"You..." Deva Path Pain was momentarily at a loss for words.
But the facts were right there. Deidara was already as good as crippled, unable to move.
Sasori wasn't sure he could handle this alone, either.
The One-Tail was probably out of their reach...
At the thought, anger surged in Deva Path's eyes. He spoke coldly. "Nine-Tails... you've really managed to make me angry!"
"I'll be waiting in Konoha!" Naruto replied with disdain.
How could he possibly fear the so-called Six Paths of Pain now?
Apart from Deva Path, the other five were nothing but garbage!
After all, Konohamaru's record of killing Human Path alone was still fresh in his mind.
And the only one who posed a threat, Deva Path, was merely a little stronger thanks to that Shinra Tensei technique.
But after using it, there was a five-second cooldown. How many times did you think Flying Thunder God could kill him in that time?!
A speed ninja was Deva Path's natural nemesis!
That was exactly why, in the original story, Team Guy was kept away from Konoha during Pain's invasion.
Otherwise, with Guy's speed in the Seventh Gate, he could have beaten every Pain into knots within five seconds!
"Very good... very good indeed!" Deva Path's voice was heavy, killing intent pouring from his Rinnegan.
He hadn't been this angry in a long time. Clearly, Naruto had succeeded in provoking his fury.
Deva Path decided that he would gather the Akatsuki's full strength and deal with this troublesome Naruto first!
That's right—the Akatsuki was going to fight as a team!
Meanwhile, as the two spoke,
the two members of the art duo were plummeting through the air.
Although Deidara was already as good as crippled, Sasori wasn't about to sit back and wait to die...
At that moment,
"Shhh—" A flash of red glinted in the eyes of Hiruko, where Sasori was hiding. Its right hand swung sharply, and five chakra threads shot out, binding Deidara's limbs.
At the same time, the grimacing face on Hiruko's back opened its mouth wide, and a huge black cloth billowed out. Hiruko flicked its left hand, sending out another five chakra threads. Each one pinned down a corner of the cloth, which slowly ballooned in the wind until it formed a makeshift parachute!
Then, after a series of deft pulls from Hiruko, they actually managed to land safely from that height!
Naruto's attention was drawn to the scene, and he couldn't help but offer genuine praise. "As expected of Sasori of the Red Sands. You really live up to your reputation!"
Hiruko withdrew its chakra threads. Its utterly inhuman eyes shifted, and a low voice emerged.
"How... do you know my name?"
Not many people in this world knew his name. What's more, he was currently inside Hiruko, so there was no way Naruto should have recognized him!
"Take a guess..." Naruto merely smiled.
Hiruko's gaze sharpened, and he spoke coldly. "I didn't want to fight, but since you've forced us to stay, I'll turn you into my..."
"Work of art!"
The moment the words left his mouth,
"Click, click—" Hiruko opened its hideous mouth again, and countless sharp needles shot from its throat like a rainstorm, hurtling toward Naruto.
Every needle was coated with Sasori's deadliest poison. A single touch meant certain death!
Back in the air, Sasori's poisoned needles might have been completely useless against the nonliving Thunderbolt Senbon.
But against a living target like Naruto, even a single graze would be enough to kill him!
Naruto saw the attack and curled his lips into a faint smile. "Sasori... you should save that kind of crowd-clearing technique for someone else."
As he spoke, Naruto casually swept his right hand.
"Purple Lightning: Universal Thousand Needles!"
"Whoosh—" Purple lightning surged into existence, and countless Thunderbolt Senbon shot through the air to meet Sasori's poisoned needles.
The two attacks collided and tangled together.
For a moment, the cries of metal and lightning rang out.
But Hiruko's needles were physical objects, and there was a limit to how many it could carry.
Even though Naruto had only flicked his hand, the poisoned needles were ultimately overwhelmed.
The instant the needles disappeared, the remaining senbon had already reached Hiruko.
"Pathetic lightning..." A vicious glint flickered in Hiruko's eyes. The great metal tail on his back shuddered, then swung up to meet the swarm of senbon.
The metal tail lashed wildly, blocking every Purple Lightning senbon. Though each one became a streak of purple lightning that crawled across the tail on contact,
as a puppet, why would he fear a storm of lightning?
Besides, while Purple Lightning senbon were excellent at clearing out groups of weaker enemies, they weren't very effective against someone at Kage Level.
Deidara had only been caught because his nature was an extreme disadvantage, and he couldn't defend himself properly in the air.
Otherwise, any Kage-level ninja could have blocked that attack if they took it seriously.
Deva Path watched, his Rinnegan glinting.
It seemed he could see a glimmer of hope in the darkness!
Deva Path immediately turned to Itachi. "Itachi, how are things going for Kisame?"
"They're still fighting," Itachi replied.
That was right. Not long after Team 7 had gone to help the Sand Village, Tsunade had won the lottery.
And when she won the lottery, it could only mean trouble!
Uneasy, Tsunade hurriedly sent Team Guy to provide support.
As in the original story, Kisame used the Shoten Technique to create a clone and intercept them.
But without Naruto's cheat-level help, the battle between the two sides wasn't going to end so easily. Instead, it had turned into a grueling fight.
