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Explosions echoed continuously.
Shin watched with keen interest. Beside him, Kushina’s hands itched; she wanted to join the fight.
“The Sandaime is pretty strong.”
Kushina pointed at Hiruzen Sarutobi, the scrawny old monkey-like man. After summoning Enma, Hiruzen wielded his Adamantine Staff—sweeping away several puppets with each strike.
Sasori was furious.
Most of his puppets had been destroyed by Hiruzen.
‘Should I bring out my trump card?’ Sasori’s trump card was, of course, the Third Kazekage puppet. After hesitating, he decided against it. In the Shinobi world, always keep something hidden.
There was no harm in holding back.
Unlike Sasori, Hiruzen wasn’t holding back at all. Facing the man who killed his son, how could he? At full power, Hiruzen had already destroyed one of Kakuzu’s masked beasts, effectively taking one of his hearts.
The most exciting battle was Shisui Uchiha versus the Six Paths of Pain.
Susanoo was destroyed multiple times, forcing Shisui to constantly expend ocular power and chakra to repair it.
He pulled out a handful of Soldier Pills from his pouch and swallowed them whole.
Soldier Pills rapidly restored chakra, but overuse had side effects; the body couldn’t handle it. The pills worked by forcibly extracting energy from cells. Overdoing it could be life-threatening.
But Shisui had no choice now. It was the only way to maintain Susanoo.
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“Playing like that… Shisui Uchiha is quite the ruthless one.” Shin observed. Overexerting the Mangekyō Sharingan wasn’t just physically agonizing; it also hastened blindness.
Despite pushing himself to the limit, Shisui didn’t last long. The chakra consumed by Susanoo couldn’t be replenished by Soldier Pills alone.
Susanoo dissipated, and Shisui collapsed—unconscious.
However, he had managed to destroy the Asura Path of the Six Paths of Pain.
A respectable feat.
But ultimately meaningless. The Naraka Path could summon the King of Hell, which could repair damaged Paths. So, the Asura Path Shisui had sacrificed so much to destroy could be restored. Even if it couldn’t be, Nagato could simply create another one.
“I’m done playing with you.”
Orochimaru, who had been tangling with Kakashi, instantly disengaged upon seeing Shisui collapse and rushed towards him.
If he were serious, Orochimaru could have dealt with Kakashi long ago. He had been deliberately stalling. Susanoo’s defense was too strong; Orochimaru had no way to break through it. He had been waiting for Pain to defeat Shisui.
“Although I didn’t get to see Pain’s true body, obtaining a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan isn’t bad either,” Orochimaru thought to himself.
“<Adamantine Staff: Extend!>”
Just as Orochimaru’s hand was about to reach Shisui, Hiruzen’s Adamantine Staff struck him, sending him flying.
“SENSEI—!!”
Orochimaru scrambled up from the ground, glaring resentfully at Hiruzen. He was so close! So close to capturing Shisui! But Hiruzen had ruined everything.
[System, use one Advanced Replication Card to copy Shisui Uchiha’s Mangekyō Sharingan abilities.]
Shin issued the command mentally.
He used one Advanced Replication Card, leaving him with three cards remaining: one Advanced and two Divine.
Shisui Uchiha’s [Kotoamatsukami] was definitely worth copying. It was an incredibly powerful Dōjutsu.
It could forcibly Alter someone’s will without them even noticing.
Mikoto also possessed [Kotoamatsukami], but Shin hadn’t copied hers because she only had it in one eye; the other was [Tsukuyomi].
Shisui Uchiha, however, possessed Kotoamatsukami in both eyes, though they functioned slightly differently. One permanently altered the target’s will, while the other did so temporarily.
That was why Shin had waited to encounter Shisui Uchiha before copying the ability.
“Kotoamatsukami is powerful. I wonder if it would work on Six Paths level individuals if I use it?”
Shin was curious.
He was confident he could alter the will of anyone below Six Paths level, but what about those at that tier?
Six Paths level individuals had mastered [Yin-Yang Release] to the extreme. Kotoamatsukami, being a Yin Release mental attack, might or might not be effective. Shin wasn’t sure.
“The battle is over. As expected.”
Shin observed the scene. Everything had unfolded as anticipated. Hiruzen definitely couldn’t kill Kakuzu.
Unless Hiruzen could defeat the Six Paths of Pain, Nagato wouldn’t let Kakuzu die.
If Kakuzu died under his protection, it would signify that the Akatsuki couldn’t guarantee the safety of its members.
If Kakuzu were merely an Elite Jōnin, Nagato wouldn’t care. Plenty of Jōnin and Elite Jōnin had joined the Akatsuki and died.
Kakuzu’s partners were mostly killed by Kakuzu himself. The fact that Hidan could partner with Kakuzu and survive suggested Hidan wasn’t weak either. Or perhaps it was simply because Hidan was immortal—a truly broken ability.
“Kakashi, retreat!”
Hiruzen ordered Kakashi to take the unconscious Shisui Uchiha and withdraw.
Hiruzen hadn’t gained any advantage against Sasori and Kakuzu. Killing Kakuzu wasn’t easy. He was Kage level himself, with bizarre abilities. Hiruzen couldn’t defeat him quickly. Now, with Shisui out of commission and the other Elite ninja injured, continuing the fight would be disastrous.
Hiruzen led the Konoha ninja in retreat.
“Leader, aren’t you going to pursue them?” Orochimaru asked, his eyes narrowed. A pair of Mangekyō Sharingan had just slipped through his fingers; he was unwilling to let them go.
“If you wish to pursue them, feel free,” Pain said, glancing at Orochimaru.
Pain could have stopped Hiruzen, but he chose not to. Killing Hiruzen, the Hokage, would mean all-out war with Konoha. Even though Konoha was weakened, it was still powerful.
And Hiruzen wasn’t the only threat. Jiraiya was still out there somewhere. Nagato didn’t want to fight Jiraiya.
“Kakuzu, don’t go out on missions for a while,” Pain instructed Kakuzu. He didn’t want Kakuzu getting caught by Konoha ninja again.
If he couldn’t reach Kakuzu in time to rescue him, Kakuzu would die. It wasn’t that Pain cared about Kakuzu’s life, but Kakuzu was still useful. He couldn’t die yet.
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