Pain (Tendō) fell silent, lowering his gaze to the already-destroyed bodies of the other five Paths.
The summoned beasts were the same—gone. Only Konan was still barely holding on.
And he himself now faced an absolute monster of an opponent. He hadn't been a match even at his peak; in this state, defeating Natsuki was even less likely.
But he had an ideal—their ideal: his, Konan's, and Yahiko's. He wouldn't abandon it just because a stronger enemy stood in his way. Once, he had been confident because of the Rinnegan; now, he was confident for the same reason.
So what if he gambled everything one last time?
He only needed everyone to know—to understand why he would do it.
So he spoke:
"Natsuki, have you felt pain? Have you felt extreme pain? In this cursed and twisted world, just being alive is agony. People fight endlessly for profit; mutual understanding is forever out of reach. Hunger, disputes, slaughter, war—this world can never achieve true peace.
"But we have a dream: to realize peace. The only way is to make this world taste terror and pain!
"So we will gather all the Tailed Beasts, forge a weapon that can annihilate a nation in a single strike, and make the world feel fear and pain. Only by truly knowing pain, only by truly grasping the preciousness of peace, will people choose to walk toward true peace!"
Natsuki said nothing; he wouldn't be swayed.
This was terror ruling the world—forcing it to march to a single beat. It sounded reasonable, but what if that Tailed Beast weapon fell into a villain's hands one day? Peace wouldn't be up to the people—it would be up to whoever controlled the weapon. The world would face cataclysm. Perhaps only after countless lives were spent destroying that weapon would salvation come.
But there was no point arguing. The Tailed Beast collection was a lie from the start. Beat Tendō Pain, and the plan would shatter.
Seeing Natsuki unmoved, Pain let out a low laugh. "Heh... I shouldn't have wasted my breath. You who were born in a Great Nation will never understand the suffering of the small ones. The Great Nations' splendor is always built on the pain of the small. Perhaps Konoha parades its 'justice,' but every Shinobi World War you started turned the small nations into battlefields. How many innocent lives did your wars take? How many were displaced, starved, and froze to death?
"I'll tell you this: I won't lose to you—because my pain far surpasses yours!"
His expression twisted as he shouted the last words. Chakra erupted from his body, and Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push) blasted forth.
Natsuki didn't dodge. With Jiton (Magnet Release), he drove iron sand into layered buffer shields and forcibly absorbed the force of Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push). Then the iron sand morphed—condensing into a storm of black lances that howled toward Tendō Pain.
Pain spun his black receiver rods to parry, but the lances multiplied—too many to block. He detonated another Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push), sweeping every lance away.
That was exactly what Natsuki had waited for. Ranton (Storm Style) flared from both hands—several light-beam blasts ripped through the air, arriving just under the four-second cooldown before Pain could finish charging.
Boom-boom-boom! The beams struck Pain head-on.
His body, however, was absurdly tough; there weren't many visible breaks—only a tumbling silhouette cartwheeling through the air.
Shun! Natsuki flickered with Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) above Pain's head and snapped down a kōsoku geri—a lightspeed kick.
But Pain twisted hard at the last instant, barely slipping past. Black receiver rods burst into his hands as he slashed in a frenzy—each strike faster than the last, as if he were venting every ounce of anguish.
Too bad Natsuki's speed was nothing to scoff at.
He flashed with Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) behind Pain again, light condensing into the Ame-no-Murakumo no Tsurugi (Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven) from Ranton (Storm Style)—thrusting to pierce him—
"Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!"
Bang! The sword of light shattered. Natsuki was blown apart—into splintered timber.
Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Technique).
Bang! The sword of light shattered. Natsuki was blown apart—into splintered timber.
Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Technique)!
Swoosh! Natsuki again flickered behind Pain with Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique). Catching the cooldown window, he slammed a palm onto Pain's back—Ranton (Storm Style) detonated point-blank, punching ten gaping holes clean through Pain's chest.
But Pain's cast finished in the same heartbeat. A full-force Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push) blasted out, this time truly hurling Natsuki a great distance.
And Pain didn't waste the moment. He clutched at his back, ripped away a slab of flesh and torn cloth, and flung it far aside. On that skin… Natsuki's Hiraishin formula.
Ordinarily, only Six Paths power could erase a Hiraishin seal.
Pain did it the hard way—by carving the seal right out of his body.
"Now your Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) won't be pestering me!"
Even so, Pain felt a rising dread. Natsuki's light blasts hadn't merely mangled his body—they'd loosened the black receiver rods embedded within. Those were chakra conduits; if they dislodged, controlling the Path would become unstable.
He thought of Natsuki's overwhelming power, of the mission teetering on failure, and bitterness flooded his chest.
"If you insist on standing in my way, then I'll make you taste true pain!"
Resolute, Pain called down: "Konan, withdraw. I'm using that."
Konan froze. She didn't agree—but there was no other option. Even if the plan failed, she would have staked her life to make Konoha suffer ten unforgettable lessons. How could she stop him now?
Poof! Konan vanished on the spot.
Shino sighed. He'd been pinning Konan down and never asked for help, certain he could win. He hadn't expected Konan to hold out this long—he couldn't help but respect it.
But Shino's focus snapped back to Pain's words: that move.
He wasn't the only one. Unease rippled through every onlooker—they could feel it. Whatever Pain would do next… it would be terrifying.
Down on the ground, Kakashi and Obito had been—
Gone.
Apparently they'd slipped into the Kamui space to brawl. The scene there was probably something like this:
Kakashi: "Obito!"
Obito: "Kakashi!"
Rin (in the Pure Land): "Stop! Please, both of you!"
They fought their fight, oblivious to what was unfolding outside.
High above, Pain began to rise—higher and higher—chanting words that drifted into every ear:
"One sack of rice, how many floors to carry? One sack of rice, carry to the second floor… one sack of rice, I've given plenty… one sack of rice, I wash and wash, so much mud to rinse… and that pile of black tiles and clods…"
Natsuki stood below.
He'd been blasted far away moments ago—and he hadn't expected Pain to rip out the Hiraishin mark that decisively, then start "carrying rice."
This time, there was no choice but to block.
Fortunately, he had already prepared for this very day.
He planted his feet atop a roiling platform of iron sand. Lightning and magnetism howled together, weaving into a colossal electromagnetic domain—a vast barrier forged of Raiton (Lightning Style) and Jiton (Magnet Release)—ready to meet the incoming Chō Shinra Tensei (Super Almighty Push) head-on.
(End of Chapter)
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