Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

The Asura Path, already severely damaged, turned into scattered remains after the explosion.

After escaping harm using summoning jutsu and injuring Shehu, the Animal Path swiftly gathered the remains of the Asura Path and left to stand beside the Preta Path.

The Asura Path's remains, now gathered, vanished into white smoke.

The Taki-nin looked on with shocked expressions but didn't have time to dwell on it.

Of the three remaining Paths of Pain, the Asura Path was lost, the Animal Path's summoning beasts had nearly reached their limit, and the Preta Path, besides its defense, had limited offensive capabilities and could only rely on taijutsu.

With that, the tide of defeat was essentially set. All that remained was to delay for as long as possible.

Under Shehu's command, the surrounding Taki-nin launched a final assault on the Preta Path and Animal Path.

Meanwhile, the Deva Path, having left the battle, sped across the rooftops and quickly reached the building above the underground altar.

In the underground chamber, the Human Path and Hell Path were engaged in close combat with numerous Taki-nin.

The barrier confined chakra within the room, and while the room was large enough, reckless use of jutsu could easily harm themselves.

Thus, the Taki-nin refrained from using jutsu initially and instead engaged the Human Path and Hell Path with taijutsu.

After a few exchanges, the Taki-nin realized that the enemy's taijutsu wasn't overwhelmingly strong.

Gradually, the Taki-nin's attacks began to land on the Human Path and Hell Path, and small-scale jutsu were brought into play.

Before long, the Hell Path was the first to fall, lying motionless within the barrier where Nagato couldn't summon it back.

Outside the building, the Deva Path stood without entering immediately.

The barrier was troublesome; it needed to be destroyed...

A controlled Chibaku Tensei could easily destroy the area, but the technique could harm him and, at worst, shorten his lifespan.

Shinra Tensei was also one of the Six Paths' abilities but, unlike Chibaku Tensei, it didn't deplete his lifespan as long as it wasn't used at maximum intensity.

This was because the Rinnegan wasn't originally Nagato's, and lacking the Uchiha bloodline, he experienced side effects when using its abilities. This is why Nagato exhibited signs of reduced lifespan after awakening the Rinnegan.

Since destroying the room and barrier didn't require Chibaku Tensei, there was no need to worry about the Human Path. The jar containing the Seven-Tails was a magical artifact, so Shinra Tensei shouldn't damage it.

The Deva Path hovered above the building, the Rinnegan reflecting the structure below.

Shinra Tensei!

An immense, invisible force surged outward, crushing the stone building below in an instant, causing the ground to crack as well.

In the underground chamber where the altar was located, violent tremors erupted. The entire space shook intensely as shards of stone from the ceiling rained down.

"What's happening?"

"It looks like it's about to collapse; retreat immediately!"

"Retreat, retreat!"

The sudden tremors frightened the Taki-nin, who, anticipating a collapse, quickly accepted the retreat order, abandoning their attack on the Human Path.

As the Taki-nin pulled back, the Human Path picked up the jar, approached the motionless Hell Path, and emitted a faint blue chakra glow around it.

The Taki-nin hadn't even reached the stairs when the weighty stones, pushed down by an invisible force, crushed them from above.

A heavy shadow cast despair over every Taki-nin's face.

Boom!

The room collapsed instantly, burying everyone inside.

Outside, the Deva Path gazed coldly at the massive pit below, with the building's debris lying atop it.

The downward force of Shinra Tensei had crushed all life in the room into pulp.

Using the black rods' connection, the Deva Path quickly located the Human Path, Hell Path, and the jar's location.

Extending his hand toward that spot, he summoned the debris and sand away, revealing the Human Path and Hell Path, both lying limp, their necks twisted, but the jar containing the Seven-Tails remained intact.

"Mission complete…"

The Deva Path pulled a black rod from his palm, inserting it slightly into the top of the jar, and then moved toward the Preta Path and Animal Path's location.

After he left, Nagato used summoning jutsu to bring the bodies of the Human Path, Hell Path, and the sealed jar to his side, along with the Asura Path's remains. The Six Paths of Pain had now lost three.

