Chapter 71: The Insect and the Throne (Patreon)

"Hanzō, I am here to preside over your final rites."

The Deva Path's voice was icy as he stared at the distant figure. "This is the last mercy of God."

As the words fell, the Asura Path and Human Path moved, fanning out to form a triangular perimeter around Hanzō.

"You style yourself... a 'God'?"

Hanzō's frown deepened as he studied the increasingly familiar face, finding no trace of the person he once knew beyond the resemblance. "Are you truly Yahiko? And those eyes... why do you have them..."

"That person is dead. Now, I am 'Pain'."

The words were cold, absolute. Expressionless, the Deva Path raised his arm, palm aimed directly at Hanzō.

"Universal Pull."

Standing atop Ibuse, Hanzō felt his body grow heavy. An irresistible, colossal force seized him, violently yanking him toward the figure suspended in the air. A black receiver slid from Pain's sleeve into his waiting hand, poised to strike the helplessly incoming target.

Pulling force? What kind of jutsu is this?

Realization flashed through Hanzō's mind in an instant. His eyes narrowed as the distance closed. With a sharp flick of his wrist, his kusarigama—the chain sickle—shot out.

CLANK-CLANK-CLANK!

The chain coiled like a serpent around a thick gatepost behind him, arresting his uncontrolled flight with a brutal jolt.

But the Deva Path's Rinnegan pulsed. The gravitational pull on Hanzō suddenly doubled. The gatepost groaned under the strain. Hanzō's body was stretched taut, his bones creaking in protest.

'No hand seals... A Kekkei Genkai? An ability of those eyes?'

Thoughts raced. Without hesitation, Hanzō released his grip on the weapon. His body was once again hurled forward by the immense force, flying toward Pain at even greater speed.

'Unstoppable pull. Seems to have no time limit.'

"So be it."

Hanzō's gaze locked onto the approaching figure. His hands flew through a rapid series of seals.

"Water Release: Water Cannon!"

He could feel it, the speed of his chakra extraction, the precision of its control, was now several times greater than even during his prime. There was even greater power hidden within this body, but there was no time to explore it now.

WHOOSH!

A dense, lead-heavy cannonball of water condensed around him and shot forth, carrying enough force to pierce iron walls, aimed directly at the Deva Path. This entire chain of action and judgment had taken mere seconds, a testament to decades of experience and razor-sharp instinct honed in countless battles.

Yet, facing the powerful oncoming water cannon, the Deva Path made no move to dodge. He merely extended his arm, palm forward.

"Shinra Tensei."

HUM—

An unstoppable, terrifying force of repulsion erupted from Pain as the epicenter. The air twisted with a piercing shriek. The surrounding rain was instantly blasted away, creating a brief, hollow vacuum. It was as if an invisible, colossal hammer had swung, smashing into Hanzō who had nothing to brace against.

BOOM!!

Even the dense, air-rending water cannon was violently thrown back by the repulsive force.

"What?!" Hanzō's expression shifted.

The abrupt switch from pull to push left him no time to react. He was slammed by the combined force of the repulsion and the rebounding water cannon. His body hurtled uncontrollably toward the ground. And there, waiting below, was the Human Path, appearing like a ghost, its fingers hooked with a soul-chilling intent.

But just before it could make contact, the plummeting figure suddenly dissolved into a puddle of water.

Water Body Flicker Technique!

A technique Hanzō had used to evade Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands and Jiraiya's Hair Needle Senbon, even the Chakra Dragons unleashed by Nagato through the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Hum.

In the next instant, Hanzō's form materialized soundlessly behind the Asura Path on the other side. His retrieved kusarigama was already in hand. His body spun, the chain-sickle whipping out in a vicious arc. A true reaper's scythe, aimed to sever the head, executed with utter silence.

Yet, the Asura Path did not turn. It was as if it could see him in its blind spot. A sharp crack sounded from its back, and a serrated blade shot out.

