Seven Water Island, South Coast.
Hawkeye had accepted Pain's challenge, taking down the cross-shaped greatsword from his back and thrusting it into the sand in front of him, ready for battle.
Pain gave Konan a look, signaling her to withdraw from the battleground and check nearby for any World Government monitors. If there were any, she was to deal with them directly to ensure the battle's details weren't leaked.
Konan understood, nodded slightly, and a pair of paper wings appeared out of thin air, carrying her away from Pain's side.
After sending Konan away, Pain had no more reservations and held nothing back in his attack. He casually reminded Hawkeye that it was starting, and Naraka Path "Eneru" had already vanished.
When he reappeared, he had already struck Hawkeye's sword, forcing Hawkeye back several meters due to the immense force.
The other Four Paths, under Pain's control, were also not idle. Human Path disappeared into a gate of light, Preta Path's "Desertification World" was directly unleashed, Animal Path's Summoned Beasts retreated to the side to form an encirclement, and the water buffaloes, capable of long-range attacks, continuously sprayed water jets.
Asura Path also launched long-range missile attacks to interfere with Hawkeye's judgment, disrupting Hawkeye's Observation Haki perception.
Naraka Path, after a close-range strike missed, instantly pulled back, unleashing "God's Judgment," a colossal lightning pillar that shot directly towards Hawkeye.
A series of attacks once again assailed Hawkeye. Although Hawkeye possessed sharp insight coupled with King-level Observation Haki, this overwhelming, all-encompassing assault could not be resolved by attack prediction alone.
When Hawkeye faced Naraka Path "Eneru"'s attack, it was precisely because of his top-tier Observation Haki prediction that he received an early warning and blocked Naraka Path's staff strike.
But the current attacks were all long-range, with no close-quarters combat.
Hawkeye chose not to dodge. While predicting all attack trajectories through Observation Haki, he was also brewing a powerful attack himself.
Hawkeye's entire body turned black and crimson, like a steel statue. The air currents around his body rapidly surged, and the sand on the surrounding beach, due to these air currents, automatically formed an air current tornado with Hawkeye at its center.
The greatsword in Hawkeye's hand also rapidly turned black and crimson. All attacks launched by Pain were completely ignored by Hawkeye, and the air currents continued to rise.
Preta Path's "Desertification World," Asura Path's missile attacks, Naraka Path's "God's Judgment," and Animal Path's Summoned Beast attacks all bombarded Hawkeye.
These attacks impacted the air currents around Hawkeye, causing the continuously rising air currents to temporarily stagnate, but the attacks that hit Hawkeye's body were all ineffective.
If Pain's Four Paths' attacks had been directed at anyone else, even Kaku might have been instantly killed, but now they caused not the slightest harm to Hawkeye, demonstrating the formidable power of King-level Armament Haki.
Seeing his attacks were ineffective and Hawkeye was still brewing a powerful killing move, Pain dared not be overconfident. He recalled all the Paths and had Preta Path deploy "Sealing Technique Absorption Seal."
Pain extended his right hand towards Hawkeye, intending to disrupt Hawkeye's momentum with "Almighty Pull." It was at this moment that Hawkeye's tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open.
"Great Profound Truth: Sword Lotus!" With Hawkeye's mighty roar, Sword Qi suddenly surged chaotically across the South Coast. Sharp Sword Qi, appearing out of thin air, ambushed the Six Paths of Pain, just as Pain's "Almighty Pull" was released.
Hawkeye's Sword Lotus furiously attacked the "Sealing Technique Absorption Seal" deployed by Preta Path. Pain could feel a massive amount of Chakra being rapidly consumed.
After unleashing Sword Lotus, Hawkeye was also pulled into the light curtain by Pain's "Almighty Pull." Human Path appeared out of thin air and reached out to grab Hawkeye, who was caught in the suction, but Hawkeye raised his hand and struck him away with a sword, tearing him to pieces with the Sword Qi of Hawkeye's Sword Lotus.
Pain, through the depletion of his own Chakra, understood the power of Hawkeye's attack. After Hawkeye was pulled over, Pain controlled Human Path to prepare a sneak attack, but it failed.
Seeing that Hawkeye's close proximity would pose a threat, Pain used "Super Shinra Tensei" to blast Hawkeye into the air, simultaneously shouting, "Super Chibaku Tensei!"
Hawkeye, blasted into the air, lost control of his body and was still flying towards the sea. Just as Hawkeye was about to swing his sword in mid-air to counterattack, an even greater suction force rapidly spread out in all directions with Hawkeye at its center, absorbing everything it could.
