As the Nine-Tails struggled to rise, Akira's eyes flashed with intensity, and the power in his left eye surged once more. In an instant, a spiraling ripple appeared at the base of the Nine-Tails' right hind leg. With a roar that shook the heavens, the Nine-Tails' leg twisted violently, snapping off and collapsing onto the ground.
The sight of the Nine-Tails was pitiful—it lay there with both its front and hind right legs severed at the base. Blood gushed from the wounds like a crimson waterfall, pooling into a small, scarlet lake. Within this lake of blood, red bubbles emerged, and trails of tailed beast chakra rose, transforming into a mist that drifted into the air.
Not far from the scene, Akira clutched his eye, feeling an intense pain. This was the second time he'd used Kamui, and now, for the first time, he felt real agony. Although the chakra drain wasn't overwhelming, the searing pain in his eye was nearly unbearable—even his usual tolerance, which could withstand gouging out his own eye, was tested to its limit.
After a few gasping breaths, Akira sensed the excruciating pain in his eye slowly begin to subside. When he regained his composure, he looked down at the now helpless Nine-Tails, nodding to himself.
"With this, the Nine-Tails has lost all ability to move."
At that moment, the sound of footsteps approached. Fugaku arrived at Akira's side, staring at the fallen beast.
"What do we do now? Even like this, we'll need to guard the Nine-Tails closely. We can't all head off to help Minato and the others."
"Clan leader, let's bring the Hokage's wife over here and seal the Nine-Tails back immediately. As for the rest…" Akira suddenly turned, looking sharply toward the distant battlefield where Sarutobi Hiruzen and others were fighting.
Though it was far from them, he could feel an immense, terrifying aura surging toward them like a tidal wave, bending even the black flames of Amaterasu's fire wall under its pressure.
"That… is…" Fugaku's face paled as he looked in the same direction. "Such a fearsome presence! Is that the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death?"
In the distance, a rolling shockwave pressed the flames of Amaterasu close to the ground as a brilliant red light shot up into the sky—the unmistakable source was Might Duy!
Akira murmured, "Such terrifying power…"
"Eighth Gate of Death!?" muttered Obito, locked in combat with Minato, watching the unfolding scene with alarm. He knew that nightfall was approaching, making it even harder to retreat. "No choice… Nagato, you're on your own now."
Obito's eyes narrowed as he briefly glanced at Minato, who was waiting for an opening. He thought,
"The world Nagato's trying to create might hold some chance for me too…"
Meanwhile, Nagato's face turned pale as he looked at the blood-red steam radiating off of Duy's body. The aura of death surrounded him from every direction, and he knew that if he couldn't defend himself against this strike, survival was out of the question.
"All his chakra is gathered in his heart—the Eighth Gate of Death, only one strike!" Nagato's eyes narrowed, and he braced himself.
Facing Duy, who was preparing to unleash his final attack, Nagato released all his chakra in a roar,
"Wood Style: Tree World Wall!"
A rumbling sound echoed as the ground split open, and thick, interwoven tree roots formed five massive walls between Duy and Nagato. However, even this formidable barrier brought Nagato no sense of security. With a shift in his hand seals, he shouted,
"Wood Shield: Barrier!"
A massive, grotesque shield resembling a demonic face emerged from the earth, closing around Nagato to shield him completely.
In the span of a few heartbeats, Nagato unleashed two advanced Wood Style techniques.
At that same moment, Duy completed his preparations. Glaring at the towering wall of wood before him, blood-red steam burst from his body, and he let out a low growl,
"Night Guy!"
A blinding red light erupted on the battlefield. In an instant, the seemingly unbreakable wooden walls shattered like paper, leaving a massive hole in their wake.
With a deafening crash, the red streak of light pierced through all five walls, slamming directly into the demonic, fang-faced shield.
Boom!
The resounding explosion echoed across the entire battlefield, audible throughout the Konoha.
The Barrier was said to be the ultimate defense of Hashirama Senju, once able to withstand Madara Uchiha's blade without a scratch. But Duy's power, though not on par with Madara's Susano'o, was overwhelming compared to Nagato's skill in the technique.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the demonic shield's surface, ready to shatter at any moment.
Seeing the impending collapse of his shield, Nagato pressed his hands together, unleashing the full power of his Rinnegan.
"Shinra Tensei!"
With a shattering crack, the Barrier finally broke, colliding head-on with the powerful force of Duy's red-hot strike. Though weakened after piercing through Nagato's numerous defenses, the red aura still clung to Duy, his blood-red steam enveloping him as he pressed forward.
Nagato, now struggling, his face twisted in concentration, grit his teeth as he felt the full force of the attack.
"Damn…" Nagato's eyes widened, his body twisting to evade the attack.
With another deafening crash, the force from Duy's red-hot foot struck Nagato's left chest. He coughed up blood as his body was sent flying, crashing into a pile of rubble.
Amid the rubble, Nagato lay with a large depression in his chest, blood pouring from his mouth, though he remained alive, albeit severely injured. Having transplanted Hashirama's cells, his recovery and resilience were greatly enhanced, and Duy's attack, having lost strength after passing through several barriers, could no longer kill him.
Nearby, Duy's body lay charred, lifeless, wisps of white steam rising from him. Seeing this, Hiruzen and Jiraiya acted immediately, rushing toward the rubble where Nagato lay.
Now was the perfect opportunity to take down Nagato and not let Duy's sacrifice be in vain.
"Summoning Jutsu!" From within the rubble came Nagato's weakened voice.
With a puff of smoke, six figures leaped from the smoke, surrounding and shielding Nagato. It was the Six Paths of Pain!
Close enough that they didn't need to set up a signal tower, one of the figures, an orange-haired woman, pressed her hand to the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A massive, large bird-like creature emerged from the smoke, carrying Nagato away toward Obito's location.
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Pls drop some Power Stones
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