Pain's Assault, Sasori's Surprise

Yuki Yuki immediately recognized the voice as Ishida Moriyoshi, the Jonin captain responsible for perimeter security. He was a wandering ninja Orochimaru had recruited from the black market, and had likely once been a ninja of Iwagakure.

He specialized in Earth Release ninjutsu.

He had constructed a complete set of defensive fortifications around the village.

Otogakure was still very weak. It had fewer than a hundred ninja, and aside from Orochimaru and Ao, there were only three Jonin, respectively responsible for laboratory security, law and order within and outside the village, and missions beyond the village.

"Jugo, Kimimaro! Get everyone to hide in the shrine basement immediately."

Yuki Yuki gave the order at once.

Then, her figure flashed, turning into an afterimage as she raced toward the outskirts of the village.

Kimimaro froze for a moment, his gaze dark as he looked toward Jugo.

"You keep them under control. I'll go out with Sister Yuki!"

Without hesitation, he chose to follow her.

Outside the village.

At the entrance to the grand canyon.

Two men in black robes patterned with red clouds stood at the entrance.

One of them had orange hair and black metal studs embedded in his face. His complexion was utterly bloodless, making him look less like a living person.

Ishida Moriyoshi, the Jonin guarding the perimeter, lay in the man's hands, devoid of any sign of life.

"Where is Orochimaru?"

The man looked at the newly arrived Yuki Yuki and asked expressionlessly.

"Who are you!?"

Yuki Yuki's heart clenched. Intimidated by the man's aura, she forced herself to remain steady as she demanded an answer.

Her hands formed a seal.

A wisp of frost slowly condensed.

"Ice Release: Thousand Needles of Death!"

She slammed both hands against the ground. A flurry of snow-white frost mirrors erupted, firing tens of millions of ice needles that blanketed the battlefield and shot straight at the mysterious man.

"Shinra Tensei!"

Pain made no unnecessary movements. He merely raised his right hand slightly before his chest, and with that single gesture, every ice needle was reflected back.

Yuki Yuki failed to react in time.

Her body was completely engulfed by the returning ice needles.

Just as she was about to be injured, a small figure appeared before her.

"Shikotsumyaku: Skeletal Breath!"

A white bone instantly burst from Kimimaro's body, forming a bone shield several meters wide. It concealed them both behind it and blocked every ice needle.

"Interesting. I didn't expect this tiny village to hide two ninja with Kekkei Genkai talents."

"What are your names?"

Pain asked.

The talents they had displayed had sparked a trace of his interest.

Ice Release and Shikotsumyaku!

Both were renowned throughout the Ninja World.

"Leave immediately!"

Yuki Yuki shouted. Inwardly, she had already resolved to defend the village even at the cost of her life, ensuring that Orochimaru's experiments would not be disrupted in any way.

She condensed all her Chakra in her palms, and the temperature of the surrounding environment dropped several degrees along with the surge of her Chakra.

"Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

The instant she completed her seals, icy crystal mirrors appeared all around them and rapidly multiplied into dozens, covering the entire battlefield and trapping the enemy tightly within.

Yuki's figure merged into the ice mirrors at that moment.

"Ice Release: Ice Prison Technique!"

Suddenly.

Yuki appeared behind Pain, condensing a stream of frigid air in her palm and directly creating an icy crystal cage that restrained his movements.

"Overestimating yourself!"

Pain judged coldly.

He drew upon his Chakra again, and Shinra Tensei appeared once more, instantly crushing every frost mirror and the icy crystal cage.

Before absolute power.

All these flashy moves were completely useless.

Yuki Yuki's figure appeared amid the shattered mirrors like a kite with its string cut, sent flying dozens of meters away.

Several wounds had been carved across her body by the broken mirror shards.

The two sides were not on the same level at all.

Just as Pain thought he had dealt with the enemy, a white bone suddenly burst from the ground.

"Shikotsumyaku: Bone Forest Descent!"

Kimimaro's cold voice came from within the bones. In an instant, endless sharp spikes surged from underground, engulfing everyone within.

"Interesting. This technique... is somewhat like Deep Forest Emergence!"

The mysterious dwarf-like man beside Pain finally spoke. His gaze continuously assessed Kimimaro's small frame, while Kimimaro had already collapsed to the ground in exhaustion after using the technique.

Yet the technique's range of nearly ten meters alone already met the standard of an A-rank technique or higher.

A Chunin's standard equipment!

This kid looked only four or five years old!?

"To possess Chakra on this scale at such a young age, he has considerable potential."

Sasori sighed, becoming interested in a child like Kimimaro for the first time.

"What a pity. He became Orochimaru's test subject. None of that man's research is worth much. I wonder whether Orochimaru has already ruined him?"

Pain's body drifted lightly along with the bones' thrusts, rising into the air as he looked down upon everyone below.

"Orochimaru, how much longer do you intend to hide..."

"Since you plan to send your subordinates to their deaths, I'll grant you that wish!"

He was growing bored of this cat-and-mouse game.

He raised both hands slightly.

He prepared to level the entire village to force Orochimaru out.

"Super Almighty—"

Just as he was about to finish speaking, "Sage Art: Fire Style: Flame Dragon Breaching the Sky!"

A cold voice suddenly rang out from nearby.

A Purple-Blue fire dragon materialized out of thin air. A hundred meters long and more than ten meters in diameter, its massive body charged straight toward Pain.

A heatwave swept across the entire battlefield, blotting out the sky.

In an instant, it engulfed Pain's entire body.

Uchiha Ao's figure slowly appeared atop a large tree, watching the battlefield with his hands still held in the seals for the technique.

A faint pale-blue eyeshadow appeared at the corners of his eyes.

It proved that he had gone all out and entered Sage Mode.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes stared fixedly at Pain's position.

"I just finished the experiment, and Pain came attacking already."

"Teacher, you really left me with a huge problem! I waited three years without ever seeing Akatsuki, yet they came knocking during the experiment."

Ao remembered this matter.

To increase Akatsuki's fighting strength, Pain had continuously recruited powerful rogue ninja.

Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, was no exception.

The reason they had not come looking for him these past years was most likely because Orochimaru had been preparing for his reincarnation experiment, keeping a low profile and staying out of sight.

But after hiding for three years, they had still found him.

Orochimaru had only just completed the reincarnation and was still getting used to his body, leaving him with little combat ability.

The techniques Ao had spent years verifying were all embodied within this reincarnation vessel.

He could not allow Pain's arrival to ruin the results of this experiment.

"An Uchiha clansman?"

"You're Uchiha Ao, aren't you? The Uchiha ninja who followed Orochimaru in defecting... But judging by the strength you've displayed, you don't seem to be the A-rank rogue ninja Konoha described at all!?"

"To have grown this quickly in just two or three years..."

Pain's figure slowly floated up from afar. Beneath his palm, the flame dragon was like a docile loach.

Pfft.

With a gentle squeeze of his hand, the entire flame dragon crashed into the forest below, igniting a raging blaze.

Even Sage Art...

Had no effect?

Uchiha Ao's heart sank as he gained a deeper understanding of Deva Path Pain, a powerhouse beyond Kage Level.

That had been his strongest strike!

It had incorporated the nature transformation of Fire Release Chakra, amplified by the immense power of Sage Art Chakra, yet it still could not do anything to Deva Path Pain.

"Are you interested in joining us?"

Pain suddenly spoke, extending an invitation to Uchiha Ao.