The South Coast beach vibrated violently, the rock layers beneath the sand cracked and floated into the air, and seawater surged upwards towards the sky. Hawkeye, caught within the technique, was filled with shock at this moment.
Hawkeye's body was completely out of control, continuously enveloped by various substances sucked into the air. The only reaction Hawkeye could make was to activate King-level Armament Haki throughout his body to avoid being crushed into a pulp.
In the high sky, a gigantic artificial earth-star formed. At this moment, if anyone looked up at the sky, they would undoubtedly be utterly stunned.
After unleashing "Super Chibaku Tensei," Pain also gasped for breath, appearing to have expended a considerable amount of energy.
Checking his Chakra levels, the release of Chibaku Tensei earlier, coupled with the still-raging Sword Qi consumption, meant that only one-third of his Chakra remained.
Pain, using Naraka Path's "Reincarnation: Repair Technique," repaired the shattered Human Path and Asura Path. At the same time, he controlled Human Path to open a gate of light and enter the interior of Chibaku Tensei, intending to control Hawkeye's Soul.
Inside Chibaku Tensei, a gate of light appeared out of thin air. Through Human Path's vision, Pain saw Hawkeye, crushed at the core, who was still completely unharmed due to King-level Armament Haki.
Pain did not attempt to detonate Chibaku Tensei to harm Hawkeye. Pain understood that controlling Hawkeye now was the best scenario; once Hawkeye was released, Pain was confident that his current state would lead to defeat.
Pain tried to communicate with Hawkeye through Human Path, aiming not to take Hawkeye's life. Such a strong individual, if he could join the organization, would be of immense help.
"Hawkeye, you have already lost."
"You cannot move now. What appears before you is Human Path."
"Human Path can absorb the Soul of anyone it touches. If I wanted to take your life, you would already be dead."
"Now, you are presented with two paths: submission or death."
Human Path conveyed Pain's message on his behalf.
Hawkeye slowly opened his tightly shut eyes, looking at Human Path, which had appeared out of thin air.
"I do not like joining any organization."
"To be defeated by you only proves that my skills are inferior."
"If you wish to kill me, then do so."
Hawkeye calmly rejected Pain's proposal of submission, unwilling to join an organization.
"Is that so?"
"That's truly regrettable..."
"Originally, it didn't have to be a battle to the death between us."
"But your choice makes things very difficult for me."
Pain was now somewhat conflicted. His intuition told him that Hawkeye was excellent.
Both in strength and character, he was an outstanding individual, yet such a person was now enslaved by the World Government and sent to deal with him.
To kill him felt like a great pity. Not to kill him, however, risked letting a tiger return to the mountains, potentially being sent by the World Government again to attack the organization.
Hawkeye's strength was too great. From their battle, it was evident that if Hawkeye hadn't been restrained by Chibaku Tensei, Pain might not have been able to defeat him.
That such a strong individual could be controlled by the World Government, Pain couldn't understand the reason, only concluding that the World Government must be even stronger.
Pain, who had been full of confidence, now had to re-evaluate the strong individuals of this world due to Hawkeye's strength, and in doing so, recognized his own shortcomings.
"Why did you come?"
Pain didn't want to kill Hawkeye, so he wanted to know the reason for Hawkeye's opposition to the organization.
"Why?"
"The World Government's harassment is a constant nuisance. I must maintain my Shichibukai status to avoid their harassment."
"To obtain a pure land."
After a brief moment of thought, out of respect for a strong opponent, Hawkeye chose not to conceal the truth and informed Pain of the real reason.
Pain was somewhat astonished by Hawkeye's answer. "The World Government actually threatens people into action like this?"
"If Hawkeye was coerced, then the Shichibukai on the other coast must be in a similar situation?" Pain pondered Hawkeye's words, deep in thought.
"Our organization's mission is to overthrow the corrupt rule of the World Government..."
"To reorder the world!"
"Since you were coerced..."
"Why not join us in overthrowing the World Government?"
Pain was very curious why Hawkeye refused so directly.
"This world holds no meaning for me. I only wish to have a peaceful pure land to live out my remaining days, using that time to challenge the world's Peak powerhouses."
"What your organization wishes to do is irrelevant to me."
"I only care about my own pure land." Hawkeye again refused Pain's invitation, yearning for a tranquil life.
"Is that so?"
"I understand..."
"I respect your decision..."
To be continued...