Kakashi activated his Mangekyou Sharingan. Using the power of Kamui, he twisted the space itself to attack his target.
This kind of attack completely ignores defense!
It was like twisting and breaking a part of one's body through spatial manipulation. No matter how strong the defense was, it was meaningless.
On the other side, Fugaku had activated Susanoo, enveloping himself in a skeletal framework. It was a combination of offense and defense.
However, Pain's Six Paths had tremendous strength, and even Susanoo's defense wasn't invincible.
And there was Jiraiya, an experienced Kage-level ninja, demonstrating impressive strength. However, due to their disadvantage in numbers, even Jiraiya was being suppressed.
Overall, as the battle commenced, Konoha's three-man team found themselves completely overwhelmed by the Six Paths of Pain.
After about half an hour of fierce combat, the three of them—Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Fugaku—had all sustained injuries to some extent.
Especially Kakashi, whose chakra was almost depleted.
In truth, after half an hour of battle, the Animal Path and Asura Path of the Six Paths of Pain had been destroyed.
But, as if nothing had happened, the destroyed Pains were quickly reconstructed and reappeared, seemingly full of vitality. Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Fugaku knew well that if the battle continued like this, their chances of victory would be slim to none.
After all, their injuries were real.
But these Pains could be rebuilt, even if destroyed—what meaning did this battle have if it kept going?
"How can his healing be so powerful? It's almost like resurrecting the dead!" Jiraiya's expression darkened as he watched the two destroyed Pains emerge unscathed.
"It's not just healing. These things don't seem alive at all; they're more like the puppets from the Sand Village!" Kakashi said, his keen eyes still capable of observing the revived Pains despite his exhausted chakra.
"You're right. It's more like puppet repair than healing," Uchiha Fugaku nodded in agreement.
"Puppets, huh? Even Yahiko is a puppet?" Hearing Kakashi and Fugaku's comments, Jiraiya's face grew even more grim.
Actually, Jiraiya had suspected for a while that the Six Paths of Pain were not living people but puppets.
But Yahiko was one of the Six Paths, and Jiraiya found it hard to accept that Yahiko was dead and that his body had been turned into a puppet.
Thus, he had subconsciously rejected the idea, not allowing himself to dwell on it.
Now, with Fugaku and Kakashi voicing it outright, they tore away the veil hiding Jiraiya's suspicions.
He had to admit they were right—these six individuals were not alive.
"Who are you? Who's controlling these six puppets?!"
Fugaku stared intently at the Deva Path, asking seriously now that they all agreed these were indeed puppets.
"Hokage, there's no need to ask. I think I know who it is." Jiraiya spoke up.
His eyes focused on the Deva Path as he continued, "I couldn't understand before why Nagato's Rinnegan would appear on Yahiko's body."
"But now I get it—Yahiko must be dead, and his body turned into a puppet."
"Nagato, you must be the one controlling these puppets. The Rinnegan has always been yours!"
Jiraiya's tone was technically questioning, but the certainty was clear.
"Yes, Jiraiya-sensei, Yahiko is dead," the Deva Path responded, confirming Jiraiya's suspicions.
"Why? I remember what I taught you back then; it wasn't like this. What happened over these years that turned you into this?!" Jiraiya couldn't hold back and questioned the Deva Path.
"Jiraiya-sensei, our ideals for peace diverged. I fight for peace too, but today, the Hokage must die here!" the Deva Path replied.
"When you say peace, it makes me think of its opposite," Kakashi interjected sarcastically.
"Enough with the stalling. No matter how much time you buy, you won't recover much chakra," the Deva Path said, seeing right through Kakashi's intentions.
As he finished speaking, an immense chakra surged from the void and poured into the Deva Path.
The other Pains, now drained of chakra, all collapsed to the ground.
Nagato had decided not to distribute his chakra among the other paths but instead concentrated it all into the Deva Path.
The Deva Path rose into the air, unleashing a powerful Shinra Tensei.
In the original story, this attack was enough to destroy the entire Leaf Village, and now, it was aimed directly at Fugaku and the others.
Fugaku pushed his Sharingan to its absolute limit. His Susanoo enveloped him completely, muscles and fibers forming over the skeletal frame, demonstrating his Susanoo's ultimate strength.
But even that powerful Susanoo crumbled under the terrifying force of the Shinra Tensei, as fragile as paper.
The massive repelling force overwhelmed Fugaku, Kakashi, and Jiraiya.
The entire landscape within several kilometers was altered, leaving only a giant crater behind.
It felt as if a massive asteroid had fallen from the sky, leaving nothing but a deep impact crater.
Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Fugaku were all sent crashing to the ground.
Kakashi had fallen unconscious, and while Fugaku remained conscious, he failed to stand despite trying several times.
Among the three, Jiraiya had the strongest body. He managed to struggle to his feet after a while.
But the Deva Path ignored Jiraiya. His body moved, targeting Fugaku first. Clearly, his priority was still the Hokage.
"Fire Style…" Summoning the last of his chakra, Jiraiya launched a fire technique at the Deva Path, hoping to hinder him.
The Deva Path merely lifted a hand and used Shinra Tensei to disperse the attack instantly.
Without stopping, he continued his pursuit of Fugaku.
However, just as the Deva Path was about to reach Fugaku, the ground suddenly split open. Several vines sprouted up, blocking his path.
Seeing this, the Deva Path halted, his expression darkening. He muttered, "Uchiha Akira!"
"I know my own name, no need for you to say it!" Uchiha Akira replied, breathing heavily, his face weary as he faced the Deva Path.
"Judging by your state, you barely have any chakra left. You must've expended a lot getting here," the Deva Path said, his Rinnegan easily seeing Akira's depleted condition.
"I know my own condition, no need for you to tell me!" Akira's voice remained steady.
After he finished speaking, Akira activated the final reward from his last life simulation, instantly replenishing his chakra reserves.
Not only did his chakra increase, but it also fully recovered at that moment!
"How is this possible? His chakra is fully restored?!" The Deva Path's Rinnegan saw Akira's chakra refill instantly, something Nagato found hard to believe.
How could it be? His chakra had almost been entirely drained, yet now it was suddenly full again?
"Seems like I arrived just in time!" After stopping the Deva Path, Akira looked at the damaged terrain and the injured Fugaku, Kakashi, and Jiraiya, and spoke up.
"Indeed. If you were even a moment later, I might've been dead," Fugaku weakly replied.
"Alright then, the first half of the battle is over. Now it's time for the second half," Akira said, turning toward the Deva Path. "Do you want a break? Maybe we could chat a bit. For example, about Konan?" He paused briefly, then added, "She takes really good care of herself, doesn't she?"
"I'm not great with words, but honestly, there's just one thing to say…"
"She's very lovely." Akira dragged out the last word on purpose.
Boom!
Akira's words were like a spark thrown into a barrel of gasoline. Instantly, the chakra around the Deva Path erupted, resembling a volcanic eruption.
Konan's decision to stay with Akira rather than returning to the Akatsuki had already been a bitter pill for Nagato to swallow.
Now, Akira's words were nothing but salt on that wound.
"Uchiha Akira, I'm going to kill you!" The Deva Path roared, filled with hatred, as his chakra exploded with power.
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POWER STONE!!!
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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 300+ at patreon.com/Emik01.