One of the key conditions for mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique is proficiency with throwing weapons.
Minato was skilled in that regard as well, and when he saw Itachi's kunai return mid-air, he immediately threw his own marked kunai toward Deva Pain.
However even after hearing the unusual sound behind them, suggesting that the eight kunai Itachi had thrown carried some hidden trick, Deva and the Preta Pain made no move to counter the incoming projectiles from behind.
This caught Minato off guard. But what was done could not be undone.
Preta Pain not only ignored the kunai flying toward him from behind, but his slightly rotund body suddenly lunged toward the kunai Minato had thrown.
Even as Itachi's kunai pierced Preta Pain's back first, it did not stop his momentum in the slightest.
Deva Pain remained motionless, also ignoring the kunai from behind, aligning himself directly in a straight line with the Preta Pain.
This abnormal behavior made Minato tense, but he did not abandon his plan.
"There are two enemies, taking out one is good enough."
Minato vanished in a flash as he ran at high speed. In the next instant, he reappeared directly in front of Preta Pain, holding a Rasengan three times larger than normal, pressing it toward the opponent's face.
His marked kunai had already reached ahead of him, piercing Preta Pain's chest, yet Preta Pain's expression didn't change at all. His hands continued to reach forward without pause.
Minato furrowed his brows. The Rasengan in his hand came within a finger's length of Preta Pain's face, only for the chakra forming it to suddenly vanish, as if it had been sucked away, and the Rasengan disappeared completely.
"What?!"
Minato was shocked and immediately realized that this strange opponent could absorb jutsu.
After sealing away the Rasengan with the absorption technique, Preta Pain's movement didn't stop. His hands reached inward, attempting to trap Minato in a bear hug.
But Minato's reflexes were lightning-fast. Before Preta Pain's arms could even touch him, Minato had already vanished again.
"Annoying pest," Nagato said coldly. Minato was like an eel, slippery and impossible to grab, which was both irritating and troublesome.
Nagato manipulated Deva Pain to reach out toward Preta Pain, who was aligned directly in front of him.
Banshō Ten'in!
An irresistible force acted upon Preta Pain's body.
With a wave of Deva Pain's arm, Preta Pain floated into the air, controlled by an invisible force. He drew a half-circle through the air from the right side, and was flung toward the Konoha shinobi who were fanning out to surround Deva and Preta Pain.
When they saw Preta Pain flying through the air, the surrounding Konoha ninja immediately grew alert. Minato, who had returned to a safe position, also took note of Deva Pain's movement right away.
He quickly deduced that Preta Pain's aerial movement was caused by Deva Pain's ability.
"Not only can he repel objects and chakra with repulsive force, he can also control people at will? It's possible the target cooperated with the technique, but there's a good chance this move can be used on enemies as well. The question is, to what extent?"
"Whether it's repulsion or this control ability, both have already exceeded the realm of normal ninjutsu. And that ability to instantly absorb a Rasengan… the chakra in that attack wasn't small, yet it was swallowed up immediately. Is this the power of the Rinnegan?"
"Also… those two both took hits from kunai and didn't react at all. Could it be…?"
Minato's thoughts raced as Preta Pain, now flung through the air like a yo-yo, closed in on the surrounding Konoha shinobi.
But Preta Pain wasn't just being used as a blunt weapon, under Nagato's control, he activated the Preta Pain's chakra absorption ability mid-flight.
With his large frame flying erratically, Preta Pain slammed into a Konoha jōnin.
The target didn't react slowly, he leaped sideways and narrowly dodged the airborne Preta Pain.
But Preta Pain suddenly stopped mid-air, then reversed course, slamming into the jōnin's back.
Under Deva Pain's control with Banshō Ten'in, Preta Pain's flight path could change at will. And there was no concern that sudden stops or turns would damage Preta Pain's body, he was an ideal well-controlled weapon.
When Preta Pain struck the Konoha shinobi, the man immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood. Instead of being sent flying, he was stuck to Preta Pain, unable to break free.
"What…?"
The unlucky ninja who was hit hadn't even recovered from the collision when he realized chakra was rapidly draining from his body, being sucked into Preta Pain.
Once locked onto a target, Preta Pain, still under Deva Pain's control, acted like a predator that had smelled blood. He locked onto another opportunity and began moving in a straight path that would allow him to hit ten Konoha shinobi in one sweep.
"Don't let him touch you! He'll absorb your chakra!"
The dying Konoha ninja used the last of his strength to shout this warning, then his head slumped, and he fell silent.
Having all your chakra drained results in death.
Chakra absorption is a highly practical killing move. Compared to Ye Zi's soul-based chakra conversion technique, this one was even more efficient, directly absorbing the target's chakra for use.
It was quite similar to Kisame's ability.
However, the chakra Preta Pain absorbed couldn't be efficiently transferred back to Nagato. So even though the move drained chakra, Nagato didn't gain much from it. Its primary use was simply to kill.
If Nagato used the technique himself, he could remove some of the target's chakra and absorb most of the remainder for his own use.
After hearing the dying comrade's shout, the surrounding Konoha shinobi immediately focused their minds—but Preta Pain's movement, guided by Banshō Ten'in, was erratic and hard to predict.
Soon enough, five more Konoha ninja were caught in the same trajectory Nagato had identified, meeting the same grim fate.
Six bodies were now compressed into a single mass by the suction force, yet Preta Pain's flight speed did not slow at all.
Seeing six of his comrades fall, Minato's gaze turned ice-cold. His marked kunai had struck the puppet-like man, and since that man's ability was absorbing chakra, teleporting close using Flying Thunder God wouldn't pose much danger.
However, Minato was cautious. He didn't recklessly use Flying Thunder God to get close, he had assessed that Preta Pain absorbed chakra extremely quickly. Even a brief moment of contact might result in him losing some of his own chakra.
That was a risk he could not afford.
The key was still Deva Pain, the one controlling Preta Pain.
Minato quickly swiped both hands across his weapon pouch, and when he steadied his stance, he was already holding another marked kunai.
At that moment, without warning, black flames suddenly ignited on Deva Pain's body.
"What's this?!"
Seeing the black fire, everyone except Shisui was shocked, including Nagato.
"Itachi…" Shisui immediately turned to look at Itachi.
He saw that Itachi's eyes had transformed into Mangekyō Sharingan. His right eye was wide open, bloodshot with veins bulging, an unsettling sight.
As Shisui looked on, blood trickled from Itachi's right eye.
At this critical moment, Itachi had not hesitated to use the Mangekyō's dojutsu...
Amaterasu.
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Currently on Chapter 584 - Marching Toward Death