Tendo Pain observed Shihouin Naraku emerging from the flames with mild surprise, though not complete shock.
Intelligence about Naraku's Fire Release mastery had spread throughout the shinobi world, making his immunity to explosions and flames entirely conceivable.
"Summoning Technique!"
"Summoning Technique!"
The Animal Path's voice echoed from afar as Naraku immediately released his own summoning technique, calling forth the Sky Comet Dragon.
"ROAR!"
Upon materializing, the Sky Comet Dragon spread its wings and bellowed furiously.
The dragon's oppressive might erupted instantly like a hurricane, bending all surrounding flora under its overwhelming presence.
Due to their telepathic connection, the Sky Comet Dragon flapped its wings and charged toward a giant wolf the Animal Path had just summoned, requiring no special commands from Naraku.
Both creatures immediately engaged in fierce combat.
What kind of summoning beast is this?
Both spectators and Nagato observed the Sky Comet Dragon's tremendous display with confusion. Its appearance seemed unusual—unprecedented in the shinobi world.
So powerful!
The giant wolf and Sky Comet Dragon collided, whereupon the wolf was instantly knocked down. Before it could recover, the Sky Comet Dragon's jaws clamped around it tightly.
This summoning beast appeared ready for elimination after mere contact.
The Animal Path, recently rescued by the Naraka Path, continued forming seals to quickly execute more summoning techniques, attempting to call forth additional creatures to cooperatively handle the Sky Comet Dragon.
Naraku glanced briefly before dismissing the scene. Given the Sky Comet Dragon's power, defeating summoning beasts would prove trivial—it hadn't even exerted one percent of its strength yet. More impressive displays would follow.
"So your puppet can repair others automatically?"
Naraku raised his blade, pointing toward the retreating Naraka Path in the distance.
Nagato appeared extremely cautious—to prevent the Naraka Path's destruction again, he was rapidly moving it away from the battlefield.
However, at this distance, hoping to withstand his attacks remained pure fantasy.
Tendo Pain remained silent. His arms had been severed, requiring immediate restoration opportunities.
When fighting others, even armless, Tendo Pain's strength wouldn't be severely compromised.
But Shihouin Naraku was different. Any factor affecting combat effectiveness would be exploited for complete victory.
Therefore, Tendo Pain required repairs!
Yet the Naraka Path couldn't approach the battlefield too closely, or it would face instant destruction.
Earlier, the Naraka Path had managed repairs only by taking advantage of Shihouin Naraku being affected by explosions, completing hurried restorations.
So they needed methods to restrain Shihouin Naraku!
The next second, except for the Deva, Naraka, and Animal Paths, other puppets charged frantically under Nagato's control.
Being puppets anyway, casualty concerns were irrelevant—these entities completely disregarded life and death!
Whoosh, whoosh...
Countless flame-trailing missiles bombarded Naraku first.
Simultaneously, the Asura Path's body produced obvious mechanical sounds as its cloak fell away. It directly transformed into a three-headed, six-armed creature with extremely long, sharp serrations extending from its back—resembling Sasori's puppet Hiruko's scorpion tail.
This was the Asura Path's mechanical puppet form. Nagato had transformed its entire body into a dangerous combat weapon.
As expected, Sasori, observing the distant battle, showed bright eyes upon seeing the Asura Path's full revelation.
He loved this puppet craftsmanship!
"Eh? Why does it look like Big Brother Sasori's puppet? His art was obviously great before—the explosions creating fire were art. What's good about puppets? Hmm!"
Sasori turned, giving Deidara a murderous glare.
"Shut up!"
The two had quarreled repeatedly over artistic philosophy.
Others ignored them, primarily because Shihouin Naraku and Pain's fierce battle captured everyone's attention.
Even casual observation revealed their leader was disadvantaged.
When Pain had fought Jiraiya and Orochimaru previously, he hadn't seemed so desperate—rather quite relaxed.
But now everything differed. Pain fought with maximum effort, fearing accidental elimination by Shihouin Naraku.
Despite the leader's complete focus, multiple puppets had been sliced apart by Shihouin Naraku's blade within moments.
Continuing this way, they would definitely need to join the battle, fighting alongside their leader against Shihouin Naraku.
