The Konoha ruins after Deva Path Pain's overwhelmingly powerful Super Almighty Push
Although Deva Path Pain's Super Almighty Push was immensely powerful, there was still a huge gap compared with the Sage of Six Paths' near world-ending Sage Art: Almighty Push.
"Flying Thunder God Technique!" A golden figure flashed around Deva Path Pain at instantaneous speed, as if teleporting.
"So fast!" Deva Path Pain was surprised that Naruto possessed such a powerful ninjutsu. The strength he had just displayed even faintly surpassed Pain's own.
He hadn't expected a jinchuriki who wasn't using the Nine-Tails' power to be this strong. This guy was nothing like the jinchuriki they'd captured before—he was absurdly strong.
Relying on taijutsu alone, the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki had blasted apart the Asura Path! That was the Asura Path, whose body had been modified to be nearly like a tailed beast's, and he was blown apart by the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. And that Uchiha brat was terrifying too; the ninjutsu he used couldn't be absorbed even by the Preta Path!
"Try this! Sage Art: Super Big Ball Rasengan!" Seizing an opening, Naruto flashed to Deva Path's back and unleashed one of his ultimate finishers.
The massive chakra sphere slammed hard toward Deva Path's back.
"Damn it! Almighty Push!" A powerful repulsive force burst from Pain's body again, bouncing Naruto away once more.
But Deva Path didn't come away unscathed either. Though the repulsive force did break up Naruto's attack, the spiraling force carried by that Super Big Ball Rasengan didn't dissipate so easily.
Compared with the original storyline, Naruto was far stronger now. In canon, even in Sage Mode he was toyed with by Deva Path.
There was nothing like the current situation, where he was almost pressing Pain the whole time. And aside from Deva Path, five of Nagato's Six Paths had already been taken out. All but the strongest Deva Path had been defeated by Sasuke and Naruto, including the Naraka Path that could revive the other five.
To give a simple example, in canon Naruto's overall stat value against Pain was only 53—obviously referring to a non-burst state; otherwise he couldn't have beaten the Pain that killed Jiraiya, whose overall stat was 71. Now Naruto's baseline is at least 65. His overall strength had increased by far more than a little.
"Damn it, what the heck is this move? Why can he reflect all my attacks? It's even stronger than Neji's Rotation. Do I have to use a full-power Tailed Beast Bomb?" The golden flash appeared beside Sasuke after failing to hit Deva Path, and Naruto grumbled, dissatisfied.
"Don't worry, Naruto. I've already found this guy's weakness!" Sasuke swung his katana and, with his Mangekyō Sharingan open, spoke. Throughout Naruto's many exchanges with Deva Path, Sasuke had been observing from the shadows.
With the Mangekyō's keen insight, Sasuke naturally spotted a fatal weakness in Deva Path.
Every time Deva Path used Almighty Push, there was a cooldown. Sasuke also found that the stronger the repulsion Deva Path generated, the longer the interval—at least five seconds. If he fully blocked and repelled all of an opponent's techniques—like Naruto's Super Big Ball Rasengan—Deva Path could do it, but it would consume a huge amount of power, and the next Almighty Push's interval would definitely exceed five seconds.
"I'm right, aren't I, Pain?" Sasuke arched an eyebrow, looking provocation at Deva Path standing in the center of Konoha's ruins.
Deva Path remained silent because Sasuke had told the truth.
All Konoha's surviving villagers and shinobi peeked out, watching the battle in silence. Naruto and Sasuke were their last hope now.
"Lady Tsunade, are you all right?" Sakura asked as she helped Tsunade, who had overexerted her chakra healing the village.
Tsunade no longer looked like that thirty-something buxom beauty; the wrinkles on her face and the skin on her hands betrayed her age.
If anyone still loved her seeing her like this, that would be true love.
Aside from the now-dead Jiraiya—there might not be anyone.
"Much as I hate to admit it, that Uchiha kid and Naruto really are Konoha's hope now. I can't deny it—he's ridiculously strong…" Tsunade panted, speaking with difficulty.
"Haha, now that we know your weakness, I'll finish you with the next strike!" Naruto's white godly cloak fluttered as he faced Deva Path with confidence.
With the Flying Thunder God and Nine-Tails Mode, Naruto had earned the right to say it.
