Chapter 247: Chibaku Tensei vs. Limitless
Nagato?
This name instantly caught Orochimaru's and Sasori's attention. Their expressions changed slightly. The momentary flicker on the face of the "Angel" [Konan], who was always frosty, did not escape their notice.
For the first time, they realized that this guy, Pain, had probably never shown his true self.
Those bizarre bodies, all with the same eyes... Pain's mystery and power had always intimidated the villains who joined the Akatsuki. Even Orochimaru, awed by Pain's terrifying strength, hadn't dared to covet the Rinnegan.
But now, it seemed, the situation had changed. This mysterious and powerful Mercenary Tao... knew Pain's true identity!
Konan's face was grim. She also took a step forward, her hands falling from her sleeves as sheets of paper began to scatter. Mercenary Tao's very existence seemed to challenge her nerves at every moment.
She didn't like this kind of madman. Even if she and Nagato were probably mad themselves, she still couldn't stand the thought of someone who purely craved chaos and slaughter joining them.
In her eyes, even a guy like Orochimaru had his pursuit of ninjutsu and technology. But this Mercenary Tao... his eyes were filled with nothing but a desire for chaos.
Tendo Pain held out a hand. Konan stopped. In the end, she retreated. This was Nagato's fight. Mercenary Tao's words had clearly infuriated Nagato.
"Capacity?!"
For the first time, there was an inflection in Tendo Pain's voice. His tone rose, as if he had heard something absurd.
"A person like you... how can you possibly see my 'capacity'?"
"With this... power of yours?!"
The next moment, Tendo Pain raised one hand. A powerful attractive force appeared.
[Bansho Ten'in]! (Universal Pull)
Kaito Shirogane's eyes were wide open, the outlines of his pupils clearly visible. His heart beat faster and faster, and the purple Satsui no Hado within him was becoming difficult to suppress.
He loved to fight. He loved to slaughter. What he cherished... was clashing with powerhouses like these.
Kaito Shirogane tapped his toe, voluntarily leaving the dead branch. His body was caught by the powerful pull and he flew rapidly toward Tendo Pain.
A black rod extended from Tendo Pain's palm, thrusting straight at Kaito Shirogane's chest.
The smile on Kaito's face grew more manic. He flew forward with the pull, his pupils reflecting the black rod.
Pain's Rinnegan captured Kaito's movements perfectly. If his opponent made even the slightest evasive move, he would instantly strike them mid-dodge.
In front of his Rinnegan, ordinary taijutsu was meaningless.
But Kaito stared, unblinking, right back at Pain, making no move. The distance between them vanished in an instant.
Pain's right hand blurred, and the black rod thrust at Kaito's chest.
Kaito's form changed instantly. Boosted by [Pre-Initiative] and the [Transparent World], he could also ignore ordinary taijutsu. In mid-air, he shot out his right hand, grabbed the other end of the black rod, and with a burst of immense strength, jammed it back toward Tendo Pain's armpit.
Pain's Rinnegan captured it all. The next moment, the terrifying repulsive force exploded again.
Shinra Tensei! (Almighty Push)
Boom!
Two opposing forces slammed into Kaito at the same time. The terrible pressure was almost enough to make his organs tremble. An ordinary human or ninja would have been critically injured by this blow.
But for Kaito Shirogane, even pulverized organs didn't count as an effective injury.
He was blasted back by the Shinra Tensei, but he pumped his feet in mid-air.
[Moonwalk]!
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Several of the Pains simultaneously tracked Mercenary Tao in the sky. He still showed no trace of using Chakra, so the Rinnegan's absorption ability was useless.
Someone could actually walk on air using pure taijutsu?
Even Konan was shocked by this terrifying technique.
Kaito "walked" faster and faster in the air, his speed quickly surpassing the requirement for [Yokai of the Wind]. He once again dove into the wind and vanished.
Orochimaru watched this and instinctively retreated even further. He realized this Mercenary Tao either possessed a special Kekkei Genkai, or he was a special individual, akin to a "Sage."
His power was extraordinary. Without an ocular jutsu like the Rinnegan or Sharingan, it was very difficult for an ordinary ninja to fight him in close combat.
Tendo Pain's expression remained calm. The Animal Path, whose head had been crushed, had already been revived by the Naraka Path's[Summoning: King of Hell].
The six Pains shared their vision, monitoring every angle from all directions with no blind spots.
Vmm!
The wind manifested. Kaito appeared. The Asura Path's head instantly transformed, and a terrifying laser shot at Kaito.
Kaito's form dissolved into wind again. The laser plunged into the swamp hundreds of meters away, causing a massive explosion.
Another gust of wind appeared. Tendo Pain reacted instantly, aiming his right hand at the Naraka Path.
Bansho Ten'in activated. The Naraka Path was instantly pulled from its spot, flying toward the Tendo Path. Kaito's punch, which had appeared from nowhere, hit empty air, letting out a terrible roar as a white-hot vapor cloud grazed the Naraka Path's body.
Kaito seemed to be everywhere, but Pain's perception was equally sharp, using his abilities to counter and create distance.
After several exchanges, neither had managed to inflict any real damage.
Kaito suddenly appeared from the wind, spinning violently as he flew into the air. The humid air was churned into a small tornado.
Pain couldn't see any Chakra, so he couldn't tell what Kaito was doing. But he had a premonition... he was about to make his move.
