The repulsive force of Shinra Tensei was not inexhaustible. Most of the time, Pain only used it to deflect incoming attacks.
But this time, in its clash against Dust Release, Shinra Tensei was already starting to run out of momentum!
Under the pressure of Dust Release, it even showed a brief imbalance. Under the reverse effect of its own repulsive force, Pain himself was pushed backward, sliding several meters.
But that was all!
The instant Pain retreated, his left hand had already lifted. A black metal rod appeared in his palm.
Banshō Ten'in!
A terrifying gravitational force instantly enveloped ??noki's entire body!
As the gravity took hold, ??noki's expression changed drastically. He could feel that his body was no longer under his control as he was forcibly dragged toward the Deva Path of Pain!
And the black rod in Pain's hand was aimed straight at his heart!
"Father!"
On the ground, Kitsuchi, who was watching the battle, didn't know why ??noki had suddenly lost control of his body—but he knew he had to do something. Otherwise, if the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure were killed in his own village, the entire village would become a laughingstock!
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Kitsuchi slammed both hands onto the ground. A massive, heavy stone wall dozens of meters tall surged up from the earth, perfectly positioning itself between ??noki and Pain!
But the power of Banshō Ten'in far exceeded Kitsuchi's expectations. ??noki's body showed no sign of stopping. Although the wall blocked Pain's black rod, it also caused ??noki to crash violently into it.
With a thunderous boom, the wall cracked and shattered under the impact driven by the gravitational pull. Countless fragments of stone were sent flying!
"My back…"
??noki bared his teeth, clutching his lower back. That impact was almost too much for his aged body to endure.
But even as waves of pain radiated from his bones, ??noki still adjusted his posture and formed hand seals again.
"Earth Release: Ultra-Light Weight Technique!"
This was a technique that reduced his own weight.
As his body grew lighter, he instead began using the pull of Banshō Ten'in to accelerate toward Pain!
Seeing ??noki flying toward him, Pain almost instinctively thrust the black rod forward. Although ??noki did his best to change direction, his Tsuchikage robe was still pierced, tearing off a piece of fabric.
Midair, ??noki stabilized himself as he tumbled, his aged face drenched in cold sweat.
In just one exchange, he had already gone all out merely to barely evade a fatal strike.
"This guy… is actually this strong…"
??noki gasped heavily, his gaze locked onto the Deva Path of Pain.
He had already noticed that Pain's two abilities were attraction and repulsion—but it seemed they couldn't be used simultaneously?
"Kitsuchi! Take everyone and retreat!"
From the sky, ??noki shouted without turning back. Having realized Pain's strength, he didn't want to incur unnecessary casualties.
"Father!"
"This is the Tsuchikage's order!"
Kitsuchi clenched his teeth tightly. After taking one last deep look at ??noki and Pain in the sky, he turned and led the Iwagakure shinobi in retreat.
He understood his father's intent. In this battle, ordinary shinobi were completely useless—and might even become a burden to ??noki!
Pain made no move to stop them. His gaze, from beginning to end, remained locked on ??noki.
??noki said nothing further. Slowly raising both hands, he once again condensed the light of Dust Release in his palms.
...
On another part of the battlefield, Deidara was in no better shape—or rather, he was being driven into a miserable state by Konan's explosive tags!
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
At some point, Deidara had already created a clay bird, fleeing frantically through the sky. Behind him spread a vast, overwhelming wave—almost forming a torrent of explosive tags across the heavens!
At the same time, Konan's paper clones closed in from all directions. They looked no different from real people, but the moment one made contact, it could erupt into a violent explosion.
"Art should be an instantaneous explosion—not this endless waste!"
Standing atop his clay bird, Deidara shouted angrily as he fled. What kind of monster was this woman? Did she run an explosive tag factory at home? How could she throw them around like they were free?!
In Deidara's eyes, this kind of battle had absolutely no artistic value!
Konan, however, remained expressionless throughout. The number of paper sheets beneath her feet continued to grow without end.
After her last battle against Uchiha Keizumi, Konan had been thinking about how to improve her Paper Release. The method she came up with was simple—directly control the maximum number of explosive tags she could handle, and have them move together with her.
If you dare attack me, I'll just detonate tens of billions of explosive tags on you!
If you don't attack me, then I'll slowly blow you to death, little by little!
Deidara had the honor of becoming the test subject for Konan's new combat style. Just looking at the endless stream of paper in the sky—like a river of explosive tags—was enough for Konan to feel satisfied with her creation.
"Waste? That doesn't exist for me. As long as I'm willing, I can bomb you for a hundred years."
"..."
Hearing Konan's words, Deidara's face nearly turned pitch-black. Sure enough—this woman really was mass-producing explosive tags, wasn't she?
Bombard him with explosive tags for a hundred years…
Just imagining it made Deidara feel the kind of despair that would last a lifetime.
As that chill crept into his heart, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the main battlefield.
The clash between ??noki and the Deva Path of Pain had already reached a level far beyond his understanding of what a shinobi could be!
"The old man…"
Deidara's expression shifted. When he looked back at Konan, his gaze had turned fierce.
"Tch! I'm not losing to that old geezer!"
Grinding his teeth, Deidara plunged both hands into the clay pouch at his waist and pulled out a massive lump of clay.
"C2—Dragon!"
A massive clay dragon took shape beneath him. Deidara flipped onto its back and charged toward the main battlefield!
He couldn't defeat Konan one-on-one—but he could drag his battlefield toward ??noki's side. He refused to believe that the explosive tag woman would still dare unleash explosions so recklessly there!
Konan watched his movements—and indeed stopped.
Her explosive tags possessed terrifying destructive power, but her combat style made it impossible for her to operate alongside the Deva Path of Pain. After all, her explosions didn't distinguish friend from foe. If she ended up blowing Pain up as well, that would be ridiculous.
"If I can't take you down, then I'll let Kakuzu and Sasori stir things up and recover some interest."
Turning around, Konan flew toward Kakuzu and Sasori. Up to now, neither of them had made a move in this battle. Kakuzu saw no profit in it and didn't care to waste his energy slaughtering ordinary shinobi.
As for Sasori, his gaze at this moment was fixed intently on ??noki.
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