From the palm of the Deva Path Pain, an indescribable repulsive force surged forth. Yet, to everyone's shock, Jigen also raised a hand—strange ripples emanated from his palm.
The repulsion of Shinra Tensei met that ripple and was diminished by more than half. Though not completely negated, only a fraction of the force carried through, enough to knock Jigen back but causing him no real harm.
Shinra Tensei… ineffective? Nagato's eyes narrowed, his expression sharpening with unprecedented seriousness. At last, he understood the meaning of Naruto's earlier warning—that even the slightest misstep could lead to total annihilation.
In just a single exchange, Jigen had scattered Akatsuki's formation and injured several members.
His strength was undeniable.
Yet Nagato's attack hadn't been in vain. Though it hadn't harmed Jigen, it signaled the start of their counteroffensive.
"Dance of the Crescent Moon!"
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Two figures, one dark and one pale, rushed forward. A blade and an open palm struck at Jigen in tandem.
Clang!
A black staff materialized in Jigen's right hand, effortlessly parrying Sasuke's blade. He leaned back slightly, evading Neji's strike, then seized Neji's wrist with his left hand, immobilizing him. With a casual toss, Neji was flung aside. In the same instant, Jigen's staff swept outward, forcing Sasuke to retreat.
"That black staff… it's a product of Yin–Yang Release," Nagato observed, recognizing it immediately as akin to the black receivers he himself used through the Deva Path.
"Not bad, mortal. You have some knowledge." Jigen's tone dripped with superiority, like a man gazing down upon ants.
Mortal? Me?
Nagato, who had always regarded himself as a god, was momentarily stunned at being addressed so.
"You looking down on us?" Kakuzu suddenly sprang up from the ground like a carp, his unique body allowing him to shrug off injuries that would cripple others. Though battered, he was far from finished.
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage! Lightning Release: False Darkness! Fire Release: Head Mincing Pain! Water Release: Water Curtain Tent! Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
His hands blurred through seals, unleashing five different elemental techniques in rapid succession, each with formidable power, all directed at Jigen
"Old man Kakuzu's pissed," Hidan cackled as he rose too, bloodied but unfazed. Scythe in hand, he charged recklessly toward Jigen.
"You broke my Hiruko." Sasori's true body, the red-haired youth, emerged from the shattered puppet. His right hand flicked, unfurling a scroll.
With a puff of smoke, the puppet of the Third Kazekage stood before him.
"You'll pay for that!"
"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"
Waves of iron sand cascaded down like a storm, blotting out the sky as they crashed toward Jigen.
"Hmph." Unfazed, Jigen simply lifted a hand. A miniature black hole blossomed in his palm, swallowing Kakuzu's torrent of five-element jutsu in an instant.
Then, with a casual kick, he sent Hidan flying once again. Compared to Jishen, Hidan's taijutsu was laughable.
"Hmph!" As the iron sand rained down, Jigen snorted, and a massive vortex appeared before him, devouring the storm entirely.
A space–time technique.
After unleashing several abilities in succession, Jigen's breathing grew faintly heavy. This vessel's body was far too limited.
But the others had no intention of letting him catch his breath. A massive Eight Trigrams diagram bloomed across the ground, and a white figure flashed forward like lightning.
"Eight Trigrams: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!"
"Sukunahikona!"
Jigen's body shrank rapidly, his form suddenly agile and nimble as he slipped through Neji's onslaught with ease.
Just as he prepared to counter, a second attack arrived.
"Existence Analysis." Under the gaze of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Sasuke locked perfectly onto Jishen's diminished form.
He closed in, hand pressing against one of Jigen's massive black weapons.
"Art of Extraction!"
"Iai—Strike!"
Jigen's body was sent hurtling through the air like a baseball.
A home run.
"Kh—!" Even with his unnatural endurance, blood trickled from the corner of Jigen's mouth. His body swelled back to its original size.
And waiting where he landed—was Kisame, already poised with Samehada.
"Pteh!" Kisame spat a bloody glob of phlegm straight at him. With a look of disgust, Jigen dodged aside—only for Samehada's massive blade to swing down.
"Samehada isn't for cutting—it's for shaving!" Kisame roared, slashing at Jigen.
Jigen shifted just enough to avoid the strike, but Kisame only grinned. At once, Jigen felt a chunk of his chakra ripped away.
Samehada had absorbed it.
"Damn you!" For the first time, Jigen felt a flicker of danger. His chakra was his very lifeblood. Murderous intent surged, and black chakra engulfed his right hand as he drove a fist straight toward Kisame.
That blow would surely kill or maim even someone like him.
But before it landed, a bald figure interposed itself, answering with a crushing punch of its own.
The Asura Path of Pain!
"Thanks, Leader!" Kisame grinned. Seizing the moment, he swung Samehada again, siphoning away even more chakra.
"Get out of my way!" Jigen roared, backhanding the Asura Path aside and lunging once more at Kisame—only for the Human Path and Preta Path to close in, intercepting him.
Kisame chuckled darkly, timing it perfectly as Samehada sheared off another massive portion of chakra.
Burp.
At the third feeding, Samehada's maw opened wide, tongue lolling out as it let out a satisfied belch.
"This guy's chakra is insane. Only three bites, and Samehada's already full," Kisame laughed, withdrawing quickly to regroup with the others.
The blade hummed with stolen chakra, and Kisame's injuries visibly began knitting shut.
"Hold on, I'll top the rest of you off."
True to his word, blue chakra surged outward, flooding into Kakuzu, Hidan, and Sasori, restoring their strength. In moments, they were back at full capacity—though Hiruko, shattered, could not be repaired.
That was Samehada's gift: to steal chakra and transfer it to its wielder—or even share it with allies. Kisame had turned Jigen's stolen life-force into fuel for his comrades.
Individually, none of them could match Jigen. But together?
They were formidable.
Tank, damage, support, healing, siege, and explosions—Akatsuki's lineup had it all.
And with the Six Paths of Pain as their all-purpose raid leader—even if the other five bodies were destroyed, as long as the Naraka Path survived, they could all be restored.
If it were the true Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, riding inside Jigen's body, such attacks could be ignored entirely. But for Jishen, a mortal vessel of flesh and blood, death would mean death.
After all, as one would-be hero of justice once said—
"When people are killed, they die."