The next moment, Kaito's legs rained down from the sky like a torrential storm.
Countless leg-shadows, carrying terrifying force and howling wind, began to indiscriminately bombard the six Pains on the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
[Zetsu] watched this, stunned. He had never imagined a human could do this without the power of Chakra bestowed by the Otsutsuki clan.
His expression couldn't help but change.
[Wind God Legs: Raging Storm]!
Kaito's figure was ethereal, his kicks raining down. The Six Paths of Pain saw the sky fill with leg-shadows, all falling at once.
The Asura Path's body was hard. It crossed its arms, preparing to tank the blow. But as the countless shadows fell, one of them suddenly turned pitch-black.
Pfft!
The Asura Path shattered instantly. The missiles in its arms exploded, sending shrapnel and body parts flying.
At the same moment, Tendo Pain sensed this, knowing that a great danger was hidden within Kaito's attacks.
He retreated rapidly. The newly-revived Animal Path summoned dozens of giant centipedes, which flew up to block the way.
Although they were instantly pulverized by the Wind God Legs, they stopped the [Death-Taint of the Myriad Gods] from killing another Path.
Kaito's move was spent, and he floated down. But Tendo Pain suddenly appeared behind him, a black sphere of Chakra already between his palms.
[Chibaku Tensei]! (Planetary Devastation)
The ground trembled violently. The destruction from the previous explosions, combined with the Land of Rain's already ruined environment, gave this high-level Rinnegan sealing jutsu plenty of material.
Kaito tried to move, but the black sphere exuded a pull far stronger than Bansho Ten'in. He couldn't break free. The next moment, a mass of rocks, earth, and trees flew at him, enveloping him in an instant.
Then, the ground itself began to crack. More and more chunks of the earth tore free, flying into the air to completely seal Kaito within.
Finally, a giant stone sphere, over a hundred meters in diameter, hung in the sky.
Tendo Pain lowered his hands. He had to admit, this Mercenary Tao was one of the most troublesome enemies he had ever faced, far more difficult to handle than even Hanzo of the Salamander.
"Is he... dead?"
Hana Hiranaka was in disbelief. The terrifying Mercenary Tao... was he sealed in that giant rock ball?
She couldn't understand these ninja battles at all and could only ask numbly.
Catherine held her barrier, her heart pounding with fear. If Mercenary Tao was sealed, her own fate would not be a good one.
"Woman over there. Hand over the Uchiha boy and that woman, and I will spare your life."
Tendo Pain's tone returned to its indifferent, god-like coldness.
Catherine looked at Itachi, who, while healed, was still immobile, and the panicked Hana Hiranaka.
Her Phase 1 main mission was complete. Phase 2 had been triggered by [Rampage]—the "Defense of Konoha." If she abandoned Mercenary Tao now, handed over these two, and saved her own life, her Phase 2 mission probably wouldn't be affected.
The Akatsuki wouldn't attack Konoha right now. If she reported everything that happened with Itachi and Shisui, her reputation with the Konoha faction might even increase.
But...
Catherine looked at the giant stone sphere hanging in the sky and felt, instinctively, that something was wrong.
Even though she knew, from the original story, that Chibaku Tensei was a jutsu that could even seal a Tailed-Beast-mode Naruto, and was even used to seal Kaguya Otsutsuki.
But...
A guy like Mercenary Tao... he always gave her a sense of profound abnormality. She couldn't believe he would be sealed so easily, without any countermeasures. So she didn't make a decision.
Seeing Catherine hesitate, Tendo Pain indifferently raised his hand, preparing to kill her.
But the next moment.
Krr-crack...
The sound of the stone sphere cracking was clearly audible.
This was the first time Konan had seen this jutsu be broken. Usually, Nagato could even restrain a Tailed Beast with it. But now... it was being broken?!
KRA-CRACK!
The shattering sound grew louder.
Tendo Pain turned his head.
BOOM!
The giant stone sphere exploded in mid-air.
Mercenary Tao's figure reappeared. His aura had changed significantly. If the Mercenary Tao from before was just a beast reeking of blood, the person now... his slightly raised head, his half-lidded, arrogant eyes... all of it showed an innate, absolute confidence in his own power.
"Mmm, the air in this world is pretty nice. Tao, if you wanted my power, you should've just called me sooner~"
"Heh. Even if I take over your body, it's better than being dead, right?"
A flippant voice came from Kaito Shirogane's mouth. But the next moment, a cruel tone retorted:
"Oi, oi, Gojo 2.5, aren't you getting a little carried away? I just let you out for some air. You're a long, long way from taking control of this body."
One face, two expressions. Black shadows flowed over Kaito's body, and purple Satsui no Hado dripped from his hands.
Kaito Shirogane was, after all, the true master of the [Throne of the Heart]. He instantly retook control. That guy, Gojo Satoru, seemed to love these little tricks, always trying to give him a "stimulus."
Kaito spread his hands. A familiar Cursed Energy flowed through his body. This power was highly compatible with the Yin-Spirit power in his soul, making it even easier to command.
A grin split his face. The color of a blue sky and white clouds began to appear in his pupils.
The Limitless Cursed Technique and the Satsui no Hado... flowing at the same time. The exhilarating feeling of this power surging through his blood and soul made Kaito's voice turn strange.
"Nagato! Right now, I'm on an absolute high!"
"Come and fight! Let me see... this 'pain' you want to inflict on the world!"
(End of Chapter)
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