Chapter 369: Jiraiya's Regret, the Oppressive Aura of Li Yao's Tendō Pain
"Not good!"
"Why is his power suddenly this overwhelming?!"
Kakashi struggled to stand. His hands pressed down on the shattered rubble beneath him, but before he could push himself up, a wave of weakness washed over him, and he collapsed back again.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Hearing the commotion, Akimichi Chōji and his father rushed over. Seeing Kakashi's condition, Chōji quickly supported his shoulder.
"Weren't they all taken down?!"
"What's going on?"
Chōza frowned, staring at Tendō Pain, who stood midair amidst the dissipating smoke.
They had been told the Six Paths of Pain had been subdued. Why was this one suddenly standing again?
"Be careful. He's much stronger now."
Kakashi warned grimly. He didn't know why Pain had appeared lifeless moments before, only to come back to life now.
But this Tendō Pain was clearly more dangerous than ever.
It was as if, with his purpose fulfilled, he no longer held back and had begun using truly destructive powers.
At the same time as Tendō Pain's revival—
The other Paths also came back to life, surrounded by flashes of white-purple lightning.
Whoosh!
Tendō Pain instantly appeared before Kakashi. The sheer speed stunned him. This was far beyond anything the enemy had shown before.
"Multi-Size Technique!"
Chōza enlarged his right arm and swung with full force as Chōji carried Kakashi away.
Tendō met the attack head-on, stabbing a black rod straight into Chōza's massive fist.
Spurt!
A sharp black spike pierced through Chōza's shoulder. His oversized fist froze inches from Tendō's palm.
"Ugh… so hard!"
Chōza groaned in pain. The rod had penetrated clean through his shoulder.
"Dad!!"
"Move! Get away!"
Seeing what happened, Chōji screamed out, but his father's body didn't respond.
"No good—Chōji, drop me!"
Kakashi's expression changed. He had been struck by one of those black rods before. They weren't normal weapons. They carried the Rinnegan's special chakra and had sealing effects.
Before, the effect was minor.
But now, judging by Chōza's paralysis, the sealing power had clearly been enhanced.
Indeed, the black rods didn't just block chakra—they immobilized the body as well.
Previously, Tendō had been remotely controlled by Nagato, weakening the rod's effect. But now, with Li Yao controlling it directly—his clone possessing the body via spiritual transformation—the sealing effect was absolute.
With Li Yao's unparalleled chakra control, even the Nine-Tails wouldn't resist such immobilization.
Though Chōza heard Chōji calling, his chakra and body were completely sealed. He could do nothing.
Tendō turned to glance at Jiraiya, who watched from the interstitial space, and gave a faint smile. Then, his left hand formed another black rod and aimed it at Chōza's head.
"No!!"
Jiraiya, understanding the smile instantly, let out a desperate scream and lunged forward.
Crack!
From a distance, Kakashi unleashed a Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Running Technique, sending an electric wolf racing toward Tendō.
Clatter!
The lightning wolf shattered before it reached him—dispersed by repulsive force.
Spurt!
The black rod pierced through Chōza's forehead, emerging from the back of his skull.
As he died, Chōza glanced sideways at his son with bloodshot eyes.
"Run!"
Chōji read the meaning in his father's gaze. But watching him die in such a brutal way shattered Chōji's sanity. Enraged, he charged blindly at Tendō.
"NOOO!"
Jiraiya shouted frantically from the interstitial space. At that moment, he deeply regretted everything.
He hadn't expected Li Yao's "switching opponents" meant this.
There were too many unanswered questions.
The Rinnegan was supposed to be with the real Nagato. How could this man control Tendō Pain?
No—not just Tendō.
The other five Paths had been revived too.
What was going on?
How could this man not only control the Six Paths but also use their jutsu? Weren't those abilities exclusive to the Rinnegan?
Jiraiya's mind swirled with confusion.
But seeing Chōza's death—and anticipating what might follow—his regret only grew.
But… it was too late.
Even though over ten Konoha shinobi launched attacks and hurled shuriken at Tendō, it was no use.
Tendō Pain extended his arms, fingers together in a sword hand sign, and swung forward.
Shing!
Like a blade-shaped shockwave, a circular razor-like force spread outward from Tendō at blinding speed. Time itself seemed to pause.
Slice!
A fine red line appeared across Chōza's chest. His upper and lower halves began sliding apart—upper body forward, lower backward.
Everyone on the same plane as Tendō, ninja and civilians alike, were instantly cleaved in half.
Some were sliced at the waist, some at the neck. A few lucky ones were severed at the forehead or upper thigh.
A cut through the forehead meant painless death.
A cut at the thigh, though excruciating, might not be fatal.
Those were the lucky ones.
But across all of Konoha, those standing at the same level as Tendō had no such luck—buildings, bodies, everything was halved by an invisible blade.
CRACK!
The village's great outer wall shuddered. A deep fissure spread all the way to its end.
"Ahhh!"
"My leg…!"
"Iruka-sensei…!"
"Ino…!"
"No—Konohamaru!!"
After a moment of stunned silence, Konoha erupted in screams of agony.
In one corner of the village, Ebisu screamed in despair at the sight of Konohamaru, who had been sliced at the waist—his eyes bloodshot with grief.
Inside a ruined interrogation room, Yamanaka Inoichi collapsed. His leg had been severed at the thigh. Before him, his daughter Ino's head rolled to a stop—her face frozen in horror.
Not just Ino and Konohamaru. In that single moment, the number of dead shinobi and civilians far exceeded all prior casualties during Pain's invasion.
Because too many people were on the same level as Tendō—at least a thousand, most of them ninja.
And the injuries were so severe that Tsunade's Katsuyu clones couldn't do a thing.
"T-this…"
"What the hell just happened…?"
On the roof of the Hokage Building, Tsunade listened to the report from a Katsuyu clone.
In that moment, the whole of Konoha hadn't just felt like it was cut in half—it was cut.
Everyone and everything along that path had been severed.
Katsuyu could only heal those whose upper thighs were still intact.
Those cut above that—whose organs spilled out or whose hearts or heads were removed—were beyond saving.
In a single moment, Konoha had suffered catastrophic losses.
Tsunade's expression was no longer that of a Hokage.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997