Watching the Pain puppets close in step by step, Kushina felt her throat go dry. Even with her far greater chakra reserves than most, she could barely sustain the enormous drain of her Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Restraining the Deva Path alone was incredibly difficult, and the other Pains were watching for an opening nearby, putting her under considerable pressure.
Kushina was afraid of being killed again, but she would never regret her decision to step forward.
Her son Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Even if he escaped the Akatsuki's hunt this time, they would surely disrupt his life in the future and shatter their family's peace.
Having returned from the Pure Land, they had wanted to stay out of everything, only for Naruto to teach them a lesson just now.
They would not sacrifice themselves for the village, but they still had responsibilities to fulfill.
The instant the Asura Path and Human Path lunged at her, the space beside Kushina rippled. Two rapidly spinning currents of chakra appeared and slammed straight into their faces.
By the time the Rasengan stopped spinning, the two newly revived puppets had been reduced to scattered parts once again.
"I'm not late, am I?"
Minato Namikaze smiled at Kushina, then picked up a black rod from the ground and hurled it toward the Deva Path. It whistled through the air and pierced the Deva Path's chest, yet not a drop of blood appeared.
Ordinary fatal wounds were useless against Pain. Instead, the black rod's stimulation made the Deva Path struggle even harder, and he showed signs of breaking free.
Minato tried the same trick again, only for the Invisible Chameleon to physically block it with its body.
Just then, the Preta Path finally reached the Deva Path. The instant his palm touched the chains, he