Bang—
A dense cloud of white smoke exploded. The third summoned beast, the Giant Armored Crab, vanished in a puff of smoke.
Swoosh!
A figure arrived in an instant.
Clank!
A long, slender hand firmly grabbed the hilt of the Kusanagi sword, which had been buried deep in the steel wall.
Having dealt with the three giant beasts in one go, Hong Zhong's aura was as steady as a deep pool, not a single strand of his hair out of place. He stood up, sheathed his sword, and spun it with a practiced, sharp flourish before doing so.
He then turned. Standing on the vertical steel wall as if on flat ground, his sharp, battle-filled black eyes, like a hawk's, looked down on the four figures waiting in ambush below.
Come on, Pain! Show me your limits!
The scene shifts to the depths of the Hidden Rain Village.
Inside a steel tower flanked by statues of human-faced asuras and strange beasts, sparse, lead-gray light filtered in. It cast long shadows from the doorway, barely illuminating the two figures in the center of the quiet room before fading.
One figure stood, the other sat.
The one standing behind was the same "angel" with clear blue hair that Hong Zhong had first encountered, Konan.
Sitting in front, with his back to the shadows and facing the light, was Nagato, with his red hair falling over his shoulders! He sat with his head bowed and his eyes closed. His once emaciated and gaunt body was now noticeably fuller and more robust. His shoulders were broad, and the outlines of his muscles were vaguely visible in the shadows, suggesting great strength. He was no longer the frail figure he once was.
However, dozens of black chakra-conducting rods were still deeply embedded in his healed back, making him look like a super router. These black rods also connected him to a massive, mysterious device behind him. His hands were deeply inserted into the dark holes of the machine.
Rustle~
"Nagato, what's wrong?" Konan's sharp senses detected a subtle tremor in Nagato's leaning body.
"Hmm." Nagato slowly lifted his head. His deep purple Rinnegan glowed like stars in the dim light, a look of pure interest in his eyes.
"I found a good one." The outsider named Hong Zhong was undeniably strong! His fierce and dominating Fire Style, his exquisite Lightning Style sword skills, and his powerful, instant Water Style made him an S-rank shinobi.
There were only two questions now:
First: Would this guy agree with the Akatsuki's ideals?
Second: Where did he come from?
The second question was not that important, as long as he wasn't a spy. The first was the most critical!
He would let the Deva Path find out.
"Nagato." Konan's voice came again, with a tone of authority.
"Hmm?" Nagato replied distractedly, then caught a wisp of a familiar, strange scent approaching.
"It's time. Time for your medicine!" Konan skillfully held a round, full "red Pill of Ease" to Nagato's lips.
Nagato instinctively opened his mouth and took it. The moment the medicine went down his throat, a gentle yet potent life force flowed through his body, nourishing him from the toll the Rinnegan was taking. With these pills, the Rinnegan was no longer a burden; he even had a surplus of energy. He closed his eyes again and began his meticulous control.
Konan glanced at the time. The next dose would be in two hours. She took a half-step back and remained silent, her gaze tender and complex as she watched Nagato's now-healthy back.
Nagato, once so thin and on the verge of death, was now like a parched tree receiving rain, his body revitalized with astonishing vitality. This miraculous change had happened in just one month! The effect of these Pills of Ease was truly incredible! Not only had Nagato's body been restored, but his legs, which had been completely destroyed by explosive tags while saving her, were also fully healed by this strange life energy. He could now walk normally without any issues.
Seeing Nagato recover made the long-held burden of guilt in Konan's heart finally feel a little lighter. However, ten of these Pills of Ease a day cost a hundred million ryō, which was a significant financial burden even for the Akatsuki. She had already started selling explosive tags to help with the cost! Kakuzu had recently mentioned making some extra money; she wondered what it was and how many Pills of Ease it could buy. She would ask him when he returned.
With that thought, she closed her eyes, preparing to conserve her energy for the monotonous work ahead. In the deep shadows not far from them, over twenty special "coffins" were neatly arranged.
The scene returns to the battlefield!
Below, four pairs of purple Rinnegan locked onto the figure of Hong Zhong on the wall, their auras as cold as a deep pool.
Hong Zhong's gaze slowly swept over the four figures: the Deva Path, the Human Path, the Hell Path, and the Animal Path. As he did, he reviewed their intel in his mind.
In terms of defense, without the Preta Path, the only effective way the Six Paths of Pain could defend against ninjutsu was with the Deva Path's Almighty Push. But that had a five-second cooldown. To others, this might seem short and hard to exploit. But to Hong Zhong, that was enough time to kill him ten times over!
And their offensive capabilities? Aside from the Animal Path and the Deva Path having some long-range attacks, the rest were essentially close-range fighters. The Animal Path could summon giant beasts. As for the Deva Path... this was the Hidden Rain Village. If he didn't want to destroy the place, his full-power techniques were as good as useless.
