— — — — — —
"That's…"
Kakashi and the others suddenly noticed that the Animal Path Pain, who had just been killed, was somehow revived. Their eyes instinctively turned toward a massive King of Hell statue that had mysteriously been summoned nearby.
The enormous King of Hell opened its gaping mouth, and from within, the Human Path Pain—previously cleaved in two by Uchiha Kitaro's chakra blade—walked out, completely restored.
Next, the Preta Path Pain, who had been sent flying by Kitaro's brutal kick, was tossed into the King of Hell's mouth by the Naraka Path Pain.
Moments later, the King of Hell opened its mouth once again, and the Preta Path Pain emerged, fully healed.
At this point, aside from the Asura Path Pain, who had been dismantled into pieces, all the defeated Pains had been resurrected.
"That thing… it can actually revive them!" Guy exclaimed in shock.
Kakashi's expression darkened. The enemy wasn't just formidable but annoyingly hard to deal with. "To finish them off for good, we need to prioritize taking out that one first."
Kitaro also noticed what was happening. "Ah, I forgot they had this move. Such a hassle! All I wanted was to find Orochimaru-sensei…"
He decided to deal with the Naraka Path Pain first. Without eliminating it, the endless resurrections would make things far more difficult.
Just as Kitaro prepared to make his move, the Deva Path Pain acted.
"I can't let you run wild any longer!"
"Bansho Ten'in (Universal Pull)!"
A powerful gravitational force pulled Kitaro toward the Deva Path.
Rather than resisting, Kitaro allowed himself to be pulled forward. At the same time, he swiftly wrapped his fist in the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and punched in the Deva Path's direction.
Crack! Crack!
The air split apart, creating fractures in reality.
The Deva Path's expression shifted. He knew all too well the devastating power of Kitaro's tremor strikes—several of his paths had already fallen to it. Taking the attack head-on was out of the question. If the black rods embedded in the body were shattered, control over the Deva Path would be lost, rendering him unable to create new rods.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The Deva Path unleashed a powerful repulsion force centered around himself.
Boom!
The collision between the tremor's vibrations and the repulsion sent shockwaves through the battlefield.
Rumble!
The tremor's force was deflected, carving a deep fissure into the ground as it veered off course.
"It bounced back?! As expected of the Rinnegan. Its raw power outclasses that of a Devil Fruit," Kitaro muttered. "Looks like I'll need to kick things up a notch."
"Mangekyo Sharingan—Activate!"
His Sharingan transformed into the Mangekyo form, the crimson eyes glinting with a five-pointed star pattern.
"Transparent World—Activate!"
With his advanced visual powers, Kitaro's perception sharpened even further.
"Sage Mode—Activate!"
Natural energy surged through him, forming sage markings around his eyes.
"Lightning Chakra Mode—Activate!"
Blue chakra erupted around him, crackling with arcs of electricity.
Zzt! Zzt!
The electric current danced furiously over Kitaro's body.
"Thunder Breathing—Activate!"
Boom!
The lightning surrounding him intensified, shattering the ground beneath his feet.
"Armament Haki! Observation Haki! Full Power—Activate!"
His arms were coated in the dark sheen of Armament Haki, and his heightened senses from Observation Haki locked onto every detail around him.
With all his buffs fully unleashed, Kitaro exuded a terrifying aura. The sheer pressure emanating from him made it hard for anyone nearby to breathe.
Simply standing there, he felt like a force of nature, an inevitable doom bearing down on all who opposed him.
"This… this is the Sword God Uchiha Kitaro?"
"And he's not even using a sword right now!" Kakashi and Guy were dumbfounded. It was their first time witnessing Kitaro activate so many enhancements simultaneously.
Even without his usual buffs, Kitaro was already a monster. Now, he was a supercharged behemoth.
The Deva Path's expression grew grave. This opponent was dangerously powerful, and he had to approach this battle with utmost caution.
Squelch!
In an instant, the Naraka Path Pain's head vanished.
"What?!"
Everyone was stunned. Looking up, they saw Kitaro standing behind the Naraka Path, its headless body collapsing while he held its severed head in his hand.
"When did he…?!"
The Deva Path rewound the events using the Rinnegan's abilities, analyzing the moment Kitaro moved.
It turned out Kitaro had acted in a split second, moving so quickly that even the Rinnegan couldn't keep up in real time. It was like watching a bullet being fired faster than an automatic tracking system could respond.
"Damn it!"
With the Naraka Path destroyed, reviving the other Pains was no longer an option—a major blunder for the Deva Path.
"Bansho Ten'in!"
The Deva Path once again used gravitational force to pull Kitaro toward him.
Boom!
The ground was torn apart as Kitaro accelerated violently, seemingly vanishing from view. Even the Deva Path momentarily lost sight of him.
Squelch!
The Animal Path Pain's body was suddenly pierced by Kitaro's arm.
Boom! Boom!
One by one, the Human Path and Preta Path Pains were obliterated.
In the blink of an eye, all the paths of Pain were eliminated—except for the Deva Path.
Kitaro dusted his hands off and smirked. "Now that's better—clean and simple."
"Only one left."
.
.
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