Tailed Beast Cloak

The sweet, metallic taste of blood filled Ling's mouth. His chest burned as if it had been seared with a hot iron. He knelt on one knee, his vision blurred at the edges from the violent impact. But he kept his eyes fixed on the six figures in Akatsuki cloaks, advancing without haste like reapers come to claim his life.

The Rinnegan. So that was what those eyes were called? That power that seemed to repel the entire world...

"Big brother!" Naruto's tearful cry grated at his nerves. He could feel the little guy trying desperately to rush over, while Jiraiya, barely holding himself up, clung tightly to him.

He couldn't fall here.

The thought pierced through his pain and dizziness like a cold steel needle. He slowly drew a breath. It tore through his chest, but cleared his muddled mind for an instant.

The hand seal he had already formed with his left hand was like a key opening some forbidden valve.

"Release!"

A violent, scorching crimson chakra, brimming with the desire to destroy, burst from the seal on his abdomen like a volcano suppressed for a million years! It surged through every limb in an instant!

"Gahhh—!"

Ling let out a low growl, his body trembling uncontrollably. Eerie red markings appeared across his skin, like flames, and a wavering crimson cloak made of pure chakra covered most of his body. A phantom tail formed from chakra gathered behind him and lashed about.

Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, forcibly activated! Under the immense pressure, his synchronization rate passively rose to 15%!

The berserk energy coursed through his chakra network, filling him with strength even as it battered him with the Nine-Tails' hatred. It was as if countless vengeful spirits were shrieking in his mind, urging him to destroy and kill.

"Ling! Stay calm! Don't let it control you!" Jiraiya shouted anxiously. He knew all too well how dangerous Tailed Beast Chakra could be.

Ling shook his head violently. A hint of crimson flashed deep in his dark eyes, but he forced down the urge to destroy. His goal was clear—to protect the people behind him, and then... survive!

"Oh? The Nine-Tails' chakra..." A faint ripple finally stirred in Deva Path Pain's Rinnegan. His gaze was no longer completely indifferent; a hint of... curiosity entered it. "Jinchūriki protecting one another? What a pointless emotion."

He raised his hand again.

But this time, Ling didn't try to dodge!

With the Tailed Beast Cloak boosting him, his speed, strength, and reflexes had all reached a new level! He kicked off hard, leaving a cracked crater in the ground, and turned into a streak of crimson light. He didn't charge at Deva Path. Instead, he lunged straight for Preta Path, the one who could absorb chakra!

"Foolish." Preta Path Pain opened his arms expressionlessly, ready to welcome the chakra feast coming his way.

But just as Ling was about to crash into Preta Path, he abruptly veered at a right angle like a phantom, moving far faster than before as he circled around to the side! A moment later, a Kunai with an Explosive Tag attached appeared in his hand. He didn't throw it at Preta Path, but sent it flying with pinpoint accuracy toward the ground between Preta Path and the Human Path beside him!

"Boom!"

The explosion sent up smoke and flames, briefly obscuring their vision.

"Parlor tricks." Deva Path Pain's cold assessment came as he prepared to use Shinra Tensei to clear the area again.

But the moment the smoke billowed out, Ling emerged from the other side as if he had teleported. His target was Animal Path Pain, who had barely moved so far and seemed to be in charge of summoning!

His strategy was simple—use his speed and Flying Thunder God's mobility to take out or disrupt the Pains with specialized abilities first, breaking up their coordination! He couldn't let the one who summoned beasts call out anything troublesome!

"Banshō Ten'in!"

Deva Path Pain reacted astonishingly fast. Almost the instant Ling changed targets, the force of gravity activated again, trying to drag him back.

"Roar!"

Ling let out a growl that sounded nothing like a human's. The chakra tail behind him swelled and lashed out, forcing its way against the pull. His speed faltered only slightly, and his claw-like right hand still swept toward Animal Path's head with a shriek that tore through the air!

At that moment, the silent Asura Path Pain beside him opened the mechanisms in his body. Several guided missiles shot out, cutting off every possible avenue of escape!

There was no dodging them!

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Ling's eyes. He didn't try to evade. Instead, he gathered even more Nine-Tails Chakra at his back!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The missiles slammed into his back, and the flames of the explosions swallowed him!

"Big brother!" Naruto screamed in despair.

The flames died down, and Ling reappeared. The Tailed Beast Cloak on his back had been blown to shreds, exposing charred skin and gushing blood beneath, but he was still standing, though his body swayed. His glowing red eyes were fixed on Animal Path, now within arm's reach.

"Got you," he rasped. His left hand clamped around Animal Path's arm like an iron vice, while highly compressed, razor-sharp energy gathered at his right fingertips, mixed with Wind Style chakra and the Nine-Tails' power. It wasn't a ninjutsu, but a crude release of raw energy!

"Sage Art: Wind Style: Vacuum Finger Spear!"

