Of the Six Paths of Pain, three had already fallen at Hagoromo's hands.
On the surface, it looked as though Hagoromo was suppressing them in reverse—but as stated before, that impression was misleading, and its significance limited.
As long as Deva Path and Naraka Path still existed, Pain's entire power system would not collapse.
"So this is your unique Lightning Release—Raien Jūkoku, is it?" Deva Path (Yahiko) said calmly. "The rumored White Night Yaksha… It seems choosing to erase you now was indeed the correct decision."
It was obvious that a considerable amount of Hagoromo's intelligence had been leaked.
He had been active on the battlefield for many years, after all—and more importantly, someone who knew him extremely well had likely provided Nagato with that information.
Hagoromo did not respond.
Of course he didn't.
He wasn't here to chat with a group of idiots.
"But your opponent," Deva Path continued, "is a god."
It was a monologue. An answer was never required.
Yahiko extended his right hand toward Hagoromo, who stood twenty meters away.
"Banshō Ten'in."
A force completely opposite to repulsion—yet just as overwhelming.
Hagoromo was dragged forward instantly, and that hand closed around his throat without resistance.
Unable to resist?
Perhaps.
But why would Hagoromo want to resist?
Any attempt to make physical contact with him at zero distance was the height of stupidity. Anyone who dared to touch him was committing suicide in the most literal sense.
Unparalleled electric current, carrying absolute destructive power, erupted from Hagoromo's body.
Deva Path's right hand began to carbonize at a visible speed.
However—
Never forget that Hagoromo was fighting one against six.
A black chakra receiver was hurled like a javelin from behind him.
It pierced straight through Hagoromo's right shoulder.
Instantly, the lightning around his body vanished.
Pain and blood loss did not interfere with Hagoromo's calculations—but these black rods were made of an unknown, special substance. The moment one penetrated his body, it caused total interference with his physiological systems.
The formulas running in his mind destabilized.
His ability was forcibly interrupted.
At the same time, Deva Path released his grip.
Freed from the hold, Hagoromo immediately ripped the black rod out of his shoulder.
It was soaked in his blood.
He didn't even frown.
According to Pain's usual combat pattern, the one responsible for probing, feints, close combat, and heavy firepower was most often Asura Path.
That was its role.
And the first Path Hagoromo had kicked away earlier—
Had been Asura Path.
Now it had been restored.
And now it had struck back.
So Hagoromo's injury wasn't meaningless.
Because in that moment, he identified Naraka Path.
While Hagoromo was attacking Deva Path, Naraka Path had begun its work—repairing Asura Path and Preta Path.
Among the Six Paths:
Deva Path was the core.
Naraka Path was the linchpin.
Thanks to Naraka Path, what had been three enemies had returned to five—
All except Human Path, which was gone without a trace.
One versus six—Hagoromo couldn't mark every enemy simultaneously.
To end this endless cycle, Naraka Path, not Deva Path, became the highest-priority kill target.
The lightning markings reappeared on Hagoromo's body.
He abandoned Deva Path and accelerated directly toward Naraka Path at extreme speed.
Naraka Path retreated rapidly.
Once again, the one who stepped forward to block Hagoromo was Asura Path—the close-combat and heavy-output specialist of Pain.
Having been instantly destroyed in close combat earlier, it now chose ranged suppression instead.
Mechanical armor deployed.
Missile pods opened.
Asura Assault.
Laser cannons.
High-output rocket fire.
A storm of attacks rained down like a modern battlefield, seemingly unstoppable.
But—
It was useless.
No matter how saturated the barrage was, its speed had limits.
In Chidori Current: Third Stage, Hagoromo possessed extreme speed and maneuverability. He slipped freely through the barrage, weaving between explosions and beams.
His speed didn't slow in the slightest.
In the blink of an eye, he was once again in front of Asura Path.
Asura Path's methods were many.
Hagoromo's counterattack was brutally simple.
A single knife-hand strike.
No Chidori Spear.
No stance switch.
No Iron Sand blade.
His hand sliced down from Asura Path's right shoulder, cutting through something unknown, and exited cleanly from the left ribs.
The newly restored Preta Path, standing behind it—
Was severed in two once again.
Hagoromo passed straight through.
At that moment, a piercing cry echoed from the sky.
An eagle? A hawk? Something like that.
Whatever it was—it was a summon.
A massive summoned beast dove from above.
Hagoromo kicked off the ground, evaded its talons, then leapt high and slammed a devastating axe kick into its spine.
The enormous creature was smashed into the ground with a deafening impact.
Hagoromo descended from above.
Hands clasped, raised overhead—
Chidori Spear came down in a decisive execution strike.
Whether the beast was alive or dead didn't matter.
Whether it had a weak point didn't matter.
Cutting off the head was never the wrong answer.
After that—
Only Naraka Path and Preta Path remained in front of him.
But Nagato would never allow this to continue.
If even Hagoromo understood how critical Naraka Path was, how could its creator not?
Preta Path spread its arms, blocking Hagoromo head-on.
Deva Path moved in behind him.
Unable to defend both directions—
Hagoromo was struck.
He was blasted into the air by Shinra Tensei.
Then smashed back into the ground by an even more overwhelming force.
Bones may have shattered.
Organs may have shifted.
For an instant, Hagoromo lost all ability to move.
There was always a price.
In this state, Hagoromo's defensive capability was even worse than standard Chidori Current.
Preta Path planted a foot on his back.
The lightning patterns dimmed—and vanished.
A massive portion of Hagoromo's chakra was absorbed in an instant.
Believing him completely neutralized, Preta Path grabbed his collar and hauled him up again.
Then—
Hagoromo spoke.
"Found it… finally."
Found what?
Nagato didn't know.
But sensing danger, he managed only to force Deva Path to retreat immediately.
In the next instant—
Every black chakra receiver embedded in Preta Path's body was violently expelled, fired outward like machine-gun rounds.
Hagoromo had found a way to apply magnetism to that unknown metal.
Without the black rods, Preta Path could no longer receive Nagato's chakra.
A corpse without chakra—
Was just a corpse.
In that extremely short span of time, Hagoromo couldn't fully control the electromagnetic trajectories.
Nor could he shield himself.
Some of the rods tore across his own body, erupting into blossoms of blood.
Like crimson butterflies—
Fluttering through the air.
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