Just as the Akatsuki closed in to surround him, the Animal Path began summoning without pause.
A series of massive creatures burst onto the battlefield in flashes of smoke—the Split Dog, Hell Crab, Yata Bird, Chameleon, Giant Rhino, Panda, and Centipede—each one pierced with black chakra receivers.
The summoned beasts roared as they surged forward together, launching a coordinated assault on Namikaze Kirito.
The Asura Path tore off its outer cloak, revealing its mechanical body. Six arms shot out at once, locking onto Kirito in an attempt to restrain him.
At the same time, the Preta Path lunged forward and pressed a palm against Kirito's chest.
A pale light flared.
The chakra inside Kirito's body was drawn out violently.
"The Six Paths of Pain… is this supposed to impress me?"
Even surrounded, Kirito's expression didn't change. Muscles tensed, and with a brutal burst of strength he ripped the Asura Path apart. Metal screeched as the body split in two.
He pivoted instantly and drove a punch into the Preta Path.
Boom!
The shockwave blasted it headfirst into the ground, cratering the earth.
"Dark Void!"
A dense black mist erupted outward. Every summoned beast nearby was dragged into the swirling darkness. The Akatsuki members leapt back to avoid being swallowed.
A moment later, when the last of the creatures vanished into the void, Kirito's cold gaze swept over his enemies.
"I'll return it to you. Liberation."
Boom!
The black smoke detonated. The shattered remains of the summoned beasts burst outward in an explosive wave of force. The violent pressure made the distant Akatsuki cloaks whip wildly in the air.
Kisame's lips curled into a fierce grin.
"Hahaha… what a monster you are, Namikaze Kirito."
Fear never reached his eyes. Even knowing the gap in their strength, he swung Samehada in a heavy arc.
But the great sword writhed in his hands, its bandaged body twisting in clear resistance.
Samehada was no ordinary weapon. The living blade, long associated with the Three-Tails Isobu, devoured chakra and fed it back to its wielder. It was the source of Kisame's title—the "Tailless Tailed Beast."
Yet now it trembled.
From Kirito, Samehada sensed the overwhelming presence of its former master. To it, the conclusion was simple: the enemy standing before them had defeated Isobu.
If the master had fallen, how could a subordinate rush forward without fear?
Kisame stared at the struggling sword, stunned.
"…So that's your choice, Samehada?"
He clicked his tongue and abandoned the blade's power, forming hand seals instead.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Wave!"
A torrent erupted from his mouth, swallowing the battlefield in an instant. A massive sphere of water engulfed Kirito completely.
No probing attacks—Kisame opened with a killing technique.
He plunged his arm into the water.
"Five Feeding Sharks!"
Five chakra sharks materialized and streaked through the swirling currents, fangs bared.
Beside him, Kakuzu stepped forward. Black threads unfurled from his back, forming a grotesque mass from which several masks emerged.
This was Earth Grudge Fear, the forbidden technique of Takigakure—granting him five hearts, five attributes, and five lives.
As long as one heart remained intact, he would not die. Old hearts could simply be replaced with new ones.
From his vantage point, Kakuzu aimed at the water prison Kisame had created. Three masks—wind, fire, and lightning—aligned along his right arm.
"Earth Grudge Fear: Final Shot!"
A devastating blast of chakra fired straight into the water sphere. Lightning spread instantly through the currents, turning the entire mass into a lethal cage of crackling electricity.
"Who said the Akatsuki can't fight as a team?" Kirito's voice rang out calmly from within.
He spread his arms.
A black vortex bloomed once more. The enormous water sphere was dragged inward at terrifying speed. Even Kakuzu's chakra blast vanished into the darkness, swallowed whole.
Pain's eyes widened.
He had just watched Kirito absorb ninjutsu—absorb chakra itself. Even the chakra-formed sharks were erased. That was unmistakably the ability of the Preta Path.
"How… is that possible?!"
Shock rippled through the Akatsuki ranks. Countering ninjutsu was one thing. But directly absorbing chakra was the power of their leader.
Kirito's figure blurred.
In the next instant, he appeared beside Deva Path Pain.
A movement drawn from the Six Powers—Soru. At its extreme speed, it was indistinguishable from teleportation.
Only Pain, with the Rinnegan, could trace the path of that motion. The others saw nothing. Kirito simply vanished and reappeared.
If he had chosen assassination instead of confrontation, any one of them could have been killed without ever realizing what happened.
Pain faced him, his expression as unreadable as ever—yet the air around him burned with fury.
"Don't be arrogant, Namikaze Kirito! Borrowing a fragment of my power does not place you on the throne of a god!"
"A god?" Kirito let out a quiet, dismissive laugh.
That title was nothing more than a dream Nagato clung to. The Rinnegan stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world—but power depended on its wielder. In other hands, its true potential had eclipsed even this.
Kirito's gaze sharpened.
Pain raised his arm.
"Namikaze Kirito… I will show you true pain!"
His palm thrust forward.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A crushing repulsive force exploded outward. Kirito crossed his arms to guard, but the blast hurled him high into the air.
Pain didn't hesitate.
"Chibaku Tensei!"
The earth answered with a thunderous roar.
Chunks of land tore free and rocketed upward, converging on Kirito. Soil and stone layered over his body, sealing him within an ever-growing mass.
The sphere expanded rapidly, swallowing him whole.
At last, a colossal orb hung suspended in the sky.
Legend said the Sage of Six Paths had once used this technique to create the moon itself, imprisoning Kaguya within it.
Though Nagato's version lacked that divine scale, the pressure radiating from the artificial satellite was still immense—heavy enough to crush mountains.
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