"Konan!"
Itsuki turned his head to look at Konan and said with a smile, "If he defeats me, I'll tell him everything I know. But may I ask, what if I win?"
Konan replied coldly, "You can't win."
Could Nagato lose?
Absolutely not!
Nagato is a living god!
No one can be stronger than him!
"Hey, hey, hey, isn't that a bit too much?" Itsuki complained. "You're praising another man like that right in front of me. Aren't you afraid I'll get jealous?"
Pain glared coldly at Itsuki and slowly raised his hand.
"Banshō Ten'in!" (Universal Pull)
A loud shout rang out.
But it was Itsuki who shouted.
Pain's expression grew even colder.
Does the opponent even know about his techniques?
How much does he know?
This kid cannot be allowed to live!
Swish!
In the next moment, Itsuki disappeared.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of Pain.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" (Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique)
A massive fireball, spanning over a hundred meters, seemed to scorch the entire world.
It was a situation where evasion was impossible.
With a diameter of one hundred meters, its range was comparable to that of a small Tailed Beast Bomb.
Pain was startled and quickly raised his hand. "Shinra Tensei!" (Almighty Push)
"Boom!!!"
The gigantic fireball was forcibly destroyed.
At the same time...
A tremendous repulsive force swept toward Itsuki.
"Bang!"
A tree stump appeared in Itsuki's place.
Substitution Jutsu!
"Over here!"
The Rinnegan emitted a faint purple light.
Pain suddenly turned his head, meeting a pair of scarlet eyes.
Sharingan!
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan!
"Take this!"
Itsuki threw a punch.
"Bang!"
Pain blocked it, then countered with a kick.
"Bang!"
Itsuki also kicked.
The two began to fight using taijutsu.
One had the Sharingan, able to see through everything.
The other was a puppet, able to completely ignore ordinary injuries.
The two were evenly matched.
But soon enough, Itsuki noticed something was wrong.
With the Sharingan, he could see through Pain's attacks. He had been gradually gaining the upper hand but was slowly being pushed back.
Even though the opponent had the Rinnegan, he wasn't the true owner. The opponent knew a few big moves but lacked understanding of many small techniques.
Could it be...
Itsuki seized an opening during an exchange and quickly retreated, scanning the surroundings. He immediately noticed another figure.
Another Pain.
Asura Path!
The Rinnegan's vision is shared!
Itsuki's eyes flashed as he rapidly retreated, clapping his hands together.
"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!" (Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu)
---
A huge and terrifying fire dragon charged toward Asura Path Pain.
Swish!
Another figure appeared, reaching out and surprisingly absorbing the fire dragon.
Immediately afterward, several figures emerged, standing in a line, staring coldly at Itsuki.
"Well, well!"
Itsuki shouted, "All six of the Pain Paths have shown up. Only the last one is missing."
"The last one?"
Tendo Pain's expression was stern.
"Of course!" Itsuki said with a sly smile, "There are six Pain Paths, so naturally, there should be seven people, right? Isn't that obvious?"
Obvious, my foot!
Tendo Pain had figured it out—when dealing with this Uchiha, it's better to fight than talk.
The six Pain Paths charged at Itsuki together.
"Bang!"
Human Path attacked first.
Itsuki caught the attack with his hand and countered with a punch.
At that moment, the Animal Path came from the side with a flying kick.
If Itsuki continued attacking, he could land a hit on Human Path, but he would also be struck by Animal Path.
Trade blows with a puppet?
What kind of madness is that?
Besides, with the Naraka Path around, even if he smashed them to pieces, they could still be restored.
Though Itsuki knew medical ninjutsu, he couldn't regenerate himself.
And even if he could, there was no need!
After all, they were just puppets.
So, Itsuki had no choice but to retreat.
Asura Path extended its arm toward Itsuki, opening it up like a machine, launching missiles in his direction.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
Itsuki opened his mouth, releasing a water stream.
Centered on him, the water began spinning rapidly, forming a flawless defense.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The missiles struck the water, resulting in massive explosions.
At the center of the blast, a figure shot out.
It was Uchiha Itsuki!
"Universal Pull!"
Tendo Pain, who had been keeping an eye on him, finally made his move.
A massive gravitational force dragged Itsuki's body toward Tendo Pain.
Itsuki threw out several shuriken, then clapped his hands together.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
The shuriken ignited, creating arcs of fire that attacked Tendo Pain from all directions.
Tendo Pain remained calm, only reacting when the shuriken were about to hit him.
"Almighty Push!"
"Boom!!!"
Not only were the shuriken deflected, but Itsuki, who had been pulled close, was also sent flying.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
While still mid-air, Itsuki created a clone. The original body stomped hard, while the clone assisted in pushing him, allowing him to finally break free from the Almighty Push and land safely.
Swoosh, swoosh!
Two figures appeared on either side of Itsuki simultaneously.
It was Preta Path and Animal Path.
"Boom!!!"
Itsuki dodged their attack and retreated again.
"Impressive!"
"Very impressive!"
Itsuki repeatedly praised them.
"Even though my Sharingan can see your attack patterns, it's still difficult to dodge them completely."
"The Six Paths of Pain, six pairs of eyes, all controlled by one person. Their attacks are coordinated, tightly connected. No wonder they say a single ninja could destroy a village."
Pain coldly watched Itsuki, unmoved by his words.
On the contrary!
He was preparing for another attack.
"Uchiha, if you surrender, you'll suffer less."
Pain's words were cold.
He had never considered Itsuki a real threat.
The opponent was certainly talented and powerful.
But compared to him, there was still a great gap.
Itsuki raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, "I'll surrender if you give me Konan. How about that?"
"You're courting death!"
Pain's expression turned even colder.
Konan was practically his only remaining family, and anyone who tried to get close to her could only die.
Swoosh!
The Pain Paths charged at Itsuki again.
This time, they were even more ferocious.
This time, they intended to capture Uchiha Itsuki directly.
But Konan, ever perceptive, noticed that Itsuki had changed.
He was not the same as he had been moments ago.
It wasn't just his chakra that had shifted; even his aura seemed different.
It was as if he had become a different person.
Itsuki gazed at the figures rushing toward him, a faint smile on his lips. The three tomoe in his eyes began to change.
They connected, forming the shape of a windmill shuriken.
Then, a new tomoe appeared.
Mangekyo!
"Boom!!!"
With a deafening roar, a giant fist descended from the sky, smashing Asura Path Pain into the ground.
"What is this…"
Pain was shocked.
The remaining five Paths tilted their heads, staring in awe at the giant that had suddenly appeared.
The giant's body glowed crimson, with pale golden flames flickering across its surface.
Standing over 25 meters tall, it wore matching armor that covered its entire body.
In its hands, it held a massive crossbow.
Itsuki stood inside the giant, arms crossed, looking down on Pain from above.
"Mosquito, you thought you had me figured out?"
"Who gave you that confidence? Let me see them!"
(End of Chapter)