At the center of the massive crater, repulsive force and impact struggled against each other.
After a stalemate of evenly matched forces, the two powers abruptly collapsed inward, converging.
Then, they leaked out from the sides of the two combatants. A mountain grazed by the residual shockwave was directly shattered.
Rubble and expanding smoke filled the air amidst a dull, thunderous roar like a heavy hammer striking a drum.
Breaking free from the contest of strength, Sakura slid rapidly across the ruins of Konoha, which had nearly become an inland lake.
Within the howling storm, the girl's clear will was rising high.
Fight!
Blurring the line between human and beast, burning with resolve, stepping onto the battlefield.
When words grow pale and powerless, the only way to decide power and the future is to resort to violence.
"Yes, yes, just like that!"
"Burn your life and dance, more, more!"
Sakura laughed maniacally, boiling Chakra transforming into steam and erupting outwards.
The storm greatsword in her hand began to radiate a twilight brilliance as she swung it towards the Deva Path ahead!
Deva Path at this moment was in the cooldown period after releasing Shinra Tensei, unable to evade this lethal slash.
"Don't look down on people! This battle exists to guide the world towards stability and peace, not to satisfy your personal desires!"
On the ground, the other Pains, reconnected to Nagato's Chakra, had regained mobility.
Animal Path flung out a Summoning Technique, causing a giant panda-shaped stone statue to crash down, blocking the path between Sakura and the Deva Path.
"Hahahaha, what difference does that make? Is our resolve to stake our lives on this battle false?" Sakura retorted with a loud laugh.
Mid-air, she changed her sword technique, switching from a vertical cut to a diagonal slash.
Clang!
The sword carrying the power to guide all things towards heat death sliced through the stone statue like a hot knife through butter.
But the Deva Path who should have been behind the statue had long vanished. In his place stood the Human Path, already raising its hands.
Sakura spread out her Observation Haki, a glimmer of understanding flashing in her eyes. 'Two summoning Technique in that brief moment?'
Asura Path, positioned to the side, opened the ports on its body, firing lasers at the girl not far away.
Animal Path clapped its hands together, using a Summoning Technique to call forth the amplified bird, which soared through the sky, tracing a curved arc before plunging its hard, sharp beak towards Sakura.
The intent was to strike her down when she was most vulnerable, just after delivering a slash, with old force spent and new force not yet generated.
"Using power for desire, pathologically chasing battle, chaotic in nature, rebellious against order."
Pain's voice was cold. "Haruno Sakura, an existence like yours only creates more chains of hatred. Therefore, to draw a stop to this world filled with war and hatred, I will defeat you here today!"
"Too arrogant. Do you truly see yourself as a god who dictates order?" Sakura sneered.
"What is the difference between the order you speak of, born from creating pain, and the peace brought about by Ninja fighting until they grow weary of war? Both require vast amounts of bloodshed as the price. The peace established will similarly be rejected with the changing of generations."
"So chaos, order… the cycle of both is simply part of humanity's development process. Your ideal doesn't even touch the boundaries of this cycle, let alone the fact that I currently hold the upper hand!"
The girl who had just delivered a slash had no intention of pulling back her force. Instead, she used Kami-e combined with Life Return to twist her upper body one hundred and eighty degrees.
Simultaneously, she swung the storm greatsword in her hand towards these two attacks. Sword light wrapped in Haki shot skyward, splitting all obstacles along its path in two.
The winding sword light, carrying scorching electric sparks, instantly bisected Asura Path.
The transforming flesh-and-blood weapons were also ignited along with it, the entire body swelling up, resulting in a massive explosion.
Losing Preta Path, Naraka Path, and Asura Path in succession forced Pain's combat style to become more singular. Many tactics that could have been employed before were now unusable.
However, this wasn't entirely a bad thing. With chakra Now concentrated, the remaining Pains' Jutsu power began to increase, and the fineness of their control also rose.
