A flash of lightning streaked through the battlefield, followed by the glint of a blade.
Whoosh—
Preta Path Pain barely dodged in time, his movements just quick enough to evade the attack.
But before he could recover, another bolt of lightning struck from behind.
With no choice, he raised his hand to block.
Crackle—
Boom!
Sasuke's lightning-infused sword clashed against Preta Path's bare hand. The sharp blade bit into his palm, drawing a single drop of blood.
Sasuke frowned in surprise.
His blade was charged with Chidori's power, sharp enough to cut through steel—yet this man had stopped it with his bare hands?
The next moment, the lightning vanished from his sword.
Sasuke felt a sudden, unnatural pull on his chakra. His eyes widened.
"He's absorbing my chakra!"
Reacting quickly, he released his grip and jumped back. But in just that brief moment, he had already lost nearly four-fifths of his chakra.
Landing beside his teammates, he spoke in a grave tone.
"This guy can absorb ninjutsu and chakra."
"We can't use ninjutsu against him!"
Tenten nodded.
"In that case, let me handle this. He can't absorb my weapons."
Lee grinned and cracked his knuckles.
"Taijutsu, huh? Hahaha! Finally, my turn!"
He stepped forward and took a battle stance.
"Let's see how you handle pure taijutsu!"
Tenten quickly cautioned him.
"Wait! Lee, if he can absorb chakra, that might include chakra from your attacks as well!"
Sasuke nodded in agreement.
"The absorption rate is extremely fast. The second I made contact, more than half my chakra was drained."
Lee hesitated, his excitement fading.
"Then... what do we do?"
Tenten pulled out a scroll, her eyes locked onto Preta Path.
"We use what we practiced."
Lee's expression shifted as he immediately understood.
"Got it."
"Sasuke, I need you to help keep him occupied while we set up!"
Sasuke nodded.
Tenten took out another scroll and unrolled it, eyes narrowing.
"Let's go!"
With a flick of her wrist, the scroll unfurled into the air, releasing a storm of kunai, shuriken, and spiked iron balls.
Preta Path immediately leaped backward to avoid the barrage.
But just as he moved, a second wave of kunai came from behind—thrown by the Konoha ninjas flanking him.
He spun mid-air, deflecting the incoming projectiles with a sweep of his arm, chakra coating the weapons he intercepted.
And that's when a bolt of lightning flashed right in front of him.
Before he could react—
Sasuke appeared out of the lightning.
With blinding speed, he delivered a powerful kick, sending Preta Path flying.
Sasuke could feel his chakra draining fast.
Behind Preta Path, Lee was already mid-air, closing in at high speed.
With a swift spin, he delivered a powerful kick.
"Konoha Tornado!"
BANG!
His kick landed hard on Preta Path's back.
A sickening crack echoed as Pain was launched in the opposite direction.
"Now!"
Tenten had already set up her trap.
From all around, Konoha ninjas yanked the chains in their hands.
The chains sprang up from the ground, forming a web of iron links.
Preta Path crashed directly onto the net.
Before he could react, the ninjas swiftly pulled and tightened the chains around him, binding him completely.
Lee landed next to Tenten, breathing heavily as he stared at their captive.
Even though his kick had sent Preta Path flying, he could feel his chakra had nearly been drained just from that brief contact.
He frowned.
"I barely touched him..."
Exhaling, he turned to Tenten, who looked far more relaxed.
"Ha! That was easier than I expected. We didn't even need to use the diversion clones we planned."
Tenten rolled her eyes and gestured toward Sasuke.
"Give credit where it's due. If it weren't for Sasuke, this wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
Lee scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, yeah... But still—"
"Wait! Something's coming!"
A Konoha ninja's urgent warning cut him off.
Sasuke and the others spun around—
A massive, iron-clad rhino was charging straight at them!
Its single, towering horn pointed forward like a battering ram, ready to tear through everything in its path.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"A summoning beast!"
"How do we stop this thing?!"
Just as panic started to set in, several Konoha ninjas rushed forward, forming a defensive line.
They flashed through hand signs in perfect sync.
Slamming their hands to the ground, they shouted—
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
RUMBLE!
