The residual power of Shinra Tensei still echoed over the ruins; the air trembled.
Uzumaki Naruto steadied himself. The numbness in his arms hadn't fully faded, but a gentle and steady voice first rang out within his consciousness.
(Naruto, stay calm. Don't go head-to-head with him.)
Minato Namikaze's voice rang out directly in his mind.
(This guy's ability is very special. That repulsive force that repels everything can't be without limits. Rushing in blindly will only waste your Chakra and stamina.)
(Dad?!) Naruto's heart lifted, and he immediately responded urgently in his mind.
(But his defense is practically flawless!)
(Every Ninjutsu has its patterns.) Minato's voice was as calm as ever, carrying the precise judgment honed on the battlefield.
(Sense carefully, Naruto. There's a momentary sign before his repulsive force is unleashed. Just pay attention to his actions. Most importantly, after it's unleashed, there must be a gap where the power recharges. Your advantage isn't head-to-head strength, but speed—speed that exceeds his reaction and the gap.)
Minato's words were like a clear spring, instantly extinguishing the irritation in Naruto's heart.
Naruto took a deep breath. Right, that powerful repulsive force doesn't exist continuously!
(I understand, Dad!) Naruto's eyes sharpened as he refocused on the distant Deva Path Pain.
Deva Path Pain floated in the air, his Rinnegan indifferently watching Naruto, seemingly assessing this Jinchuriki who could withstand Shinra Tensei.
He slowly raised his hand again.
Now!
Naruto didn't charge in a straight line like before.
Chakra erupted beneath his feet, and the golden-orange figure instantly vanished from the spot!
(Very good, Naruto. Calm down and observe his every move.)
While observing, Minato guided Naruto's actions.
"So fast!" Not far away, Kakashi Hatake, who was dealing with the Human Path, caught a glimpse of a near-teleporting golden afterimage with his Sharingan, and his heart jolted.
Deva Path Pain's Rinnegan spun rapidly, locking onto Naruto's movement trajectory, the repulsive field of Shinra Tensei ready to fire at any moment.
However, Naruto's movement trajectory wasn't a straight line. That golden flash refracted through the ruins in a dizzying zigzag pattern, each step leaving spiderweb-like cracks on the ground or broken walls.
The speed was so great that it even dragged several short-lived afterimages behind it!
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Bang bang bang bang bang—!
Dozens of Shadow Clones clad in golden-orange Chakra cloaks suddenly appeared across the battlefield along with the main body's high-speed movement, faintly surrounding Deva Path Pain.
Even more startlingly, after all these Shadow Clones appeared, they barely paused and immediately began high-speed irregular movements. Each trajectory was unpredictable, and the ruins seemed to instantly fill with dozens of intersecting golden lightning bolts!
"Those Clones... and that movement speed..." The Konoha Jonin, who were working together to counter the Hell Path's summoning and restoration abilities, were also drawn to the commotion, watching in stunned silence.
They had never seen Naruto perform such swift and tactical movements; it completely subverted their previous impression of him relying on human-wave tactics to charge head-on.
Deva Path Pain's Rinnegan kept turning.
"Rasengan!"
"Rasengan!"
"Rasengan!"
Amidst the rising shouts, several Shadow Clones that had advanced to effective attack range from tricky angles instantly condensed highly compressed, wildly spinning azure Rasengans in their palms.
From the left, the right-rear, the top-diagonal... multiple Rasengans slammed toward Deva Path Pain almost simultaneously!
Deva Path Pain's eyes turned cold, and he had to unleash Shinra Tensei once more.
Hum—!
A spherical invisible repulsive force expanded instantly from him as the center, blowing away all the nearby Shadow Clones along with the Rasengans in their hands. The Clones turned into white smoke and vanished in the air.
However, at the very moment the repulsive force reached its peak and began to fade... a golden figure, faster and more radiant than all the Shadow Clones, as if anticipating everything, arrived at high speed exactly in that "gap" where the old force was spent and the new force had yet to be born.
