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Chapter 36: Defeating Pain, Escaping Intact!
Oborotsuki's third target was the Naraka Path.
He knew the abilities of each of the Six Paths of Pain too well.
Aside from Deva Path being somewhat troublesome, the rest were basically living targets in his eyes.
At this moment, using the incredible speed of Flying Thunder God, Oborotsuki had already appeared behind the Naraka Path like a ghost.
The Path was still looking left and right in the rolling smoke and dust, searching for Oborotsuki's position.
Whoosh—
Oborotsuki showed no mercy or hesitation.
Gripping the Decapitation Greatsword with both hands, he delivered a diagonal crescent slash, followed immediately by two more strikes.
In an instant, powerful sword energy formed into crossing wind blades, effortlessly tearing the Naraka Path's body apart.
Without the Naraka Path, the previously destroyed Paths could no longer be revived.
Oborotsuki immediately turned his assault on the remaining Human Path, Preta Path, and Deva Path.
The Human Path's main ability was reading an opponent's mind and extracting information.
Its only known offensive technique was directly touching the head to rip out the soul.
Easy to avoid.
The Preta Path was support-oriented—absorbing damage.
Its primary skills were Sealing Technique Absorption and Chakra Absorption.
In other words, both Paths were auxiliary.
Dealing with them was even simpler.
In mere moments, Oborotsuki effortlessly eliminated both.
From the start of the fight until now—less than five minutes—the Six Paths of Pain were reduced to only Deva Path.
Seeing this, Konan was completely stunned. Her mind went blank.
She never imagined Oborotsuki could be this strong.
"This… is Oborotsuki's true power?"
"His weapon… when swung, it unleashes such terrifying sword energy??"
Because of the battle, the towering trees that once covered the area had been utterly destroyed.
The dense, sky-blocking primeval forest was gone.
Within a thousand-meter radius, only barren ground and massive tree stumps remained.
Only now did Konan truly realize why Oborotsuki had the confidence to take her away.
She glanced at Deva Path.
The relief she had just felt instantly turned to tension again.
Konan understood the secret of the Six Paths of Pain better than anyone. She knew that among them, Deva Path was actually the strongest.
Because normally, chakra had to be divided to control all six bodies simultaneously.
Under normal circumstances, each Path's power might not seem overwhelming.
But now—with the other five destroyed—Nagato, hidden nearby, could focus all his power into controlling Deva Path alone.
From this point forward, Deva Path's strength would be unimaginable!
Konan grew worried for Oborotsuki once more. At the same time, her hand instinctively moved to her belly.
This child was her only blood kin—her own flesh and blood she had yet to meet.
No matter what, she refused to give it up.
Since Oborotsuki had the strength to stand against Deva Path… it was time to tell him the truth…
This way, both she and Oborotsuki might have a better chance of surviving.
With that thought, Konan shouted toward Oborotsuki's back:
"Oborotsuki—Pain is only the puppet! The real—"
"Hm?"
"Konan! You really betrayed me after all!!"
The moment Konan tried to reveal the secret, Nagato exploded with rage.
Controlling Deva Path, he mercilessly struck at Konan:
"Universal Pull!!"
Before she could finish speaking, Konan was instantly yanked forward—her throat seized in a crushing grip.
"You've disappointed me too much, Konan!"
"Since you chose betrayal, accept your punishment!"
Just as Deva Path finished speaking, a blinding flash erupted in front of him.
The next instant—his left arm was severed by razor-sharp sword energy.
At the same time, Konan vanished from his grasp.
"How dare you touch my woman? You're courting death!"
Oborotsuki gently set Konan down, confirming she was unharmed, then flashed again.
Taking advantage of Deva Path's momentary distraction while attacking Konan—and the opening when he severed the arm—Oborotsuki had already placed a Flying Thunder God marker on Deva Path.
Now he appeared silently beside his opponent, raising the Decapitation Greatsword high and bringing it down toward Deva Path's head.
"Oborotsuki…"
Watching Oborotsuki's move from a distance, Konan's pupils contracted sharply. She whispered his name in pain.
Then she closed her eyes tightly—unable to bear watching her longtime companion be killed by Oborotsuki.
This was her last act of mercy.
From the moment Nagato decided to kill her, Konan's heart had already died.
"Almighty Push!"
As expected, the scene of Deva Path being instantly killed did not occur.
Oborotsuki had underestimated his opponent.
He had overlooked Uzumaki Nagato's heritage.
As an Uzumaki, Nagato was born with extraordinary perception.
Combined with the Rinnegan—and now only needing to control Deva Path—Nagato's sensory ability had increased countless times.
In the nick of time, he saw through Oborotsuki's attack and activated Almighty Push at the critical moment.
Three-hundred-sixty-degree omnidirectional repulsive force—no one could evade it.
Oborotsuki was blasted backward without surprise, coughing up a small mouthful of blood.
But the next instant—he activated Flying Thunder God again.
With lightning speed, he gripped the Decapitation Greatsword and delivered another ferocious slash toward Deva Path.
This strike sent Deva Path flying—his back torn open by a massive gash.
Oborotsuki quickly returned to Konan's side, grabbed her, and vanished with Flying Thunder God.
Killing Deva Path would have been easy—but the real body, Nagato, was much harder to deal with.
Normal attacks were nearly ineffective against Nagato.
Unless he used the power of the Eternal Mangekyō.
Oborotsuki still didn't want to reveal that he possessed the Eternal Mangekyō.
So for now—he could only retreat with Konan.
…
Roughly three kilometers away from the battlefield, atop a mountain.
At this moment, the skeletal, frail Uzumaki Nagato coughed twice, then slowly raised his eyes toward the entrance of the cavern.
There, a figure slowly emerged from a swirling space vortex.
On the ground, a plant-like figure resembling a Venus flytrap appeared.
The mysterious Zetsu—who had never appeared in the organization before—and… "Uchiha Madara."
"I never expected even you to fail…"
Obito looked at the pale-faced Nagato, slowly folding his arms.
Beneath the mask, his eyes glinted with a chilling, dangerous light.
"That kid absolutely won't escape."
"Just give me a little more time."
Nagato said coldly, expression grim.
"Oborotsuki and Konan know far too many of the organization's secrets. They absolutely cannot be allowed to live."
"Next, Zetsu will assist you in gathering intelligence on them."
With that, Obito turned to Zetsu.
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