"I see." Deva Path's gaze darkened. He'd planned to have Kisame's clone go help Sasori, but now that seemed impossible.
Then Deva Path's eyes shifted, as if he'd made up his mind. He immediately shouted again, "Itachi, Kakuzu, Hidan—you're closest to the Land of Rivers. Go help Sasori and Deidara at once!"
"Understood..." the three answered together.
Then,
Deva Path looked toward Hiruko with his Rinnegan and spoke. "Sasori, just hold out for half a day! I'll lead the other Paths of Pain there!"
That was right. Deva Path had decided to go himself!
As soon as Deva Path finished speaking,
"Whoosh—" All the phantom figures in the cave vanished, and a deathly silence returned.
Of course, there was no telling how soon Itachi and the others could arrive.
But the Land of Rain was right next to the Land of Rivers. The Six Paths of Pain could definitely reach them within half a day!
Hiruko narrowed its eyes, its expression icy. "Half a day? Maybe by the time the leader arrives, this brat will already be a beautiful work of art..."
"Pfft..." Naruto couldn't help snickering. A teasing look crossed his face. "They'll only find a broken puppet lying on the ground!"
"You dare call me a puppet!" Hiruko roared in fury.
"What else? A hideous puppet like that deserves to be called art?" Naruto sneered, his voice full of contempt.
"Good! I'll make you wail in despair with eternal beauty!" Hiruko snarled, its voice growing raspier and more unpleasant.
As the words fell,
"Click—" Hiruko opened its dark maw once more, and a black iron pipe emerged from its throat. It shuddered violently.
The next moment,
"Whoosh—" A vast cloud of purple gas blasted from the pipe, surging toward Naruto inside the cave like a raging tide. The air it touched seemed to shudder with a series of shrill, agonized cries as the poison ate away at it.
This gas was made from Sasori's deadliest poison!
Even a tiny whiff would make a person's internal organs throb with pain, as if they were being gnawed by ten thousand ants, leaving them completely unable to fight!
They would then die in despair within three days.
And if anyone tried to disperse the poison with Wind Release, it wouldn't work at all. It would only make the poison spread farther through the air!
An ordinary person faced with poison like this had almost no choice but to flee...
Well... an ordinary person, that is.
At the same time,
to prevent Naruto from using the Flying Thunder God Technique to close in, Sasori had also laid down a layer of poison around himself, protecting himself on all sides.
As for Deidara and Gaara beside him, all he had to do was give them one of his special antidote candies, and they'd be fine!
Having done all that, Hiruko's eyes gleamed with vicious delight. A low, mocking laugh followed.
"Uzumaki Naruto, what can you do now besides flee in disgrace with Flying Thunder God?"
"Heh..." Naruto gave a cold laugh, then pulled out several Kunai. Chakra surged around him, and a Flying Thunder God Mark instantly appeared on each one.
Seeing this, Sasori assumed Naruto was planning to throw the Kunai beyond the poison cloud and use Flying Thunder God to escape.
But even when the poison was right in front of him, Naruto didn't move an inch!
"What's he planning?" Sasori was baffled.
Only when the poison had completely swallowed Naruto
did he finally understand.
"Cough, cough..." Naruto immediately began coughing violently. His body slumped to the ground, and his eyes went dull as ashes. He looked as if he'd been poisoned badly and was on the verge of death!
Seeing this, Sasori's confusion vanished at once. Controlling Hiruko, he burst into mocking laughter. "Hahahahaha... Fool! Did you really think you could withstand the poison?"
Then,
Hiruko's body jerked and shot toward Naruto inside the cave. A wicked laugh rang out again. "Once I extract the Nine-Tails, I'll turn you into my most perfect work of art!"
"Ugh..." Naruto continued to groan in pain on the ground.
"Hahahahahaha..." Hiruko's laughter grew more and more unrestrained.
At last, Hiruko entered the cave, only a few steps from Naruto.
Looking at Naruto, who seemed to be dead, Hiruko smugly swung the deadly, spiked tail on its back. Its expression was arrogant. "The Shinobi World's brightest rising star of the new era is nothing special after all..."
But before he could finish speaking,
everything changed in the next instant.
"Smack—" Naruto's right hand suddenly clamped around Hiruko's deadly tail. His previously vacant Azure Eye snapped back into focus, and he sprang to his feet, his face wearing an intensely playful expression. "Fool, I was only pretending..."
The instant the words left his mouth,
"Whoosh—" Several Flying Thunder God Kunai streaked through the poison cloud like meteors, bearing a terrifying space-time pressure as they hurtled toward Hiruko.
In less than 0.05 seconds, the Flying Thunder God Kunai had reached Hiruko's side.
At such close range, who could be faster than Flying Thunder God?!
"Damn it?! Why isn't my poison working on you?!" Hiruko cried out in fury and shock.
As his shout rang out,
"Whoosh—"
Black-and-gold light surged beside Hiruko, and Naruto's figure flashed out of it. He opened his right hand, terrifying chakra gathering in his palm as a Five-Style Rasengan appeared in an instant. He slammed it down against the demon face on Hiruko's back.
"Show me your real face and fight me again!"
Before you continue