Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Just as the five remaining Paths of Pain focused their attention on the spatial ripple beside the Human Path, they completely failed to notice the true killing intent blooming behind them.
Five faint distortions rippled through space at the same time.
Hell Path.
Preta Path.
Animal Path.
Asura Path.
And even the Deva Path.
Time and space shuddered.
Uchiha Kai's figure appeared like a ghost behind them—silent, abrupt, unreal.
There was no excitement in his eyes.
Only anticipation.
With Flying Thunder God combined with Phantom Body Flicker, there was no need for a "one-by-one" approach.
He wasn't here to whittle them down.
He was here to erase them—simultaneously.
Below, Jiraiya stumbled back several steps when he sensed that familiar spatial fluctuation, his pupils shrinking violently.
"That's… Flying Thunder God…"
His hands, which had just come together again, unconsciously loosened.
"Minato… that brat's Flying Thunder God…"
For a brief moment, the battlefield faded from his mind.
All he could see was a blond-haired youth with a bright, reassuring smile—someone who had once shouldered the world alone.
Regret surged in his chest.
If he had been in the village back then… no matter what, he would never have let Minato face everything by himself.
Strangely enough, he didn't even feel the burning pain in his backside anymore.
Only bitterness remained.
Not far away, Itachi's focus landed elsewhere entirely.
His Mangekyō spun wildly as he stared at the five overlapping figures of Kai.
Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't tell which one was real.
His mind involuntarily recalled another figure.
Shisui…
"This is Shisui's Body Flicker…?"
Flying Thunder God for positioning.
Instantaneous movement to create overlapping afterimages.
Five attacks launched at once.
"So that's it… to counter the shared vision of the Rinnegan."
The thought sent a chill through him.
He looked at Kai.
Then at the six emotionless faces of Pain.
A bizarre realization surfaced.
Why does it feel like… Kai already knows exactly how Pain fights?
Like someone running a dungeon with a walkthrough.
High above, the Deva Path turned calmly.
"Afterimages?"
His voice was cold, disdainful.
"A mortal attempting to deceive a god. Laughable."
He extended one hand behind him.
"Almighty Push."
The invisible force erupted.
Air compressed violently, collapsing inward.
But when the attraction seized the figure behind him, it barely wavered—like trying to grasp smoke.
Instead, a broken slab of stone behind it was ripped free and dragged forward.
"Hmph. Just a decoy."
The Deva Path lost interest.
But at that instant—
The other five figures moved.
Their small bodies leaned forward simultaneously.
Scarlet Mangekyō spun at terrifying speed, merging into blinding halos.
In front of them stood the remaining five Paths of Pain.
Space twisted.
Five visible vortices formed—collapsing, grinding, annihilating everything inside them.
Twin Kamui—Spatial Execution.
"—?!"
The Human Path realized something was wrong.
But before he could react, his head and upper body were caught by the warped space and twisted violently—
Crunch.
Flesh, metal, and fluid exploded outward.
The Preta Path spun around, arms spreading as he instinctively activated chakra absorption.
Too slow.
His arm was shredded instantly, followed by his chest—his body collapsing like brittle foam, erased without resistance.
The Hell Path reacted faster.
His hands had just begun to move.
Kai had been waiting for him.
Chains burst forth—golden, blazing with sealing chakra.
They pierced through his limbs and torso, pinning him in place.
A heartbeat later, the spatial vortex followed.
His neck twisted.
His head vanished.
The Animal Path didn't even get a chance.
Without summons, he was helpless.
Space closed in.
He was torn apart.
In the span of a single blink, four Paths were erased.
[Four Paths of Pain defeated. Legendary Trait acquired: Reincarnation Power (Purple) ×4]
[Fusion available. Proceed?]
"Fuse."
Kai didn't hesitate.
Time was everything.
Give Pain breathing room, and this would become an endless war of attrition.
That wasn't happening.
All of it—from the nano-scale Flying Thunder God markers to the execution with Twin Kamui—took less than a second.
A clean sweep.
The Deva Path's Rinnegan finally shook violently.
Rage displaced divinity.
"Damn it!"
"Mortal— you have angered a god!"
Repulsion surged again as he raised his palm.
"Almighty Push!"
At the same moment, the only surviving Path—Asura—locked onto Kai.
Mechanical eyes whirred.
Panels snapped open across his shoulders, chest, and ribs.
Dozens of cannon ports lit up crimson.
Energy gathered, enough to erase half a village.
Kai merely looked at them.
Calm.
Almost bored.
"Too slow."
His lips curled faintly.
"Seems sitting in a chair for too long made you forget how important speed is, Nagato."
The battlefield held its breath.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/SorenSwiftTL