This is the last translated chapter. The original author abandoned the fanfic, so no new chapters will be forthcoming. I have translated all existing material.
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Let's reiterate: regarding Habara himself, his level of mastery and application of his own body's capabilities has always been subpar. Initially, you could say he couldn't use taijutsu at all. Now, at best, you could say he can use taijutsu... merely usable, mind you. As for the actual skill level, it's certainly nothing worth mentioning.
Relying on his physical stats and unique bloodline techniques, Habara's close-combat ability should theoretically possess top-tier suppressive power while being effortless and fluid. Yet, in reality, his approach to close-quarters combat still boils down to "brute force breaks everything."
In short, in this aspect, Habara's main body performs even worse than the Habara puppet controlled by the Six Paths. After all, one of the Rinnegan's set abilities is learning anything instantly, including taijutsu.
As a ninja equipped like a warrior, possessing tank-level defense, the Habara puppet even retained control over other aspects of the main body's abilities, such as... Natural Energy.
Habara's body had numerous sets of various technique formulas inscribed upon it. As a wild Uzumaki, Nagato might lack the ability to deconstruct them; reverse-engineering alone wouldn't be enough to grasp the principles behind those formulas. However, through experimentation, those formulas could still be activated and made effective.
This isn't hard to understand. The body was still the same body capable of adapting to natural energy, and the formulas were still those special formulas. As long as chakra was reinjected into the pathways, control was possible... The only pity was that Habara's brain had been destroyed; otherwise, the information stored within could have enabled reflexive, effortless control.
"This guy..."
The First Hokage regarded the Habara puppet with increasing seriousness. He was extremely sensitive to natural energy and had clearly sensed something just now.
"Brother, be careful!" the Second Hokage warned from behind, exasperated. Why is Big Brother starting to play recklessly just because he's in an Edo Tensei body?
"Haha, apologies. It really recovers this quickly, huh?"
A shower of dust and debris covered the First Hokage's severed hand. In the time it took him to speak, his palm had already regenerated more than halfway.
At that moment, the Asura Path charged recklessly, inserting itself between the Habara puppet and the First Hokage. Moving on all fours like some bizarre aberrant creature, it scuttled rapidly. Upon stopping, its entire body bristled with weaponry. In the blink of an eye, tubes of varying lengths and thicknesses ejected projectiles with fiery trails from all over its body.
The resurrected First Hokage actually got to experience what being missile-spammed felt like. In his lifetime, he had always regarded puppet masters as mere hobbyists building models; he never imagined puppetry could evolve to this level after he awoke.
The First Hokage retreated, using the undulating terrain of his Deep Forest Emergence to block the incoming projectiles. A whirring, clicking sound started again as the Asura Path opened its mouth, spewing a wide-area fire technique that ignited the nearby forest, forcing the First Hokage back further.
This was akin to dropping napalm in a forest. High-tech versus traditional weapons – utterly lacking in martial virtue. Why not just spray Agent Orange while you're at it?
The Asura Path forced the First Hokage back, but the still-combat-capable Habara puppet didn't pursue. Instead, it took a step back, placed a hand on the Tendo Path's shoulder, and the next instant, an invisible head with a massive mouth opened and swallowed Tendo... Tendo's chest had taken a heavy blow from the First Hokage, leaving him bent like the number '7'. Unable to continue fighting, he required emergency repairs.
This was the purpose of forcing the First Hokage back – to buy a little time. Otherwise, if Tendo were incapacitated immediately, there would be no point in the Pains continuing the fight.
The Second Hokage saw through this tactic. He didn't know exactly what the enemy intended to do, but he knew that whatever it was, he should stop them immediately.
With the ruthlessness honed over decades of black-hearted dealings, he rapidly formed hand seals, instantly preparing to turn the Land of Rain into the Land of Sea:
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A massive vortex of water quickly submerged the tangled, twisting forest. A deluge of this magnitude was difficult even for the Preta Path to absorb completely in an instant.
No matter how much one can drink, one cannot swallow an entire river in a single gulp. It takes time. But during that time, the force of the water continues its assault.
Then, a perfectly square, pitch-black iron wall suddenly materialized, splitting the massive torrent of water in two.
This defensive method reminded the Second Hokage of his brother's Five-Seal Barrier. To block his attack, its defensive power was self-evident. More importantly...
"Handseal-less again... Magnet Release?"
One jutsu without hand seals, the Second Hokage could understand. Every jutsu without hand seals? Wasn't that bullying an honest old man?
With no time for further thought, several giant summoned beasts charged towards the Second Hokage. However, for a ninja of his caliber, such summons were merely living targets. Their only contribution upon appearing would be to dye the water below a vibrant shade of red.
In terms of physical attack power, the Second Hokage only ever dealt excessive damage, never insufficient. This applied even to breaking through defenses, let alone slicing through flesh.
As the summoned beasts lunged forward with their fiercest expressions, they were met by a thin, high-pressure blade of water – "Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
Some ninjutsu are like this: enemies can only dodge, not block. The leaping summons were sliced in two mid-air, vast amounts of blood spraying out like sudden fireworks.
Crimson raindrops fell unevenly onto the water's surface, creating circles of irregular ripples.
