Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 401 Konoha Crisis 10

Naruto Uzumaki hurled the Rasenshuriken at Pain with lightning speed. His eyes were filled with confidence and determination, as if he could already see the dawn of victory. Pain, facing such a powerful attack, seemed powerless. Although he tried to struggle to his feet, his injuries prevented him from reacting effectively. He could only watch helplessly as the Rasenshuriken hurtled towards him.

As the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken hurtled towards Pain at incredible speed, just as it was about to strike his body, a figure suddenly appeared before Pain like lightning. This figure moved swiftly, extending both hands without hesitation to firmly block the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken's path. His appearance was like a guardian angel descending from the heavens, leaving one with an awe. And those hands seemed to contain boundless power and resilience, as if capable of withstanding any attack.

The Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, carrying unparalleled momentum and destructive power, seemed to encounter an insurmountable barrier before those hands. Its power appeared to be weakened instantly, becoming less terrifying. The figure standing before Pain was none other than the Preta Path Pain, who had just been struck down by Naruto's "Wa-Kumite." His appearance was unexpected, yet also predictable. After all, the Six Paths of Pain shared a special connection, allowing them to support and replace each other. The Preta Path Pain, using his ability to absorb chakra, successfully blocked Naruto's attack, giving Pain a chance to catch his breath.

The Wind Release: Rasenshuriken hurtled forward like lightning, but in the blink of an eye, it was completely absorbed by Pain's Preta Path, without even a trace of its power. Naruto's brows furrowed tightly, his eyes flashing with astonishment and confusion. He simply couldn't understand how they could stand up again after he had clearly defeated Pain. Worse still, they could even stop his ultimate attack! All of this left him utterly shocked and frustrated.

Naruto Uzumaki stared intently at the last Path of Pain standing there, who had remained motionless throughout the entire battle. Based on the intelligence gathered by Konoha, Naruto deduced that the reason the Six Paths of Pain could repeatedly revive was most likely because this particular Path of Pain possessed a special ability.

After a moment's thought, Naruto Uzumaki secretly began to devise his next offensive strategy. He was acutely aware of the gravity of the situation; if he couldn't quickly eliminate Pain at the back, the battle could easily become an endless stalemate, ultimately leading to his exhaustion and defeat. Therefore, he had to find a way to break this deadlock and discover a breakthrough as soon as possible.

Naruto Uzumaki stared intently at the Six Paths of Pain, his mind racing with various tactical plans. He knew that a direct confrontation with Pain was unwise, as they possessed the powerful Rinnegan, capable of easily detecting and countering his attacks. Therefore, he needed to find a more ingenious way to break through their defenses.

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes lit up, as if he had thought of something. He decided to use Pain's abilities to create an opportunity to disrupt their formation. If he could successfully break Pain's communication and coordination, he could greatly weaken their fighting power and create more opportunities for himself.

Naruto then secretly channeled his chakra, quickly condensing a Rasengan in his palm. Simultaneously, he had his shadow clones throw smoke bombs at his feet, preventing his opponents from detecting him. He also planned to use the Shadow Clone Technique to distract Pain and further increase their confusion.

As chakra gathered, Naruto's aura grew increasingly powerful. The smoke bomb completely obscured Naruto's three figures. Suddenly, a powerful Wind Release: Rasenshuriken shot out from within the smoke bomb, instantly hurtling towards Pain. At the same time, one of his shadow clones stealthily leaped high into the air, using the smoke bomb's cover to rush towards Pain, who was standing at the very back.

The Pains, clearly unprepared for Naruto's plan, continued to react according to their abilities. The Preta Path Pain remained at the forefront, extending his hands to absorb the oncoming Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. However, an unexpected event occurred. The Preta Path Pain realized something was wrong the instant he absorbed the Rasenshuriken. Before he could react, the Rasenshuriken transformed into Naruto, slamming him to the ground. Another Rasenshuriken emerged from the smoke bomb, hurtling towards the Deva Path Pain.

Just as the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken was about to strike Pain again, it was instantly shattered by an invisible force. The many toads present were stunned, unable to believe it. They had just witnessed the power of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, but it was so easily dispersed.

In the brief chaos, Naruto Uzumaki remained calm and decisive, undeterred by the situation. His shadow clone, wielding a Rasengan in mid-air, seized the opportunity and charged without hesitation towards Pain, who stood at the back. The shadow clone launched a fierce attack in an instant, defeating Pain with astonishing speed and power.

