Bang!
The ground beneath Tendo Pain's feet suddenly cracked open. Broken earth splashed before his eyes as Manda suddenly emerged from underground.
The serpent's bloodthirsty maw aimed directly at Tendo Pain, striking with deadly intent.
The approaching scent of blood was unmistakable.
Meanwhile in the sky, the moment Gamabunta severed the Fire Release technique, he brought down his gleaming blade in a devastating slash.
Attacking from both above and below, Tendo Pain—who had just released Shinra Tensei and was still in his cooldown period—supported himself with one hand and rolled to avoid the coordinated assault.
Whoosh, whoosh...
Black receivers suddenly shot from his sleeves, stabbing toward both summoning creatures.
After the previous battle, both Jiraiya and Orochimaru understood there was something dangerous about Tendo Pain's black receivers. They couldn't allow these weapons to pierce their summons' bodies and risk unpredictable consequences.
"Keep going!"
"Bunta, press the attack!"
Orochimaru and Jiraiya issued commands as their summoning beasts continued their relentless assault, giving Tendo Pain no time to recover.
Snake tail, fangs, short sword—all manner of threatening attacks rained down mercilessly.
Tendo Pain barely had time to regain his footing, forced to retreat and dodge continuously.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
"Ninja Art: Lion's Mane Technique!"
Orochimaru and Jiraiya used their abilities to deflect or restrain the black receivers Tendo Pain launched, buying their summons precious opportunities to attack.
Swish!
Boom!
Gamabunta's short sword carried tremendous power, drawing an arc through the air before crashing down with devastating force.
Just as Tendo Pain seemed unable to dodge, the Preta Path suddenly appeared behind him, reaching out to pull him away from the most dangerous strike.
Bang!
Gravel flew everywhere as the blade carved a crater in the ground.
"Got you!"
Manda's long tail moved in an unexpected direction, avoiding Tendo Pain's line of sight and coiling directly from his blind spot.
Just as the serpent was about to capture Tendo Pain, his target seemed to possess eyes in the back of his head, dodging Manda's surprise attack at the critical moment.
"Hmm? How did he see that?"
Manda was stunned by this development, and Orochimaru frowned deeply.
This shouldn't have happened. His opponent obviously couldn't see the attack, and no one was nearby to warn him. How had Tendo Pain detected the threat from behind?
Orochimaru failed to notice that the Preta Path's Rinnegan were tracking Manda's movements intently.
That's right—the vision of all Six Paths of Pain was interconnected. Once one captured something in their sight, it could be shared with the others. This was how Tendo Pain could detect attacks from behind.
At this moment, five seconds had elapsed. Facing attacks from both summoning beasts, Tendo Pain no longer dodged but stood his ground, staring coldly at the incoming assault.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The powerful repulsive force erupted once more. An invisible energy struck Gamabunta and Manda with tremendous impact, hurling them backward instantly.
Boom, boom...
Two massive bodies crashed heavily to the ground. The earth heaved and shook continuously as cracks split open.
"Bunta, are you alright?"
Jiraiya finally steadied his staggering form and quickly checked on Gamabunta.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Gamabunta groaned in pain, stabbing his short sword into the ground to barely steady himself and stand upright.
However, this was only superficial. His internal organs had suffered such tremendous impact that his blood felt like it was boiling, causing unbearable discomfort.
"Orochimaru, prepare a thousand sacrifices for me next time!"
"That really hurt!"
Manda writhed and roared furiously. The previous blow had been too sudden—he'd had no time to react and had taken the full brunt of the attack.
"Don't worry about it."
Orochimaru naturally offered reassurance, knowing he needed to keep Manda stable at this critical moment.
Gamabunta and Jiraiya approached their position.
"Orochimaru, did you notice anything just now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Yahiko—no, the enemy. He didn't use that repulsive ability initially, not until Bunta and Manda's attacks became increasingly fierce. Only then was he forced to release it again."
Orochimaru frowned, studying Tendo Pain in the distance. "You're suggesting there are restrictions on his ability usage?"
"Exactly. I believe it's time-limited, though I don't know the exact interval between uses."
"Six to seven seconds?"
"About that. It shouldn't exceed ten seconds."