"Thwack!"

A tightly focused crimson beam pierced straight through Animal Path Pain's head! The light in his Rinnegan went dark at once.

He'd done it!

Ling's heart lurched. But the price was steep. Taking Asura Path's missiles head-on had shaken his internal organs, and his chakra was draining as fast as water through an open floodgate.

Before he could catch his breath, Deva Path Pain's emotionless voice sounded again. "It seems I'll have to take this more seriously."

The five remaining Pains, including Animal Path, who had been defeated (his Rinnegan seemed to share its vision with the others), all moved at once! They no longer gave Ling the chance to pick them off one by one. Like five wraiths, they attacked from different directions!

Naraka Path lunged with a weapon like a judge's brush, imbued with the power to bind souls. Human Path reached for the crown of his head again. Preta Path spread his arms, trying to get close enough to absorb his chakra. Asura Path opened the mechanisms in his body and unleashed its full firepower. Deva Path Pain hovered above, watching the battlefield coldly as he searched for an opening to deliver a fatal blow.

Ling was fighting the hardest battle of his life. Like a small boat in a storm, he struggled to dodge, block, and counterattack against the five Pains' relentless assault, relying on the extreme speed granted by Flying Thunder God and the Tailed Beast Cloak. Every clash unleashed a staggering burst of energy, and the valley cracked apart beneath his feet.

"Thud!" Naraka Path's judge's brush swept across his shoulder. The Tailed Beast Cloak shuddered violently, and his shoulder blade cracked with a sharp snap.

"Slice!" He failed to dodge in time. Human Path's fingers grazed his arm, stripping away a small patch of flesh. It felt as though his soul had been ripped at too, sending pain tearing through him.

His chakra was rapidly draining, his injuries kept piling up, and the Nine-Tails' will pounded at his reason like a demonic chant. He felt his body nearing its limit.

Was there... really no way?

He looked at Naruto, whom Jiraiya was protecting with all his might. Tears streamed down Naruto's face as he watched him.

No. There was still a way!

A desperate and dangerous idea took shape in his mind. He had to gamble that after Deva Path Pain used that large-scale repulsion technique, there would be a brief interval before he could use it again!

Ling deliberately left an opening, slowing his movements for half a beat. Preta Path managed to get close enough to touch him!

"Got you!" Preta Path slammed both hands against Ling's chest. A powerful suction force took hold, greedily draining the little chakra he had left and the Nine-Tails' power!

Ling didn't resist. He even deliberately channeled more Nine-Tails Chakra toward Preta Path! The crimson chakra surged into Preta Path like a flood bursting through a dam!

"What is he doing?!" Jiraiya watched in alarm.

Preta Path's body began to swell unnaturally. Crimson markings like Ling's appeared across his skin, and the rate of absorption even began to slow, as if... he were about to burst!

Now!

A flash of reckless resolve crossed Ling's eyes. He abruptly cut off the flow of chakra and, with the last of his strength, used Flying Thunder God!

His destination was none other than Deva Path Pain, hovering in midair with one hand raised, apparently preparing to use Shinra Tensei again!

A flash of golden light!

Ling appeared before Deva Path Pain like a phantom, their faces almost touching!

For the first time, Deva Path Pain's still Rinnegan clearly reflected Ling's scarlet eyes, burning with the flames of vengeance and the resolve to die!

"You..." Deva Path Pain seemed about to say something.

But Ling didn't give him the chance. He wrapped both arms tightly around Deva Path Pain!

"Let's... go down together!"

He roared as he compressed and detonated every last bit of chakra in his body, along with the wildly unstable Nine-Tails Chakra that was on the verge of escaping his control!

"Lava Style: Tailed Beast Bomb Rasengan (False)!"

A wildly unstable black-and-crimson sphere of energy, packed with destructive power, appeared between them and rapidly expanded!

"Shinra Tensei!" Deva Path Pain finally lost his composure. A repulsive force erupted instantly!

"KA-BOOOOM!"

An explosion more terrifying than any before thundered through the valley! Blinding light devoured everything. A colossal shock wave swept outward like a tsunami, ripping up the ground in layer upon layer!

"Ling!" Naruto and Jiraiya's cries were swallowed by the deafening explosion.

The light faded, and the dust slowly settled.

A crater nearly a hundred meters in diameter had opened in the middle of the valley. Deva Path Pain lay at its bottom, his body in ruins. He struggled as if trying to stand, but finally collapsed, the light in his Rinnegan extinguished for good.

And Ling...

His body dropped from the sky like a broken doll, crashing heavily onto the edge of the crater. The Tailed Beast Cloak had vanished. He was charred all over, blood seeping from countless wounds, and his breathing was barely perceptible.

Had he... won?

With the last of his strength, he turned his head toward Naruto, though his vision was already blurred.

"Nar...uto..."

His lips moved, but no sound came out. His consciousness quickly sank into endless darkness.