Chapter 104 (Patreon)

The Deva Path stared down at Mihawk for a long moment.

“I never expected you to become the greatest obstacle to capturing the Nine-Tails.”

Mihawk offered no reply.

Boom!

His feet struck the ground more than ten times in an instant.

Using Soru, Mihawk vanished and shot toward the Deva Path as a dark blur.

“Taking advantage of every second before my power recovered was a sound decision.”

The Deva Path calmly raised one hand.

“Unfortunately for you, that interval has already ended.”

His palm turned toward Mihawk.

“Banshō Ten’in!”

An irresistible gravitational force surged across the battlefield.

It wrapped around Mihawk like an invisible chain, dragging him out of his high-speed movement and revealing his figure in midair.

His feet left the ground as he was pulled directly toward the Deva Path.

“So it finally recovered.”

Mihawk showed no trace of panic.

He stepped against the air, creating a circular burst beneath his foot. Using Geppo, he forced himself sideways against the gravitational pull.

“You can move through the air.”

The Deva Path observed Mihawk without emotion.

“Your method of flight is as unusual as your swordsmanship.”

The force pouring from his palm intensified.

“But it changes nothing.”

The gravitational pull became even stronger, dragging Mihawk toward him like a current rushing into a bottomless whirlpool.

This time, Mihawk stopped resisting.

Instead, he allowed Banshō Ten’in to pull him forward.

His hand closed around the hilt of his katana.

Black Armament Haki spread across the blade as it left its sheath.

Shhk!

Mihawk swung.

A dazzling dark-red Ranged Slash erupted from the katana.

The crescent-shaped attack towered seven or eight meters into the air, bearing down upon the Deva Path like a collapsing building.

“Shinra Tensei!”

The Deva Path immediately switched from attraction to repulsion.

Boom!

An invisible wave collided with the massive slash.

The dark-red crescent trembled violently, but it did not shatter immediately.

The Deva Path’s eyes narrowed.

He increased the force of Shinra Tensei.

Cracks of light spread across the Ranged Slash before it finally broke apart, scattering into countless fragments of dark-red radiance.

The moment the repulsive force ended, Mihawk landed lightly on the ground.

The Human Path and Preta Path moved at once.

They attacked from opposite sides, attempting to trap Mihawk during the five-second interval before the Deva Path could use his power again.

The Human Path reached toward Mihawk’s head, intending to tear the soul from his body.

The Preta Path approached from the other side with both hands extended, ready to absorb any chakra-based attack Mihawk attempted to unleash.

Mihawk’s Observation Haki had already captured both movements.

He turned his wrist.

Shhk!

A silver flash passed through the Human Path’s neck.

Its head flew from its shoulders before its hand could reach Mihawk.

The Preta Path continued forward.

Mihawk pivoted and brought his blackened katana down.

A faint dark-purplish aura flickered around the blade at the instant of impact.

Clang!

The Preta Path raised both arms to block.

The katana struck its chakra receivers.

The Advanced Armament Haki surrounding Mihawk’s blade passed through the point of contact and erupted inside the corpse.

Crack!

The black receivers shattered beneath its skin.

The force continued through its arms and tore apart the internal pathways Nagato used to control the body.

Shhk!

Mihawk’s katana completed its descent, cutting the Preta Path diagonally from shoulder to waist.

Both halves fell in opposite directions.

Boom!

The Human Path and Preta Path struck the ground almost simultaneously.

Mihawk flicked the blood from his blade and turned toward the Deva Path.

“Now you’re the only one left.”

The Deva Path’s expression remained composed, but his Rinnegan shifted briefly toward the remains of the other bodies.

All five Paths had been destroyed.

The Deva Path was now the only body Nagato could still control on the battlefield.

A short distance away, Naruto remained atop Gamakichi’s head, watching Mihawk and the Deva Path confront each other.

Fukasaku glanced at him.

“Naruto-boy, are you planning to stand there for the entire fight?”

Naruto’s face twitched.

“Huh?”

Shima folded her arms.

“Your Sage Mode won’t last forever. Every minute you spend watching is another minute wasted.”

“I know that!”

Naruto scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“I’m just waiting for an opening.”

Gamabunta glanced back at him.

“The swordsman has already destroyed five of them. How much bigger of an opening do you need?”

Naruto opened his mouth, but no answer came out.

His face turned red from embarrassment, and under their intense stare, he finally couldn't help but say.

“I mean… I was about to do something.”

“Then do it.”

Naruto clasped one hand over the other as though an idea had suddenly struck him.

“That’s it!”

Two shadow clones appeared beside him in bursts of white smoke.

One clone held Naruto’s wrist steady while the other began shaping chakra above his palm.

A rapidly spinning sphere formed.

Wind chakra poured into it, expanding the sphere and stretching its edges outward until it took the shape of an enormous shuriken.

Bzzzzzz!

The piercing sound immediately drew the Deva Path’s attention.

Naruto raised the completed technique above his head.

“Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!”

Mihawk glanced toward him.

The Deva Path did the same.

Naruto leaped from Gamakichi’s head.

“I’ve got him!”