A massive stone wall erupted from the ground, blocking the rhino's charge.
The next second—
BOOM!
The iron-clad rhino slammed into the wall, its massive horn piercing straight through.
But—
It got stuck.
The beast thrashed and struggled, trying to force its way through, but the wall held firm.
Sasuke clenched his fists.
"That was close..."
Sasuke and the others let out a breath of relief.
But then—
The Konoha ninjas holding the chains felt a sudden, immense force pulling against them.
Before they could react, Preta Path, still bound by the chains, was lifted into the air—dragging the Konoha ninjas with him!
One of them panicked.
"H-Hey! What's happening?!"
Sasuke and his team tensed, watching in shock.
"Is he... floating?"
The answer revealed itself in the next moment—
A giant lizard shimmered into visibility, its massive tongue wrapped around Preta Path.
The creature whipped its head, flinging Preta Path downward.
The Konoha ninjas still gripping the chains were sent flying in all directions.
CRASH!
Amid the chaos, Preta Path broke free from his bindings.
Sasuke clenched his fists, now staring down both the massive lizard and Preta Path, who had regained his mobility.
"This just got a whole lot worse..."
---
Meanwhile…
In another part of the battlefield, things were even more dire.
The fight against Deva Path was a massacre.
His abilities were brutally efficient—one devastating attack after another.
His gravity-based techniques left entire squads dead in an instant.
What was once a large Konoha force had now been reduced to only a handful of survivors.
Deva Path stood amidst the carnage, cold and unshaken.
He held his black chakra rod loosely in one hand before suddenly rushing forward toward the remaining Konoha shinobi.
But before he could strike—
BOOM!
Two gigantic fists slammed down from the sky.
Deva Path narrowly leapt back, evading the attack.
CRASH!
The ground beneath shattered, leaving two deep craters where the fists had landed.
As the dust settled, two massive figures emerged—
Choji and Choza Akimichi, having used their expansion jutsu to grow to colossal size!
And they weren't alone.
Shikamaru, Ino, Morino Ibiki, and a squad of elite Konoha ANBU had arrived.
They immediately positioned themselves in front of the battered survivors, forming a protective line.
Shikamaru took charge immediately.
"Fall back! Get the wounded out of here!"
Deva Path regarded them with his usual indifference.
"Konoha's elite, I presume?"
Shikamaru locked eyes with him, his expression serious.
"Alright, everyone—execute Plan A!"
At his command, the Konoha forces scattered in all directions.
Deva Path's gaze flicked to Shikamaru.
"Ah. The strategist."
Without hesitation, he lifted a hand and curled his fingers—
"Universal Pull."
A sudden, overwhelming force yanked Shikamaru off the ground, dragging him straight toward Deva Path!
Ino gasped.
"Shikamaru!"
Everyone froze.
Shikamaru gritted his teeth, struggling mid-air.
"Damn... we failed before we even started."
Then—
A chain shot through the air, wrapping around Shikamaru's waist!
Morino Ibiki had thrown it, planting his feet as he pulled hard.
"Help me hold him back!"
Several Konoha shinobi rushed to grab the chain, pulling against the force.
At the same time, their attack squad launched an assault on Deva Path.
A white-robed ANBU inhaled deeply—
"Wind Style: Thousand Wind Blades!"
Countless razor-sharp wind slashes flew toward Deva Path.
Another shinobi followed up quickly, hands flashing through seals—
"Earth Style: Magma Flow!"
A surge of molten rock erupted from the ground, mixing with the wind blades to create a storm of searing-hot projectiles.
Seeing this, Deva Path let go of Shikamaru and extended a hand.
"Almighty Push."
A devastating shockwave erupted outward.
BOOM!
The attack was instantly repelled—the wind blades, the molten rock, even the Konoha shinobi themselves were blasted backward.
The sheer force tore apart the ground itself, leaving a massive crater.
Shikamaru and two ANBU operatives were thrown violently backward, landing hard.
As the dust cleared, Deva Path stood at the center of the destruction, completely unscathed.
Expressionless, he observed the battlefield.
"This is Konoha's elite?"
He took a step forward.
"A disappointment."
___________
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