A Decisive Victory? (1)
Sakura Haruno certainly wouldn't be like Naruto was sucked in by the Deva Path's Banshō Ten'in and then subdued without any chance of resistance.
She can do more than Naruto.
Ultimately, Sakura is now superior to Naruto in every aspect compared to Naruto at that time.
Including her weakness, Taijutsu.
Sakura Haruno's exceptional control allows her to precisely channel Chakra into every muscle fiber and nerve cell of her body, producing miraculous effects and Secret Technique: the Sakura Style Monstrous Strength Technique, surpassing her Secret Technique's, and the Cherry Blossom Impact, Secret Technique accelerates thought and reaction. Needless to say, we already know that the combination of these two techniques, along with her rich experience fighting against strong opponents, has created the girl's extraordinary Taijutsu abilities.
This gave Sakura Haruno some leeway to deal with the situation.
After the initial shock, the girl quickly regained her composure and devised a plan in a flash. The seawater beneath her feet rapidly transformed, catching up with the girl and becoming her foothold and leverage point; the girl, stepping on the seawater, instantly found a foothold in mid-air, twisted her body, and regained her balance!
It sounds simple on paper, but to complete this set of exquisite movements under the influence of Pain's Banshō Ten'in, one must possess extremely profound Water Release skills and exceptional reflexes.
Then, instead of manipulating the seawater to slow it down and counteract the power of the Banshō Ten'in, she did not do so.
Instead, the girl lightly touched the waves with her toes, her sandals landing on the crests, using this momentum to accelerate towards Pain!
The figure, already hurtling towards Pain at high speed, increased its speed even further!
"Drink!"
A furious roar suddenly erupted from nowhere. Sakura Haruno shouted angrily, her eyes instantly sharpening, and killing intent burst forth!
"Nintaijutsu - Wing Chun Straight Punch!"
The power of Banshō Ten'in combined with Sakura Haruno's power to ride the waves, instantly accelerating the girl's body to its limit. In the blink of an eye, what could be described in a few hundred words on paper was actually only a blink of an eye in the battle; Pain had just used Banshō Ten'in Sakura Haruno off guard, and the next moment the latter launched a fierce counterattack with exquisite response!
In an instant, Sakura Haruno traversed a distance of over a hundred meters. In a daze, the girl's sharp eyes were already inches away, and the wind of her punch came whistling as her fist crashed down like Mount Tai!
This punch could reduce Pain to dust!
Pain's eyes were dark, and a slight look of surprise appeared on his face, but his body remained as steady as a mountain, showing no intention of dodging.
He wasn't particularly skilled in Taijutsu, let alone able to stop the menacing Sakura Haruno with his bare hands.
But... the Preta Path is possible!
"Whoosh!"
The fat man, who had been lying in wait for a long time, suddenly sprang out from underwater in front of Pain, a strange smile on his face. He raised an arc-shaped shield with both hands, and his burly figure instantly protected Pain!
"Preta Path - Sealing Technique: Absorption Seal!"
Pain's strongest contingency plan is about to be activated!
In the blink of an eye, Sakura Haruno's pupils contracted sharply. She had no time to dodge the Preta Path and her arm, wrapped in a fierce fist wind, slammed straight at it.
Crack!
The fat man's left hand, which he had been holding in front of his chest, was smashed to pieces by the girl like a pulp, the sound of breaking bones as crisp as bamboo splitting open!
Then, the power of the punch plummeted like a cliff.
--The instant the fist passed through the shield, in a mere 0.1 seconds, the Chakra used to create the Monstrous Strength Technique rapidly diminished and dissipated, completely absorbed into the shield. Instantly, the girl's Monstrous Strength vanished like Utakata in the sunlight, leaving only the inertial force governed by the laws of physics.
Snap!
The girl's fist finally landed on the fat man's face, but it was already at its limit, producing only a crisp sound, and no longer possessing the overwhelming Monstrous Strength punch.
Sakura Haruno's expression froze on her face.
Chakra was absorbed, she suddenly felt her body become empty and weak!
The smile on the Preta Path's face was twisted by the beating, as if it had gained a hint of mockery:
"This is your Monstrous Strength?"
The destruction of one arm did not affect the effect of the Secret Technique. In Sakura Haruno's perception, the Preta Path seemed to have become a black hole, or an unfathomable abyss, greedily and endlessly sucking away her Chakra at high speed!
The girl's expression changed slightly.
What terrifying Chakra suction!
She had also fought enemies who could absorb and strip away their opponents 'Chakra. Kisame's Samehada left a deep impression on her, but the absorption ability of the Preta Path was far more domineering! No wonder Naruto's Rasenshuriken from that world could be absorbed by him instantly. If it weren't for this Chakra- absorbing shield, she could have easily blasted Pain Deva Path and Preta Path into dust with a single punch!
The moment Sakura Haruno's attack failed, Pain seized the opportunity and launched a fierce attack.
Whoosh--!
Suddenly Pain lunged forward, his black staff shooting out like a venomous snake. Using the body of the Preta Path to obscure his view, he unleashed a vicious and ruthless strike!
Even with the girl's lightning-fast reaction and rapid retreat, she couldn't completely dodge the attack—her mind made a response, but her body, feeling weak, couldn't keep up with her thoughts.
With a swish, Pain's Black Key left a deep, bone-revealing wound on Sakura's smooth forearm.
Blood gushed out, trickling down her slender arms and staining her porcelain-white skin a glaring blackish-red.
A tremendous pain shot through the girl's nerves and into her brain!
Sakura Haruno's expression remained unchanged. This level of pain was not enough to move this tough woman! But the fact that her right hand fingers began to disobey her and she could not exert any force below the elbow made her frown.
The nerves were damaged.
Pain noticed his slightly stiff movements.
You're finished!
In the close-quarters combat, unable to use her Monstrous Strength Technique and with her right hand temporarily immobile, Sakura Haruno's situation suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse. Having fought to the point of near exhaustion and exhausted all her trump cards, Pain was certain he had finally cornered Sakura Haruno!
Deva Path Pain, having landed a successful blow, relentlessly pursued the Preta Path, bypassing it to continue his attack.
While his punches and kicks weren't as powerful and domineering as Sakura Haruno's Nintaijutsu, they were certainly no weaker than those of other ninjas of the same rank. He was agile and swift, his punches and kicks were sharp and ruthless, his movements concise and efficient. He wielded the Black Key with lightning speed, his attacks fierce and powerful. He was truly a master of Taijutsu!
On the other side, the Preta Path also caught up quickly and tacitly, dragging its crippled arm and walking side by side with the Deva Path. It used its Secret Technique to hold on tightly to Sakura Haruno, ensuring that no matter how the girl retreated, she would always be within the range of its Secret Technique and unable to gather enough Chakra.
At close range, the Preta Path fully demonstrated its power. Sakura Haruno's skills were completely useless without the support of chakra, including her invincible close-combat taijutsu. Without the support of chakra, and unlike Lee or Guy, who are taijutsu fanatics, how much strength could she have? It was nothing more than the fancy moves of a delicate girl!
Sakura Haruno's decision to engage in close combat earlier played right into Pain's most deadly trap.
Pain charged forward menacingly, his eyes already treating Sakura Haruno as if she were dead!
(Two chapters released in quick succession)