"This is the artifact that seals the Seven-Tails?" Konan looked at the simple, unadorned jar.

Nagato nodded slightly, lacking the energy to respond further. Through shared vision, he saw that the Animal Path had fallen to the Taki-nin's attacks, and the Preta Path, relying on its sealing technique absorption, managed to hold out for a while.

However, since the sealing technique absorption could only defend against jutsu, the Taki-nin eventually overcame its ability, cutting it into several pieces.

While the Deva Path was en route, the Animal Path and Preta Path both went down.

This was the drawback of the Deva Path's absence. Although the Six Paths of Pain each had unique abilities, they needed the Deva Path as a central force to unleash their full potential.

Still, the overwhelming number of Taki-nin, with over five hundred sacrificed, was the only way to finally take down five of the Six Paths of Pain.

The fallen bodies of the Animal Path and Preta Path turned into white smoke and vanished as Nagato summoned them with the summoning jutsu.

"With this, there's nothing left to worry about."

Nagato glanced over the fallen bodies of the Six Paths of Pain, extending a hand to his side as a deep purple light radiated from the ground, twisting like flames.

Within the purple glow, the figure of the King of Hell slowly emerged, its gaping mouth still the most striking feature.

After the King of Hell appeared, its open mouth extended chakra tendrils, pulling in the corpses and remains of the Six Paths of Pain before closing its mouth.

Moments later, it reopened, and the Human Path, Animal Path, Hell Path, Asura Path, and Preta Path emerged one by one.

If the Taki-nin village saw this, they would likely feel boundless despair; after sacrificing so many lives to defeat five enemies, they were revived so easily.

The Taki-nin didn't witness this scene, but they would still face an overwhelming situation.

With the jar and the five Paths of Pain gone from the village, Nagato could now unleash Shinra Tensei through the Deva Path without hesitation, destroying Taki-nin Village.

The Deva Path hovered high above Taki-nin Village, while Nagato, Konan, and the five Paths of Pain departed with the jar.

"Farewell."

Under the astonished gaze of the Taki-nin, the Deva Path opened its arms.

A sudden repulsive force expanded outward.

The force was invisible to the eye, but its effect on objects was undeniable.

Buildings, even the ground itself, were pushed back by the overwhelming repulsive force.

In a blink, the village's structures collapsed into rubble, swept away with sand and soil to the outskirts.

Countless Taki-nin were also thrown to the ground by the force, screaming in agony as they were swallowed by the debris.

In just ten seconds, an enormous crater replaced the village of Taki-nin.

With a cold gaze sweeping over the devastation, the Deva Path departed, uninterested in who might have survived in Taki-nin Village.

As they left, Nagato suddenly coughed violently a few times.

Konan's brow furrowed in worry. "Did you really need to go this far?"

Being one of those aware of Nagato's condition, she knew the side effects of using the Six Paths' power.

Nagato stopped, and the Six Paths of Pain halted with him.

He lowered his head slightly, breathing softly, and replied, "It's just a bit of my lifespan; it's worth it to make sure Taki-nin Village can no longer resist."

Konan fell silent at his words.

That Shinra Tensei wasn't enough to completely obliterate Taki-nin Village, but it would kill the vast majority of Taki-nin's shinobi. However, the Taki-nin villagers who had been evacuated managed to avoid the disaster.

In its current state, Taki-nin Village was devastated, with only a handful of shinobi likely to survive.

After waiting a moment, the Deva Path rejoined them.

In this battle, aside from the minor side effects from using a high-intensity Shinra Tensei, which inflicted significant losses on Taki-nin Village, Nagato had only expended most of his chakra.

The Six Paths of Pain, once damaged, were easily restored using the Hell Path's abilities, suffering no real losses.

After successfully capturing the Seven-Tails, Nagato, Konan, and the others set out on the journey back to Amegakure.

Neither Nagato nor Konan noticed the presence of a White Zetsu clone.

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Currently on Chapter 402 - Beginning of Sage Training