"Guess what—have I found it or not?"
As Kitagawa Minamoto's figure appeared, Pain's body seemed to stiffen slightly.
He truly hadn't expected that after just one encounter with this brat, his secrets would already be exposed.
Was this brat's analytical ability really this terrifying?
"Konan, we're preparing to retreat."
Nagato made a swift decision. Although he didn't think he couldn't handle the situation, his current immobility was a fatal flaw.
Moreover, Konan was right beside him!
If he were alone, he might not have cared about what Minamoto was planning.
But Konan might not be able to deal with that brat, even though she could fly. Nagato couldn't allow any accidents to happen.
Once, there had been three of them. Now, only he and Konan remained. Nagato had long vowed to protect her at all costs.
"What's going on? Is it really that troublesome?"
"It is troublesome, but..."
Nagato shook his head, intending to explain, but his expression suddenly changed drastically.
"Damn it!"
On the battlefield, faced with the countless kunai raining down and Minamoto suddenly appearing behind him,
even though his mindset had been shaken, Pain, under Nagato's control, still calmly countered.
"Almighty Push!"
The overwhelming repulsive force instantly scattered all the kunai and sent Minamoto, who had appeared behind him, flying in the blink of an eye!
"This..."
But when Pain saw Minamoto, who had been sent flying, suddenly smile before turning into a Shadow Clone, he immediately realized something was wrong.
"Now, how many seconds do you have left?"
The voice came from afar. In the blink of an eye, Minamoto had appeared behind Nagato, using the taijutsu he had learned from the Fourth Raikage combined with his blade to strike!
"Damn it! He left a mark underground?"
Recalling how Minamoto had been chatting nonsense with him earlier, Nagato realized that the brat had been setting up all along.
He had been completely outplayed by this kid!
"One second!"
The blade came down. This time, Pain couldn't react in time, and the blade slashed across his back!
However, Pain used the force of the blow to propel himself forward, speeding away.
"Two seconds."
Just as he flew forward, several kunai shot toward him again, and Minamoto had already formed a hand seal.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Universal Pull!"
Pain immediately raised his hand, pulling up another massive rock from the ground to block in front of him.
However, just as the rock rose, it was shattered by a single slash. In the next instant, Minamoto appeared behind Pain.
"Three seconds."
Boom—!
A punch infused with purple lightning struck Pain's body, sending him flying like a meteor!
"This brat..."
The Fourth Raikage swallowed hard. Although the two had fought their way into the distance, he had followed to see what the brat was up to and to figure out some of the chaos.
But what he saw was Kitagawa Minamoto utterly dominating a member of that mysterious organization.
The constantly flickering figure made the Raikage's heart tremble.
"Minato Namikaze..."
He still couldn't forget that man, who had single-handedly fought two Kage-level opponents and left them utterly disoriented.
And now, another one had appeared!
But looking at Minamoto's short blade and his white hair, the Raikage suddenly remembered something.
"Rumor has it that the Second Hokage created the Flying Thunder God Technique and was also skilled with blades, not to mention his white hair?"
Before the Raikage could dwell on it, Minamoto's figure suddenly flashed, and a Shadow Clone appeared beside him.
Both figures held Chakra spheres in their hands, a sight that instantly reminded the Raikage of something.
"Rasengan? No, wait—the colors are different!"
The two Rasengan in Minamoto's hands were distinctly different in color—one white, one black.
Before he could process this, the next moment left him completely stunned.
"Four seconds."
Without a sound, without any resistance, as Minamoto's voice rang out, the two Rasengan in his hands smashed into Pain's body!
"Damn it!"
Pain, seeing Minamoto suddenly appear behind him, immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
But there was no time to think. With no other paths available and no additional bodies brought to the battlefield, Nagato could only pour out an even greater surge of Chakra to defend himself.
In an instant, a blue Chakra barrier enveloped Pain's body, but Minamoto's two Rasengan pressed down relentlessly.
Buzz—!
The clash of extreme forces erupted in an explosion of light, turning the dark night into day.
A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky, and roaring flames consumed everything around them!
The ground trembled, and countless cracks spread outward like a web.
"Damn it!"
The immense shockwave sent the Fourth Raikage flying. He smashed through countless trees before finally crashing into a massive boulder, shattering it upon impact.
Fortunately, his body was strong enough that, even with his Chakra sealed, he could still protect himself.
But his expression darkened as he stared ahead, now certain of one thing.
"That brat definitely left a Flying Thunder God mark on me. There's no doubt about it..."
Recalling his first encounter with Minamoto, when the brat had bided his time until the last moment to strike, the Raikage felt a chill run down his spine.
He suddenly remembered something his father had once said about a certain Hokage and couldn't help but wonder:
"Is this brat planning to take me out?"
The Fourth Raikage wasn't afraid of death, but if he were to die, he'd rather go down in battle than be taken out through trickery!
What the Raikage was thinking, Minamoto didn't know.
By now, he had created enough distance and was observing Pain's condition through his Byakugan.
In his vision, the Deva Path Pain lay in a pool of blood. His clothes were completely torn, and half his body had been obliterated!
The black rods infused with Yin-Yang Release were scattered everywhere.
"Looks like it's over."
Seeing this, Minamoto finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Taking on a single Pain, especially with sufficient intel, wasn't too difficult for him.
But if all six Paths of Pain had been present, things would have been much more complicated.
"Especially Nagato after being revived with Impure World Reincarnation—now that guy is terrifying."
Minamoto thought of how Nagato, even when "borrowed" by someone else, had still managed to overpower both Naruto and Killer Bee.
The thought made him both wary and eager.
"But for now, let's focus on finding someone."
As he pondered, Minamoto pulled out a fragment of a black rod he had just removed from Yahiko's nose.
As for Yahiko's body, Minamoto had no intention of taking it. It was better to leave it as-is to mess with Nagato's mindset.
Holding the black rod, he closed his eyes and began to sense.
Moments later, his expression turned peculiar.
He looked up at the sky and muttered to himself:
"Running away so fast, huh?"
(End of Chapter)
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