This lineup was full of short-range fighters, wasn't it? Suddenly, Hong Zhong felt like an idiot for not using long-range attacks. What was Almighty Push? It was only good for bullying weaklings and clueless kids. To a ninjutsu artillery platform like him, it was completely insignificant.
Where's the artillery? Bring it out! Open fire!
Having made up his mind, Hong Zhong's hands moved so fast they were a blur. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! In an instant, a powerful ninjutsu was formed.
"Water Style: Water Slicer Cannon!"
Sizzzz—
Hong Zhong spat out a series of what looked like mouthfuls of air. This was not a breath attack, but an intensely compressed, high-pressure water projectile! Each one was only the size of a soccer ball, but it carried the terrifying kinetic energy of a falling comet. They left behind short, steamy shockwaves in the air from the high-speed friction.
Thump—
A projectile hit the ground, and the hard concrete was sliced through as if by a hot knife through butter. It left behind a deep, barrel-sized crater with melted, charred edges. The crater went so deep you couldn't see the bottom.
Thump—
Thump—
The four Pains quickly leaped and dodged, trying to evade this precise rain of death. The water projectiles were incredibly powerful. Even those that missed a Pain and hit the steel jungle were devastating.
Clank—
One projectile hit a thick drainage pipe. The solid metal wall was torn apart like paper, and murky water and broken metal pieces sprayed out. The undiminished water projectile then carved a bowl-sized, deep hole with lava-like solidified edges in the wall of a building behind it. Through the hole, one could vaguely see flying debris and churning dust inside the building.
Though their movements were chaotic, the four Pains still maintained their formation. Seeing this, Hong Zhong continued to increase the intensity of the bombardment, and the scene began to look like a blur. From his mouth, the water projectiles came out like a rapid-fire automatic cannon, tracing trajectories that were hard to see, weaving a deadly storm.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Facing the relentless bombardment of the water projectiles, the four Pains desperately dodged. When they couldn't dodge, they had to use the Deva Path's instant Almighty Push to repel the attack.
Hong Zhong was as steady as a rock, his breathing calm. This "small" ninjutsu might be difficult for an ordinary ninja to sustain, but he was a cheater. With various buffs and reductions, each projectile only cost one to two hundred chakra, so he could keep this up for hours. He only needed to maintain a continuous bombardment.
His core tactic: apply constant pressure and wait for the prey to make a mistake.
The opportunity would eventually present itself. He was like a precisely operating turret, his gaze sharply catching every subtle shift in the four-man formation.
By chance, the Human Path was a moment too slow in dodging. A high-pressure water jet grazed its red cloud robe, leaving a visible, scorched water mark on its skin. A glint of light flashed in Hong Zhong's eyes, and he immediately began to focus his attack!
The cyclic bombardment of water projectiles suddenly paused for a moment and then began a single-track loop.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
One after another! More water projectiles were already on their way.
"Almighty Push!"
Bang—
The invisible shockwave briefly cleared a fan-shaped area, but the very next moment, even more water projectiles came flying in. The cooldown for Almighty Push was five seconds. The firing rate of the water projectiles was six per second! The Deva Path could only hastily grab the Human Path and pull it away. The storm of water projectiles, like a parasite, relentlessly pursued them. In a single second, at least four projectiles were aimed at them, while the other two continued to precisely target the Hell Path and the Animal Path.
As time went on, the pressure on the four Pains increased dramatically! Hong Zhong precisely controlled the trajectories, confining the four Pains to this area. Whenever one of them tried to break out and escape, they were met with a fierce barrage and a roadblock. Under the suffocatingly dense and precise attacks, the Pains' formation inevitably began to fall apart.
Because the Deva Path was constantly pulling the Human Path away from the "special treatment" attacks, the other two Pains became isolated. The Hell Path and the Animal Path were gradually "cut off" toward the edges!
Especially the Hell Path!
Hong Zhong saw that its dodging movements were noticeably sluggish and immediately gave it special attention! By chance, the Hell Path was too slow to dodge and was grazed by an attack, taking some damage. Seeing this, Hong Zhong abruptly increased its dose, starting a single-track bombardment aimed at it.
Thump, thump, thump—
The intensity of six shots per second was too much for it to handle. As one water projectile after another came flying at it, and it was about to die, a voice roared...
"Almighty Push!"
A boosted version of Almighty Push instantly spread out in a circle, deflecting the barrage of water projectiles heading toward the Hell Path.
But even more projectiles were already being spat from Hong Zhong's mouth. The distance was short, only a few dozen meters. In the blink of an eye, the projectiles, still hot from being fired, already filled the Hell Path's vision.
Again, a single-track loop. All possible escape routes around it were already blocked!
It's over!
Thump—Slice!
A violent water projectile pierced its chest with deadly precision! The terrifying kinetic energy of the water carried the Hell Path's body and slammed it into the ruined battlefield, which was half murky water and half broken concrete. Water and debris flew everywhere.
