Pain stood upside down against the ceiling of the cavern, his Rinnegan gazing down coldly at Fujimoto Tōma, who hung suspended in the center of a massive hollow.
Tōma twisted in midair, stopping his fall without landing.
A calm voice echoed above him.
"Almighty Push."
The invisible force hit like a collapsing mountain. Repulsion slammed into Tōma from every direction, hurling him toward the abyss below. Even the Flying Thunder God kunai he'd thrown earlier were caught in the same field, blown away before they could anchor.
So that's it, Tōma realized instantly.
This was prepared specifically for me.
There was no time to dwell on it. Retreat was the correct move. He reached out instinctively, trying to lock onto the Flying Thunder God mark he'd placed outside the cave.
Nothing.
His eyes widened.
His perception was sealed inside the cavern itself. He couldn't sense beyond it at all, let alone reach the mark outside.
Of course.
If they'd gone to this trouble, countering Flying Thunder God would be the first thing they solved.
Crude, but effective. Suppress his sensory range and the technique becomes useless.
Doing that to him wasn't easy. Orochimaru knew that better than anyone.
But with the Rinnegan involved… it made sense.
Tōma adjusted his body midair, electromagnetic force flaring as he reduced part of the repulsion's impact. Even so, he slammed into the cavern floor.
The ground shattered. Stone exploded outward as a crater formed beneath him. Above, the entrance sealed shut, the passage closing as if it had never existed.
The fall itself wasn't deep. His legs tingled, but that was it.
As the dust settled, Tōma straightened and looked up.
Four figures stood before him.
He let out a quiet, wry breath.
"Four of you?" he said lightly. "You really think that highly of me? You're one short of sending the whole organization."
He stepped out of the crater, facing them fully now.
Uchiha Itachi.
Hoshigaki Kisame.
Kakuzu.
Hidan.
Familiar faces. Dangerous ones.
"Tch, took that head-on and didn't even bleed," Hidan laughed loudly. "No wonder we had to ambush you."
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. "Don't relax. He's dangerous."
"Oh? You scared?" Hidan shot back. "There's four of us! Even the boss wouldn't have it easy against that!"
"Shut up," Kakuzu snapped. "You don't understand."
For a moment, Kakuzu felt an absurd sense of déjà vu. Looking at Tōma reminded him of the First Hokage.
The thought made his skin crawl.
Itachi hadn't spoken once. His gaze remained fixed on Tōma, unreadable, impossible to meet head-on.
Kisame watched silently, shark-like eyes gleaming. If no one moved, neither would he.
Tōma waited.
When no one attacked, he tilted his head slightly. "All this effort, even the Rinnegan showing up, and you're just standing there?"
The cavern went quiet.
"And the one with the Rinnegan hasn't come down yet," Tōma continued, smiling faintly. "Not because he looks down on me. Because he can't."
Hidan blinked. "Huh?"
"You're anchoring a barrier, right?" Tōma went on. "Keeping my perception sealed so I can't escape with Flying Thunder God."
"…Hey, Kakuzu," Hidan said loudly. "Do we have a traitor? How does he know this?"
Kakuzu groaned. "Idiot. If there were a traitor, he wouldn't be standing in the trap. You just confirmed it for him."
Tōma's smile widened. "So that's how it is. Locking down even the Rinnegan to trap me… not a bad trade."
He exhaled slowly.
Good.
He really didn't want to face Pain directly yet.
"You bastard!" Hidan roared. "You tricked me!"
Without waiting, he charged, swinging his red triple-bladed scythe.
The others didn't stop him. Hidan was immortal. Perfect for testing.
Mid-charge, Hidan's grin sharpened. He hurled the scythe instead of swinging it, the massive weapon spinning through the air like a blood-soaked crescent.
The pressure was immense.
Tōma didn't move.
He simply raised a hand.
"Ha! Idiot—" Hidan's laugh cut off.
The scythe stopped.
Stopped cold, inches from Tōma's palm.
No blood. No scratch.
Tōma was gripping the blade itself.
Hidan's eyes bulged. That's impossible.
Before he could react, Tōma yanked the rope attached to the scythe.
Hidan screamed as his body was dragged forward.
Chakra condensed in Tōma's free hand, spinning violently.
"Rasengan."
He drove it straight into Hidan's chest.
The explosion echoed through the cavern.
Hidan flew backward like a cannonball, spinning end over end before smashing into the wall and disappearing in a rain of stone.
The others reacted instantly.
"Damn it!" Kakuzu barked, seals already finished.
"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
A torrent of flame flooded the cavern, heat crashing down like a furnace.
Itachi followed, shuriken wreathed in fire launching forward at blinding speed.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson."
Kisame halted his own seals, clicking his tongue. Water Release here would only help the flames.
He wiped sweat from his brow. He hated dry heat.
Hidan staggered free from the wall, chest grotesquely twisted but movement unhindered.
"IT HURTS!" he shouted, then grinned. "Burn him, Kakuzu!"
Kakuzu nearly choked on his own flames.
Then Hidan froze.
Someone was standing on his scythe.
Slowly, he looked up.
Tōma looked down at him.
Before Hidan could scream, Tōma's leg flashed with chakra-enhanced strength.
The kick landed under his chin.
Hidan launched upward, slammed into the cavern ceiling, and embedded headfirst into solid rock.
Silence.
Tōma landed lightly, flexing his fingers.
…I might be stronger than I thought.
And that realization sent a quiet thrill through him.