This little guy!
Indeed, he also possesses a keen battle IQ!
Pain looked down at the back of his hand, where a black Konoha mark had appeared at some unknown time. Was this deliberately left during the recent hand-to-hand combat?
The appearance of this mark...
Means that he cannot escape the opponent's tracking!
Pain tried to manipulate the chakra within his body to remove the Flying Thunder God mark, but found that he could not easily expel this mark!
"This is bad."
Pain realized the difficulty of this battle.
If he was locked on by someone, it meant that his attempt to accumulate power to release a powerful technique would be directly interrupted by the opponent.
However, the simplest and most practical technique, Almighty Push, if the accumulated chakra was too little, resulting in a too weak repulsive force, would instead be rebounded by Akihara Kagura's body!
This little guy is a Sage body, whose physical strength can almost directly withstand a normal Almighty Push, and with the Flying Thunder God technique allowing for avoidance, this encompasses all creation...
This battle...
Will be a challenge for Pain.
Pain thought for a second and immediately accepted this reality. If a Sage body can be easily overpowered by the Sage's Eye in battle, then how could it be considered on par with it?
...
Pain's body slowly floated up.
If he found himself at a disadvantage in ground combat, then he would first use buoyancy to rise into the air. Once the opponent uses the Flying Thunder God technique to appear beside him, in the air without any support, he would only become a target for attack!
"So there's also the ability to fly..."
Jiraiya, standing in the referee's position, frowned immediately.
"Also?"
Orochimaru appeared next to Jiraiya at some point, asking with a sinister smile, "Does Kagura also possess the ability to fly?"
"Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya's expression suddenly turned serious, and he said sternly, "It was you who led Nagato and Konan astray! Tell me, who exactly is Pain?"
"It wasn't me..."
Orochimaru certainly would not take the blame, smiling as he explained, "I only joined the Akatsuki not long ago and was even defeated by Pain, forcing me to seek refuge with the Akatsuki. By all accounts, I am an innocent victim..."
"You..."
Jiraiya shook his head and sighed. He believed Orochimaru would not lie about such a matter, but he also did not believe that Orochimaru was an innocent victim.
"Kagura is excellent, isn't he?"
Orochimaru sneered as he spoke of Akihara Kagura, as if he himself was Kagura's teacher: "I have this little guy's experimental records. In the human experiments involving the transplantation of Hashirama's cells, he was able to perfectly integrate the First Hokage's cells, just as if he were the same person as the First Hokage, without any signs of rejection..."
"Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya stared at Orochimaru seriously, sternly warning him, "Don't harbor any ill intentions towards Kagura. The old man is raising him as the future of Konoha!"
"Oh?"
Orochimaru's interest was piqued, and he chuckled, "Is that so? Has the old man really chosen Kagura for the future position of Hokage?"
How interesting!
This world is so interesting!
Orochimaru couldn't help but want to see what this world would become!
If Akihara Kagura becomes the Hokage in the future, and I use the Living Corpse Reincarnation to take over his body, could I indirectly become the Hokage?
That's the position of Hokage!
A position I was once so close to!
Even though Orochimaru no longer cared about the position of Hokage, he still harbored some grudges about the past. Everyone in Konoha once thought I would become Hokage, but my own teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, directly denied it. If you say Orochimaru has no complaints about this, everyone knows that's impossible!
Snakes are never creatures with broad minds!
"Really interesting..."
Orochimaru thought of an interesting future.
When he gets Akihara Kagura's body, and Sarutobi Hiruzen hands over the Hokage hat to Kagura during the succession ceremony, the old man will realize that the successor is the one he once denied, the disciple he expelled... As for Kagura's thoughts, that little guy would definitely agree, especially since I hold the lives of Yakushi Kabuto and Yakushi Nono in my hands. That little guy wouldn't want to see Yakushi Nono die in front of him, right?
That scene...
Would be too interesting!
That day, it would definitely be the most exhilarating day for me!
Orochimaru, thinking of the possible scene in the future, imagining Sarutobi Hiruzen's shocked expression, couldn't help but lick his lips, his heartbeat speeding up.
"Are you thinking of something happy?"
Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru, who seemed a bit strange beside him.
Having been friends for many years, Jiraiya had a certain understanding of Orochimaru. He could feel Orochimaru's excitement and happiness.
No...
My disciple succeeded as Hokage...
What is Orochimaru so happy about!
Although Jiraiya always wanted to bring Orochimaru back to the village, Orochimaru was still a rogue ninja at this point. Why has his excitement become somewhat strange?
"Yes, I thought of something happy."
