Pain Makes His Move!

Deva Path Pain walked unhurriedly in the direction Konan pointed. Anyone else would have been trembling with fear after walking in this silent, dark cave for half an hour. Even Ming Jing and Konan had to hold hands to get out, yet Deva Path Pain's expression remained unchanged from start to finish, his face bearing the same eternally cold expression.

Finally, he reached the innermost part and saw the plant that had scared Konan away, along with the mysterious spring water.

The plant also discovered Deva Path Pain. Its red fruits emitted rapid "ling ling ling" sounds, and tens of thousands of branches lunged towards Deva Path Pain as if piercing him with a thousand arrows.

Just as the branches were about to surround Deva Path Pain, he raised one hand, palm facing the countless incoming branches. "Almighty Push!"

With a muffled "boom!", all the branches were repelled and snapped off by Deva Path Pain. However, what was unexpected was the plant's terrifying regenerative ability. The branches that had just been snapped off grew anew within seconds and continued to surge towards Deva Path Pain.

"Hmph!" Deva Path Pain let out a cold snort, and a black rod slid out from his sleeve. Deva Path Pain wielded the rod with one hand, dancing with impressive agility. No matter how furiously the branches attacked, they couldn't break through Pain's defense.

The red fruits on the plant shook even more urgently and piercingly. Suddenly, one red fruit was flung out by the thrashing branches, hurtling towards Deva Path Pain's head.

Deva Path Pain swept his rod, the tip striking the red fruit. To his surprise, the red fruit exploded!

With a "bang!", Deva Path Pain was sent flying backward, his mysterious black and red cloud uniform also damaged.

The plant's ringing suddenly became pleasant, and thousands of branches shot towards Deva Path Pain like lightning.

"Almighty Push!" Deva Path Pain used the technique again, repelling the branches. The Rinnegan regarded the plant with seriousness for the first time.

The plant, feeling no pain or fear, continued its frenzied attack with its branches. The man and the plant fought fiercely underground, the rocks and soil tearing like paper, easily creating hundreds of large and small holes.

Deva Path Pain felt a slight pressure. Another black rod slid out from his other sleeve. Holding a rod in each hand, he moved like a dragon and tiger underground, managing to suppress the plant's arrogant momentum for a time. The plant now realized it had met its match. It flung its red fruits without restraint, launching nearly twenty at once.

"Almighty Push!" Deva Path Pain had been waiting for this moment. He exhaled chakra, repelling these red fruits.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Several consecutive explosions caused much of the cave to collapse, separating Deva Path Pain from the plant. But this was not the outcome Deva Path Pain desired. He swept his black rods, clearing away all the rocks and soil blocking his path. As he approached, he saw that the plant had, in such a short time, constructed an eggshell-shaped dome, fiercely protecting the spring water.

Deva Path Pain narrowed his eyes. It seemed this spring water was truly something special! In that case, he wouldn't refuse it!

"Banshō Ten'in!" Deva Path Pain extended one hand, and the spring water was drawn entirely towards him.

"Ling ling ling!"

This time, the plant was truly enraged. Its short, rapid ringing conveyed its resolve. Countless branches lunged at Deva Path Pain from all directions. "Almighty Push!" Deva Path Pain thrust his black rods upwards. With immense power and chakra, he broke open a large opening leading directly to the outside. Then, holding the spring water in one hand and his black rod in the other, he flew out without hesitation.

The plant pursued relentlessly, its branches squeezing out of the opening after Deva Path Pain. From a distance, it looked like a volcanic eruption, except that instead of lava, it was plant branches spewing out.

One slender, leafless branch moved with lightning speed, hidden by the other branches. In the blink of an eye, it pierced Deva Path Pain's outer thigh. Before Deva Path Pain could react, the branch burrowed into his body.

"Huh?!" Deva Path Pain was shocked. This body was forged and strengthened by Nagato multiple times. Nagato was confident that even A-rank ninjutsu would have difficulty harming this body, yet now it had been easily pierced by a plant! Deva Path Pain broke the branch with his black rod while continuously ascending, but the piece left inside him seemed intent on rooting itself in his blood vessels, wanting to absorb flesh and blood to grow!

"What a pity!..." Deva Path Pain looked down from nearly a thousand meters in the sky at the writhing branches below, like a dance of snakes. If this plant had entered a truly living body, it would have been a terrifying experience. Unfortunately, Deva Path Pain was not a living person in the strict sense. The branch within his body couldn't absorb any blood!

Deva Path Pain reached into his own body and pulled out a three-meter-long, still wriggling branch from his outer thigh.

"It seems I can't leave you in this world!" Deva Path Pain frowned slightly. This thing was indiscriminate; what if it accidentally harmed allies in the future? This thing, even in Deva Path Pain's body with little blood, had grown this long in such a short time. Imagine how quickly it would kill a creature with flesh and blood! More importantly, Nagato desired world peace, not destruction.

So, how should he deal with this thing? Nagato pondered. Almighty Push wouldn't work. Didn't he see the severed branch still twisting in Deva Path Pain's hand? If an ultimate Almighty Push were unleashed, scattering this plant into tens of thousands of pieces flying in all directions, that would be a true disaster!

"It seems I have no choice but to use that move!" Nagato quickly decided. Under his control, Deva Path Pain clasped his hands together, then slowly pulled them apart, and a small black sphere appeared between his palms.

"Chibaku Tensei!" Deva Path Pain casually waved his hand, and the black sphere flew to five hundred meters above the plant. Its immense gravitational pull drew all the plant's branches towards it. The mountain also crumbled, turning into rocks of various sizes that were sucked up and stuck to the plant.

As the rocks from the mountain were pulled up, Deva Path Pain saw the situation underground. A hint of tension appeared on his usually indifferent face. He saw the plant's roots, like countless overlapping spiderwebs, spread layer by layer across the ground.

"Hmph!" Deva Path Pain snorted coldly, increasing the black sphere's attraction. It began to peel the plant's roots layer by layer from the earth. The plant felt threatened and tried to resist, exerting all its strength to push branches out of the rocks and soil, then continuously flinging red fruits at Deva Path Pain. Unfortunately, these red fruits were also pulled back by the black sphere's attraction, exploding beside the branches and directly snapping the ones that had just managed to emerge.

Fifteen minutes later, a sphere the size of a bird's nest appeared in the sky, with the plant pressed against the innermost part of the sphere. He deliberately descended from a high altitude and inspected it carefully, only sighing in relief when he confirmed that no roots or branches had been left behind. Deva Path Pain flew below the earth sphere, placing one hand on its surface: "Almighty Push!"

With a "boom!", the earth sphere shot up like a rocket, directly propelled by Deva Path Pain beyond the atmosphere.

In the distance, Ming Jing watched the large sphere fly further and further away. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It seems it's resolved! Good thing we ran fast earlier, or we would have been done for in there."

"I'm leaving now, you can go back on your own!" Konan withdrew her gaze, instructed Ming Jing, and then "grew" her wings again, flying away directly. Ming Jing watched Konan's retreating figure, understanding in his heart that she was worried about Nagato's condition.

A while later, Deva Path Pain returned, carrying a sphere of water. He looked at Ming Jing and said, "You saved Konan this time. I don't like owing favors. Come to the Land of Rain in a week, and I'll repay you."

"Do we need to be so formal? Perhaps we could become good friends?" Ming Jing probed.

Deva Path Pain was silent for a moment before replying, "I don't need friends!"