Chapter 178: Coercing Pain
"Damn it! They actually dared to kill Kankuro!"
Naruto gritted his teeth in fury as crimson Nine-Tails chakra continuously poured out from his body, on the verge of going berserk at any moment. Only after a long while did he finally calm down. Grinding his teeth, he said, "Let's chase them and take Gaara back!"
"But the intelligence agents we were following earlier haven't sent back any information!"
The ninjas of the Sand Village were still just as useless as ever, unable to provide any helpful intelligence. But at that moment, Haruno Sakura noticed something unusual…
"There's a mark here—it's a special mark from Konoha Village!"
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.
"I've seen this mark with Lady Tsunade before. Could another Konoha ninja have arrived ahead of us?"
"This mark doesn't look like the work of an ordinary ninja. It seems more like something from the Anbu or Root."
Kakashi frowned.
"But why would there be Anbu personnel here? Could it be a spy infiltrated into the Sand Village?"
"Forget it—we should hurry up and follow!"
Naruto couldn't worry about all that anymore and dashed forward through clenched teeth.
"Naruto!"
The rest of the group had no choice but to follow after him.
This kind of impulsive strategy really was typical of Naruto…
"Someone is approaching from outside."
Inside the cave, Zetsu suddenly opened his eyes and spoke slowly.
"They're ninjas from Konoha. The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki is among them."
Just like in the original storyline, Pain once again used the Shapeshifting Technique to send Kisame and Itachi to intercept them—one group facing the incomplete Team Kakashi, and the other confronting Team Might Guy!
However, imitations were still just imitations. Before long, they exhausted their chakra and died…
"From this point on, not even the slightest mistake is allowed!"
The process of extracting the Tailed Beast had already reached its most critical stage, and Pain's tone was especially stern.
However…
"In that case, I'm afraid I'll have to apologize!"
Li Jiexuan suddenly smiled and loosened his hands. With just that tiny lapse, a large portion of the One-Tail's red chakra flowed back.
"What are you doing, Li Jiexuan?!"
Pain's terrifying Rinnegan was filled with killing intent.
"Return to your position immediately, or I will kill you!"
"No, no, no."
Li Jiexuan smiled and walked over to Gaara, holding his hand above Gaara's body.
"I'm just a little dissatisfied."
"Dissatisfied?"
"We're all members of the same organization, so why do all of you have such amazing techniques while I don't?"
Li Jiexuan pouted in dissatisfaction, pretending to sulk like a child.
"If you don't teach me the projection technique you're using and the Shapeshifting Technique, I won't keep contributing my strength!"
Hearing this, Pain couldn't help but frown.
He did want to kill Li Jiexuan outright, but now wasn't the right time…
If he failed to kill Li Jiexuan instantly, the resurrection of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path would definitely be affected. And the next time they tried to capture the Kazekage from the Sand Village, it wouldn't be so easy.
More importantly, Li Jiexuan was such a young child, and his childish behavior gave Pain a slight sense of hope.
Perhaps… if they gave him the techniques, he would work seriously afterward!
After all, as a member of the Akatsuki, he was supposed to learn these techniques eventually anyway. Giving them to him in advance didn't really matter.
And more importantly, without Pain acting as the relay point, ordinary ninjas couldn't use the projection technique at all!
"Zetsu!"
Zetsu smiled and nodded. A White Zetsu suddenly emerged from the ground, handing two black scrolls to Li Jiexuan.
"Snap…"
Li Jiexuan accepted the scrolls with a cheerful smile.
The value of these two forbidden techniques was no less than the techniques recorded in the Sealing Jutsu scrolls—perhaps even slightly higher. And the only opportunity to learn them was by threatening Pain like this!
"Now you can work properly, right?"
Pain's terrifying Rinnegan stared intently at Li Jiexuan, volcanic fury hidden deep within his gaze.
Since becoming a god, this was the first time he had ever been threatened by someone!
"In that case…"
Li Jiexuan suddenly smiled and grabbed Gaara by the neck.
"Then you might as well teach me the Rinne Rebirth Technique too!"