CLANG!!

Sparks flew as serrated edge met sickle blade. A piercing metallic shriek tore through the air. Feeling the immense force and realizing he'd been inexplicably detected, Hanzō's expression grew graver.

'What is going on? How did this one find me?'

But before he could piece it together—

CRACK!

The Asura Path suddenly shot out both hands, clamping onto his wrist. Another arm extended from its shoulder, transforming before his eyes into a cold, menacing cannon barrel. Blinding laser light rapidly condensed within.

Attack of the Asura Path!

A chill shot down Hanzō's spine. "Ibuse!" he roared.

Almost simultaneously with his cry, a massive tail descended, carrying devastating force.

CRACK! THUD!!

Expressionlessly, the Asura Path crushed Hanzō's wrist bone, then erupted with chakra from its feet, darting backward. The tail missed by a hair's breadth, smashing the ground into a web of fractures where it had stood.

"A futile struggle."

The Deva Path raised its arm toward Hanzō once more. But just as it was about to unleash the Universal Pull, Ibuse abruptly turned, its thick tail sweeping in a massive arc. Everything in its path seemed as fragile as foam, until the very end of its swing, where it met an invisible, unyielding barrier. The powerful repulsive force materialized before the halted tail, steadily pushing the colossal appendage aside inch by inch.

The Deva Path fixed its cold gaze on the monstrous salamander. "Begone."

BOOM!!

A deafening crash, louder than any beast's roar, echoed as the repulsive force overpowered Ibuse's strength. Ibuse's massive body was shoved back dozens of meters, its four limbs gouging deep trenches in the earth.

"..."

Staring at the behemoth, even the perpetually expressionless Pain frowned slightly. The reason Hanzō was known as the "Toxic Weapon" of the battlefield? Seven-tenths of that reputation rested on this creature named Ibuse. He hadn't expected the current Hanzō to still be capable of summoning it. According to Zetsu's intelligence, age should have robbed Hanzō of his full power.

However...

"So be it," Pain's voice was cold. "All resistance is meaningless."

Hanzō reappeared atop Ibuse's head, watching the four figures in black cloaks adorned with red clouds. He winced, enduring the pain from his wrist.

'Such bizarre powers.

If I guessed right, that "Yahiko" possesses abilities of attraction and repulsion. The bald one clearly houses an arsenal within its body. The abilities of the long-haired man and the woman remain unknown, but instinct screams that the long-haired one is particularly dangerous.

A man long dead. No signs of performing hand seals. Eyes that look the same, yet... and that inexplicable detection earlier...'

As he continued to harry the Deva Path in tandem with Ibuse, Hanzō's mind raced, analyzing the intel on the trio.

THUD!!

Ibuse's attack was once again blocked by the Shinra Tensei. Suddenly, Hanzō froze, sensing a slight... delay in Pain's action.

If there's no limit to the number of attacks... Could there be a limit to the interval?

"Ibuse!"

The thought solidified in an instant. Without hesitation, Hanzō crouched, pressing the diamond-shaped mark on his palm against the salamander's hide. The chakra he had been accumulating surged into the beast.

He had found the weakness. A five-to-six-second interval between attacks.

No wonder this 'Pain' crippled my hand first! A cold realization settled in his heart.

Unfortunately, Pain would give him no more chances.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Asura Path twisted its own arm open. Several rockets streaked out, trailing flame, sealing every possible escape route around Hanzō.

"Ibuse!"

With his wrist shattered, Hanzō couldn't form seals. Seeing the incoming barrage, a sense of foreboding struck him. He barked a command. Beneath him, the giant salamander reared its thick neck, inhaling deeply. A vast amount of rainwater seemed to be drawn by the wind, swirling into a white vortex within its gaping maw.

Then, it threw its head skyward and unleashed its breath.

FWOOM!!

