It was as if the explosion that seemed to have destroyed the world by the gods had finally ended, but the traces it left behind would not disappear for thousands of years.
Within a radius of ten kilometers, all the sand and gravel were 'processed' into dark brown crystals by extreme high temperatures and explosions. The edges of these crystals are extremely sharp, and they can easily cut the skin if you are not careful. Before these crystals are smoothed by the wind and sand, this area will become a 'forbidden zone' where no living beings exist.
But at this moment, several figures in the 'forbidden area' struggled to their feet.
The first to regain consciousness was naturally Naoki Senju, who was furthest from the explosion's epicenter and possessed the ability to Partial Tailed Beast Transformation into Complete Tailed Beast Transformation Tailed Beast, one would need to be able to communicate with the Tailed Beast's mind, or at least maintain a good relationship with it. Naoki Senju simply did not meet this prerequisite.
Thanks to the protective abilities of the Tailed Beast Cloak and his self-healing, although Naoki Senju's skin was bright red and his body temperature was at least over forty degrees Celsius, which is quite dangerous for a ninja, he at least did not suffer any serious injuries.
Pain's Deva Path's condition was far worse than that of Naoki Senju. Although he was a puppet and could ignore the rise in body temperature and physical pain, the power of the explosion was real.
Apart from the first and most intense explosion being completely blocked by Shinra Tensei, the subsequent explosions were almost all withstood by sheer force!
Fortunately, Nagato frequently reinforced the body left behind by Yahiko; otherwise, this puppet would have been torn apart and vaporized by the violent explosion, just like the Six Paths of Pain.
That's right, the five puppets— the Animal Path, the Preta Path, the Human Path, the Asura Path, and the Naraka Path —each with formidable abilities, have all perished in this explosion.
The remaining Pain's Deva Path was in no better condition; although its limbs were still intact, its interior was in a state of disrepair.
Leaving aside the Akatsuki, which was burned to ashes long ago, the main issue is that Chakra Chakra rods Nagato used to control Six Paths of Pain were severely damaged in the explosion, with some parts even being ejected from his body.
As Nagato to remotely control the Six Paths of Pain, the impact on these black Chakra rods means that Nagato can no longer control the puppets with the precision and ease he desires.
It's possible that when Pain's Deva Path was ordered to attack, Pain's Deva Path left leg didn't respond, causing the usually imposing Pain's Deva Path.
As Naoki Senju and Pain's Deva Path regained their mobility and twisted the other's head off, the third figure moved, struggling to get up from the ground, a layer of blackened charred shell falling off with the figure's movement.
"Ouch--it hurts so much! But why didn't I die? Lord Jashin, it seems your followers in Qiancheng will be arriving a little later."
Hidan struggled to his feet, his legs still trembling, as he supported himself with the badly deformed, Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe. Although Hidan was immortal, he was still seriously injured in the explosion.
Pain's Deva Path no longer had any expectations for the missing-nin of Akatsuki, as long as Hidan didn't go berserk and self-destruct like Deidara, but Hidan didn't seem to have that kind of power.
Blood-red Chakra surged from Naoki Senju's body, and the Tailed Beast Cloak coalesced once more Earth Flow the increasingly weakened Pain's Deva Path.
"Leader of Akatsuki, although I don't know your background, I'll accept your Rinnegan."
Naoki Senju wasn't in a hurry. Although he said he wanted to seize the Rinnegan, he wasn't in a rush at all. It was more like he was putting pressure on Pain's Deva Path.
Under normal circumstances, Nagato would certainly have noticed these important details, but with five of Six Paths of Pain destroyed by Deidara and Pain's Deva Path in imminent danger of dying, he had no time to pay attention to these details.
It's possible that only Naoki Senju was injured?
In short, Nagato has staked everything on eliminating Naoki Senju, his biggest obstacle, and also capturing three important Tailed Beast.
As Nagato drew closer to the battlefield, Pain's Deva Path gained more and more Chakra. Coupled with the absence of pressure from the other Six Paths of Pain, this was arguably Nagato's most focused battle yet, and Pain's Deva Path was at its strongest.
A black Chakra rod was roughly inserted into the missing part by Pain's Deva Path. This could not repair the damaged puppet, and might even cause irreparable damage, but it was enough to sustain a battle.
" Naoki Senju, you are indeed very strong, but the Tailed Beast must be sealed!"
Pain's Deva Path tore off the tattered cloth covering his body and even began to put pressure on Naoki Senju. However, Pain's Deva Path's actions surprised Naoki Senju. Pain's Deva Path, who had been severely injured in the self-destruction, suddenly became confident. There was only one explanation for this.
That means Nagato's main body has arrived nearby!
Rinnegan, Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Ten-Tails!
As Naoki Senju thought about these things, his breathing quickened. Given his current physical condition, he could only seal about five or six Tailed Beast with his own Chakra, which was his ultimate limit. And that didn't even include a monstrous Tailed Beast like the Nine-Tails. Human strength is ultimately limited.
If he wants to go further, there is only one path in front of Naoki Senju: to revive the God Tree, revive the Ten-Tails, and become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
The prerequisite for reviving the Ten-Tails is to control the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and continuously replenish it with the Chakra of the Nine Tailed Beasts. Now, this most important condition is just one step away from being met by Naoki Senju!
He sensed the Chakra and scanned the surrounding area again, but the area within a ten-kilometer radius was filled with crystalline debris from the explosion, leaving no place for Nagato to hide, and naturally, he couldn't possibly be within that range.
"Expand the battle area outwards, and never let Nagato escape!" Naoki Senju made up his mind to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Nagato coveted the Tailed Beast within Naoki Senju, while Naoki Senju coveted Nagato's Rinnegan, thus an inevitable battle was about to begin again.
While Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, Naoki Senju fought Pain's Deva Path) and moved out of the crystal's range.
Pain's Deva Path was unaware that his information had been leaked, but seeing that Naoki Senju intended to shift the battlefield, he intercepted him without hesitation for the sake of his own safety.
Shinra Tensei!
The instantaneous Shinra Tensei, controlled within a small area, prevented Naoki Senju's strategy of shifting to the outer perimeter. However, this also deprived Pain's Deva Path of his reliance on prolonged combat. With a full five-second cooldown, if Pain's Deva Path hadn't had the advantage of his puppet's thick hide, Naoki Senju would have sent him to reincarnation several times over.
But how could Naoki Senju not have anticipated Pain's Deva Path's obstruction? His main body did indeed stop him, but could Nagato and Konan deal with his Wood Clone?
As expected, Pain's Deva Path, who was intercepting Naoki Senju, showed a hint of panic in his eyes. It was because his main body and Konan were trying to escape the pursuit of his Wood Clone.