Outside Sunagakure Village
Under a sand dune, someone used earth-style ninjutsu to slip into a secret room.
Nagato sat here, with Konan standing guard beside him.
This location was relatively high, allowing Nagato to use the power of the Rinnegan to transmit chakra to the Six Paths Pain within Sunagakure Village.
Under Nagato's control, the Six Paths Pain had invaded Sunagakure.
Rockets appeared on Asura Path's body. As these rockets launched, flames engulfed the entire village.
"What's happening?"
Uzumaki Naruto, speaking with his close friend, was startled. Gaara stood up with a solemn expression.
"Unexpectedly, someone has invaded Sunagakure again!"
At that moment, Gaara was furious, his killing intent nearly tangible. He regained some of his former ruthless demeanor.
First Deidara, then Zenkichi, now someone else is here?.
With this current invasion, Sunagakure Village had endured three attacks within days.
All under his watch—it was a humiliating slap in the face.
Sunagakure was one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and cared deeply about its reputation.
If Sunagakure was destroyed again, its status would be reduced to that of the small shinobi villages.
Though its strength ranked lowest among the five, it was still a great ninja village.
Gaara and Uzumaki Naruto prepared to go out and teach the intruders a lesson.
Then they saw numerous beasts with circular eyes wreaking havoc throughout the village. These were Beasts from the Six Paths Pain.
These monsters were many and powerful, immune to pain and death, and served as the spearhead of the assault.
Upon their arrival, these beasts drained 90% of Sunagakure's forces, forcing ninjas to focus on stopping them.
If left unchecked, Sunagakure would soon be destroyed by these creatures.
Moreover, the beasts' size and ferocity made them especially deadly to civilians.
And civilians were the foundation of Sunagakure.
"Damn it!"
Gaara's expression darkened. Without hesitation, he wrapped a psychic beast's head in sand.
Using force, he crushed the beast's skull, turning it into white mist.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto's anger surged as he saw his friend's village under attack. He formed a Rasengan and launched it at a beast.
"Found them!"
Three of Pain's Six Paths approached.
Deva Path, Preta Path, and Asura Path—all powerful Pain warriors skilled in melee—advanced toward Gaara.
"The Akatsuki cloaks... Are you all members of the Akatsuki?"
Gaara stared coldly at the five Pains and shouted.
"Unexpectedly, apart from the One-Tail, even the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki are here."
"This is a surprise. I've been waiting for you."
Deva Path spoke indifferently. Asura Path immediately launched dense rockets toward the two Jinchūriki.
Absolute Defense!
Gaara used sand to form an absolute shield, barely blocking the rocket barrage.
The power of Asura Path's rocket attack was immense. Even Gaara struggled as a large section of his sand shield shattered.
"Be careful, this is not an easy opponent."
Gaara warned Naruto solemnly, fearing his friend might be caught off guard.
Naruto patted his chest confidently. "Don't worry, I'll definitely defeat him."
Naruto formed hand seals and activated his signature ninjutsu—the Multi Shadow Clone Technique.
Hundreds of Narutos appeared, roaring as they charged the three Pains.
Deva Path stepped forward, raising his palms toward the approaching clones.
Shinra Tensei!
A violent repulsive force burst forth, bombarding Naruto's clones.
The fragile shadow clones instantly shattered into white mist under the impact.
After destroying a group of shadow clones, the repulsive force weakened, lessening the attack on Gaara and Naruto.
Gaara's sand shield was destroyed by Shinra Tensei, and both he and Naruto were blown back.
At this moment, Hatake Kakashi led other Sunagakure ninjas rushing to aid them.
They had just defeated some beasts when they noticed the battle's fluctuations and hurried to support.
Meanwhile, countless white paper talismans condensed into small… kunai, flying toward Sunagakure's prison.
This Konan was not the true body but a clone.
Yet even as a clone, her near-elemental body allowed her to easily handle the guards.
Xiaonan wasted no effort, killing all Sunagakure ninjas on guard and found Deidara in dire condition.
"Konan? I didn't expect you to come save me. I thought I was abandoned!"
Deidara looked at Konan appearing before him in surprise. Konan released him expressionlessly.
"Pain is fighting outside. We should leave quickly."
Konan reminded Deidara, but he was reluctant.
"Pain is fighting. How can i run?"
"My clay should be nearby. I'll find it and assist Pain."
"I was attacked by some bastard last time. Sunagakure hasn't seen my art!"
Deidara shouted confidently and ran to find his clay.
Konan shook her head helplessly and followed him.
---
Outside Sunagakure Village
Villagers gradually fled as Sunagakure was reduced to a battlefield between Six Paths Pain and Gaara's forces.
Chiyo and Ebizo took action, but had no effective counter to Pain.
The Puppet Masters' main strength came from their poisons, but Pain was a puppet formed from six corpses.
Their poisons were useless against Pain, greatly reducing their threat.
Fortunately, their puppets were strong, with significant attack power.
Chiyo's Chikamatsu Ten Puppets and Ebizo's special puppets could all damage Pain's body.
This allowed them to maintain combat power when facing the Six Paths Pain.
But even so, they fought with great difficulty.
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