Why was Hagoromo still fighting as a shinobi—
When he clearly possessed an even stronger mode?
"Corpses should look like corpses."
Preta Path lay sprawled on the ground, riddled with one bloody hole after another. Whatever animation it once had was gone—the corpse had truly returned to being a corpse.
But it was difficult to say that Hagoromo still looked human.
His entire body was drenched in blood, dyed a deep crimson, and his steps were unsteady.
After being struck head-on by Shinra Tensei, there was no way he could be unhard.
Hagoromo had never been the kind of shinobi who could be smashed into paste and then casually stand back up. He wasn't lacking in willpower—but willpower alone could not support everything.
This was reality.
True reality.
Could hot-blooded spirit really solve everything?
Moreover, Hagoromo had always been terrible at defense.
So shinobi could be slamd around like lumps of clay and still leap back up as if nothing happened—but that wasn't him. The fact that he was still standing at all was already close to miraculous.
"Keep your distance," Deva Path said calmly. "Don't forget—he can use Magnet Release–like abilities."
Though Nagato proclaid himself a god and dismissed Hagoromo as a "mortal," that never ant he would underestimate an opponent of this caliber.
The space–ti barrier laid in advance.
The relentless chakra expenditure to repeatedly restore multiple Paths of Pain.
All of it demonstrated just how seriously Nagato regarded Hagoromo.
Staggering backward step by step, Hagoromo voluntarily widened the distance between himself and Pain. He allowed the Six Paths to regroup—and allowed Naraka Path to restore the remaining two.
The enemy count returned to five.
"So… as long as they're reduced to minced at, revival becos impossible?"
Was that a foolish question?
No.
Once even the body itself was gone, not even Naraka Path could restore it.
"Then I'll just turn all of you into minced at."
First attacking Deva Path, then Naraka Path, then suffering a heavy counterattack and allowing the enemy to revive—
Did it look like Hagoromo had lost control of the flow?
No.
From beginning to end, he had never been clearer.
Why was he still fighting in shinobi mode, when he had sothing stronger?
While Pain regrouped, while Naraka Path perford revival, while Hagoromo pulled back to a sufficient distance—
He hadn't been idle.
He still had chakra left.
And so, he began forming hand seals again.
Throughout this battle, aside from Lightning Release, he had only used one other technique.
And now, he used it again.
Ninja Art: Summoning Technique.
The Ninja Dogs.
The Yatagarasu.
The Even-Toed Ox.
The Two-Horned Rhinoceros.
Even—
Katsuyu.
Even—
Rashōmon.
All of them stood before Hagoromo.
The sealing patterns carved into Rashōmon revealed that this summoning was different.
Normally, once Rashōmon sustained heavy damage, it would return to the summoning realm. But this ti, Hagoromo had altered it beforehand.
The formulae engraved upon it declared a single condition:
Once summoned, it would never return—no matter how badly it was damaged.
This was an irreversible summoning.
As a defensive asure, its effectiveness was unquestionable.
"Using the sa thod for defense again?" Deva Path said coldly. "Have you run out of tricks?"
Hiding behind Rashōmon, Hagoromo spoke to his summons:
"Katsuyu. Buy ti. At least twenty seconds."
There was no ti for explanations in the middle of battle.
The summoned beasts surged forward imdiately.
Against Rinnegan-level control, using summons was hardly a wise choice. Other than Katsuyu, the remaining summons were extrely likely to be seized or neutralized.
But for buying a short window of ti, it was enough.
And Hagoromo couldn't afford to worry about anything else.
Why was he still fighting as a shinobi, when he had a stronger mode?
Because his electrokinesis required accumulation.
He couldn't waste that power recklessly.
He didn't have the luxury of clearing zombies one by one.
Now—
The charge was nearly complete.
Now—
He would annihilate Pain in his own way.
Yes.
Annihilate.
To wipe out all enemies in a single strike—that was what "insta-kill" ant.
From the very beginning, he had never planned to engage in prolonged combat.
Hidden behind Rashōmon, Hagoromo himself was obscured—
But the brilliant lightning illuminated the night sky so intensely that even from the front, it was unmistakable.
"You call yourself a god—fine, then I'll treat you as one," Hagoromo said quietly.
"But do gods understand the terror of humans?"
"Perhaps gods can never comprehend what a single human can truly do."
The next move would far exceed his limits.
Such an extre technique would inevitably shorten his lifespan.
Five years.
Fifty years.
Who knew?
That was the price.
What ca next was Hagoromo's so-called tailed-beast-killing trump card—
The strongest attack of his entire life.
Earlier, he had seed as though he might dissolve into lightning.
Now—
He truly was dissolving into lightning.
Hagoromo could resist Lightning Release and electricity—but everything had limits.
Once those limits were exceeded, survival was no longer guaranteed.
Electrokinesis — Level 5. Full Release.
Overload. Absolute Limit Release.
Now it would be seen just how much this shinobi's body could endure.
Within the blinding lightning, Hagoromo's form was barely visible.
Under this intensity, the skin on the left side of his face began to rupture, exposing raw, crimson flesh—
Then carbonized.
The sa transformation spread across his entire body.
High voltage.
High temperature.
High current.
Even the ground beneath his feet began to lt like magma.
"So, gods—"
"Or rather, self-proclaid gods—"
"If you can block this, then block it."
"If you can defend against it, then defend."
"Let this be a vivid lesson—one that teaches you what humans truly are."
"See just how far a single shinobi can go."
"Try to withstand my final strike."
Pain was gathered directly in front of him.
In truth, they couldn't hear what Hagoromo was saying.
In truth, Hagoromo himself could no longer hear a single word he spoke.
The extre computational load made his brain feel as though it were boiling.
Blood trickled from his ears, slowly joining into thin red streams.
And yet—
He insisted on finishing the declaration.
A strongest attack deserved a na.
Besides—
He needed ti to finish charging.
"The na of this technique is—"
"Ninja Art: Summoning!"
"Lightning Release: Secret Technique!!"
Hagoromo's voice was broken, interrupted by coughing blood.
"Heaven and Earth Reduced to Ash…"
"Ten-Trillion Death Grand Funeral Array…"
"Imperial Lightning Garden, Heavy Kingdom…"
"RASHŌMON!!!"
Ninja Art: Summoning—Lightning Release Secret Technique
Heaven-and-Earth Ashes, Ten-Trillion Death Grand Funeral Array,
Imperial Lightning Garden Heavy Kingdom—RASHŌMON.
No matter how chūnibyō the na sounded, it couldn't hide the truth—
At its core, this was still the technique Hagoromo used most often.
What was Hagoromo's strongest attack?
In the end, despite all his creativity, he wasn't soone with endlessly ornate imagination.
No matter how he dressed it up—
What he used…
Was still the Lightning Release technique.
His strongest attack was still the Lightning Release technique.
Just slightly different this ti.
Because now—
Shiraishi Hagoromo the shinobi,
Shiraishi Hagoromo the esper,
Was about to use the Lightning Release technique again.
The difference was simple.
This ti—
Rashōmon itself would be the projectile.
A Lightning Release technique was still a Lightning Release technique.
Changed—
But only just.
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