it's five seconds, isn't it?"
"..."
Pain's expression didn't change, but his eyes betrayed a hint of unease.
"You're cautious, constantly deflecting my Flying Thunder God kunai and relying on weapons to fight me.
You clearly don't want me to touch you, which means you've learned your lesson."
As Chakra surged around him, Minamoto continued calmly.
"But I've been observing and testing your jutsu, using the Flying Thunder God to probe the timing of your cooldowns.
I think I've got it figured out."
Of course, Minamoto was bluffing. This was all to unsettle Pain.
"Most importantly, I've noticed something odd about your Chakra.
Those black rods are constantly transmitting external Chakra into your body, which means..."
Whoosh—!
Before he could finish, Minamoto suddenly charged forward, appearing right in front of Pain!
"Hmph!"
Pain didn't dare use his jutsu recklessly. He countered with a black rod, stabbing toward Minamoto.
But the moment he struck, Minamoto dissolved into a surge of electricity!
"A Lightning Clone? When did he—"
Before Pain could react, countless kunai appeared around him, multiplying into thousands through Chakra manipulation.
The rain of kunai engulfed Pain completely.
At the same time, Minamoto emerged from the ground behind him.
As his blade swung, his voice reached Pain's ears—and Nagato's, far away.
"This is just a puppet.
Do you know why I've been dragging this out for so long?"
"It's because I've been searching for your true body!"
"Guess what?
I think I've found it..."
While Minamoto and the Deva Path Pain fought fiercely, chaos erupted elsewhere.
(End of Chapter)
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