"From when the enemy deflected mine and Bunta's Fire Release technique to when he used the ability again—it was probably within ten seconds."
"So we must defeat him within ten seconds of his ability usage, or we'll face the same attack again."
Orochimaru frowned thoughtfully. "We can't attack simultaneously—we need to stagger our assaults!"
Jiraiya glanced at Tendo Pain and the Preta Path positioned at different distances. They couldn't use ninjutsu since the larger figure could absorb chakra—close combat was their only option.
But engaging in close combat required getting near their opponent.
The problem was that Yahiko could release such devastating attacks without hand seals at any time, making approach extremely difficult.
"I'll take point from now on. Orochimaru, you provide support!"
Jiraiya made his decision, then looked at Orochimaru suspiciously. "What's wrong with your right hand?"
He had noticed Orochimaru's fighting movements seemed awkward. When releasing his summoning technique, he'd used his left hand to activate a pre-inscribed seal on his arm rather than forming proper hand seals.
Such behavior indicated something was definitely wrong with Orochimaru's right hand, which he hadn't used once.
Jiraiya suspected that not only had he noticed this—their enemies must have observed it as well.
"Hehehe..."
Orochimaru raised his right arm with a smile. "Oh? You figured it out."
"Yes, this arm is temporarily unusable."
Jiraiya regarded Orochimaru's nonchalant expression and suddenly understood. "It seems your resurrection method isn't perfect. Although Naraku didn't kill you completely, he left you with something unforgettable."
"Indeed, but I'm sorry to disappoint you—this arm will return to normal soon."
Orochimaru answered confidently, appearing to have devised a solution for his arm's condition.
"Who knows? The wound Naraku left won't heal so easily."
Jiraiya commented, then his expression grew serious. "I'm ready to move!"
"Bunta, jump!"
"Right!"
With a roar, Gamabunta suddenly leaped toward Tendo Pain.
His leg muscles exploded with power, and in the blink of an eye, he was airborne.
Swish!
This time, Gamabunta abandoned hopes of effective close combat and hurled his short sword at Tendo Pain.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Seeing the massive blade falling toward him, Tendo Pain released his repulsive force again, deflecting the weapon instantly.
Whoosh!
The sharp sword spun through the air, severing a large tree before embedding itself upright in the ground with a resounding thunk!
Crash...
The bisected tree toppled with a thunderous roar.
"Again!"
"Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"
The blazing Fire Release technique came like an overwhelming tide. Tendo Pain, having already used Shinra Tensei, stood his ground as the Preta Path leaped skyward, extending his hands to begin absorbing the jutsu.
"Absorbed again!"
But it was sufficient. Jiraiya had leaped from Gamabunta at some point, passed the Preta Path, and rushed toward Tendo Pain at full speed!
"How naive, Jiraiya-sensei!"
"Universal Pull!"
Just as Jiraiya was about to release another Fire Release technique, sudden gravitational force acted upon him, interrupting his hand seals.
Seeing Tendo Pain's right hand gripping a black receiver while his left extended toward him, the gravitational pull continued intensifying.
Jiraiya accelerated uncontrollably toward Tendo Pain, as if glimpsing death in his opponent's eyes.
As a teacher, I won't lose to my students so easily.
Knowing he couldn't break free from the gravity, the long silver hair on Jiraiya's back suddenly grew and transformed into a giant serpent, roaring as it opened its massive maw to swallow Tendo Pain!
Boom!
Gravel scattered and smoke rose.
Did it hit?
Feeling the gravity weaken, Jiraiya suddenly rolled and broke free from the restraints.
"Jiraiya-sensei, where are you looking?"
Jiraiya was shocked, looking up to find Tendo Pain had somehow appeared above him, stabbing downward with a black receiver.
No good—no time to dodge!
"Don't underestimate the Toad Clan of Mount Myoboku!"
A sharp whistling sound rang out as the massive short sword suddenly slashed from the side.
Clang!
The black receiver Tendo Pain held was directly severed by the blade, which then struck his body with terrifying force, launching him far away.
As Tendo Pain flew through the air and prepared to land...
Whip!
A tail lashed like a whip!
Manda's tail appeared at precisely the right moment, accompanied by wind and thunder, striking Tendo Pain violently.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bones was clearly audible as Tendo Pain fell to the ground like a broken doll, motionless.
