The Deva Path witnessed the scene, and his Rinnegan began to tremble involuntarily. A storm of shock surged through his heart. This... this level of Lightning Release?! How is it possible?!
It was no wonder the Deva Path struggled to keep his composure. The power displayed by the Shadowless Sharp Spear was utterly terrifying!
It could even hit an enemy high up in the sky.
How could anyone not be astonished by such power?!
At that moment, Deidara and the others were plummeting toward the ground after losing their support—the owl.
Sasori reacted quickly, immediately controlling Hiruko's tail to grab the unconscious Gaara.
Then he turned to Deidara and roared, "Deidara, hurry up and make another owl!"
"Got it!" Deidara shouted back, his expression unusually grave.
He knew better than anyone that Lightning Release was the greatest counter to the clay in his hands.
This time, things had truly become difficult!
But Deidara had no time to think. The little mouth in his palm chewed on the clay in his backpack, then suddenly pulled out a piece and flung it into the air.
"Whoosh—" A brand-new Clay Daigo appeared in midair. The instant it emerged, it spread its wings, wheeled through the sky, and caught Deidara and Sasori.
Then it sped toward the cave entrance without looking back.
To be fair, the Clay Daigo was far faster than the owl.
In just a few breaths, it had escaped the cave and soared beneath the blue sky.
Naruto controlled the Shadowless Sharp Spear to pursue them, but even the most powerful technique had its limits.
The distance was too great, and they were too high up. The Shadowless Sharp Spear clearly couldn't intercept them anymore.
Seeing this, the Deva Path projection felt relieved. He sneered at Naruto.
"Nine-Tails! Just wait! Once we've finished extracting the One-Tail, you'll be the first one we deal with!"
His tone was domineering, as if Naruto didn't matter at all.
"Deal with me?! I hope you won't be crying when I show up in Amegakure!" Naruto replied with a cold laugh.
Then he gave the wrist holding the Shadowless Sharp Spear a slight shake, and terrifying Lightning Release Chakra surged into the weapon in an instant.
Unfortunately, the empowered Shadowless Sharp Spear only quivered. It showed no sign of extending farther to pursue them.
Deidara seemed to have noticed that too. The Clay Daigo came to a stop in midair.
Looking down at Naruto, Deidara laughed smugly. "Hahahahaha... So what if your Lightning Release is strong? You still can't hit me!"
The Deva Path's Rinnegan flashed as he spoke coldly. "Give up! Your technique has reached its limit. The One-Tail is ours for the taking!"
The Deva Path projection paused briefly, then suddenly spread his arms wide and continued with a commanding air.
"And if you dare come to Amegakure, I'll send you straight to hell. You'll learn what true pain is, and what a true god is!"
"We are Pain. We are gods!"
As he finished speaking,
"Whoosh—" The boundless pressure of the Rinnegan descended upon the entire area. Even the air seemed to grow heavier.
He truly seemed to possess a hint of divine majesty!
However, aside from Konan, the other Akatsuki members' projections all wore expressions of exasperation.
Hidan, for instance, leaned close to Kakuzu and asked suspiciously, "Hey, Kakuzu, do you think the boss is a little crazy? He's always calling himself a god..."
"Agreed..." Kakuzu nodded.
"Hm?! What are you talking about?!" The Deva Path suddenly whipped his head around. A trace of displeasure flashed in his Rinnegan, as if someone had touched a nerve.
They actually dared to whisper while he was putting on a show? They clearly had no idea who they were dealing with!
"It's nothing, boss! You're truly like a god descended from the heavens!" Hidan hurriedly gave a thumbs-up and flattered him.
He didn't dare provoke that lunatic. If the boss really locked him up, he'd be done for...
He was a perfectly normal person, after all. He had to spread the blessings of Lord Jashin far and wide!
"Hidan, you've grown," the Deva Path said. A hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes. He then turned his gaze toward Naruto and spoke sternly. "Nine-Tails, mortals can never stand against the gods!"
A helpless look appeared on Naruto's face. "Who else gets it? I've run into a serious case of chuunibyou..."
With that, he ignored the Deva Path's nonsense.
Deidara looked down at Naruto from above, convinced that Naruto really couldn't do anything to him. He started mocking him again. "You're all talk! Hahahahahaha..."
