The Naive Six Paths of Pain

"Such speed!" A flash of surprise crossed the eyes of Deva Path Pain.

Although the Rinnegan is more powerful than the Sharingan, it lacks the Sharingan's monstrous dynamic vision.

The dynamic vision of the Sharingan is superior even to that of the Rinnegan.

However, he was not alone; the Naraka Path was also present.

Though the Naraka Path had distanced himself immediately, he remained within the field of vision shared by the two.

Through their shared sight, they barely managed to track the trajectory of Uchiha Akira's attack.

With no time to think, a Black Receiver forged from Yin-Yang Release manifested from his wide sleeve. He gripped it and thrust it toward Uchiha Akira, who was hurtling toward him like a bolt of lightning.

Clang!

With a resonant hum, Uchiha Akira's blade descended, the immense force behind it sending Deva Path Pain flying back over ten meters.

Before Deva Path Pain could react, Uchiha Akira surged forward, his foot wreathed in electric light slamming directly into the Deva Path's shoulder.

BOOM!

Accompanied by a violent roar, Deva Path Pain was kicked straight into a pile of jagged mountain rocks.

Even through the torrential downpour, a cloud of dust billowed into the air.

The commotion caught the attention of Aburame Shigang, Hyuga Kaoru, and Yamanaka Shigeyoshi, who were locked in a fierce battle with the Animal Path.

The Animal Path's Summoning Beast was formidable, but the trio's coordination allowed them to hold their ground.

At the start, they had even gained a slight advantage.

Aburame Shigang's Parasitic Giant Insect Jutsu had burrowed directly into the Hellhound, breeding frantically to consume its chakra.

This dismantled its ability to divide infinitely from the inside out.

Furthermore, with the Byakugan's X-ray vision, the camouflaged Chameleon had nowhere to hide; under the combined assault of the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques and the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist, the creature was quickly driven from the battlefield.

However, the Animal Path was clearly not so easily dealt with.

With a puff of summoning smoke, a massive Rhino and a grey Yatagarasu appeared within the haze.

"We're in big trouble..." Yamanaka Shigeyoshi could no longer tell if the moisture on his body was sweat or rain.

Against such enemies, his Mind Transfer Jutsu was difficult to utilize effectively.

"Our mission is to stall this guy; we can't let him interfere with the Captain!" Aburame Shigang adjusted his sunglasses.

A massive swarm of insects erupted from his body, forming a cloud that flew toward the sky to intercept the Yatagarasu, which was circling and dropping eggs from above.

Watching the Animal Path standing atop a giant Crab, Hyuga Kaoru felt a flicker of frustration. The Summoning Beast's hide was too thick; her Gentle Fist felt like nothing more than a tickle against it.

"No choice, just try to keep them occupied!" Yamanaka Shigeyoshi sighed helplessly; he was truly ill-suited for fighting such massive Summoning Beasts.

On the other side, after kicking Deva Path Pain away, Uchiha Akira frowned subconsciously.

The physical durability of this Pain is off; as expected of someone reinforced by Yin-Yang Release! Uchiha Akira thought to himself.

Deva Path Pain's speed and strength were inferior to his own, but in one aspect, the enemy far surpassed him: the sheer toughness of his body.

While this Deva Path Pain had not yet reached the level of durability he would later display when attacking Konoha—capable of withstanding the Six-Tails' assault—Uchiha Akira knew from that single exchange that simple strikes would not be enough to destroy him.

Fine. I'll use ninjutsu to bait out his Shinra Tensei first!

With a thought, Uchiha Akira completed the hand seals: "Wind Release: Compressed Storm!"

In a breath, Uchiha Akira exhaled a dense, hazy white sphere of high-pressure wind. The sphere expanded like a heavy artillery shell, countless razor-sharp wind blades sweeping across the earth and sky, obliterating the rain and tearing the ground asunder.

"A Wind Release of this scale..." Within the rock pile, Deva Path Pain's eyes narrowed as he pressed his palms together.

"Shinra Tensei!"

He thrust his hands outward, and an invisible repulsive force erupted, instantly obliterating the storm of wind blades raging between heaven and earth.

A circular crater over ten meters wide appeared where Deva Path Pain stood.

"Not good!" Deva Path Pain's expression shifted, and he immediately shot toward the Naraka Path.

By now, Uchiha Akira had already reached the Naraka Path and launched a fierce assault.

Among the Six Paths of Pain, only the Deva Path possessed the greatest strength, boasting both decent taijutsu and a body reinforced to a terrifying degree by Yin-Yang Release.

The other five paths, however, were not as resilient; their physical durability was average, and they could not withstand conventional ninjutsu attacks.

Amidst the flickering electricity, the blade in Uchiha Akira's hand transformed into a blinding flash of lightning, striking down with the speed of a thunderbolt.

Squelch!

With a spray of blood, the tall Naraka Path was cleaved open by the lightning-wreathed blade in Uchiha Akira's lightning-fast strike.

The Naraka Path was neutralized on the spot!

"Damn it!" Inside a cave several kilometers away, Nagato let out a low, angry growl.

"Nagato, what's wrong?" Konan watched him nervously.

"It's nothing." Nagato shook his head, his voice deep. "I was careless just now, and the Naraka Path was destroyed by Uchiha Akira."

Hearing this, Konan frowned and said in a low voice, "Nagato, we might be acting too hastily. It would have been better to wait until you had finished creating all of the Six Paths of Pain before dealing with them."

Nagato said in a calm voice, "Konan, it is fine. I was just careless for a moment; I will deal with him seriously now."

Hearing his words, Konan immediately fell silent so as not to disturb him.

On the battlefield, under the siege of several giant Summoning Beast, Hyuga Kaoru, Aburame Shigang, and Yamanaka Shigeyoshi were struggling to hold their ground.

Large Summoning Beast were not so easy to deal with.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Hyuga Kaoru struck out with her palm, sending a surging air cannon soaring into the sky, hitting the explosive egg dropped by the incoming Yatagarasu and causing it to explode in mid-air with a thunderous boom.

Suddenly, a look of joy appeared on Hyuga Kaoru's face as she shouted, "The captain has already taken down one enemy!"

"At least there is some good news," Yamanaka Shigeyoshi said with a wry smile.

Through experimentation, he discovered that these Summoning Beast were not like living creatures at all; after using the Mind Transfer Jutsu, all he could sense was a void of chaos, as if they were mere machines.

Under heavy cover, his Mind Transfer Jutsu was completely unable to lock onto the Animal Path behind the scenes.

Aburame Shigang, who was currently manipulating his insects to pursue the Yatagarasu, revealed a look of surprise beneath his stoic expression.

"Uchiha Akira's strength is truly formidable. The battle has only just begun, and he has already eliminated an enemy possessing the Rinnegan..." Beneath his dark sunglasses, a cold glint flashed in Aburame Shigang's eyes.

On the other side of the battlefield, Deva Path Pain saw the Naraka Path sliced in two, and his indifferent expression could no longer be maintained as boiling killing intent surged from his body.

His state of mind, which prided itself on being a god, had finally shattered.

In an instant, he reached out his hand toward Uchiha Akira: "Banshō Ten'in!"