The water calmed. Looking back at where the Habara puppet stood, Tendo was already back on his feet, seemingly unharmed.
Tendo Path, – these were the core of the enemy's power.
"Brother! Did you sense it?" the Second Hokage called out, turning his head.
"Yes. That one is using natural energy. Although it hasn't reached the point of forming facial markings yet, the amount he's gathered is rather exaggerated," the First Hokage replied, moving to his brother's side.
At this moment, both Hokage received a mental message – Orochimaru urging them to hurry up, lest complications arise.
The current geopolitical situation was certainly different from their time. Both Hokage knew that figures of their stature appearing in Amegakure for too long was unwise. If recognized, it could even trigger a war. Therefore, they would undoubtedly aim for a swift conclusion... At least, the Second Hokage grasped this point quickly.
"Brother, that missing-nin Orochimaru is rushing us, tsk..." Tobirama was subjectively unwilling to follow Orochimaru's orders, but who could argue when he was currently an Edo Tensei puppet and Orochimaru made sense? "Let's end things here quickly. Once we destroy those eyes, our task is complete. We are dead men; lingering in the world of the living is never good... Brother, go all out."
It was nice to return to the living world for a bit, maybe have some fun, but... while possible, it wasn't necessary.
"Understood, Tobirama. Let's clear out these puppets first," the First Hokage agreed.
With the two brothers working together, there was no reason to waste much time here. The First Hokage possessed transcendent strength, and the Second Hokage was... at least useful.
The Second Hokage formed a seal, leaving a Shadow Clone behind.
The First Hokage took a great leap, vanishing from his spot, then landed heavily, crashing down in front of the Animal Path.
"Wh-?!"
Due to the impact force of his landing, the First Hokage's knees were slightly bent, his forward-leaning torso concealing the hand seals he was forming. Then, he abruptly raised his head, his eyes locking onto the pair of Rinnegan diagonally above him:
"Ninpou: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!"
An extremely powerful, high-level genjutsu took effect instantly. Its target wasn't the puppet before him, but the actual controller behind it. In that moment, Nagato's five senses were stripped away. Forget fighting; from this point on, he couldn't perceive the outside world at all.
Nagato's Rinnegan originated from Madara Uchiha's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Logically, Sharingan of that level should possess innate resistance to genjutsu. Using even a high-level genjutsu against such eyes seemed like teaching an expert swordsman how to wield a sword. Unfortunately, these eyes were no longer in Madara Uchiha's sockets.
Simultaneously, the Second Hokage had already appeared behind the Habara puppet . He wrapped his arms around Habara's head and, with a sharp twist, spun the head a full 360 degrees... like performing an aggressive temple massage or demonstrating advanced eye exercises. This was treatment Habara hadn't even enjoyed while alive. Truly fitting for the ruthless Second Hokage.
The Habara puppet crumpled to the ground. The Second Hokage then turned his attention towards Tendo. Once these two were dealt with, the rest would be trivial. However...
Nagato was definitely not fighting alone. Not just because his Rinnegan came from Madara Uchiha, but also because this was the closest Black Zetsu had come in millennia to reviving his mother.
Just as Nagato's consciousness was sealed away, plunged into endless darkness, that very darkness began to flow and converge, eventually forming a somewhat familiar silhouette.
"So, it was you."
Nagato, of course, knew he was constantly being monitored, but he hadn't realized the surveillance was so intimate, practically on him.
At this moment, Black Zetsu had no time for concealment. The First Hokage was outside! Others might not understand the First Hokage's true power, but how could Black Zetsu not?
The spiritual imprint he had left on Nagato instantly tore through the prison of consciousness created by the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique. Nagato regained his senses immediately. Then, he saw the Second Hokage closing in.
This wasn't the time to settle scores with Black Zetsu. Even if he wanted retribution, he had to resolve the current crisis first. As the battle progressed, Nagato continually revised his assessment of the First Hokage's threat level upwards. If he had remained trapped in the genjutsu just now, wouldn't he have been completely helpless?
Nagato regained consciousness. Tendo reached out, grabbing the Second Hokage's neck. With his left hand, he thrust out a black rod, piercing straight through Tobirama's abdomen... Tobirama felt his chakra begin to destabilize.
Simultaneously, another black sword stabbed through his chest from behind. Tobirama glanced sideways and saw his attacker was the Habara whose neck he had just broken.
The Habara puppet's head slowly twisted back into place, Iron Sand reconnecting and stabilizing his vertebrae from within.
"So troublesome!"
"Brother, what's happening?!" Tobirama yelled, but found himself unable to concentrate his chakra to use the Flying Raijin Technique.
"I don't know. My genjutsu was somehow broken... But it doesn't matter. It seems the things I left behind are still around," the First Hokage replied.
Tobirama turned his head with difficulty towards the other side. He saw his older brother walking towards him step by step, the distinctive markings of Sage Mode now visible on his face.
Then, the First Hokage formed hand seals, summoning a massive scroll onto his back. He untied the straps binding it.
The First Hokage stood still, patting the scroll on his back with a nostalgic air.
He then resumed walking forward, his pace identical to before – steady and unhurried.
For some reason, all Six Paths of Pain instinctively took a step back.