With that,
"Whoosh—" Deidara even controlled the Clay Pelican to circle around triumphantly twice in the sky. His arrogance was impossible to miss.
"Deidara, stop playing around and leave. If we wait any longer, something might go wrong," Sasori said gravely. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Deidara curled his lip in disdain. "What could go wrong? If he had any way to stop us, we'd have crashed already. I just love watching him want to attack me but being powerless to do anything..."
But before Deidara could finish speaking,
Naruto suddenly lifted his head and laughed coldly. "What exactly made you think I couldn't do anything to you?"
"What do you mean?" Deidara was taken aback.
Then he understood...
Because, at that moment—
"Zzzzz—"
The Shadowless Sharp Spear suddenly gave off a terrifying pulse. Brilliant purple light began pouring from it, illuminating the entire sky.
Then, before everyone's astonished eyes,
the Shadowless Sharp Spear broke apart in a dazzling burst, transforming into countless streaks of lightning that hung in the air and blotted out the sun.
"What's he trying to do?!" Konan asked, puzzled.
Itachi, who had remained silent all this time, sensed something unusual as well.
His Sharingan spun rapidly as he stared at the streaks of lightning. Then he exclaimed in shock, "Those are countless Senbon needles formed from the power of lightning!"
That's right. They weren't ordinary flashes of lightning...
They were countless Senbon needles composed of Purple Lightning, created by Naruto through an extreme Chakra Nature Transformation!
The Lightning Release Chakra Naruto had poured into the Shadowless Sharp Spear earlier wasn't meant to make it extend farther. He had been setting the stage for this breathtaking moment!
Immediately after,
Naruto suddenly swung down his raised right hand and gave a low shout.
"Purple Lightning: Universal Thousand Needles!"
The Deva Path shuddered. As if sensing what was coming, he immediately roared, "Deidara! Run!"
"How can he still have a move like that?!" Deidara felt that something was terribly wrong too. He immediately urged the Pelican to speed away.
Unfortunately, it was already too late!
In an instant,
"Whoosh—" The countless lightning Senbon tore through the air, sweeping toward the Clay Pelican with enough force to pierce even a god.
Their force and speed were simply unstoppable!
The Clay Pelican's vaunted speed was like a child's toy next to the lightning Senbon!
They were about to catch up in the blink of an eye!
"Damn it! Why are they so fast?!" Deidara cursed. He then abruptly swung his right hand.
"Shoo, shoo, shoo—" Dozens of Clay Spiders burst through the air like a swarm of locusts, flying to meet the countless lightning Senbon in an attempt to block them.
Sasori also controlled Hiruko to open its mouth and fire a huge number of poisoned needles in an effort to fight back.
Unfortunately, it was all in vain.
Lightning Release completely countered Deidara. Before the spiders could even explode, the Senbon had pierced through them with ease, reducing them to a pile of rubble.
Sasori's poisoned needles fared a little better. They managed to hold off the attack for a brief moment, but the overwhelming difference in numbers proved insurmountable. In an instant, the needles were swallowed up.
Then, without a doubt,
the Senbon struck.
"Shoo, shoo, shoo—" The Clay Pelican was instantly pierced by countless needles. Purple lightning covered its entire body, rendering it useless on the spot and sending Deidara and the others plummeting toward the ground.
Hiruko, controlled by Sasori, was struck by many lightning Senbon as well, but they didn't affect Sasori's true body.
Gaara was fairly lucky too. Protected behind Hiruko, he suffered only some negligible effects.
But Deidara was in a truly miserable state!
He did everything he could to dodge, but he was still riddled with needles.
The Senbon transformed into lightning the moment they struck him, coursing across his body.
The lightning wasn't fatal, but it continued to wreak havoc on him.
The extreme elemental counter completely robbed Deidara of his ability to fight!
At that moment, even self-detonation had become an impossible dream for him!
"Deidara! Make another big bird! Hurry!" Sasori shouted anxiously again.
But Deidara had been completely incapacitated. The lightning coursing through him had left him unable even to speak.
He could only keep falling toward the ground.
Naruto looked toward the Deva Path projection and smiled calmly.
"To be honest, I didn't want to be the Time-Space Police. But what about now?"
[Purple Lightning: Universal Thousand Needles grievously wounded Deidara. Villain Points +521!]
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