Orochimaru's mouth curved into a sinister smile as he casually lied to deceive Jiraiya, "The old man is looking for a successor, doesn't that mean he's about to die?"
Jiraiya's mouth twitched.
Thinking about his teacher and friend's complex relationship, Jiraiya looked up at Orochimaru and said softly, "Orochimaru, if the old man really does die one day, I believe you won't be as happy as you are now..."
Orochimaru thought of that moment, and his expression gradually calmed down.
If speaking seriously, on the day their teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, really dies, he might not be able to be as happy as he is at this moment.
As the conversation between the old friends about the past took place, the situation on the field had changed. Pain floated into the air and quickly gathered his chakra.
Akihara Kagura stood still, looking up without moving.
"So you're not fooled?"
Pain frowned.
Because he was floating in the air, gathering a huge amount of chakra, and appearing to be about to use a powerful technique, he wanted to lure Akihara Kagura to teleport into the air!
As long as Akihara Kagura appears in the air, Pain can use Almighty Push in the air, crushing him when he has no ground to push off from!
But...
This little guy was not fooled!
Pain looked down at Akihara Kagura, slowly bringing his palms together, "Since you refuse to be fooled, then I must find a way to release an even stronger technique..."
"But..."
"It might not necessarily be successful..."
Pain's eyes darkened slightly, knowing how difficult Akihara Kagura was: "This little guy might escape using the Flying Thunder God Technique..."
"Merely the power of Tendo, trying to defeat this little guy is not so easy, and it might even be impossible to overcome him..."
This was one of the limitations of Pain going into battle.
Normally, no enemy in the ninja world could be a match for Pain, but unexpectedly, a powerful sage body appeared out of nowhere.
"We must try..."
The chakra that Pain gathered converged in the palm of his hand, slowly forming a black sphere akin to a black hole, pondering in his heart, "At least it can be used to lure that little guy into an opening..."
"The earth will be attracted by Planetary Devastation, and all the Flying Thunder God marks he left nearby will be sealed. Even if he wants to dodge using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he can only fly towards me, and then I'll use Almighty Push..."
"Teacher Jiraiya, please stay back."
Akihara Kagura, seeing the black sphere, loudly warned, "That guy is about to release a formidable technique..."
"You guys..."
Jiraiya spoke in a deep voice, wanting to persuade further.
Orochimaru quickly sensed that something was off about the black orb and quickly pressed down on Jiraiya's arm, taking him away from the battlefield.
The Sasori of the Red Sand had long sensed that something was amiss and, controlling his red puppet, leaped away into the distance. Seeing the severely injured Kakuzu lying on the ground, he extended a few chakra threads from his fingers, pulling Kakuzu's body and leaping away with him.
"I thought you would dodge..."
Pain held the black orb in his palm, looking down at Akihara Kagura, who still hadn't moved from the ground: "I didn't expect you to foolishly confront this jutsu..."
"It doesn't matter."
Akihara Kagura, who also understood this jutsu, simply extended his hand: "If I were to dodge upon seeing this jutsu, wouldn't that be running away? What if you use this jutsu again, am I to run away forever?"
"How arrogant..."
Pain shook his head, slowly loosening his grip, and whispered softly: "Then experience the power of the Rinnegan yourself!"
"Planetary Devastation!"
The next moment.
He pushed out the black orb.
The black orb was pushed directly towards Akihara Kagura!
A force far surpassing Universal Pull emanated from the small orb, attracting even the ground towards it, and Akihara Kagura's body involuntarily flew towards the black orb!
"..."
Pain watched as Akihara Kagura's figure gradually became smaller.
Perhaps at this moment, he was somewhat looking forward to this little guy being dealt with by Planetary Devastation due to his arrogance, yet he couldn't help but also look forward to what use this little guy's Sage body could serve.
As everyone on site watched Akihara Kagura's body being attracted by the gravitational force towards the black orb, along with the earth and stones flying up, they were sealed up together!
A meteor-like stone sphere appeared in the sky!
"Kagura!"
Jiraiya's expression suddenly changed!
Even Orochimaru's face turned ugly!
Neither of them had expected Akihara Kagura to be sealed up just like that!
"The body of a Sage falls due to arrogance..."
Pain expressionlessly uttered this piece of advice to himself.
The next moment!
The stone sphere in the sky suddenly trembled!
A gigantic wooden figure forcefully emerged from the stone sphere!
After Akihara Kagura, controlling the wooden figure, struggled out from the gravitational pull of Planetary Devastation, his body slowly floated down onto the devastated ground.
"How is this possible..."
Pain watched this scene, his palms slightly trembling.
Inside a cave.
