Ethan and Jiraiya certainly had no grudge between them, but Ethan always kept his word. Since he had promised Jiraiya that he would handle the fight, as long as Jiraiya didn't ask for help, he wouldn't step in on his own.
As for the Human Path and Preta Path? They had charged in themselves. Ethan couldn't just stand there and do nothing, could he?
Although Ethan didn't actively assist, with the Human Path and Preta Path eliminated, the pressure on Jiraiya decreased significantly. Fighting four was clearly easier than fighting six, especially since the Preta Path acted as a tank in the lineup. Without it, many of Jiraiya's ninjutsu could now be used more effectively.
The battle intensified.
With the Preta Path, the chakra-absorbing one, gone, Jiraiya no longer restrained his use of Sage Mode chakra and began unleashing powerful jutsu one after another.
He then successively took down the Asura Path, the Naraka Path, and the Animal Path, leaving only the Deva Path, the one resembling Yahiko.
"Looks like I can't hold back anymore."
Pain sighed. He hadn't been using his full strength. Controlling the Six Paths from afar split his focus, and this wasn't his strongest state. With five paths eliminated, Pain made up his mind.
"At this point, there's no reason to keep anything in reserve."
He had originally wanted to save some techniques to deal with Ethan. But now it seemed if he didn't go all out, he wouldn't even make it past Jiraiya.
"I have to admit, I underestimated your strength."
Jiraiya stood opposite Pain. With Sage Mode active, he could sense something strange happening to Pain.
"Ready to surrender?"
"Surrender?" Pain still wore a cold, emotionless expression, but there was something in his tone. "You know nothing of a god's power, Jiraiya-sensei."
"...."
Ethan, who had been silently watching from the sidelines, almost burst out laughing when he heard that line. Though he managed to hold back his expression, none of those present were ordinary people. Even a subtle twitch was noticed by Tobi and Pain.
There was no avoiding it. Even if Ethan did nothing and just stood there, he naturally drew everyone's attention. A big reason Jiraiya had been able to take out five of the Six Paths so quickly was because Ethan's presence had drawn some of Pain's attention away, preventing Pain from ganging up on him completely.
What Jiraiya didn't know was that Tobi, who appeared to be Pain's ally, was actually wary of him as well. Under the circumstances, he didn't dare go all out either.
"Let me show you the power of a god."
"Alright then, Jiraiya, I can't hold back anymore." (Didn't you say you wouldn't interfere?)
No one knew when it happened or how, but even Tobi and Pain, who had been watching Ethan closely, didn't notice when he appeared beside Jiraiya.
"Isn't it embarrassing to be struggling so long with a puppet that can't even think? If you really want to settle this, go face the main body. I'll dismantle this toy first."
Pain didn't panic when Ethan exposed his secret. After fighting for this long, it wasn't strange that someone had figured it out. He was more concerned about where Ethan got his confidence. His power was impressive, but could it really compare to the Rinnegan once possessed by the Sage of Six Paths?
As if reading his mind, Ethan looked at Pain with a slight smirk and raised his chin a little. "You say you're a god? Do you really know what level a god's power is?"
"Of course. Because I am a god."
"A god who can't even walk? That's a pretty pathetic god."
"..."
Nagato had been severely injured in the past, and with the toll taken from using the Gedo Statue, his body was practically falling apart. He could barely do anything himself.
As if mocking Nagato wasn't enough, Ethan turned and looked at Tobi.
"If you've got something planned, you'd better act quickly. Once I kill this guy, none of you will be able to bring anyone back."
"..."
Tobi's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected Ethan to know that.
One part of Madara's plan was for Nagato to use the Rinne Rebirth to resurrect him. Of course, Tobi had his own thoughts and didn't intend to follow Madara's plan, but on the surface, he had to act like he was. Because there was another person beside him.
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu weren't really assistants from Madara. They were more like spies keeping watch on him. And that Black Zetsu's movements were extremely odd. His stealth was off the charts. He was probably hiding nearby and observing everything at this moment.
