"Is that so?" Namikaze Minato scratched his head ruefully. "Then I guess we'll have to fight!"
He hadn't wanted to appear in this form, but he'd had no choice. If he didn't show up, his own foolish son would be killed.
It was only under Uzumaki Kushina's violent threats that he'd finally decided to come out and save his son's life.
But whether he fought or not, his soul would return to the Underworld before long. Since he was already here, he might as well do a little more for the village.
He was decisive by nature. Seeing that talking was useless, he resolved to eliminate the village's future greatest enemy right here.
He flicked both hands, throwing more than a dozen Kunai at Pain in quick succession.
The Kunai clanged against one another in midair, changing their trajectories at once and forming a crisscrossing barrage that precisely blocked Pain's escape routes.
But Pain didn't even need Ninjutsu to deal with an attack of this caliber. He simply drifted slightly in midair, and all the Kunai missed.
The moment they whizzed past him, a flash of yellow light appeared behind him: Namikaze Minato. He swung his blade backhanded, slashing toward Pain's head like lightning.
But the name Yellow Flash had long since spread throughout the Ninja World, and Minato's signature Flying Thunder God Technique was known to everyone.
Pain already knew all about him, of course, and was prepared for a surprise attack. The moment Minato vanished from his original position, Pain didn't even look back; he simply widened his eyes.
"Shinra Tensei!"
As his indifferent voice rang out, a powerful repulsive force surged outward from around him. The invisible field of force crashed like a giant wave against the shore, and Namikaze Minato was sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut.
But the next moment, Minato appeared beside another Kunai and threw out several more with a flick of his hand, following up with another slash.
Though Shinra Tensei was powerful and offered all-around defense, it had one drawback: a cooldown. It couldn't be used whenever Pain wanted.
That cooldown was at least five seconds.
Shinra Tensei had just been used, and the cooldown wasn't over yet, so Pain had no choice but to fight him in close combat.
He waved his hand, and a Black Receiver slid from his sleeve as he raised it to meet the attack.
With a crisp clang, the blades clashed, throwing off dazzling sparks.
Before Pain could counterattack, Minato's figure vanished like a phantom and reappeared beside another Kunai.
The Flying Thunder God Technique was practically a cheat, especially with Namikaze Minato controlling half a Tailed Beast and having no shortage of Chakra.
Now that he was using his full strength, he was practically teleporting, zipping around through the air with a flurry of flashes. One moment he was in front, the next behind—appearing and disappearing unpredictably, like a streak of yellow light darting all across the sky.
His swordsmanship was even more refined, every strike aimed precisely at a vital spot. A flurry of swift slashes came down, and he had Pain completely on the defensive.
But Minato didn't realize that Pain was actually a puppet. He didn't see only through his own eyes; the other Six Paths hidden in the shadows served as his eyes, too. With all six pairs of Rinnegan sharing their vision, none of Minato's flashes could escape his notice.
So even when Namikaze Minato flashed behind Pain, it made no difference to him.
Namikaze Minato's attacks were already faster than an ordinary person's eyes could follow, but the Rinnegan weren't ordinary eyes, and Pain wasn't an ordinary person. Minato slashed at him again and again, but still couldn't break through Pain's defenses.
The moment the cooldown ended, Pain widened his eyes again.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Repulsive force surged outward from Pain once more, sending Namikaze Minato flying.
But the instant he was repelled, Minato deftly adjusted his posture in midair and flicked his hand, sending out several more Kunai.
When Namikaze Minato first fought Pain, he hadn't noticed the cooldown on Shinra Tensei. But after taking the attack twice in a row, he quickly realized the weakness of this powerful Ninjutsu.
Five seconds was a short time for most people, but Minato could do a great deal in that span.
Now he felt even more confident that he could eliminate this great enemy for the village.
At the same time, Pain had also discovered Minato's weakness: his teleportation depended heavily on Kunai!
The only reason Namikaze Minato could fight him back and forth in the sky was that he relied on the Flying Thunder God Technique to move swiftly through the air. Without the Flying Thunder God Marks on the Kunai to use as coordinates, Minato couldn't fly and had no way to get close to him.
Pain rapidly swung his Black Receiver, its tip striking the incoming Kunai with pinpoint accuracy and knocking them all away.
But the Flying Thunder God Technique was fast, too. The moment Pain struck the Kunai, Namikaze Minato had already appeared beside it.
This time, however, Minato didn't throw out any new Kunai. Instead, he reached out with his left hand and grabbed for the Black Receiver.
All he had to do was inscribe a Flying Thunder God Mark on it, and he could get close to Pain without limit. He wouldn't need Kunai as coordinates anymore.
But the moment his hand touched the Black Receiver, he suddenly felt his Chakra go into disarray.
At the same time, Pain let go of the Black Receiver with his right hand. Another one slid from his left sleeve, stabbing straight toward Minato like a gust of wind.
"Damn!"
Minato cursed inwardly, hurriedly dropping the Black Receiver and swinging his blade with his right hand to block.
With a light clang, the short blade in Minato's hand shattered on the spot, and the Black Receiver drove straight onward.
But that brief pause had given the Chakra in Minato's body time to settle. He flashed and disappeared from his original position once more.
However, with all the Kunai knocked away, he reappeared far from Pain and began falling from the sky.
He hurriedly threw out several more Kunai, hoping to use the same trick again.
But this time, it didn't work.
Several missiles suddenly shot up from diagonally below, trailing long plumes of exhaust. One pursued the Kunai in midair, while the others flew toward Minato.
The missile and Kunai collided head-on and exploded with a roar. The Kunai hadn't even gotten close to Pain before the blast sent them flying.
The remaining missiles exploded as soon as they neared Minato, like several enormous fireworks bursting in the sky.
A flash of yellow light, and Namikaze Minato reappeared on the ground without a scratch. He glanced to the side, his expression grave.
Another person had appeared on the ground at some point. He was also wearing a Black Cloak with Red Clouds, dressed like a member of the Akatsuki Organization, and was now reattaching his right forearm to his body.
But what drew Namikaze Minato's gaze most was the pair of Rinnegan he had—the same as Pain's in the sky.
"What's going on?"
"How can there be another pair of Rinnegan?"
"Were those missiles a unique Ninjutsu of this pair of Rinnegan?"
Namikaze Minato was full of questions, and his heart sank.
But he knew very well that whatever the Dojutsu of these Rinnegan might be, he probably wouldn't be able to accomplish his goal.
He had seen the other members of the Akatsuki Organization. They were probably all quite strong, but he and Pain were fighting in the sky, so they wouldn't affect him much.
This newcomer with the Rinnegan was different. He could truly interfere with the fight between Minato and Pain.
But if Minato took the battle to the ground, the Akatsuki Organization's many members could all swarm him. Even he wouldn't be able to get away easily.
At that thought, he began to consider retreating.
But before he left, he still had to kill someone!