Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 402 Konoha Crisis 11

A gentle breeze swept across the ruins of Konoha Village, gradually dispersing the lingering dust. At this moment, amidst these ruins, Naruto Uzumaki and Pain remained locked in a tense standoff, both filled with tension and vigilance.

Naruto Uzumaki secretly pondered how to delay the enemy's attack, giving the two toad sages more time to prepare. He knew he had to protect the village and its inhabitants as much as possible, but facing the powerful Pain, he felt immense pressure.

However, Pain didn't want to delay any longer. Their mission was to capture the Nine-Tails as quickly as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications. Time was of the essence; they couldn't afford to waste a single second.

In this tense atmosphere, both sides were silently planning their next move, and the entire battlefield became exceptionally quiet, with only the sound of the wind blowing through the ruins echoing in the air.

"Universal Pull!" Pain suddenly raised his hand, palm facing Naruto Uzumaki, his eyes cold and ruthless. His voice was deep and powerful, seemingly carrying endless pressure and strength. As his words fell, a huge suction force suddenly erupted, sweeping out like a storm.

Naruto's expression changed drastically. He had been confronting Pain, but the sudden surge of powerful gravity caught him off guard. His body was involuntarily pulled towards Pain by this force. He tried to struggle, but the immense gravity held him firmly in place, rendering him unable to move.

Just then, Pain, the Preta Path, seized the opportunity and swiftly attacked. He suddenly rushed from behind Naruto Uzumaki and grabbed him tightly in a shoulder lock. His arm was as hard as steel, firmly locking Naruto's shoulder and rendering him completely unable to move.

Naruto Uzumaki, who was tightly bound, was not too concerned at first. After all, Sage Mode greatly enhanced his power, and he believed that as long as he exerted force, he could break free from the other party's restraints.

But then, Naruto's eyes widened as he struggled angrily, but the power of the Preta Path Pain was too great. At the same time, he could clearly feel his Sage Chakra being frantically absorbed, causing his power to rapidly decline, making it impossible for him to break free. He could only watch helplessly as he was controlled, his heart filled with resentment and anger.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you. You're an important Jinchūriki. Nine-Tails, capture complete!" Pain, looking at the bound Naruto, breathed a slight sigh of relief. This battle had been fraught with unexpected events, resulting in the loss of four of Pain's bodies. This was the first time he had suffered such a heavy loss since being completely defeated by Hyuga Kanan. However, the capture of the Nine-Tails was now complete, allowing him to focus on his next plan.

After carefully assessing the situation, Naruto realized he couldn't break free from the opponent's restraints and was completely immobilized. He hoped the two toad sages could quickly complete their preparations for the genjutsu. However, as the sage chakra was rapidly absorbed and dissipated, he thought of a way to deal with the current situation.

Since he's currently bound and unable to move, it's a good opportunity for him to absorb natural energy and condense Sage Chakra, allowing the Preta Path Pain, who's binding him, to continue absorbing it. Natural energy isn't easy to control; absorbing large amounts of natural energy without learning and adapting to it is extremely dangerous. This is a perfect opportunity for him to absorb his Sage Chakra, pouring a large amount of natural energy into him, causing it to run rampant in his body and turn him into a stone statue.

Naruto Uzumaki slowly closed his eyes, his muscles relaxing, his breathing becoming steady and deep, as if he had entered a state of deep meditation. His body merged with the surrounding environment, feeling the power of nature and absorbing its energy. Pain, the Deva Path, stared intently at Naruto, watching his tense body gradually relax, showing no further signs of resistance. A sense of doubt and worry welled up within him. He murmured, "Has he given up? Or has he resigned himself to his fate?"

However, just as Pain was deep in thought, the situation suddenly took a dramatic turn. The Preta Path of Pain, who had been tightly binding Naruto, began to exhibit abnormal changes. His skin gradually became rough, displaying a toad-like texture, and his body stiffened. As time passed, these changes became more pronounced; Pain's body began to swell, as if injected with an excessive amount of gas. His legs were the first to petrify, hardening like stone, before the process spread throughout his entire body, ultimately turning him into a cold, lifeless stone statue.

Pain raised an eyebrow, immediately understanding the situation. He spoke to Naruto, "Sage Chakra? It seems using it comes with enormous risks!"

