"Did you turn all that rubble into Shadow Clones just now?" Pain shot Li a sidelong glance, his face full of disdain. "Do you think that now that you've pulled the receivers out of my body, I can no longer contend with your Shadow Clones in close combat?"
Pain twirled the iron rod in his hand. "Too naive!"
The next moment, Pain drove the iron rod in his hand into his own body. At the same time, another iron rod formed in his other hand, and he viciously impaled one of the Shadow Clones.
With a bang, the Shadow Clone turned into smoke. Pain did not pause in the slightest. He thrust the rod back into his body with a backhand motion, formed another one in his other hand, and charged into battle with Li's Shadow Clones.
All he needed was ten seconds. No matter how great an advantage Li's Shadow Clones gained, Shinra Tensei would wipe it all away after ten seconds.
That was the power of the Deva Path—and the tragedy of taijutsu fighters.
But in an instant, Pain's expression changed. The iron rod he had inserted into his body after piercing the Shadow Clone had begun to behave strangely.
The supposedly indestructible iron rod began to warp bit by bit. The distortion spread rapidly. Though his body could not feel pain, such violent warping usually meant one thing...
An explosion.
That was right. A flash of surprise crossed Pain's face. He had never expected Li to hide Explosive Tags inside his Shadow Clones. When Pain pierced a Shadow Clone and it vanished, it inevitably caused a disturbance in its chakra. At that moment, the Explosive Tag attached itself directly to the iron rod in Pain's hand. Then, when he inserted the rod back into his body, he