"Hey, hey—is our leader really this weak?"
Kakuzu, who had been helping stitch Hidan's broken body back together, had recovered enough to sit up and observe the battle.
"Shut up! The leader isn't a weakling like you!"
The Akatsuki members refused to believe their leader could fail so easily. Even facing the renowned Jiraiya and Orochimaru working together, he shouldn't have been defeated so quickly.
"Hey, what happened? Why did the leader fall down? Hmm!"
Deidara, standing atop his clay bird, flew over to investigate out of curiosity.
"Haven't you dealt with the Third Kazekage yet?"
Sasori observed the fallen Pain with indifference, showing no expression.
"My art would have finished him long ago, but he keeps recovering! Hmm!"
Deidara pointed into the distance where clay birds circled in the air. Whenever they spotted the defeated Third Kazekage attempting to regenerate, they would swoop down and explode, damaging his body again.
"Leave it to me."
Sasori took over the task of handling the Third Kazekage. While his sealing abilities weren't particularly powerful, he could still bind a defeated Edo Tensei entity.
"Yeah!"
Deidara took one final look toward Tendo Pain before following Sasori to the Third Kazekage's location.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya's expression remained somewhat grim.
Though it was still unclear what had happened to Yahiko and Konan, or why the Rinnegan had appeared in Yahiko's eyes, defeating his own students didn't feel satisfying.
Somewhat surprised that the Akatsuki members hadn't moved to rescue their leader, Jiraiya quickly approached Tendo Pain, trying to understand what was happening.
In the distant mountains, within a hidden cave...
Konan was somewhat surprised—she hadn't expected Tendo Pain, under Nagato's control, to lose to Jiraiya and Orochimaru so easily.
Though their opponents were working together, Tendo Pain shouldn't have been defeated so readily.
"Nagato..."
"It doesn't matter. Fighting Jiraiya-sensei again brought back useless memories. That won't happen next time."
"The path God must walk is incomprehensible to mortals!"
"I will eliminate Jiraiya-sensei here and completely remove the last weakness from godhood!"
As Nagato's words grew increasingly cold, Konan opened her mouth to speak but ultimately remained silent.
She had once stood beside Yahiko, supporting his dreams.
Now she stood beside Nagato, supporting his purpose!
Never wavering!
"Do you want my assistance?"
Konan's beautiful face also turned cold—in this moment, both seemed to have abandoned their cherished memories.
"No. You won't be able to defeat Jiraiya-sensei with just a clone."
Konan's priority remained protecting the disabled Nagato, so if she wanted to act, she could only send a clone to fight.
This would underestimate Jiraiya too severely.
No matter what, a mere clone could never defeat Jiraiya.
"I'm already moving!"
"Jiraiya!!!"
Gamabunta's shout awakened the contemplative Jiraiya as he approached Tendo Pain!
Screech!
A clear bird cry resounded through the sky. Jiraiya looked up to see a strange-looking clay bird flashing overhead.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Countless "raindrops" fell from above. Jiraiya looked closer and realized the raindrops were actually small clay birds.
Suddenly, the clay constructs began glowing brightly as faint light leaked from within.
Uh oh!
Not good!
Jiraiya turned and ran, speeding away at maximum velocity!
Boom, boom, boom...
The clay birds dropped by Deidara's creation exploded thunderously, raising endless fire and smoke. Jiraiya rolled and scrambled, dodging desperately in all directions.
The problem was that the clay bird kept pursuing him.
Swish!
The aerial construct flew over Jiraiya's head, dropping more explosive clay.
"This is bad!"
In such vast wasteland, he had no way to escape from the bird flying high overhead.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"
In desperation, Jiraiya urged his long silver hair to grow wildly, surrounding himself. The hardened hair provided excellent defense, sufficient to withstand the explosions.
Boom, boom, boom...
Another violent explosion erupted!
"Get down here!"
Seeing Jiraiya under attack, Gamabunta couldn't restrain himself. He leaped skyward, slashing at the clay bird with his short sword!
Swish!
The clay creature flapped its wings as strong winds swept in, dodging Gamabunta's attack with a single evasive maneuver.
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