Adding to this, the Deva Path's Jutsu had now passed its cooldown period and could be used again!
"Nonsense! What about the smaller nations? In this world, must people suffer simply because their country is small? A world like that... even if you hold the upper hand, it is wrong!" Deva Path spoke impassively, slowly raising both hands.
One hand released Shinra Tensei, a fierce and violent repulsive force blasting towards Sakura.
Immediately after, the other hand used Bansho Ten'in on Human Path behind her, pulling it into the air like a weapon and hurling it at Sakura.
"That's exactly it. Before you touch the fundamental logic of this material world, every effort you make only adds fuel to the fire of this tragic cycle. You might as well be a happy villain… at least you wouldn't suffer from internal strife and pain!" Sakura sighed lightly.
The eruption of repulsive force made her instinctively use chakra to anchor herself to the ground, stubbornly holding her position.
But her Observation Haki also foresaw that three seconds later, the Pain spinning through the air would grab her head and activate the soul-sucking technique.
Following the perception of her Haki, she willed herself to release the Chakra gripping the ground, allowing herself to be blasted away.
Human Path flying towards her brushed past Sakura's shoulder, perfectly avoiding the future revealed in her Observation Haki.
But even if the future can be predicted, those living in the present still have the ability to create an entirely new future.
Animal Path formed hand seals mid-air, using the Summoning Technique to swap places with the Human Path, bringing the latter, armed with the soul-sucking technique, directly into Sakura's flight path ahead!
Slap!
The Human Path's hand touched Sakura's head. Purple Chakra flowed from its palm, its spiritual form piercing through the defenses of Sakura's body, striking directly at her spirit.
Before the girl's eyes, infinite illusions appeared. The stillness and cold of death from the soul, endless degeneration.
It felt like a genuine hell, tugging at the soul, endlessly eroding reason, seeking to make one sink into it, never to return.
"A villain? That's just making excuses for self-indulgence. If you love degradation so much, then go to hell along with your soul. A fitting end for you!"
Human Path snorted coldly. Purple Chakra gripped the core of Sakura's spirit, applying pressure.
"Look at you, even you yourself fail to learn from this. How can you expect others in the Ninja World to do such a thing?"
Pain was stunned. Sakura, who should have been immobilized by the soul-sucking technique, should not be able to move.
Yet, within his spiritual world, in the center of the surging darkness, a pair of emerald-green eyes slowly opened.
A scorching will surged silently. All darkness was utterly devoured and burned by this will, coalescing into Conqueror's Haki potent enough to ignite the world, rising upwards.
The agitated Haki shattered the technique within the Human Path's spirit. In the real world, Sakura's fist, clad in Armament Haki, had already struck.
Boom-!
The pink fist slammed the Human Path into the ground. The iron rods on its body shattered completely, severing its Chakra connection with Nagato.
"Only two Pains left now."
In a distant mountain cave, Nagato, his body fixed within a massive machine, looked up helplessly, his gaze shifting towards a man wearing a snake-shaped hood beside him.
"The soil containing the dead from the Land of Fire has been recovered. Whenever you need it, it can be summoned."
The man under the hood lifted his head. His left face was normal, but his right face was eroded by white scales, his eye turned golden with a trace of purple eyeshadow at the corner.
"Good!"
Nagato closed his eyes again, linking his Chakra to Animal Path far away in Konoha.
It formed hand seals, slamming summoning symbols onto the ground.
Immediately, a large amount of soil carrying the aura of the dead was summoned into Konoha. The snake-eyed, hooded man hiding in the cavern cooperated, activating the technique… Earth Release Resurrection Technique: Corpse Soil!
Chakra was injected into the soil. One by one, corpses slowly rose, beginning to launch a large-scale assault on Konoha's Ninja.
Sakura, who had just managed to reduce the Pains to only two bodies, was left stunned.
"What the hell is this? Fewer enemies trigger more enemies?"