It was Naruto's main body. He had pushed his speed to the limit, his entire golden-orange Chakra burning like fire, and a larger Rasengan condensed in his right palm.
"Got you!" A sharp light burst from Naruto's eyes as he slammed the Rasengan hard against Deva Path Pain.
This strike's timing was tricky to the extreme, precisely the moment after Deva Path Pain had finished using Shinra Tensei, when his power cycle was at its weakest!
Even with the Rinnegan, Deva Path Pain couldn't turn around completely or unleash a powerful repulsive force again in time.
He could only barely turn sideways, gathering Chakra at his back to withstand it.
Boom—!!!
The Big Ball Rasengan slammed solidly into the right side of Deva Path Pain's back! The violent tearing and crushing force erupted instantly, shredding the Akatsuki Organization's black cloak on Deva Path Pain and revealing the slightly pale body underneath.
He let out a muffled groan, and his whole body was thrown forward like a broken kite, crashing through a remaining wall and being buried by dust and rubble.
"Did we succeed?!" a Konoha Chunin shouted in surprise.
"No... it's not over yet." Kakashi Hatake's Sharingan stared fixedly at the dust, but his heart was pounding violently from Naruto's series of fluid attacks.
That precise grasp of timing, those ultra-high-speed combat methods.
"That speed... that fighting style..." Kakashi Hatake murmured softly, a scene buried deep in his heart involuntarily surfacing.
It was from over ten years ago—a figure weaving through the battlefield like a flash, always appearing where he was needed most, rewriting the course of battle with unmatched speed.
"Minato-sensei..." Kakashi Hatake uttered the long-unspoken name almost unconsciously.
Although the Chakra was completely different, that core tactic of pushing speed to the limit to create and seize opportunities, and that unstoppable yet precise combat style, was exactly like the Fourth Hokage, who was known as the "Yellow Flash of Konoha."
"Kakashi, did you feel it too?" Beside him, Asuma Sarutobi took a puff of his cigarette, his voice carrying the same shock. "That kid Naruto... that move just now was exactly like the Fourth Hokage. I suppose he really is his child..."
"Yeah..." Kakashi Hatake responded briefly, his gaze still firmly locked on the battlefield.
The shock in his heart surged like a tide. The Naruto before him had already shown growth beyond all their expectations, having touched the threshold of that legendary Domain.
The dust slowly settled.
Deva Path Pain stood up from the ruins, still standing straight as if he couldn't feel Pain, merely using those cold eyes to relock onto the slightly panting Naruto.
"To think... you could catch that gap..." Deva Path Pain's voice remained steady.
"It seems I can no longer treat you as an ordinary Nine-Tailed vessel."
He slowly raised both hands, palms aimed at Naruto, and a Chakra even larger and more condensed than before began to gather.
"Then, try to take this hit."
"Bansho Tenin!"
A powerful gravitational force suddenly descended, acting on Naruto, trying to pull him in forcibly!
Naruto felt his body suddenly pulled by a massive force, about to fly toward the opponent uncontrollably.
But his eyes narrowed, and he slammed his foot against the ground.
Golden light exploded, and he actually broke free from Pain's Bansho Tenin through a violent burst of Chakra and speed.
Naruto simultaneously began forming hand seals again, preparing for the next round of attacks. Above the ruins, Naruto and Pain faced off once more.
"Who are you people? Why are you attacking Konoha?"
Deva Path Pain's face, with its Rinnegan, remained as calm as ever.
He looked at Naruto as if looking down at an ant in the mortal world, and spoke slowly, his voice cold and piercing, echoing clearly across the battlefield.
"You ask why? To create true peace in this world full of war. And the bridge to peace requires feeling equal Pain. Without sharing Pain with others, one can never truly understand them."
He paused slightly, the purple light in his Rinnegan seemingly intensifying, carrying an air of indifference.
"Feel Pain, experience Pain, accept Pain, know Pain. Those who do not know Pain will never know what true peace is."
He gazed at Naruto and finally declared.
"I am Pain, the one who will bring Pain and change to this world... Kami-da!"
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