A flood of dense, almost liquid purple-black poison mist erupted like a breached dam. The mist was not only vast in scope but terrifyingly swift. Worse, it dispersed and settled with the rain, forming a lethal, pervasive field. The air filled with a pungent, acrid stench. The ground hissed and sizzled as it corroded.

The missiles facing the mist were instantly eaten away, dissolving completely within seconds. The Asura Path, caught in the area of effect, also began to melt rapidly, its internal mechanical structures dissolving away.

But at that moment, the Human Path appeared in front of the Deva Path. The latter raised its arm, aiming past the former's back.

BOOM!!

A powerful repulsive force slammed into the Human Path's back, tearing up and hurling the ground beneath it skyward. Propelled like a cannonball, the Human Path was flung into the poisonous mist. Its body began corroding at a visible rate, but its hand managed to reach the salamander's flank.

Soul Removal!

The Rinnegan in the Human Path's sockets glowed with an eerie light. Its outstretched right hand clutched at Ibuse's belly!

Nagato channeled most of his chakra into this Path. The giant salamander's soul was being violently, gradually wrenched from its massive body. This was the one Path about which Hanzō currently had no intelligence.

"What kind of technique is that?!" Hanzō's face changed. But in the next instant, the distant Deva Path's Rinnegan shifted. Its hand extended, fingers curling in a grasping motion.

Universal Pull!

A powerful attractive force seized Hanzō. This time, it was unleashed at full strength. Almost instantly, Hanzō was torn from his perch, helplessly flying through the air. Simultaneously, a sharp crack sounded from his injured wrist, finally, under the influence of the "Kāma," it had fully healed.

But before he could even think of forming a seal—

THUD!

A fist from the Asura Path—detached from its wrist—slammed into the airborne, defenseless Hanzō, driving him down. The Human Path was there, waiting below, its hand seizing Hanzō's paralyzed body!

Hanzō's pupils constricted to pinpricks. His soul felt gripped by an invisible hand. Agony and debilitating weakness washed over him in an instant.

"It is over."

The Deva Path hovered above, looking down at Hanzō whose soul was being peeled away. Its voice was flat, devoid of inflection. "To challenge a God was folly from the start."

As the words fell, the Human Path's expression remained blank. Its fingers clenched violently!

But then—

An immense, suppressive force surged forth. It felt like an iron nail hammered directly into Hanzō's soul, instantly arresting its extraction. Frowning from his hidden location, Nagato, controlling the Human Path, focused on the diamond-shaped mark on Hanzō's palm.

That's it. That thing is anchoring his soul, preventing its removal.

"What... is this?"

As Nagato's confusion arose, black patterns began to spread from the mark. In the blink of an eye, they crawled over the entire right side of Hanzō's body, even covering the portion of his soul already pulled free. Then, they began to creep up the Human Path's arm, the one clutching Hanzō's soul...

HUM—!!!

There was no time to react. Nagato, controlling the Human Path, felt a sudden plunge into darkness, followed by a rush of crimson staining his vision.

He opened his eyes. Chaos greeted him.

"Where is this...?"

He looked down at his own arms and body and understood immediately. He had been forcibly dragged into a mental space. His pupils contracted, shock and suspicion flashing across his face.

Someone... traced the connection through the Human Path... and pulled my own soul in here?

How is that even possible?!

As his mind reeled, a deathly stillness settled. Then, a hoarse, icy voice cut through the darkness.

"Insignificant insect. Was it you, touching my soul?"

The owner of the voice seemed to notice something. It paused, a trace of genuine puzzlement entering its tone.

"Those eyes... do not belong to you."

"Tell me. From where did you obtain them?"

Do not belong to me?

What does that mean?

At those words, Nagato's head snapped up, a chill shooting down his spine as he stared into the distance. At the edge of his vision, vast, twisted, shadowy outlines loomed within the chaotic mist. But there, at the very limit of sight, a tall, jagged throne constructed of bleached-white bones stood.

Upon it, a figure sat, flickering in and out of clarity.