"So even gods resort to luring the tiger away from the mountain… heh."
At this mont, the outskirts of Kumogakure were filled with nonstop thunderous explosions as paper bombs detonated one after another. Fla-spewing missiles streaked through the sky like fireworks, mushroom-shaped clouds of smoke rising in waves. Two grotesque three-legged birds circled overhead, constantly dropping egg-like bombs that exploded the instant they hit the ground.
Above a stretch of ruins, Naruto hovered in midair, watching as a massive reddish-brown, three-headed dog was torn apart by the Raikage's attacks—splitting into dozens of smaller beasts. Yet every ti the Raikage tried to disengage, the creatures instantly rged back together and went berserk, charging straight toward shelters packed with civilians and low-ranking ninja.
Farther away, the furious bellow of a charging bull could be faintly heard.
On another battlefield, Yugito Nii and Killer B were launching a ferocious assault against Tendo Pain and the Preta Path—or rather, against three Paths in total. The Animal Path was also present, but invisible to them, just as Naruto was invisible to them now.
The difference was that the Animal Path was hiding inside a chaleon summon, while Naruto was concealed by Dustless Bewildering Plug.
Both Yugito and Killer B had entered partial tailed-beast transformation, their bodies wrapped in dark crimson chakra cloaks. Killer B was further encased in a skeletal ox-shaped armor.
"Cat Claw!"
"Lariat!"
The two crossed paths, charging straight toward the Preta Path and Tendo Pain.
"Shinra Tensei!"
With a single raised hand, Tendo repelled Killer B. He flew backward just as fast as he had charged in.
At the sa ti, the Preta Path rushed Yugito. Tilting its head, it narrowly avoided a killing blow—allowing Yugito's other claw to pierce its shoulder.
But in the very next instant, the tailed-beast cloak enveloping Yugito began to vanish at a visible rate.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Killer B had barely regained his footing when dozens of black chakra receivers shot toward him and Yugito.
He twisted his body, spinning like a top.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every rod aid at him was knocked aside by the ox-bone armor. But Yugito—her chakra cloak already drained—collapsed at the Preta Path's feet.
Her arms and legs were pierced and pinned to the ground by black rods.
"B! That guy can absorb both ninjutsu and chakra! And these black rods can't be touched!" Yugito shouted desperately.
"I can't mold chakra anymore!"
"B! Use long-range attacks!" Gyūki warned inside Killer B's mind.
"No good!" Killer B snapped back in his usual rap cadence.
"Yugito's right there, and we're inside the village! I can't use a Tailed Beast Ball! Fool! Idiot!"
His eyes flicked toward the shelters.
His brother—the Fourth Raikage—was still locked in combat with that monstrous summon. Anxiety surged violently in Killer B's chest.
Tendo Pain's gaze sharpened.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
"Not this again!"
Staggering forward, Killer B slamd his claws into the ground. Solidified chakra hands plunged deep into the earth.
At the sa ti, two tails behind him elongated, wrapping around a massive stone pillar that took several people to encircle. Two more tails shot forward, morphing into beastly claws—one reaching for Tendo Pain, the other for Yugito.
Tap.
The Preta Path grabbed Yugito and leapt behind Tendo. The instant Yugito was set down, both Paths sensed danger and jumped away in opposite directions.
BOOM!
The ground exploded.
Two massive, dark-red claws burst from the earth—one of them clutching Yugito.
"B! Did you notice it?!"
"Yeah!" Killer B replied instantly.
"He didn't repel us that ti! That gravity-based technique has a cooldown—a few seconds at least!"
"From when he attacked you to when you countered, there was a gap of about four to five seconds!"
"YEAH! With your chakra and my speed, we can flip this fight! Fool! Idiot!"
"But you should deal with that summon. The Raikage's speed is higher than yours—he's the best match for that Path!"
"OK! You're right, Eight! First we pull the rods out of Yugito, then I'll switch targets with Big Bro!"
As Killer B finished speaking internally, he had already rescued Yugito. Just as he reached to pull out the black rods—
A massive boulder, over five zhang across, ca crashing down from the sky.
"Damn it! No one ever gives us a chance!" Killer B cursed.
More tails burst out, forming giant hands to hold up the boulder. He scooped up Yugito and dashed aside—
Only for Tendo Pain to be standing right in front of them.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Mirror World
Inside the Mirror World, Naruto watched the floating panel calmly while the tailed beasts communicated in their unique manner.
"How does this guy have so many Rinnegan?"
