The Shadow Demon King, having lost his regenerative abilities, swayed unsteadily as black blood poured from the wound in his chest.
"Impossible! How could the Ultimate Modification fail?" The Demon King clutched his chest, his voice turning hoarse.
"Even the strongest modification has a weakness." Sasuke tightened his grip on the Kusanagi Sword. "Now you're just an ordinary cyborg."
But just as everyone thought the outcome was settled, the Demon King suddenly broke into a crazed grin.
"Ordinary? Hahaha!" He spread his arms. "Now that my regeneration core's been destroyed, there's no point holding back!"
Black markings across the Demon King's body began to flicker violently, and his entire body radiated an ominous aura.
"What's he doing?" Karin's face paled.
"He's going to self-destruct!" Nagato realized at once. "He's going to detonate all the modified tissue inside his body!"
Sure enough, the Demon King's body began to swell, and something writhed beneath his skin.
"Everyone, get back!" Though Naruto was badly injured, he still stepped in front of Karin.
"Too late!" The Demon King grinned viciously. "Go to hell with me!"
At this critical moment, the Demon King suddenly stopped the Self-Destruct Program.
"Huh? What's going on?" He stared at his own body in confusion.
"Because I absorbed the energy from your explosion," Nagato said weakly, the light of the Preta Path flickering in his right eye.
"When?"
"From the moment you started preparing to self-destruct," Nagato explained. "The Preta Path can absorb more than just ninjutsu. It can absorb explosive energy before it goes off, too."
The Demon King's plan had failed again. Fury drove him completely out of his mind.
"Then I'll tear you apart the old-fashioned way!"
He charged wildly at Naruto, the nearest target. Though he had lost his regenerative abilities, his modified body was still