The Second Pair of Rinnegan

"Is that so?" Namikaze Minato scratched his head in distress. "Then I suppose I have no choice but to fight!"

He had originally intended to avoid appearing in this form, but there was no helping it; if he didn't show up, his own foolish son would be done for.

It was only under the violent threats of Uzumaki Kushina that he finally made the decision to come out and save his son's life.

Regardless of whether he fought or not, he would eventually return to the Underworld after some time. Since he was already out, he might as well do a few more things for the Village.

He was a decisive man. Seeing that words were useless, he set his mind on snuffing out this future threat to the Village right here and now.

With a flick of his hands, he threw over a dozen Kunai at Pain in quick succession.

The Kunai collided with each other in mid-air with a series of clinks, instantly altering their flight paths to form a crisscrossing web of fire that precisely sealed off Pain's escape routes.

However, against an attack of this caliber, Pain didn't even need to use Ninjutsu; he simply drifted slightly in mid-air, causing all the Kunai to miss their mark.

But just as the Kunai grazed past him, a flash of yellow light appeared, and Namikaze Minato's figure materialized behind him. Simultaneously, he backhanded a blade, slashing toward Pain's head like lightning.

The reputation of the Yellow Flash had long since spread throughout the Ninja World, and his signature Flying Thunder God Technique was known to all.

Pain had long been aware of his intelligence and was naturally prepared for a surprise attack. The moment he saw Minato vanish from his original spot, he didn't even turn his head, merely narrowing his eyes.

"Almighty Push!"

As the indifferent voice rang out, a powerful repulsive force erupted from around him. The invisible force field struck like a giant wave crashing against the shore, and Namikaze Minato's figure was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string.

But the next moment, Minato instantly appeared at the location of another Kunai, flicked his wrist to throw several more, and slashed at him again just as before.

Although Almighty Push was powerful and provided all-around defense, its only drawback was the cooldown period; it could not be activated at will.

This interval was at least five seconds.

Since Almighty Push had just been used, the next window of availability had not yet arrived, leaving Pain with no choice but to engage in close-quarters combat.

He waved his hand, and a Black Receiver slid from his sleeve to meet the incoming strike.

With a crisp "clang," the blades clashed, sending blinding sparks flying into the air.

Before he could counterattack, Minato's figure dissipated like a phantom, reappearing at the position of another Kunai.

The Flying Thunder God Technique was essentially a cheat code, especially since Namikaze Minato was currently wielding half of a Tailed Beast, meaning he had no shortage of Chakra.

Going all out, he moved as if he were teleporting, zipping through the air incessantly. One moment he was in front, the next he was behind; his movements were elusive, appearing as nothing more than a streak of yellow light darting everywhere in the sky.

His swordsmanship was even more exquisite and transcendent. Every strike was aimed precisely at a vital point, and the relentless barrage of fast slashes kept Pain on the defensive.

However, Minato was unaware that Pain was actually a puppet. He didn't rely solely on his own eyes to see; the other six paths hidden in the shadows served as his eyes as well. The shared vision of the six pairs of Rinnegan meant that every one of Minato's teleports could not hide from him.

Therefore, even when Namikaze Minato flashed behind Pain, it had no effect on him whatsoever.

Namikaze Minato's attack speed had already exceeded the limits of the naked eye, but the Rinnegan was no ordinary pair of eyes, and Pain was no ordinary man. Namikaze Minato unleashed a flurry of strikes, the sound of metal clashing ringing out incessantly, yet he still could not break through Pain's defenses.

Once the cooldown ended, Pain glared once more.

"Almighty Push!"

A repulsive force erupted from Pain as the epicenter, blasting Namikaze Minato away.

However, the moment he was repelled, Namikaze Minato skillfully adjusted his posture in mid-air and flicked his wrist, launching several more kunai.

When Namikaze Minato first engaged Pain, he hadn't discovered the timing of the Almighty Push, but after being hit twice in a row, he sensitively realized the flaw in this powerful ninjutsu.

Five seconds might be short for others, but for Minato, it was more than enough time to accomplish a great deal.

At that moment, he felt even more confident in his ability to eliminate this major threat to the village.

Meanwhile, Pain had also discovered Minato's weakness: his teleportation relied heavily on his kunai!

The only reason Namikaze Minato could trade blows with him in the air was by relying on the Flying Thunder God Technique to shift his position rapidly. Without the Flying Thunder God Mark on the kunai to serve as a beacon, Namikaze Minato could not fly and would be unable to get close to him at all.

Therefore, Pain swung his Black Receiver rapidly, the tip of the rod accurately striking the incoming kunai and knocking them away.

But the speed of the Flying Thunder God Technique was immense; at the very moment Pain struck the kunai, Namikaze Minato's figure had already appeared right beside them.

This time, however, Namikaze Minato did not throw new kunai. Instead, he reached out with his left hand, grabbing toward the Black Receiver.

If he could just imprint the Flying Thunder God Mark onto the Black Receiver, he could approach Pain without restriction and would no longer need kunai for positioning.

But the moment his hand touched the Black Receiver, he suddenly felt his chakra fall into disarray.

At the same time, Pain released the Black Receiver with his right hand, while a new one slid out from his left sleeve, thrusting toward him with the speed of a gale.

Damn it!

Minato cursed inwardly, hurriedly dropping the Black Receiver and swinging his short sword with his right hand to parry.

After a crisp "clink," the short sword in Minato's hand shattered on the spot, and the Black Receiver drove straight through.

However, thanks to that brief buffer of time, the chakra within Minato's body stabilized. With a flash, he vanished from his spot once again.

But because all his kunai had been knocked away, when he reappeared, his body was far from Pain, falling from mid-air.

He hurriedly fired off a few more kunai, hoping to repeat his previous tactic.

But this time, it didn't work.

Several missiles suddenly streaked up from below, trailing long plumes of exhaust. One tracked the kunai in mid-air, while the others flew toward Minato.

The missiles collided with the kunai, exploding with a roar. Those kunai were blasted away before they could even get close to Pain.

The other missiles exploded directly upon nearing Minato, as if setting off a few massive fireworks in the sky.

A flash of yellow light appeared, and Namikaze Minato landed on the ground unscathed, his gaze heavy as he looked toward the side.

He saw that, at some unknown moment, another person had appeared on the ground. This individual was also wearing a Black Cloak with Red Clouds, the attire of the Akatsuki Organization, and was currently reattaching his right wrist to his body.

However, what drew Namikaze Minato's attention most was the pair of Rinnegan eyes, identical to those of Pain in the sky.

"What is going on?"

"How could there be another pair of Rinnegan?"

"Was that missile from earlier a unique ninjutsu of these Rinnegan?"

Namikaze Minato was filled with questions, secretly shocked in his heart.

Yet, he was very clear that no matter what the dojutsu of these Rinnegan was, he was afraid he would no longer be able to achieve his goal.

He had seen the group from the Akatsuki Organization, and their strength was likely not trivial, but since he and Pain were fighting in the sky, they would not have much of an impact on him.

But this newcomer with the Rinnegan was different; he was someone who could truly interfere in the battle between him and Pain.

However, if he moved the battle to the ground, then with so many people from the Akatsuki Organization swarming him, even he could not expect to leave easily.

With that thought, the intention to retreat formed in his mind.

But before leaving, he still had to kill someone first!