"Only one pair should be real. Aside from Tendo and the Preta Path, the others aren't that impressive."
"Yeah, one of them just got his neck twisted by the Raikage and Gyūki the mont he appeared. The body was snatched by Kumogakure."
"If that summoning Path hadn't drawn the Raikage away, only the gravity guy would still be standing."
"If only we could see the other battlefields… too bad we only have data constructs of Killer B and Yugito."
"Kurama, when do you think Naruto will step in?"
"Definitely not now."
"Then where is Naruto?"
"..."
High Above the Battlefield
Under a vast blue sky, Naruto stood thousands of ters in the air, amusedly observing a cluster of clouds several hundred ters away.
Below those clouds lay a desolate mountain pass far from Kumogakure. Jagged, barren peaks rose sharply from the ground—one of them piercing straight into the clouds.
"Looks like too many aerial attacks gave it away," Naruto mused.
"But using paper to disguise clouds and set up a barrier overhead… that's pretty creative."
Such a disguise might fool the Sharingan, but Naruto—who possessed a Tenseigan with perception surpassing even the Byakugan—saw through it instantly.
After arriving near Kumogakure, he had dispatched several Wood Release clones to monitor the Six Paths of Pain within the village. His true body had co straight here.
Nagato's real body was on the highest peak—right at the summit.
And interestingly enough, Black Zetsu was hiding underground at the base of the sa mountain.
"Pain actually fell for this kind of trick?"
Naruto suddenly smiled oddly.
Monts earlier, a Wood Release clone had sent him fresh intel.
Kumogakure's barrier team had rushed to assist Killer B and Yugito. Their sensor unit forced the Naraka Path out of the chaleon. Then a Cloud jonin, Dodai, uncertainly called out "Pain?"
The Naraka Path calmly responded—
And was imdiately sealed inside the Benihisago, one of the Six Paths ninja tools.
Seeing this, Tendo Pain unleashed a wide-area Shinra Tensei, cleanly skewered Yugito again with black rods, and then retreated with her—leaving the Preta Path behind. Killer B pursued.
However, the range of that Shinra Tensei was barely over a hundred ters—nothing like the devastating village-level version he used in Konoha. anwhile, the Animal Path was still wreaking havoc in Kumogakure.
"Going for Chibaku Tensei, huh?"
Naruto's lips curled upward. He knew exactly what Nagato was planning.
That technique required an enormous amount of chakra. To maximize its power, Tendo Pain had to be as close to Nagato's real body as possible.
Outside the Village
On a cliff far from Kumogakure, Killer B—still in partial transformation—leapt onto a mountain peak. He opened his mouth wide as a purple-black sphere rapidly condensed.
With a flick of his gaze, the sphere shot down into the ravine.
"Shinra Tensei!"
BOOM!
The mountain shook violently. After the blinding flash, a black sphere drifted up into the sky.
"He blocked it with that move, Eight! Let's go full transformation!"
"Sothing's wrong—look at the sky!"
Killer B looked up.
A black orb hovered high above, radiating an eerie presence—like a sun shrunken countless tis over.
"Chibaku Tensei!"
An unimaginable gravitational force descended upon him.
Crack! Crack!!
The mountains shattered. Massive slabs of rock tore free and flew skyward. In just a few breaths, they ford a growing sphere, like a rising teor.
"ROOOAR!"
Killer B instantly completed full transformation.
It didn't matter.
The entire mountain beneath him disintegrated, burying him under countless chunks of stone. In monts, he was encased inside a colossal sphere—only eight octopus tentacles flailing outside, with a single ox head left exposed.
"Yugito!"
Killer B watched helplessly as Yugito was pulled upward, rging into the mass of stone.
"What do we do, Eight?!"
"It's useless," Gyūki replied grimly.
"This is the ultimate sealing technique the Sage of Six Paths used on the Ten-Tails. His power doesn't match the old man's… but we still can't escape."
"Damn it! Idiot! That friend of yours said he'd step in at the critical mont—WHERE IS HE?!"
"Maybe… he doesn't know what's happening here," Gyūki sighed.
Stone continued to rise from the ground faster and faster.
Soon, Killer B slamd into the massive stone sphere in the sky.
RUMBLE—
When everything finally settled, a stone satellite over 300 ters in diater hovered silently in midair.
Elsewhere
One hundred ters above the mountain hiding Nagato's real body, a pitch-black gate suddenly opened.
Naruto stepped out.
He smiled faintly and pressed his palms together.
"Chibaku Tensei."
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