Clang!
Already prepared for the slash, Pain precisely inserted the two Black Receivers in his hands into the circular hole in the Kubikiribōchō, then braced them firmly.
A grating, teeth-grinding creak began to ring out.
Shinji and Pain were locked in a contest of strength.
They seemed evenly matched, but the moment distinctive, mysterious blood markings appeared on Shinji's face, that balance was broken.
Blood Manipulation: Flowing Scarlet Scales: Load!
The blood inside Shinji immediately began flowing at several times its normal speed, and tremendous strength began pouring endlessly from his body.
The most obvious change this brought was that the Kubikiribōchō, previously locked in a stalemate in midair, began steadily pressing downward, inch by inch!
Until, with a squelch, it cut into Pain's right shoulder.
A rather surprised expression finally appeared on Pain's face.
He seemed not to have expected his target's strength to suddenly increase so drastically.
Had he not used the Black Receivers in his hands to alter the Kubikiribōchō's downward trajectory at the last moment, that slash would have landed on his head rather than his shoulder.
Looking at his opponent's unwavering eyes, Nagato knew that if this continued, Yahiko's corpse would suffer even more damage.
Although Pain Naraka Path could repair the corpse, Nagato could not accept that!
More importantly... the five-second cooldown was over.
Shinra Tensei!
With a bang!
Shinji was blasted away by an irresistible force.
But before he was sent flying, he held on tightly to the Kubikiribōchō, using that very force to drag the blade along and inflict a second wound on Pain Deva Path.
An ordinary person would have long since lost the ability to fight after suffering such a serious injury.
But ultimately, Pain was nothing more than a corpse controlled by Nagato, much like Sunagakure's Puppet Technique.
So