A terrifying golem stood tall in the depths.
A red-haired man, looking somewhat withered, sat on a wooden wheelchair, clasping his hands together, with sweat slowly trickling down his face…
This red-haired man also strikingly possesses a pair of Rinnegan eyes!
This is the true owner of the Rinnegan, Nagato.
The Pain outside is merely one of the six puppets controlled by Nagato. He has always been using the Tendo Pain to lead the Akatsuki organization, resolving all opponents with the power of Tendo Pain.
"Nagato."
Konan stands beside Nagato, looking at him with concern.
It was because she was worried about Nagato's safety after she and Pain left that Konan did not leave the Akatsuki base with the others.
"As expected of Teacher Jiraiya's new disciple..."
Sweat slowly started to bead on Nagato's forehead as he desperately thought about the abilities he could use: "The powers of Tendo are completely ineffective in front of him..."
"Whether it's Almighty Push or Planetary Devastation, neither can pose a threat to him. He can easily dodge Planetary Devastation using the Flying Thunder God Technique, and even forcefully break through Almighty Push..."
"The only thing I can use is Gedo Statue..."
"Because his body is that of a Sage, he can even resist the repulsive force of Almighty Push with preparation, and using Gedo Statue would cause the base to collapse..."
"Do not use that technique..."
Konan lowers her head, softly persuading, "If you use that technique, it will also shorten your lifespan."
"There's only one way left..."
Nagato took a deep breath, thinking of a desperate measure: "To have Pain engage him in close combat..."
"..."
Konan frowned deeply.
Up until now, Tendo Pain, relying on three powerful Rinnegan jutsu, was almost invincible, and anyone facing Tendo Pain had no chance of resistance.
The result...
Now, they had no choice but to abandon the Rinnegan's jutsu and choose to physically confront someone with a Sage's body. Could they still have a chance to win?
"Don't worry, Konan..."
Nagato reassured Konan, believing he had found a way to win: "That little guy has not been practicing taijutsu for long and is not as strong as imagined. As long as I pay a little attention and use the Rinnegan's jutsu and Yin-Yang Release as support..."
Outside the cave.
Pain still hovered in the air.
Black rods condensed in his hand and were suddenly thrown towards Akihara Kagura at the ground, his body also swiftly diving towards Akihara Kagura!
Akihara Kagura dodged the black rods flying towards him!
These black rods, formed by Yin-Yang Release, were exceptionally sharp, sticking into the ground one after another!
The moment Pain flew down, he kicked at Akihara Kagura's blocking arm, leveraging the force to flip and fall, grabbing a black rod and stabbing it towards Akihara Kagura!
"Abandoning your advantage, huh?"
In the palm of Akihara Kagura, a wooden spike condensed and he advanced towards Pain!
The bodies of the two crossed in an instant!
When both turned around to look at each other, one had a wooden spike stuck in their shoulder, and the other had a black rod embedded in theirs.
"Success!"
Pain immediately seized the opportunity.
Because Yin-Yang Release possesses capabilities unmatched by other elemental techniques in the ninja world, its most crucial ability is to obstruct the flow of chakra!
Without the ability to use chakra, the opponent cannot use ninjutsu, and even their physical prowess would be significantly reduced without the enhancement of chakra!
Just as Pain reached for another black rod and charged at Akihara Kagura, he suddenly felt the chakra being transferred into him disappear...
"No... Wood Release!"
Pain's expression changed drastically.
The legendary god of ninja, Senju Hashirama's Wood Release, seemed not to be like other Kekkei Genkai but possessed even more mysterious abilities, being able to absorb chakra!
"Interesting..."
Akihara Kagura looked at Pain in front of him, seemingly discovering something amusing as he absorbed chakra through the wooden spike and chuckled, "Your chakra is not produced by your body but is transferred to you, so you are merely a puppet..."
Pain's expression changed dramatically!
Just as Pain was about to pull out the wooden spike, it had already absorbed the chakra transferred into him!
"Wood Release: Spear Thrust Technique!"
However, Akihara Kagura's shout came so unexpectedly!
The spike embedded in Pain's body suddenly branched out and grew, piercing through Pain's body in an instant, and even pushing out several chakra receiver rods!
Akihara Kagura, looking into Pain's Rinnegan eyes, seemed to see through them to the master manipulating Pain from behind.
"Your true body is inside, right?"
~~~
Hello! Thank you for reading!
Little reminder! I'm now doing the Patreon of PTE a little something! Just done with Reborn with Steve Stand! Yes! I'm doing the 100 Advance Chapters in Patreon! Though it's work in progress! That's all!