He twisted his body in midair and hurled the Rasenshuriken with all his strength.

The enormous mass of spinning wind chakra screamed across the battlefield toward the Deva Path.

Mihawk’s expression remained unchanged.

The attack was fast and powerful, but Naruto had announced it loudly enough for the entire village to hear.

The Deva Path calmly watched the Rasenshuriken approach.

Then his Rinnegan shifted toward Mihawk.

“Banshō Ten’in.”

An irresistible gravitational force seized Mihawk.

Instead of manipulating the Rasenshuriken, the Deva Path dragged Mihawk directly into its path.

Mihawk’s eyebrow twitched.

Naruto’s eyes widened.

“Ah—wait!”

Mihawk was pulled toward the screaming mass of wind chakra.

“Mihawk, move! I didn’t mean to hit you!”

Mihawk released a quiet sigh.

“Soru.”

Boom!

He vanished an instant before the Rasenshuriken reached him.

The technique screamed past and continued beyond Konoha’s damaged outer wall before exploding over the forest.

BOOOOM!

A vast sphere of slicing wind erupted in the distance, shredding trees and tearing apart the ground.

However, the Deva Path had been waiting for Mihawk to evade.

The instant Mihawk reappeared, the Deva Path was already behind him.

A black chakra receiver slid from beneath his sleeve.

He thrust it toward Mihawk’s back.

“Mihawk!”

Naruto shouted in alarm.

His own attack had forced Mihawk to move and given Pain the opening he needed.

The black receiver struck Mihawk beneath the shoulder.

Clang!

The sound that rang out was not that of metal piercing flesh.

It resembled steel striking steel.

The Deva Path’s Rinnegan widened slightly.

Beneath Mihawk’s kimono, the skin surrounding the point of impact had already turned black.

Armament Haki had coated his body before the receiver ever reached him.

Mihawk’s Observation Haki had detected the attack from the beginning.

Pain had not truly caught him off guard.

Mihawk had simply decided that avoiding the strike was unnecessary.

Even so, his expression darkened.

Had someone weaker been placed in the same position, Naruto’s careless interference could easily have cost them their life.

For a brief moment, Mihawk felt a stronger urge to swing his sword at the blond idiot behind him than at Pain.

He slowly turned his head.

The Deva Path attempted to withdraw the chakra receiver.

Mihawk moved first.

Boom!

His heel slammed into the Deva Path’s side.

The force of the kick folded the corpse’s body around Mihawk’s leg and launched it across the battlefield.

The Deva Path flew through the air before crashing through the remains of a building.

Boom!

Stone and dust erupted around him.

Naruto stared from the distance, relief flooding his face.

“He’s okay…”

Then Mihawk looked back at him.

Naruto froze.

Even from across the battlefield, he could feel the irritation in Mihawk’s gaze.

Naruto raised both hands defensively.

“Hey, I said I didn’t mean to!”

Mihawk stared at him for another second.

Then he turned away.

Naruto lowered his hands and released a nervous laugh.

“Heh… Guess he’s not that mad.”

Gamabunta glanced up at him.

“You might want to reconsider that.”

Within the ruins, the Deva Path forced himself back to his feet.

A crack ran across the side of his face where Mihawk’s kick had landed.

Before he could regain his balance, Mihawk disappeared.

Bang!

The sound of Geppo echoed above the battlefield.

The Deva Path looked up.

Mihawk was already descending toward him.

Black Armament Haki covered his katana, while a dark-purplish aura flowed around the blade like flickering flames.

The Deva Path raised one hand.

Enough time had passed during Naruto’s interference.

His power was available once more.

“Shinra Tensei!”

Boom!

A violent repulsive force erupted toward Mihawk.

Mihawk’s expression did not change.

He brought his katana down.

Shhk!

A colossal dark-red Ranged Slash tore from the blade.

The crescent-shaped attack stretched dozens of meters across the battlefield, its edge surrounded by the same dark-purplish aura coating Mihawk’s sword.

The two forces collided in midair.

BOOM!

The surrounding ruins trembled as a massive shock wave swept across the battlefield.

For an instant, the Ranged Slash stopped.

Then the purplish aura surrounding it surged.

The Advanced Armament Haki Mihawk had projected into the attack forced its way through the repulsive pressure instead of merely colliding with its surface.

Cracks of dark-red light spread through the distortion created by Shinra Tensei.

The Deva Path’s Rinnegan widened.

“What?”

Shhk!

The enormous slash broke through the repulsive wave, forcing Shinra Tensei apart as it continued toward the Deva Path without losing its momentum.

He immediately crossed both arms in front of his body.

The dark-red light swallowed him.

BOOOOM!

The Ranged Slash carried the Deva Path into the ruins below.

Buildings behind him were cleaved apart one after another before the attack finally struck the ground and carved a massive trench through the battlefield.

Stone, dust, and shattered debris surged high into the air.

Mihawk landed at the edge of the newly formed trench, his katana resting at his side.

The dark-purplish aura gradually faded from the blade.

Even after regaining Shinra Tensei, the Deva Path had failed to stop his attack.