Pain’s Defeat and Escape

Once Pain’s abilities had been analyzed, Konoha’s elite Ninja, together with Ōnoki, found it much easier to deal with the remaining five Pains.

Whether it was the Deva Path, Animal Path, or Asura Path, the abilities of these three Pains could all be countered.

Hyuga Kiyomi and Hyuga Keita kept their Byakugan trained on Deva Path Pain. The moment he showed any sign of gathering Chakra to unleash Almighty Push, Hyuga Kiyomi would give an early warning, allowing the Ninja surrounding Pain to prepare in advance.

As for the ordinary Shinra Tensei, not only did it have a five-second interval, its repulsive force could also be weakened and defended against.

Earth Style Ninjutsu could weaken Shinra Tensei’s repulsive force, while Sarutobi Hiruzen’s Adamantine Staff could transform into a dense row of staffs for defense. Hyuga Kiyomi and Hyuga Keita could also use Revolving Heaven to neutralize the force.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm."

Hyuga Kiyomi and Hyuga Keita joined forces to unleash Air Palm. A far more terrifying Chakra blast struck just after Deva Path Pain had used Shinra Tensei, directly sending the Asura Path flying. The Asura Path’s ability to create weapons was indeed formidable, but it was heavily countered by the Byakugan. No matter what weapon he created, the Byakugan saw through it completely.

Furthermore, Revolving Heaven could be used for advance defense, and as Taijutsu Ninja, Hyuga Kiyomi and Hyuga Keita were extremely fast.

After the Asura Path was blasted away by the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, Hyuga Kiyomi charged forward at once. That Chakra blast had been powerful, but it had not completely robbed the Asura Path of his fighting strength, so Hyuga Kiyomi wanted to finish him off while she had the chance.

"Elder Kiyomi!"

Hyuga Keita’s heart skipped a beat. Pursuing a defeated enemy was something that should have been left to him, a Branch Family member. Elder Kiyomi was being far too rash!

"Banshō Ten’in."

Although Deva Path Pain’s Shinra Tensei was still on cooldown, he rarely used Banshō Ten’in. He could also alter the direction of gravity. As he pulled Hyuga Kiyomi toward himself, he formed a Black Receiver in his right hand.

"Air Palm!"

Seeing Hyuga Kiyomi in danger, Hyuga Keita immediately attacked Deva Path Pain with an Air Palm.

When Deva Path Pain saw Hyuga Keita attacking him with Air Palm, he gave up on killing Hyuga Kiyomi and directly unleashed Shinra Tensei, blasting both the Air Palm and Hyuga Kiyomi away!

Seeing Deva Path Pain use Shinra Tensei, Ōnoki immediately realized this was a good opportunity. He formed a white cubical barrier in his hands and shouted, "Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"

Ōnoki released his Ninjutsu extremely quickly. Although Deva Path Pain noticed what Ōnoki was doing after using Shinra Tensei, it was already far too late to evade completely.

One arm, one leg, and nearly half his body were grazed by Dust Release’s white beam and pulverized into atoms.

The Konoha Ninja Sarutobi Hiruzen had assembled were all elites among the Jonin. Combined with targeted intelligence and the Iwa-nin team’s division of the battlefield, it gave Nagato the feeling that although this was one battlefield, he had to split his attention five ways to handle enemies on several different fronts. The moment he diverted his focus to rescue another Pain, his opponents seized the opportunity.

This was completely different from fighting the Iwa-nin, and they were likely guarding against Deva Path Pain using Almighty Push as well.

"This operation will likely fail, but at the very least, I have to bring Yahiko back."

Nagato spoke with icy eyes. The other puppets did not matter, but the Deva Path was the one he could not casually abandon. Although Ōnoki had just destroyed half its body with Dust Release, once he brought it back, he could use the Naraka Path to repair Deva Path Pain.

The teamwork of Konoha’s Ninja squads was far too exquisite. The other Paths lacked sufficient offensive power, and under the assault of Konoha Ninja and Iwa-nin, they were already on the verge of collapse. Next, Nagato would have to focus entirely on controlling Deva Path Pain.

Under Nagato’s control, Deva Path Pain directly withdrew from the battlefield and floated into the sky.

Seeing this, Nara Shikaku’s expression changed slightly as he shouted, "Everyone, be careful! He may be about to use that large-scale Repulsion Technique from last time."

Both Almighty Push and Planetary Devastation required time to gather Chakra, but Konoha’s and Iwa-nin’s elite Ninja clearly would not give Nagato the time to prepare. Two pairs of Byakugan stared fixedly at Deva Path Pain. The moment he showed signs of gathering Chakra, the Konoha and Iwa-nin Ninja would take precautions.

"Keita, withdraw from the battlefield and keep reporting the Chakra condition of that Rinnegan."

After saying that, Hyuga Kiyomi charged straight toward the Asura Path.

"Yes, Elder Kiyomi." Hearing this, Hyuga Keita immediately used a Body Flicker to return to Nara Shikaku’s side and observed Deva Path Pain’s Chakra with his Byakugan.

His Byakugan could see farther than Hyuga Homura’s, allowing him to clearly observe the Chakra gathering inside Pain’s body.

As for the others, they took the opportunity to attack the remaining Pains with all their strength, hoping to eliminate all five in a short time.

