Chapter 88: Unlimited Void
The Deva Path prepared Almighty Push, ready to repel Tonbo Tobitake's Genjutsu at any moment.
The Preta Path stood ready with the Blocking Technique Absorption to intercept any high-level ninjutsu.
The Multi-Headed Hound leaped between them, using its Amplified Summoning ability to act as a shield against Tonbo's ultimate move. The Naraka Path prepared to resurrect the other puppets, while the Asura Path opened its head to charge a laser cannon, aiming to blast him before the attack landed. The Human Path stood to the side, observing.
"Here it comes... Bringer-of-Darkness..."
Just as Tonbo prepared his Genjutsu, the Asura Path's attack triggered.
Boom!
The laser moved at a despairing speed. Tonbo, mid-cast, was instantly severed at the waist. Only a few strands of skin held his upper and lower halves together; his midsection vanished entirely.
However, the Genjutsu was completed. An all-consuming darkness spread across the sky.
Among the Six Paths, only the Preta Path—who had absorbed the continuous influx of Genjutsu chakra—remained unaffected, maintaining normal vision. The other five were plunged into total darkness. Even the Deva Path's Almighty Push only held the darkness back for a split second; the moment the technique went on cooldown, the darkness eroded his senses.
But that was enough. Having the Preta Path's vision was equivalent to not being blind at all. The Preta Path looked toward Tonbo; the ink eagle had reverted into a figurine and was falling, and the enemy's mangled remains were tumbling through the air.
Whoosh!
Controlling the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird to catch Tonbo's remains, Pain looked at the bandages covering the man's head.
"To think Konoha possessed such a talent," the Deva Path muttered.
Wait. Suddenly, the corners of the corpse's mouth curled upward.
"Unlimited Void, Seal."
"Not good!" Pain realized the danger, but it was too late.
The moment the "corpse" spoke, the bandages on its head transformed into infinite streams of light. They expanded to cover a twenty-meter radius, forming a massive sphere that encased the Six Paths of Pain.
Pain tried to use Almighty Push and the Absorption to break the trap.
Click!
A gargantuan volume of information flooded his mind, causing an immediate brain overload. Data processing became impossible. Vision, hearing, touch, and smell were all disrupted by a sudden, non-stop torrent of information.
Pain experienced the extreme paradox of seeing nothing and feeling nothing... yet seeing everything and feeling everything all at once. This sensory distortion left all six bodies and the summons in a state of chaos and powerlessness, unable to judge their surroundings.
Below the glowing sphere, Tonbo Tobitake watched the trap succeed, a smile playing on his lips. His azure-blue misty eyes were exceptionally bright. He scratched the white hair on his head; without the bandages, he felt a bit exposed.
That "corpse" had been a specialized clone created via his Eye of the Creator. Just before the Asura Path attacked—the exact moment the darkness fell—the real Tonbo had slipped away to the ground.
This move was a Sealing Technique that contained his ultimate five-senses Genjutsu and Mind Reading Technique, stacked together into one powerful strike. He had prepared it for a long time. It released a massive, repeating loop of information to crash the target's mental processing mechanism while distorting the five senses. Unless the target became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, mastered Yin-Yang, and became immune to everything but Senjutsu, Tonbo didn't believe anyone could break it.
Once caught, it was even harder to escape than Mind Reading Technique: Depression. Of course, if it didn't land, it was useless. Ninja battles were like this: the importance of intel was shown in its full glory.
"Time to go. I'm going home to see my kids!"
Tonbo turned to leave. That move had consumed a staggering amount of chakra; he was down to a tenth of his total. If other Akatsuki members showed up, he'd be in trouble.
Swish!
After he left, a pitcher plant emerged from the ground, revealing a black-and-white face. Zetsu stared at the retreating Tonbo and then at the motionless Six Paths of Pain suspended in the light sphere.
"To actually defeat the Six Paths of Pain and the Rinnegan... incredible," Zetsu muttered. Konoha's power was truly not to be underestimated.
The Mibu Shinobu Battlefield.
Zip! Zip!
Wind-natured Windmill Shuriken sharply sliced through the incoming wooden stakes, continuing their assault on the Swirl-masked man. Meanwhile, Murakumo drew dozens of ink snakes that slithered across the ground, surrounding the enemy to create an opening for Shinobu.
"Tch! Why did they suddenly become so troublesome?" The masked man distorted and vanished. He reappeared behind Murakumo, reaching out to grab him.
Whoosh!
The moment he touched Murakumo and space began to warp, a wind-enhanced kunai flew straight at his face. He was forced to abort the grab and phase through the attack to avoid injury. Murakumo used the gap to pull back.
"Careful! It's a Space-Time ninjutsu. He can move within a certain range and phase through attacks at will," Mibu Shinobu shouted, having quickly analyzed the enemy's patterns. "He only materializes the moment he tries to touch us. That's the only time we can hit him. When he's intangible, we can't hit him, and he can't hit us."
Murakumo nodded. As a Root elite, he immediately understood the logic. He was surprised by his teammate; this level of analytical skill proved Shinobu was the right choice for this mission. It was a pity they lacked this intel earlier, leading to Enkui's death. He also looked at the enemy's Wood Style with dread. Was this another of Orochimaru's experiments?
"How annoying. Why the sudden spike in skill?" The masked man looked at Shinobu. From a moment ago, the boy had become a different beast altogether. The jutsus were the same, but the tactics and experience had jumped up several tiers. It was even more exaggerated than when Uchiha Madara had trained him.
The boy had cracked the secret of his jutsu in record time, just like his late teacher. Furthermore, whenever he tried to enter the boy's mental space with Sharingan Genjutsu, he hit a wall; a specific chakra was interfering with the illusion.
I'll just have to outlast them, the masked man thought. Experience was one thing, but the boy's chakra reserves were his weakness.
"Someone's coming," the playful voice whispered in his ear.
He looked toward the horizon. A dozen figures were approaching rapidly. Seeing their forehead protectors, he knew the opportunity was gone. He gave Mibu Shinobu one last look before swirling into a void and disappearing.
Only then did Mibu Shinobu and Murakumo breathe a sigh of relief. That enemy was a monster.
As the reinforcements arrived, Shinobu deactivated the technique his teacher had planted. He exited that god-like state, and his head immediately throbbed with a massive wave of dizziness.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!