"Idiot Naruto, if you can't take him down, the next shot is mine. And for the record, you already lost our bet." Sasuke said coolly.
Yes—their earlier wager was to see who could finish their targets first. There were six Pains, three each. Unfortunately for Naruto, he happened to pick the strongest Deva Path.
Using the Flying Thunder God and powerful taijutsu, Naruto had eliminated his two Pains nearly twice as fast as Sasuke, but he kept getting stymied by Deva Path.
"Hmph, I won't lose to you, you cocky Sasuke. Just watch me!" The golden chakra wrapped Naruto again.
"Flying Thunder God Technique!"
"There's no helping it—I'll use this! Planetary Devastation!" Outside Konoha, Nagato's seven orifices began to bleed.
"Aaaaah—what is this move? Where's all this suction coming from? Sasuke, look—I'm flying!" Deva Path tossed a small sphere into the sky. This was the same Planetary Devastation the Sage of Six Paths had used against Meruem earlier. It just didn't compare in destructive power.
"This idiot!" Sasuke facepalmed and grumbled.
"Heh! Nine-Tails—captured." Watching the sphere in the sky pull the golden Naruto onto it, Deva Path murmured.
"Quit messing around and finish him already!" Sasuke snapped at Naruto, who was still clowning around on the sphere.
"Impossible. No one can escape my Planetary Devastation. It may fall far short of the Sage's, but you, Nine-Tails jinchuriki, definitely can't break free." Deva Path dismissed Sasuke's words, speaking with confidence.
If it were the Sage's Planetary Devastation, Naruto would have no chance.
But what if it was Nagato's, cast from a frail body?
Space–time ninjutsu is incredibly powerful—its key is crossing space. In the end, Nagato's gravitational pull was a bit too weak.
"Super Mini Tailed Beast Bomb!" The golden flash vanished from the giant sphere and appeared right in front of Deva Path.
Before Pain's astonished eyes, Naruto pressed the micro Tailed Beast Bomb into his body.
The Six Paths of Pain were annihilated.
"The last of the Six Paths is down…" Nagato said from his strange apparatus, his tone a mix of regret, remorse… and relief.
"Well then. Seems I'm late. Pardon the interruption—culprit behind Konoha's destruction, Nagato Uzumaki, and Konan." Once he sensed that all Six Paths had been taken down by Naruto and Sasuke, Uchiha Musashi arrived at Konan and Nagato's hideout.
"Who goes there!" Konan reacted to Musashi's appearance instantly. Unfortunately, though she was an Akatsuki member,
her power in the organization wasn't high; strictly speaking, her raw strength ranked near the bottom. In the original story, if not for her resolve to die with Obito and those six hundred billion explosive tags, her presence might only have slightly exceeded the likes of Hidan and Kakuzu.
"Don't move, beautiful lady, or I can't guarantee this blade won't slip." A cold blade kissed Konan's fair neck. Somehow, Musashi was already before them.
"Hmph. You think a mere blade tip can hold me?" Konan remained preternaturally calm, as if the blade were at someone else's throat.
"Heh-heh. This isn't an ordinary blade, lovely lady of Akatsuki. Also—you can try it. See if you can still use ninjutsu now." Musashi leaned in slightly, eyeing Konan with amusement.
It had to be said—Konan was one of the top beauties in the Naruto world. Her figure and looks were impeccable—she'd just grown extremely cold since Yahiko's death.
"When?" Only now did Konan realize, shocked, that her chakra had been sealed at some point.
"Let her go. You came here just to kill me, didn't you?" Though his body couldn't move, Nagato still possessed formidable combat ability.
But his proudest control techniques had no effect on the man before him? He couldn't even disrupt the other's chakra.
"Heh. I'm not that bored. I came for those Rinnegan that don't belong to you. Hand them over."
"Hmph. As expected of the Uchiha—greedy to the core. You dare to covet the eyes of a god. You provoke a god's wrath!"
"Interesting. You, calling yourself a god? Do you really think you have a choice right now?" Musashi nudged the blade a little along Konan's neck.
"When?" Konan's body suddenly surged forward—and scattered into paper slipping to the ground.
"I wanted to resolve this peacefully. It seems I'll have to kill you both."
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]