Was this normal? Of course it wasn't. This wasn't some manga where the protagonist could shout a few lines and suddenly have his combat power shoot through the roof. Getting stronger the more you fought was even more of a pipe dream. Yet the guy in front of him was actually growing stronger.
Deva Path Pain had no way of judging what exactly was going on with his opponent. The safer approach would naturally be to use Shinra Tensei to blow Naruto away, then wear him down with long-range attacks until he was at his weakest before capturing him. Pain snorted. Here, the only one capable of fighting him was the original target standing before him.
Even if he dragged things out a little longer, it did not matter.
Although Nagato, his true body, was growing weaker by the moment, enduring for this amount of time would not be much of a problem.
With that in mind, Pain directly extended one hand toward Li. "Shinra Tensei!"
Li offered no resistance and was sent flying at once. That was right—any resistance now would only increase his physical exertion. If Li's real body had been here, Pain's Shinra Tensei would probably have felt no more than a fan blowing on him. But he was only using Naruto's body right now. Trying to confront Shinra Tensei head-on was out of the question.
But at the instant Li was blasted away by Shinra Tensei, Pain's movements became even more sluggish. His eyes widened, his face showing utter disbelief.
"Th-this is..." He stared at several small iron rods floating before him.
Pain looked at Li. "Chakra Thread? This isn't in the intelligence reports. Why can you..."
Li let out a faint sigh. "Sigh, aren't you underestimating people a little too much? Did you think I