A moment later, the water was instantly stained a thick, dark red. A few tattered fragments of a red-cloud black robe floated on the surface.
The Hell Path, dead!
Two full minutes for a single kill. Hong Zhong felt a bit dissatisfied with his performance.
He decided to try another mode. His hands once again moved through a series of hand signs.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall!"
Below, the survivors of the dead seemed calm. After all, they were just corpses, so there was nothing to feel bad about. The three of them simply looked up again, their cold gazes fixed on Hong Zhong.
But what greeted them was a devastating flood, a torrent of water that crashed down with the force of a mountain collapsing! The Animal Path wanted to summon something, but it was too late.
The Deva Path's voice tore through the noise again.
"Almighty Push!"
Ommm—
A powerful repulsion force exploded from him, centered around him. This chakra was even stronger than the regular Almighty Push from before! The giant, towering wave of water seemed to crash into an invisible wall of sorrow!
Boom—
The immense volume of water that couldn't be repelled was violently sent upward and outward with a deafening roar, scattering into a torrential downpour that covered an area of several hundred meters.
But this was water, not fire. After the water splashed all over Hong Zhong, gravity pulled all of it back down to the ground.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The "storm" of water pouring down from above caused the water level under the three Pains' feet to rise by more than ten meters. The entire platform area had now turned into a small lake.
Hong Zhong stood on the wall, a silent smirk on his face. The effect had been achieved.
Next...
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu" x100!
Under his incredibly powerful chakra control, the turbulent water below began to boil and churn. A hundred massive, fierce water dragons instantly reared up and roared! Without hesitation, these hundred water dragons, carrying immense force, charged from all directions toward the three Pains trapped in the center of the lake.
"Almighty Push!"
The Deva Path's ice-cold voice sounded once more, but it couldn't hide the slight strain of overusing its energy.
Ommm!
A repulsion force, with a much smaller range and intensity than before, burst forth. The three or four water dragons closest to him were instantly torn apart, exploding into a cloud of mist.
However, more water dragons tore through the fragile vapor barrier, their destructive water force unabated as they continued to charge and attack. The Deva Path lunged and grabbed the Human Path's arm.
"Now!"
But with a burden to carry, and facing so many simultaneous attacks, they could only flee with even greater speed. After a few escapes, their movements inevitably became sluggish and slow.
Just as the two of them had barely escaped again and hadn't yet regained their balance...
Zzzzzzzzzz—
A spear of lethal lightning tore through the air, thrown by Hong Zhong as if it were a javelin. Its target was not the constantly teleporting Deva Path, but the Human Path that he was dragging along!
The lightning spear was far faster than the water dragons! By the time the Deva Path sensed the threat, it was already too late to fully evade. He could only quickly turn his body to the side.
Slice!
Boom!!!
The lightning spear narrowly grazed the Deva Path's side but accurately pierced the Human Path's chest. The violent, explosive lightning chakra instantly filled his torso.
Crackle, zzzzzzt—
Blinding arcs of electricity pulsed madly. The Human Path's clothes were charred and stripped away, his flesh carbonized, and his vital organs instantly turned to cinders by the extreme heat of the lightning.
The Human Path, dead!
The churning water gradually calmed after the attack, leaving behind a chaotic mess and a still-swelling body of water.
Thump—
Hong Zhong jumped down from dozens of meters high, landing steadily on the water's surface. His superb chakra control allowed him to land smoothly on the water. His gaze, filled with a hint of playful pity, fell on the figure in front of him.
"Is this what a god is?" Hong Zhong's voice was calm, yet every word was like an ice pick chipping away at the heart. "This power... is truly weak. A pity."
The Deva Path stood motionless on the water, his deep purple Rinnegan as profound as an abyss, locked onto Hong Zhong. His expression was unreadable.
Splash!
On the other side, the Animal Path, with torn clothes and soaking wet hair stuck to its forehead, struggled out of the water, its appearance a miserable mess. Hong Zhong glanced at it and then shook his head. "I have indeed been exploring a way to bring peace to the world. But the prerequisite is to have the power to rewrite the world!"
Tsk, tsk...
His gaze swept over the two remaining Pains, and he sneered. "You guys, the Akatsuki? With this little strength, you dare to claim you'll end war? What a joke!"
"Is this the power you wanted to show me?"
"A god?"
His tone was filled with the utmost mockery.
The Deva Path's face finally showed a trace of a cold, inhuman smile. "Mortal... you know nothing of a god's power!"
Almost simultaneously...
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The Animal Path slammed its hands down on the water.
Bang—
After four clouds of smoke, four new figures appeared on the water next to the Deva Path. Each one was wearing a complete red-cloud black robe and was covered in black rods. Strangely, each of them also had a pair of Rinnegan!
Including the Deva Path and the Animal Path standing there, the Six Paths of Pain were reunited!
What the...
Hong Zhong looked at the four new faces. He didn't recognize any of them.
What the hell? This isn't how it's supposed to go! How does he have spares?!