The giant stone hands didn't just restrain the Human Path—they crushed it.
The body was pulled downward, slowly but relentlessly, dragged into the cracked earth. Rock ground against bone, chakra restraints tightening as the Human Path was swallowed by the terrain. It struggled, but the trap was too precise—crafted and timed perfectly.
Yet even as the Human Path was being entombed, it made one final, programmed gesture. With a burst of effort, it hurled the broken corpse of the Animal Path into the air—high and arcing toward Deva Path.
Nagato, controlling all six bodies remotely, made the decision instantly. There was no hesitation.
Sacrifice Human Path. Save Animal Path.
He understood the value of each body. The Human Path was replaceable—best information collector, yes, but useless in direct combat. The Animal Path, on the other hand, was a strategic keystone. Without it, there were no summons. No battlefield control.
Deva Path extended his arm.
Universal Pull.
The body of Animal Path, mid-air, jerked sharply toward him, yanked by invisible gravitational force.
But then—everything stopped.
The pull ceased mid-motion, interrupted. The Animal Path's body froze in the air, hovering just short of Deva Path's reach.
Inoiki.
He had seized control of the corpse using his psychokinesis, locking it in place mid-air like a fly caught in invisible webbing.
And that wasn't all.
From every direction, the short swords previously flung away by Almighty Push suddenly reversed course. They rocketed back toward Deva Path—silent, fast, controlled by Inoiki's will.
Deva Path's eyes shifted, tracking the incoming threat. With the Animal Path locked mid-air and swords converging like a metal storm, he had no choice.
Almighty Push.
A second shockwave burst outward, repelling the swarm of swords again—but it cost him. More chakra burned, more time lost, and now the battlefield's tempo was firmly under Inoiki's control.
Nagato's strongest body was being forced into defense.
And the balance had begun to tilt.
Inoiki wasn't done.
He knew the mechanics of the Almighty Push—knew its flaw. There was a cooldown, a moment of vulnerability right after its use when the Deva Path couldn't access Almighty Push again shortly.
So he'd planned ahead.
Unseen by the combatants below, a few of Inoiki's short swords had been held back—suspended high in the sky, far above the battlefield, hidden from immediate perception. And the moment Deva Path unleashed his second Almighty Push, Inoiki made his move.
The sky-born blades dropped.
They fell fast and silent, aimed with lethal precision toward the Deva Path, who was still recovering from his chakra-intensive repulsion.
But Nagato's coordination was not so easily outmanoeuvred.
All Paths of Pain shared vision—what one saw, all saw.
The Asura Path and Naraka Path immediately registered the descending blades. That awareness transferred instantly to Deva Path, who reacted without hesitation.
He moved—fast—retreating backward, away from the incoming projectiles and in the same direction he had just blasted the other swords.
But Inoiki wasn't relying on a straight shot. The moment Deva Path began to move, Inoiki reasserted full control. The swords falling from above curved midair, shifting course like guided missiles, tracking their target with psychokinetic precision.
It became a deadly aerial chase.
Sensing the threat hadn't been fully neutralized, Asura Path responded. Panels on its mechanical arm snapped open, revealing a series of mini-missile launchers. In rapid succession, it fired—each missile locked onto one of the descending swords.
Boom—Boom—Boom.
The collisions lit the sky for a brief instant. Each missile met its mark, striking the airborne swords and sending them spiraling off-course.
Inoiki narrowed his eyes.
The timing had been perfect. The tactic was sound. But the Akatsuki's coordination—especially through Nagato—was tight, precise, and reactive. Even with the Deva Path's vulnerability exposed, the other Paths filled the gaps with ruthless efficiency.
All of this—every attack, every counter—had taken less than five seconds.
Deva Path rose slightly into the air, his body levitating just above the battlefield. From this elevated vantage, he extended his arm.
Almighty Push.
This time, the repulsive force was widespread—stronger and more calculated. All of Inoiki's scattered short swords were within range now, and with a single pulse of power, the shockwave blasted through the field. Every sword—whether embedded in stone, floating midair, or lying dormant—was thrown violently away, spinning into the distance like shrapnel.
There was no resistance.
Deva Path sensed it instantly.
Inoiki had relinquished control.
And he was right.
At that exact moment, Inoiki stood still—eyes unfocused, body slightly tense. His psychokinetic control had faltered. His grip on the battlefield had slipped, not due to an external attack, but because of something internal.
A sharp throb pulsed through his mind, and then—images.
Flashes.
Disjointed but vivid.
He saw himself—injured, lying broken on the ground, blood on his lips. Overhead, a massive sphere of stone and earth hovered in the sky like a miniature moon—dense, suffocating. And standing beneath it… Deva Path.
Alone.
The corpses of Asura Path and Naraka Path lay ruined at his feet.
The visions repeated—looping, haunting—over and over in rapid bursts.
Then, just as suddenly, they vanished.
The pain subsided, and the haze lifted.
Inoiki blinked, regaining control. His focus snapped back, and with it, every sword, shard, and suspended object on the battlefield reactivated—twitching, then rising into formation once again under his psychokinetic will.
But it was just in time.
The Asura Path was already closing in, barreling toward him with full momentum, weapons deployed. Inoiki tightened his grip on the sword in his hand, his stance shifting as he prepared for close combat.
Yet, even as he readied himself, his mind remained partially gripped by what he had just experienced.
What were those visions? They never happened. At least… not yet.
Did I see the future? Was that my end?
He gritted his teeth and shook the thought from his head.
"No," he muttered. "Even if it was... it changes nothing. Right now, I fight."
And with that, he braced for impact.
Asura Path charged forward, his body shifting mid-run.
With a burst of mechanical transformation, additional limbs unfolded from beneath his skin—until he had six arms in total. Two more heads extended from the sides of his neck, each one expressionless and lifeless. The Akatsuki cloak he had worn was now in tatters, ripped apart by the transformation, exposing his bare, reinforced upper body—more weapon than flesh.
But Inoiki didn't flinch.
He rushed in to meet the assault, sword in hand. The blade in his grip pulsed with a sky-blue glow, saturated with condensed psychic energy. The air around it shimmered from the sheer force being channeled through it.
Their first strike clashed hard.
Asura Path's coiled, barbed blade—wrapped around his torso like a living whip—snapped forward, meeting Inoiki's blade in a screech of steel on steel. The impact rang across the battlefield.
Simultaneously, Asura Path launched a coordinated attack with all six fists—striking from multiple angles, an overwhelming storm of blows.
But Inoiki was ready.
A transparent barrier of psychokinesis flared around him in an instant, just inches from his skin. The punches landed one after another, each blow marked by a flash of pressure against the shield, but the barrier held.
Where the strikes connected, the shield glowed faintly—and cracked faintly—but remained intact.
Then came the counter.
Inoiki's sword surged forward with another strike. The psychic energy behind it intensified, and the barbed blade of the Asura Path, though reinforced, couldn't match the force. The impact sent the mechanical monster skidding backward across the rocky ground, dragged by the sheer momentum of the blow.
Inoiki saw the opening.
Without hesitation, he surged forward to finish it—his sword raised, aura blazing with momentum.
But just as the final strike was about to land, a black-clad figure materialized in front of him—Naraka Path.
Its sudden appearance cut off Inoiki's advance. The two weapons collided—Inoiki's glowing blade clashing against the black chakra rod wielded by Naraka Path.
Sparks flew.
Inoiki's pursuit was halted—for the moment.
But the momentum was shifting—and Inoiki was far from done.
----
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