No matter what Obito did, he could never find Black Zetsu's exact location. But judging from Ethan's words, it was clear that he had discovered Black Zetsu long ago.
He really wanted to ask Ethan how much he knew. But after Ethan finished speaking, he no longer looked at him and instead shifted his attention to Pain.
Obito suppressed his urge to question further. He wanted to see just how strong Ethan really was. From the current information, Ethan was likely the greatest obstacle to his plan.
If... he truly couldn't deal with Ethan, maybe he would have no choice but to revive Madara immediately.
Although reviving Madara would complicate things, there was still hope if he managed it well. But if Ethan remained unchecked, then the plan would have no chance at all.
After settling his thoughts and committing to a course of action, Obito returned to his calm and composed state.
What he didn't know was that Ethan ignoring him wasn't because he needed full focus to deal with Pain. Pain was the kind of opponent he could easily crush. The real issue was how to crush him.
Just as he thought about drawing his sword, he realized the sword in his hand had turned into a fragile ice crystal. If he used even a bit more force, it would shatter into shards.
After all, it was just an ordinary sword. Not a true Zanpakutō. Using powerful abilities with ordinary blades as a medium always weakened the result, since part of his focus had to be spent just preventing the sword from breaking too early. That meant he couldn't fully unleash his power.
Of course, he could also preserve the weapon by investing more effort—but was it worth it? These were just weapons he picked up from a street vendor. Not worth that much care.
"These junk weapons really aren't reliable. Looks like I'll have to rely on myself."
Ethan flicked his hand, scattering the broken ice into the air. His empty right hand reached out to the side and opened. The ground beside him cracked open, and a sapling emerged from the soil.
"Wood Release?"
Obito wasn't unfamiliar with Wood Release. He had Hashirama's cells implanted, so he could use it as well.
However, he couldn't tell what kind of Wood Release technique Ethan was using, nor what it would do.
He expected it to grow into a massive tree. But instead, the small sprout didn't expand. Its surface grew smoother. There were no branches or leaves. It looked more like a crafted wooden pole than a living tree.
And when it reached about human height, it stopped growing. Ethan reached out and casually pulled it from the ground.
"Was all that just to make a stick?"
Jiraiya looked confused. But in the next second, he realized he was wrong. When he saw the full shape of the object, it was clearly not a stick—it was a giant calligraphy brush.
"..."
Ethan gave it a couple of test swings and nodded, apparently satisfied with this new "weapon." Then, with a flick of his wrist, blue flames ignited from the brush tip—made of who-knows-what kind of hair. Everyone nearby could sense it. The chakra it held was frighteningly powerful.
"Alright, let's go!"
Pain had been silently watching Ethan's every move. Partly because he was confident and wanted to see what Ethan was up to, but also because he was buying time to redistribute his power and concentrate more of it into the Deva Path.
By the time Ethan finished preparing, Pain was also ready. Even if Ethan hadn't said anything, Pain had already decided to act.
Both sides moved almost at the same time. Ethan leapt lightly and swung the giant brush. The chakra blazing at the brush tip turned into flowing water mid-air, roaring like ocean waves.
Pain raised his hand, and a powerful repulsive force burst out.
"Almighty Push!"
The flowing water clashed with the shockwave. The water was easily blown back by the Almighty Push. Pain snorted quietly. So much talk, yet your technique gets repelled this easily?
But just as he prepared to scoff, the dispersed water revealed Ethan behind it, already mid-movement. He hadn't stopped swinging the brush at all, as if drawing something in the air.
"Behold, my Phoenix Pride Diagram!"
No one paid attention to the name he shouted. Everyone was too stunned by the strange, oversimplified bird drawn in midair. Jiraiya, in particular, couldn't hold back his complaint.
"How is that supposed to be a phoenix?!"
Ethan acted like he didn't hear and calmly continued drawing with the giant brush. At the end, he added a circle on the bird's head.
"Phoenix Ultimate Diagram—Simple Line Version!"
Regardless of how laughable that "drawing" looked, Pain had no time to mock it now. That rough, hastily sketched divine bird was already flying toward him—and he had just used Almighty Push.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)