But no one felt surprised. After all, Shihouin Naraku's fame was legendary, with renowned nicknames circulating throughout the shinobi world—"God of the Shinobi World," "Phoenix," and others.
Even arrogant Akatsuki members didn't consider victory against such opponents unfair.
Because they couldn't win—they would die.
Under these circumstances, ganging up on Shihouin Naraku seemed only natural!
Slash!
Naraku surged forward blade-first, slashing at the Deva Path before him. The sharp edge tore through air with piercing whistles.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Bang!
Kurikara clashed fiercely against the pale barrier formed by repulsive force. Naraku gripped his weapon single-handed as violent power poured through it.
The Deva Path's mouth gaped open, frantically outputting chakra while attempting to repel Naraku with repulsive force.
The stalemate between them seemed prolonged but lasted merely one second before the repulsive barrier shattered under the blade!
The repulsive force failed to launch Shihouin Naraku away, and due to force interaction, the Deva Path was helplessly propelled backward.
Clang!
With metallic resonance, Naraku swung his sword at the Deva Path's retreating figure. Crescent-shaped blade energy erupted, slashing toward the airborne form.
Naraku didn't sheath his weapon but slightly pivoted, dodging the Human Path's grasping hand while striking the opponent's palm downward with his blade's handle.
Under this assault, the Human Path couldn't maintain balance and began falling.
Naraku raised his knee, striking the opponent's face directly as crisp bone-breaking sounds echoed.
Kurikara flipped through air as Naraku gripped it reverse-handed, lowering his body slightly to pass beneath the Human Path while the sharp blade swept across the opponent's neck.
By the time Naraku had steadied himself, the Human Path's body had been torn apart, falling behind him.
Whoosh—
Flames ignited on the dismembered Human Path corpse. The fire grew with wind, covering the entire body within moments and reducing it to ash in extremely short time.
Naraku flicked Kurikara clean as dancing flames on the blade extinguished.
This prevented the Naraka Path from repairing these puppets again, ensuring Naraku wouldn't waste time repeatedly eliminating Pain's Six Paths.
Even though he had just pulverized the Naraka Path, who knew if Nagato could restore it—complete incineration remained safest.
"So powerful!"
The Konoha shinobi's eyes widened. Watching Shihouin Naraku fight versus watching Jiraiya fight created completely different sensations.
When observing Jiraiya partnering with Orochimaru against enemies, they'd worried about Jiraiya's safety.
But now everyone simply hoped Pain's Six Paths wouldn't die too quickly, or they couldn't continue watching such exciting battles.
Primarily, everyone could see that Shihouin Naraku fought very easily and comfortably, while enemies had tried their utmost without harming Naraku at all—meaning the strength gap was enormous.
Additionally, sometimes battles between Shihouin Naraku and Pain's Six Paths became too intense and fast for most present to follow their speed.
Of course, Naraku maintained the upper hand.
So they needn't worry. Besides, with their strength, if even Shihouin Naraku couldn't handle these opponents, they were even less likely to succeed.
Hmm?
What is that?
Jiraiya watched intently when suddenly noticing Yahiko's opponent seemed to release something from his hand.
It was black and appeared round...
Too distant for clear observation—Jiraiya could only glimpse vague details.
"Pervy Sage, something seems to be flying skyward?"
Uzumaki Naruto had also been watching the battle, naturally seeing the Deva Path apparently release some technique, throwing a black sphere into the air.
"I saw it too. Don't worry—Naraku is closer, so he must have noticed as well."
Even from such distance, he and Naruto could observe it—Naraku, being nearby, certainly hadn't missed it. Jiraiya felt no concern whatsoever.
However, the Konoha shinobi felt somewhat confused. They found it difficult maintaining pace with Naraku and the Deva Path's battle rhythm and speed, so they hadn't noticed the Deva Path's technique-releasing movements.
Shihouin Naraku, at the battle's center, naturally observed the Deva Path's actions. Moreover, with advanced Observation Haki covering the battlefield, nothing escaped his detection.
"It seems Nagato is prepared for a final desperate struggle. This timing is excellent—I've handled the other five Paths, leaving only the Deva Path. This way, Nagato can concentrate all power into the Deva Path, and the force he can exert will actually be stronger."