Naruto's three-stage attack plan was relatively successful. He cleverly exploited Pain's weakness in relying on his abilities, first eliminating the most troublesome Hell Path Pain. This deprived the Six Paths of Pain of their ability to revive, significantly weakening their fighting power. However, despite this important victory, completely defeating the Six Paths of Pain remains a daunting task. The other Pains are still powerful and threatening, and the battle is far from over.

Naruto Uzumaki didn't stop, throwing a punch to finish off the fallen Preta Path Pain. However, Pain's Deva Path raised his palm, aiming at Naruto. Instantly, Naruto, who was both attacking the Preta Path Pain and preparing to attack the Deva Path Pain after defeating the Hell Path Pain, was violently blasted away.

Naruto Uzumaki tumbled to the ground in a sorry state, his face grim as he stared at Pain in the distance. That was the best chance he could have had to defeat Pain, but he'd been sent flying by a strange ninjutsu. The little slug in his arms warned, "This is the ability of the Pain I described earlier, the one reported by Choji Akimichi. It has two types: repulsion and attraction. The first type can deflect all attacks, whether taijutsu or ninjutsu, it's useless. The second type is attraction, which can pull people or objects in. Be careful."

"Ninjutsu and taijutsu are useless? How can we defeat the opponent then?" Naruto Uzumaki asked, feeling a bit helpless. Wasn't this supposed to be invincible?

"After each time the opponent uses a skill, there will be a five-second interval. You can only attack the opponent during this five-second interval!"

"Five seconds? That's so short? That's really troublesome!" Naruto Uzumaki felt extremely helpless when he heard that he could only catch the five-second interval after the opponent released a skill. He wasn't a ninja who excelled in speed, and having to launch an attack only after the opponent had knocked him away and then rely on the five-second interval was really difficult for him.

Just as Naruto was lost in thought, Fukasaku and Shima, the two toad sages, quickly came to his side. Their expressions were serious, and their gazes were fixed firmly on the enemy ahead.

“Naruto, even if we see it, we can only use genjutsu to interfere with the opponent. Last time, we defeated one of Pain’s using genjutsu against Jiraiya.” Fukasaku said in a low voice, his voice tinged with anxiety.

Naruto nodded, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his eyes: "I understand, but I don't know genjutsu." He then scratched his head helplessly.

Master Shima nodded slightly and said, "Leave the genjutsu to the two of us. If we want to use a genjutsu that can interfere with the opponent, it can only be a powerful genjutsu released by sage chakra, which means that it will take time to complete the genjutsu. During the preparation phase, the opponent can only be dealt with by you."

"Understood. I will hold out until you succeed, and I will seize this opportunity to defeat them completely!" Naruto Uzumaki said firmly, for this was the only chance he could have to defeat them.

Meanwhile, the other three giant toads began attacking Pain and his companion, buying time for Naruto and his friends to provide support and repel the enemy's attacks.

Although the three toad brothers possessed formidable offensive power, they were unable to land a hit on the incredibly agile Pain, and could only helplessly be toyed with by him. After a grueling effort, they finally managed to surround Pain, preparing to launch a fatal blow. However, at that moment, Pain suddenly leaped high into the air from the center of the three brothers, unleashing a powerful "Shinra Tensei." This immense force instantly sent the three toad brothers flying, even flying out of the ruins of Konoha Village. This sudden and devastating blow severely injured the three toad brothers, completely rendering them incapable of continuing the fight.

Naruto Uzumaki was filled with worry and fear upon witnessing this scene. The enormous chakra ball possessed devastating power, seemingly capable of shattering everything. His eyes widened, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, leaving deep marks.

"Brother Bunta, you guys have to be alright!" Naruto shouted anxiously. They were his comrades-in-arms and an important fighting force for Konoha Village; he couldn't afford to lose them easily.

Naruto anxiously watched the battlefield, hoping the three toad brothers could withstand the heavy attack without casualties. He silently prayed for their safety. At the same time, he was also thinking about how to buy time for Fukasaku and Shima.

Time ticked by, and Naruto's heart pounded with increasing tension. He didn't know how long the battle would last, nor what the final outcome would be. But he knew that no matter what happened, he would give it his all to defeat his opponent.