BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ground exploded.
Figures emerged from the rubble, landing lightly on the ground.
Danzo was among them.
He flipped mid-air, landing smoothly, his expression unreadable.
His Root operatives followed, forming a tight circle around the smoking crater.
From within the dust and debris, a figure slowly ascended.
It was Pain.
He hovered effortlessly, his face void of emotion.
"Now… it's time for you to experience pain."
A few Root ninjas immediately began forming hand seals.
Danzo knew Pain's weakness—his abilities had a cooldown between uses.
That small window was the key to victory.
Pain knew exactly what they were thinking.
So he attacked first.
He vanished in an instant—then reappeared in front of a Root ninja.
A black rod shot forward.
The Root operative reacted quickly, deflecting the incoming rods with his kunai.
But Pain was already in front of him.
With one swift motion, the black rod plunged into his torso.
PFFT—
The ninja's eyes widened in pain, but instead of retreating—
He lunged forward, grabbing onto Pain with all his strength.
Pain's expression flickered in surprise.
Before he could react—
"Wind Release! Severing Gale!"
"Fire Release! Scorching Burst!"
"Great Windmill Jutsu!"
"Earth Release! Rock Collapse!"
A barrage of ninjutsu rained down.
Fireballs, wind blades, and crushing debris converged on Pain all at once.
Pain's gaze darkened.
"So… this is how you abandon your comrades?"
His Rinnegan pulsed, radiating an overwhelming force.
"How disgraceful."
Shinra Tensei!
A blinding white light erupted.
A devastating shockwave exploded outward.
The Root ninja holding onto Pain lasted less than a second before he was ripped apart by the force.
The incoming attacks, the people, the very ground beneath them—
All of it was obliterated.
When the dust settled, there was nothing left but a massive, smoking crater.
Pain was furious.
This time, Shinra Tensei covered an even wider range, sending all the Root operatives flying.
Danzo's carefully planned counterattack was completely crushed.
From within the rubble, Danzo emerged, his face and robes covered in dust.
He scanned his surroundings.
Most of his men were down—few could even stand.
Danzo clenched his fists.
"Is there no other way?"
If he held back now—he would lose everything.
Even if it meant exposing his secrets—he had to act.
He swiftly began unsealing his right arm, tearing away the bandages.
The grotesque, eye-covered limb was revealed.
Pain's gaze hardened.
"So many Sharingan… in your arm?"
In the shadows, Sakiya, who had been watching the fight, felt a shiver run down her spine.
"Ugh… that's disgusting."
She instinctively clenched her fists.
Pain, however, remained impassive.
"So it was you… Uchiha Itachi was your spy, wasn't he?"
Danzo's single exposed eye met Pain's gaze.
His expression was unreadable.
"So it's been exposed, huh?"
Pain's eyes narrowed.
"Uchiha Itachi… the man who slaughtered his own clan, even his parents… was working for Konoha?"
He exhaled slowly.
"Konoha is truly pathetic."
Danzo's expression darkened.
With a slight nod, he signaled to the remaining Root operatives—
Then charged straight at Pain.
Pain didn't move.
He simply raised a hand.
A single black rod glistened in his grip.
"Banshō Ten'in."
In an instant, an invisible force gripped Danzo—
His feet lifted off the ground, his body yanked forward, hurtling toward Pain at breakneck speed.
"Lord Danzo!"
The Root operatives could only watch helplessly—
Danzo was already within striking range.
Danzo saw the black rod in Pain's hand and the rapidly closing distance between them.
"Damn, no time to form a seal!"
With his body being pulled forward, he couldn't even move properly.
All he could do was grip a kunai tightly.
In an instant, Danzo was dragged right in front of Pain.
Pain grabbed him by the throat with one hand—
And drove the black rod straight into his heart.
Blood gushed out.
Danzo coughed violently, spitting blood, but still forced his arm forward—
Driving his kunai toward Pain.
Pain frowned, then threw Danzo aside like a discarded rag.
Danzo, mid-air, gritted his teeth and yelled:
"Now! Attack!"
The remaining Root operatives immediately obeyed.
"Earth Release! Rising Rock!"
The ground trembled as a massive stone wall rose up, slamming toward Pain—
A distraction to mask the true attack.
Kunai with explosive tags rained down from all directions.
Pain saw through the trap instantly.
He punched through the earth wall, shattering it into dust—
Only to see countless kunai and explosive tags flying straight toward him.
"No choice."
"Shinra Tensei!"
A powerful repulsive force exploded outward, deflecting everything.
The kunai were sent flying back, the explosive tags detonating mid-air.
The battlefield was instantly engulfed in smoke and fire.
Pain's vision blurred in the thick smoke—
And at that moment, two massive wind-enhanced shuriken cut through the dust, spinning toward him at high speed.
Pain narrowed his eyes.
These weren't ordinary attacks.
Rather than blocking, he sidestepped, letting them slice past.
But then—
The ground beneath him burst open.
Danzo shot out, wind blade in hand, aiming straight for Pain's throat.
Pain's pupils contracted.
"Again?!"
Without hesitation, his Rinnegan flared—
"Shinra Tensei!"
A wave of raw force erupted outward.
Danzo, caught at point-blank range, felt his organs shift violently.
The shockwave ripped through the ground, hurling him backward.
He tumbled through debris, rolling nearly ten meters before crashing to a stop.
The lingering smoke and dust were completely blown away.
Pain scanned the battlefield.
Moments ago, he saw Danzo die.
And yet—
There he was again, standing in the open.
Pain's gaze darkened.
"So, you can revive yourself."
Danzo scowled.
"The interval between his techniques… it's shorter than I expected. This is bad."
What he didn't realize was—
Pain had only used a weaker version of Shinra Tensei on purpose, shortening its cooldown.
And this Pain—
Had access to more power than any before it.
Pain looked at him coldly.
"No matter how many times you return—
It won't change a thing."
Danzo's expression darkened.
He had one last option.
"Do I really have to use it…?"
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