Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 408 Konoha Crisis 17

With a deafening roar, the sky was illuminated by the intense light of the explosion, plunging the entire Hidden Leaf Village into panic. People looked up at the sky, their hearts filled with unease and fear.

The remaining Konoha ninja were unaware of the sudden explosion's meaning, let alone what would happen next. On the battlefield, the situation was even more worrying. Although the Konoha ninjas continued their valiant fight, the enemy's strength was formidable, and the battle remained extremely close. Meanwhile, Naruto Uzumaki's condition was also concerning. He had transformed into his tailed beast form, lost his reason, and become an uncontrollable force. The Konoha ninjas knew that joining the battle now would not only further disrupt the battlefield but also lead to greater losses. However, faced with such a dire situation, the Konoha ninjas did not back down. They gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes fixed resolutely ahead. They knew that this war concerned the life and death of Konoha; they had to hold their ground and protect their homes and loved ones. At the same time, Konoha's Hokage, Tsunade, fell into a coma, leaving the entire village leaderless.

They knew that relying solely on their existing strength would likely be insufficient to defeat the enemy, but no one considered giving up. They had decided that at this crucial moment, the Konoha ninjas would unite as one to resist the invaders. They believed that as long as everyone worked together, they would surely overcome the difficulties and protect their homeland.

On the battlefield, Naruto, in his tailed beast form, was preparing to condense a tailed beast ball when he was suddenly interrupted by Pain, who was also affected because he was at the center of the explosion. Surprisingly, however, Naruto in his tailed beast form was completely unharmed.

Countless dark red chakra tails, as hard as steel, easily shattered the boulder pressing down on him. Naruto stood up again, facing his enemy—Pain. At this moment, his entire body was enveloped in powerful chakra, radiating an unparalleled sense of power.

Despite the fierce battle he had just endured, Naruto appeared unharmed. On the contrary, the explosion seemed to have activated the Nine-Tails' chakra within him, making it even more ferocious and powerful. His eyes were filled with determination and rage, as if he wanted to tear all his enemies to shreds.

Pain frowned slightly as he looked at the scene before him. He had originally thought that this attack would be enough to defeat the Nine-Tails, but he hadn't expected it to be so tenacious. Not only had it not been defeated, but it had also used the power of the explosion to release even more of the Nine-Tails' chakra. This made the situation increasingly difficult, and they had to come up with a better way to deal with this powerful opponent.

Meanwhile, Nagato, who was orchestrating everything behind the scenes, also appeared exhausted. He was panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat. Controlling the Six Paths of Pain to fight Naruto had drained him of a large amount of chakra, even affecting his own life force. He knew that if things continued like this, they might not be able to defeat the Nine-Tails. Therefore, he decided to unleash the Rinnegan's most powerful ability, hoping to defeat the Nine-Tails in one fell swoop and end this long battle.

With Nagato's resolve solidified, he concentrated, preparing to unleash the Rinnegan's ultimate technique. Meanwhile, the Nine-Tails' power surged, roaring as it struggled to break free. Both sides were gathering their strength; a final showdown to determine the victor was about to unfold.

Pain knew that his most crucial task was to maintain a distance from Naruto in his tailed beast form, buying himself enough time to accumulate chakra and prepare to unleash his ultimate technique. At this moment, Naruto's speed and strength were exceptionally powerful, and he would relentlessly attack, giving Pain no chance to catch his breath and build up chakra. Therefore, Pain had no choice but to temporarily retreat, creating distance between himself and Naruto to slow his advance and buy precious time for Nagato, the mastermind behind everything, to accumulate the necessary chakra. Simultaneously, this distance would create more space for Pain to unleash his strongest power at the opportune moment.

Then, Pain's figure flashed like a ghost, his speed astonishing. His movements were elusive, like a gentle breeze, and in the blink of an eye, he was far removed from the battlefield. Naruto, in his tailed beast form, struggling to emerge from the rubble, his eyes burning with anger and hatred, was not about to let his enemy escape easily. He pursued relentlessly at an astonishing speed, each step carrying immense momentum.

Naruto in his tailed beast form radiated powerful chakra fluctuations, his six tails swaying gracefully like a raging storm. His speed was in no way inferior to Pain's, and perhaps even faster! The two, one fleeing and one chasing, were like two bolts of lightning streaking across the sky, quickly leaving the vicinity of Konoha Village and speeding away into the distance.

