Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

The jar containing the sealed Seven-Tails was about half a person's size and extremely heavy to hold.

After obtaining the jar, Nagato attempted to summon the Human Path and Hell Path directly to his side using summoning jutsu, but it failed.

The barrier in that underground room restricted chakra within, rendering the summoning jutsu that connected them ineffective.

With no other choice, Nagato instructed the Human Path and Hell Path to first leave the barrier's range.

Before the two had even stepped out of the barrier's range, a series of footsteps sounded on the stairs leading to the underground room. A group of Taki-nin with grim expressions arrived at the scene.

The defense force consisted of only six people, who were easily dealt with by the Human Path and Hell Path. Afterward, they effortlessly seized the jar, but Taki-nin responded promptly.

"As expected, your target is the Tailed Beast!" the leading Taki-nin glared angrily at the Human Path and Hell Path.

"The barrier can confine chakra within; don't hold back—kill them both." The leader took a step back.

Nearly a hundred Taki-nin, splitting off eighty of them, charged directly into the barrier, forcing the Human Path and Hell Path back.

The remaining twenty stayed outside the barrier, watching the Human Path and Hell Path coldly.

Taki-nin rarely interacted with the outside world and were seldom involved in wars. However, having a Jinchūriki for the Seven-Tails in the village made them a target.

The main force in the village was being held off by several powerful enemies, yet Taki-nin still noticed the two enemies who had initially withdrawn from the battle, so they dispatched part of their force to deal with the pair.

As a result, the dispatched Taki-nin all died at the hands of the Human Path and Hell Path.

The main Taki-nin force remained unaware of this, only considering the safety of the Seven-Tails. Thus, even though they weren't in an advantageous position, they continued to send nearly a hundred more Taki-nin to confront them.

"It doesn't seem easy to leave here," Nagato murmured to himself.

The combat abilities of the Human Path and Hell Path were relatively weak. If they were in an open area, they wouldn't fear the nearly a hundred Taki-nin, but with the battle confined to a room, they were at a disadvantage before the fight even began.

Meanwhile, the battle between Taki-nin and the others reached a fever pitch.

After obtaining intelligence on the abilities of the four Paths of Pain, the Taki-nin had lost over three hundred people, and they began to launch a desperate counterattack.

The Hellhound, which split upon receiving attacks, was trapped by the Taki-nin, preventing it from causing much disruption.

The Giant Centipede and Giant Rhino were also dealt with by the Taki-nin in a coordinated assault, but the Animal Path continued to summon enormous creatures.

The Asura Path, as the main offensive force, had suffered multiple damages across its entire body, and one more hit would cause it to collapse.

The Deva Path and Preta Path had blocked many attacks from the Taki-nin, but as the Taki-nin gradually gained knowledge of their abilities, they began to time their attacks precisely.

Avoiding the ability cooldowns, the Taki-nin managed to break through Deva Path's Shinra Tensei and Preta Path's sealing techniques multiple times, though Deva Path, thanks to shared vision, could dodge and counter frequently.

As their abilities were gradually understood, Nagato began to feel the pressure; the entire Taki-nin village's strength was here, and with the jar containing the Seven-Tails not yet secured, he couldn't freely use Shinra Tensei.

"I'll have to let Deva Path assist Human Path and Hell Path to retrieve the jar quickly; as for the other Paths of Pain, they'll stall as long as possible."

Seeing the Taki-nin's counterattacks becoming more refined, Nagato directed Deva Path to break away from the battle and head toward the altar at high speed.

This decision essentially abandoned the Animal Path, Asura Path, and Preta Path.

As the Taki-nin's counteroffensive took shape, they noticed Deva Path leaving and tried to send some men to intercept, but they were blocked by a sweeping laser attack from Asura Path.

"It's good that the one with unknown abilities has left; this way, we can deal with these three faster."

At the rear of the Taki-nin formation, a middle-aged man with a headband watched Deva Path's departure coldly.

The man had a dignified face, brows like sword edges, and slightly thin lips. In his hand was a long blade slightly larger than the standard Taki-nin sword.

This was the leader of Taki-nin Village, Shōko.

From the start of the assault, he had been commanding from behind. Although he hadn't entered the battle, his strength was not weak.

Seeing Deva Path leave, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint blue light appeared on his long blade. Upon closer inspection, a fine flow of water was streaming along the blade's edge, barely discernible to the naked eye.

With Deva Path gone, the remaining Paths of Pain couldn't withstand the Taki-nin assault. As the Taki-nin fell one after another, the three remaining Paths of Pain were riddled with openings.

Swish!

Several water droplets appeared behind Asura Path.

The Animal Path, standing beside Asura Path, immediately noticed the droplets. Through shared vision, Asura Path also became aware of them.

As soon as the water droplets appeared, Asura Path, without turning around, continued to attack and hold off the Taki-nin coming forward one after another. Meanwhile, two arms extended from its back, wielding blades toward the water droplets.

Clang!

The water droplets turned into Shōko, and two large blades clashed against his sword.

"Sharp reaction."

Shōko, glanced quickly at Animal Path from the corner of his eye. Holding his sword single-handedly to block Asura Path's crossed slashes, he freed his other hand to grip a kunai adorned with three explosive tags.

Whoosh!

With a flick of his wrist, the kunai flew into Asura Path's waist, and the explosive tags ignited at the end.

Shōko shook off Asura Path's dual blades with a forceful thrust and stepped back, his body dispersing into several water droplets and vanishing.

The next moment, Shōko appeared behind Animal Path, delivering a kick to its back, intending to push it toward Asura Path, hoping both would be caught in the ensuing explosion.

Animal Path, with an expressionless face, was sent flying, but it left a summoning seal in that instant.

A puff of white smoke appeared, and the next moment, Asura Path, with the kunai and explosive tags embedded in its waist, materialized in front of Shōko.

"What?!"

Shōko's pupils shrank in shock.

Boom!

A violent explosion engulfed Shōko and Asura Path, with hot, searing winds spreading out in all directions.

"Leader!"

The surrounding Taki-nin cried out in alarm.

Through thick, acrid black smoke, a figure emerged—Shōko, in a battered state.

His face was blackened, and blood dripped from his mouth, a result of his internal organs being struck by the blast at close range.

When the smoke cleared, it revealed the shattered remains of Asura Path.

"So ruthless!"

A hint of pain flickered across Shōko's face.

He hadn't expected his opponent to react so swiftly and decisively. His original plan had been to exploit an opening and finish off Asura Path with a single strike, but the latter's timely response forced him to adjust.

Planting the kunai with explosive tags in Asura Path's body, he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Animal Path, kicking it toward Asura Path so that they would both perish in the explosion.

However, Animal Path responded swiftly and decisively. Whether through some kind of link, it had used a summoning jutsu at the last second to place Asura Path in front of Shōko instead.

Animal Path, having been kicked away, escaped the blast zone, leaving Shōko to suffer the consequences of his own trap.

Though he ultimately destroyed Asura Path, Animal Path's action left him with a chilling and indescribable feeling.

That feeling was as though… the enemies they faced weren't even human.

From beginning to end, they remained silent and expressionless, unaffected by attacks, showing no hint of emotion.

What exactly were these things?

Check out the patreon and get 55 chapters in advance -> SaintXI

Currently on Chapter 401 - Journey to Ryūchi Cave