Aside from the Deva Path’s repulsion and attraction, the only slightly troublesome abilities were the Animal Path’s Summoning Technique and the Asura Path’s summoned weapons. However, Shikaku had prepared targeted tactics for both of those Pains.

Without Deva Path Pain’s support, the other four Pains were all dealt with by the Konoha and Iwa-nin Ninja before long, then placed inside Sealing Scrolls.

"His Chakra is gathering. It has already exceeded what it was earlier—something is wrong. Commander Shikaku, this Rinnegan does not seem to be gathering Chakra on its own. It is being transmitted from somewhere else."

The meridians around Hyuga Keita’s Byakugan bulged as he stared unblinking at Deva Path Pain and reported to Nara Shikaku. After Deva Path Pain began receiving a massive amount of Chakra from Nagato’s main body, Hyuga Keita immediately noticed something unusual.

"Transmitted from somewhere else?" Nara Shikaku asked again with a grave expression.

"Yes. The Chakra is not being gathered by him. I am not entirely certain how it is being transmitted, but I can be sure that somewhere else is supplying Chakra to this Rinnegan."

Because the distance was too great, Hyuga Keita was not entirely sure what Deva Path Pain relied on to receive Chakra. If it had been Elder Kiyomi, she might have been able to see a little more clearly than he could.

Ōnoki was the only one capable of dealing with Deva Path Pain in the air, but once he reached high altitude, no one would be able to cover him, and Dust Release’s hit rate would become very low.

After eliminating the other four Pains, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately had all the Ninja retreat. Then, Ōnoki and the Iwa-nin created a Defense Line together. They not only summoned two rock giants, but Sarutobi Hiruzen also used Earth Style Wall and a barrier formed from the transformed Adamantine Staff.

These four layers of defense were Nara Shikaku’s trump card against Almighty Push.

"The attack is coming!"

Hyuga Kiyomi saw Pain in the sky suddenly release a massive amount of Chakra and immediately gave a warning.

Just as she finished speaking, a thunderous roar erupted from outside. Even within the pit that had been prepared in advance, everyone still felt as though a natural disaster had descended outside.

Sixteen Iwa-nin continuously supplied Chakra, maintaining the safety of the rock giants and the Defense Line.

Although they had already witnessed the power of Almighty Push once, facing it again still left Ōnoki, Nara Shikaku, and several Iwa-nin deeply uneasy.

Even a Tailed Beast’s rampage was not this troublesome. If not for the Konoha Ninja, Ōnoki felt that the Iwa-nin alone could never have dealt with Amegakure’s Rinnegan leader.

Under Almighty Push’s terrifying repulsive force, the two rock giants did not last long before they were destroyed. The Earth Style Wall Sarutobi Hiruzen had created was also shattered beyond recognition, but all of it was blocked by the Adamantine Staff. In terms of hardness, the Adamantine Staff could even withstand strikes from the Kusanagi Sword. Shinra Tensei’s repulsive force alone could not possibly damage it.

More than ten seconds later, once the rumbling and tremors outside had weakened slightly, Hyuga Kiyomi hurriedly said, "He is going to escape!"

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately released the Adamantine Staff barrier, then leaped out from the Defense Line with the others.

"Lord of Earth, pursue him through the air. We will follow—"

Before Nara Shikaku could finish, everyone saw Deva Path Pain fly only a short distance through the air before turning into a cloud of smoke and vanishing.

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned slightly and said, "Was that the Reverse Summoning Technique? Shikaku, should we search the surrounding area?"

Nara Shikaku frowned and pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "Forget it, Third Hokage. It will take time to assemble reconnaissance squads, and Jonin Kiyomi and Jonin Keita have already consumed too much Chakra."

Moreover, Nara Shikaku suspected that the Rinnegan using repulsion was not Amegakure’s true leader. Although the memories in Biwa Juzo’s mind and the importance the other Pains attached to Deva Path Pain indicated that this final Rinnegan Pain indeed held a great secret, Nara Shikaku could be certain that the Ninja who truly possessed the Rinnegan was someone else.

"Third Hokage, Lord of Earth, we should return and recover first, then uncover the secrets of these five corpses."

Nara Shikaku’s words made sense. Aside from the Third Tsuchikage and the Third Hokage, who still retained some fighting strength, everyone else was already breathing heavily. If someone had not been supporting Nara Shikaku, he would have collapsed to the ground.

He had continuously used the Shadow Secret Technique to create opportunities and harass Pain, which had placed no small burden on Nara Shikaku.

No one objected to Nara Shikaku’s suggestion. If they continued fighting, they could only take Soldier Pills, and they might not even find their enemy. It would be better to first extract valuable intelligence from today’s gains.

Afterward, everyone returned to the prearranged rendezvous point to receive treatment from the Medical-nin. During their battle against Pain’s Six Paths, everyone had sustained injuries. Hyuga Kiyomi had taken a full hit from Shinra Tensei and suffered two broken ribs. If not for her Medical Ninja Uniform, her injuries would have been far more severe.

After some simple treatment, Nara Shikaku had someone send the intelligence from this place back to the village and requested that Tsunade-sama dispatch intelligence analysts to the front line.

Sending the corpses back to the village would have been the best choice, but the Iwa-nin had also contributed to defeating the five Pains. They would certainly not allow the corpses to be sent back to Konoha, so Nara Shikaku could only request that Tsunade send more intelligence personnel to the front line to extract intelligence on site.