"Shinra Tensei!"
The Deva Path of Pain quickly retreated as his chakra exploded outward. In an instant, the flames that had been consuming his entire body were blown away by the powerful repulsive force.
The sudden burst of fire had not discouraged Nagato from continuing his test, but this time he wouldn't allow the Deva Path to get too close to the blazing mountain.
Konan's brow furrowed with concern. "We're still several hundred meters away from those flames. How can the temperature be this intense?"
"The Flame Mountain constantly releases terrifying heat. That area is far too dangerous to approach carelessly," Nagato replied, his voice steady despite the situation.
The sight before them was indeed overwhelming. Konan had always maintained complete confidence in Nagato's abilities, but witnessing the sheer power of this Flaming Mountain caused doubt to creep into her mind for the first time.
Perhaps Shihouin Naraku wouldn't be as easy to defeat as they had initially thought.
"Shinra Tensei!"
This time, the Deva Path aimed his palm directly at the Flaming Mountain itself. The terrifying repulsive force erupted instantly, sending a massive shockwave blasting toward the sea of flames.
The barren wasteland, already scorched beyond recognition by the incredible heat, was torn apart by the hurricane-like force. Gravel and chunks of earth flew through the air as a clear chasm appeared in the ground, extending all the way to the base of the Flaming Mountain.
The blazing flames proved unable to resist this tremendous force and were instantly scattered and blown away, leaving a huge, obvious gap in the sea of fire.
However, as soon as the Deva Path lowered his hand, the ocean of flames that covered the entire mountain began to surge violently. The gap filled itself in the blink of an eye, and the fires grew even higher and more intense than before.
Nagato and Konan, observing from their position further back, saw this scene clearly. Though they had expected Shinra Tensei wouldn't be entirely effective, neither had anticipated it would prove completely useless.
The energy contained within this sea of fire was simply too powerful. Hoping to extinguish it using Shinra Tensei alone was nothing more than a foolish dream.
Growing somewhat frustrated, Nagato controlled the Deva Path to attack once more.
"Shinra Tensei!"
"Shinra Tensei!"
"Shinra Tensei!"
Every five seconds, the Deva Path would unleash another powerful Shinra Tensei. The terrible repulsive force carved clearly visible, wide chasms across the wasteland with each blast.
But that was all the attacks accomplished. The flames surged like ocean waves, filling each gap caused by the assault in the shortest time possible.
What made matters worse was that as the number of attacks increased, both Nagato and Konan began to feel the temperature around them rising rapidly. It wasn't their imagination.
Even the Deva Path found himself retreating step by step, moving further away from the Flaming Mountain, though his relentless attacks never ceased.
"That's enough, Nagato," Konan advised with growing concern. "If you retreat any further, you'll be completely out of attack range, and the power of Shinra Tensei will be greatly reduced."
Hearing this, Nagato had no choice but to control the Deva Path to stop his assault. The distance was indeed becoming too great, and there was no point in continuing this particular test.
But at that precise moment, disaster struck.
The sea of fire that blanketed the entire mountain seemed to have been angered by the Deva Path's repeated attacks. The terrifying energy that had been building and accumulating finally began to release itself.
A clear, piercing bird cry echoed across the wasteland, and from within the sea of fire, a massive red phoenix was born. The dancing crimson flames formed a pair of magnificent wings that flapped once, creating a powerful hurricane that swept across the area.
The beautiful phoenix spread its wings wide, soared high into the sky, and circled majestically above the sea of fire.
Then the raging flames below began to riot completely. They spewed forth toward the Deva Path's location as scalding air spread outward and the fires from across the entire mountain began to gather and concentrate.
"What's happening?" Neither Nagato nor Konan had expected such an unexpected development.
Seeing the massive wave of flames rushing toward him, the Deva Path quickly retreated to avoid the attack. At the same time, the rapidly rising temperature once again set his tattered Akatsuki cloak ablaze.
"Shinra Tensei!"
While the Deva Path used his repulsive force to blow away the flames consuming his body, he also blasted away the waves of fire that were sweeping over him. The next second, an even larger sea of fire with greater momentum came crashing down upon him.
The phoenix soaring high in the sky flapped its magnificent wings and dove downward at tremendous speed, targeting the Deva Path directly.
As the beautiful divine bird beat its wings, dazzling fireballs appeared throughout the sky and began falling like a devastating rainstorm.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The Deva Path moved with incredible speed. Even though the sea of fire and the rain of fireballs attacked him simultaneously, he managed to dodge each assault.
Though the situation was undeniably embarrassing, he had indeed avoided being struck directly.
The phoenix swooped down with red flames dancing brilliantly across its wings.
"I've been waiting for you!" the Deva Path roared. "Shinra Tensei!"
Repulsive force exploded outward as a whistling shockwave rose into the sky like a tidal wave, instantly striking the phoenix's body.
The attack was so powerful that most of the phoenix's form was blown apart. Flames danced through the air, creating a display as beautiful and spectacular as exploding fireworks.
If this had been a normal living creature, such a blow would have definitely eliminated its ability to resist.
But the phoenix was not a normal form of life. It was merely a spirit born from the sea of fire itself. It possessed no consciousness, no soul—the only thing it contained was the violent essence of flame itself.
The Deva Path dodged with lightning speed as the half-destroyed phoenix crashed into the ground below.
A violent explosion erupted like a devastating blast, with terrifying energy pouring out in all directions without discrimination.
At the same time, another sea of fire spread outward from the impact point.
The explosion and the rapidly expanding flames connected together, and the growing sea of fire instantly swallowed the Deva Path completely.
"Damn it!" Nagato cursed through gritted teeth.
"No!" Konan cried out in distress.
Both watched helplessly, but it was far too late to do anything to help.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The repulsive force suddenly erupted from within the flames, causing the earth itself to shake. The powerful force pushed away the sea of fire, forming a circular gap in the center of the inferno.
But the sea of fire continued surging forward, attempting to fill the gap, though it was temporarily held back by the continuing repulsive force.
This time Nagato didn't dare take any chances. The Deva Path leaped upward quickly, and after the five-second cooldown period ended, he used his repulsive force to launch himself directly into the air and away from the deadly sea of fire.
The Deva Path's escape didn't mark the end of the assault. The enraged sea of fire continued roaring and releasing infinite energy, rushing outward for nearly a thousand meters before it finally began to gradually subside.
The ocean of flames seemed to be retreating as the gorgeous fires began shrinking back toward the Flaming Mountain. The raging inferno never completely stopped, as if it were gathering strength for the next explosive attack.
"Damn it all!"
Nagato suppressed the anger that had nowhere to be vented as he looked at the Deva Path, who had fallen before him. This puppet, created from his dearest friend's body, had suffered extremely serious damage.
Even though the flames hadn't lasted very long, the Deva Path's entire form had been severely burned.
His left shoulder and arm had been completely reduced to ashes. The portion below his left knee had disappeared entirely. Large numbers of red marks and blisters covered the surface of his skin, and some areas were completely charred, leaving behind brown and black cracked folds.
Most importantly, the Deva Path's face had been completely burned beyond recognition. His original appearance could no longer be seen.
"Yahiko!" Konan cried out in anguish, looking at her dear friend's miserable condition. The sight brought back unbearable memories from their painful past.
Though Konan didn't blame him directly, Nagato couldn't hide his deep regret. He had been too confident, too arrogant in his approach.
He should have abandoned the attempt the moment his puppet first caught fire. It was his own stubbornness that had caused these irreparable consequences.
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