Their figures disappeared on the distant horizon, leaving behind a silent battlefield. The people of Konoha watched in shock, their hearts filled with worry and unease about the future. Where would this battle lead? How would the chase between Naruto in his tailed beast form and Pain end?

However, as the battle continued, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju gradually moved away from Konoha Village, giving Konoha Village precious time to launch a rescue operation and providing the other Konoha ninjas with a rare opportunity to regroup and redeploy.

After Pain and Naruto in his tailed beast form left, the tense atmosphere in Konoha eased slightly, but everyone understood that this battle was only a temporary pause, and greater challenges awaited them. The village's leadership quickly convened a meeting to discuss their next strategic plan.

"We must organize our forces as soon as possible to search for the manipulator hiding in the shadows," Nara Shikaku said anxiously.

The others nodded in agreement: "That's right, we can't give the Akatsuki, who caused Konoha's current situation, any chance to make a comeback. Konoha can't withstand a second attack like this."

Therefore, Konoha Village quickly organized an elite force to search the vicinity for the mastermind behind the incident. Meanwhile, the village's medical team did its utmost to treat the injured villagers and ninjas, ensuring they could recover their fighting strength as soon as possible.

At this critical moment, everyone in Konoha Village united to face the crisis. Whether ninjas or ordinary villagers, everyone actively participated in the rescue and defense efforts, demonstrating unwavering will and tenacious fighting spirit.

On the battlefield, Pain and Naruto in his tailed beast form moved swiftly, avoiding a fierce battle. They exchanged blows, neither giving an inch. Although Naruto in his tailed beast form now possessed immense power, he had lost his reason and was acting solely on his animalistic instincts. Pain, with his incredible speed and agile dodging, was never able to catch up with Naruto in his tailed beast form.

As time passed, Pain seized the opportunity to shake off Naruto in his tailed beast form, giving him the chance to unleash his ultimate technique. He flashed into a tree trunk, clasped his hands together, and quickly received the immense power transmitted from Nagato.

In a secluded spot within a large tree constructed from Konan's paper-escape technique, Nagato's face was ashen, devoid of any color, like a sheet of transparent white paper. He gasped for breath, his breathing rapid and labored, each breath a struggle. Blood gushed from his nostrils, flowing down his cracked lips and dripping onto the ground, forming crimson blossoms.

The ultimate technique of the Rinnegan—Planetary Devastation—requires an unimaginable amount of chakra. It's like a bottomless pit, greedily devouring Nagato's chakra without mercy. At the same time, the Rinnegan's drain on Nagato's chakra is so immense that even though his life force had already been partially replenished by Hyuga Kanan, he was once again driven to the brink of exhaustion. His body had reached its limit and could no longer withstand such enormous consumption.

Nagato felt his body gradually losing strength, his limbs becoming limp, as if all life had been drained from him. His vision began to blur, filled with darkness and stars. He knew that if he continued to use the power of the Rinnegan, he might completely collapse, even lose his life. But he couldn't give up, because he carried too many responsibilities and missions; he had to persevere.

Pain, the Deva Path, kept his eyes closed, receiving the chakra transmitted by Nagato. His body trembled slightly, as if enduring a tremendous impact. After a moment, Pain slowly opened his eyes, and a faint point of light appeared in his clasped hands. This point of light twinkled like a star in the night sky, radiating a mysterious and powerful aura.

Without hesitation, Payne extended his hand from the tree trunk. As he moved, the point of light rapidly rose into the air, like a dazzling shooting star streaking across the sky. Then, the point of light quickly transformed into a small, jet-black sphere. It spun rapidly in the air, constantly releasing intense energy fluctuations.

The small black ball hurtled towards the sky at an astonishing speed, like a black meteor streaking across the heavens. In the blink of an eye, it was already above Naruto. Along its path, the air seemed to be mercilessly torn apart, emitting a sharp whistling sound. As the small black ball drew closer, a tremendous gravitational force began to emerge from it, gradually growing stronger. This gravitational force, like an invisible hand, tightly gripped everything around it, pulling them towards the small black ball.