Naraku felt no concern whatsoever. Under Observation Haki coverage, the black sphere formed by concentrated chakra rapidly ascended skyward.
As the black sphere reached its destination, powerful gravitational force far exceeding the Deva Path's Universal Pull suddenly descended from above.
Crack!
Before Naraku could be drawn skyward by gravity, the ground began shaking violently as spider-web cracks continuously spread and deepened, extending in all directions.
Soon after, numerous plants, trees, rocks, and soil began rising airward. Everything on earth could no longer maintain position and could only be pulled upward by inescapable gravitational force.
Rumble, rumble...
As skyward gravitational force intensified, ground tearing accelerated with large land chunks being separated.
Even gravity's range expanded rapidly, spreading to surrounding areas.
"Get out of here!"
"Move!"
Realizing danger, Akatsuki members immediately retreated as everyone leaped away.
Despite quick reactions, escape was nearly too late. Planetary Devastation's released gravity grew stronger—the moment they stepped forward, ground tore apart as they flew airward.
However, these individuals possessed tremendous power, and quick reactions prevented gravitational influence.
Conversely, Jiraiya's group faced much better circumstances.
They were distant from the battlefield, and unless Planetary Devastation developed to final stages, few would be affected.
Of course, Jiraiya immediately recognized this technique's danger and led his team in rapid evacuation, moving beyond gravitational range to avoid later effects.
Fight observers on both sides faced minimal threat, as the primary target remained the Deva Path targeting Shihouin Naraku, with no intention of involving others.
At the battle's center, Shihouin Naraku experienced maximum impact. Gravity continuously tore at his entire body, attempting to pull him skyward for sealing.
Clang!
"Getsuga Tensho!"
Kurikara suddenly slashed skyward as pitch-black blade energy condensed, tearing through air and rushing toward Planetary Devastation's core.
Throughout the path, all gravity-pulled objects couldn't block the ultimate sharp blade.
With mere eye movement, Getsuga Tensho broke through obstacles, striking fiercely against the enormous spherical core.
By this time, the core had been surrounded by massive amounts of rock, flora, trees, and soil, forming a planet-like sphere suspended in the sky.
If Planetary Devastation's formed sphere were slightly larger and positioned much higher, people with poor vision might mistake it for the commonly observed moon.
Bang!
Boom, boom, boom...
Blade energy transformed into a dragon, roaring as it rushed into the sphere, freely unleashing incomparable power as if intending to cleave heaven and earth.
Hmm?
Deflected?
Naraku, standing on the ground holding his black blade, looked upward with slight regret. Large amounts of matter were continuously absorbed by gravity and converging toward the sphere, indirectly affecting the blade energy's path and causing Naraku's failure to shatter Planetary Devastation with one strike.
That was close!
The Deva Path nearly lost expression control. He hadn't expected Naraku to avoid being pulled skyward by gravity, instead nearly reversing the situation to slice apart the enormous sphere formed by Planetary Devastation.
What kind of power is this?!
Nagato never imagined witnessing someone nearly destroy the Planetary Devastation he'd expended such effort to create with a single sword strike.
This shock was rather overwhelming.
Fortunately, Shihouin Naraku hadn't succeeded—otherwise, the consequences would have been catastrophic!
Naraku stood opposite, observing the Deva Path, his body weighted like a thousand pounds. Regardless of how terrifying the overhead gravity became, it couldn't affect him.
Even ground spanning dozens of meters around him remained intact without any collapse signs.
Beyond this range, vast land tracts were torn apart and lifted skyward.
"Are you worried?"
A smile appeared on Naraku's lips, as if seeing through the sky to witness Nagato's guilty conscience.
"Then I'll show you what real power looks like!"
The next second, Naraku raised his blade as Kurikara's tip pointed straight skyward!
"Kurikara—Acala!"
BOOM!
Thunder struck with lightning speed, instantly illuminating the dark environment that had been shrouded by gathering storm clouds.
Flames collected into seas wrapping around his body, lightning flashed and roared, violent winds howled and swept upward...
A towering, blue-black war god stood between heaven and earth!
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