Naruto's body jolted violently. He struggled fiercely, and cracks began to appear on the stone carvings surrounding him, eventually shattering. He gasped for breath, collapsing wearily to the ground, his body trembling slightly. Having had a large amount of chakra absorbed by the Preta Path, he felt extremely weak, but he still struggled to remain conscious. He knew that only the last Pain remained, and victory was in sight. Moreover, the two Toad Sages had prepared powerful genjutsu, a crucial weapon against the final Pain. If they could seize the right opportunity to attack, they could defeat him in one fell swoop.

"Now you're the only one left!" Naruto looked up at Pain, a hint of passion in his eyes. Through this battle, he had finally turned the tide and regained the upper hand.

Pain, however, calmly looked at Naruto and slowly said, "That's not quite accurate!"

Naruto's expression changed, and he asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"

The little slug immediately explained, "These Pains are all puppets; there's a real body hiding in the shadows controlling them!"

"The real body?" Naruto's eyes widened as he looked at Pain, the Deva Path, in disbelief. He never imagined that after expending so much effort and fighting to the death, the best result would be defeating a few puppets.

Pain, the Deva Path, stared calmly at the collapsed Naruto, his expression remaining impassive, as if everything was under his control. However, a deep sense of unease and contemplation lurked within him. He had, of course, already noticed the problem: the two powerful toads had remained motionless, not even offering assistance when Naruto was under his control. This meant they were preparing some kind of technique capable of countering him. Recalling his fierce battle with Jiraiya, Pain knew Jiraiya's strength all too well. Especially his powerful genjutsu using sound, which had once trapped even a fully-fledged Six Paths of Pain, giving Jiraiya an opening and leading to the defeat of one of them. If Jiraiya hadn't lacked information about the Six Paths of Pain, he might have posed an even greater threat.

Thinking this, Pain's lips curled into a slight smile, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. He had already seen through the two toads' intentions; they actually wanted to use that powerful genjutsu to control him again? What a pipe dream! Pain would never give them that chance again. He abruptly raised his palm, but the target wasn't Naruto Uzumaki, but the two cunning toads. Naruto no longer posed a significant threat to him; after all, he had already expended a large amount of chakra and would need some time to recover.

Just then, Pain uttered a deep shout: "Universal Pull!" As his words fell, a powerful gravitational force instantly enveloped Fukasaku, the toad who was completing his preparations and about to cast his genjutsu. Fukasaku was astonished to find his body completely out of his control, tightly bound by this powerful gravity, and involuntarily flying rapidly towards Pain. And what awaited him was a sharp, black rod gleaming with a cold light.

This sudden turn of events caused both Naruto and Shima to cry out in alarm. Without hesitation, Naruto stood up and rushed towards Fukasaku, who was being rapidly pulled closer, trying to prevent him from being harmed by the black rods that had suddenly appeared in Pain's hand. However, due to excessive chakra expenditure, Naruto was now exhausted, weak, and his reaction time and movements were noticeably slower.

Just then, with a "splat," the black rod mercilessly pierced through Fukasaku's toad body, and blood gushed out. Naruto Uzumaki fell to the ground in a sorry state, his eyes fixed on the Fukasaku toad pierced by the black rod, his face showing pain and sorrow. His heart was filled with self-blame and regret; if he had been stronger, perhaps he could have avoided this tragedy.

Enraged, Naruto Uzumaki scrambled to his feet, his body trembling with fury as he let out a low growl. His eyes were filled with boundless rage and indignation, as if he wanted to tear his enemy to pieces.

He swung his fists and charged towards Pain, each step filled with power and determination. His figure moved with lightning speed, charging towards his enemy with unparalleled momentum.

However, Pain was not intimidated by Naruto's imposing presence. He calmly watched Naruto charge towards him, gripping the black staff tightly in his hand. Just as Naruto was about to reach him, he suddenly swung the staff forcefully, hurling the toad stuck in it at Naruto.

The impaled toad arced through the air, flying towards Naruto. Its body was still convulsing, and blood gushed from the wound, staining the surrounding air red.

Seeing this, Naruto's anger intensified. Without hesitation, he reached out and caught the flying toad. He held the toad's corpse tightly, feeling its body grow colder, and his rage burned even brighter.

"Pain! I will never let you go!" Naruto said through gritted teeth, his voice filled with hatred and determination. He raised his head and looked at Pain again, the rage in his eyes seeming to want to burn him to ashes.