"You guys..."
After barely surviving, Vali stared at Sun Wukong and Kuroka with a stunned expression.
"Boobs! Amazing!"
Pain's clone, Issei, had already forgotten the next line he was supposed to say and was staring fixedly at Kuroka's chest. Sensing his gaze, Kuroka said, "You're only looking over here, nya?"
Ignoring Vali and Mifu in front of her, Kuroka kept her eyes locked on Pain. Then she said, "Could it be~ you've fallen for me, nya~?"
Whether she understood the seriousness of the situation or not, Kuroka shamelessly flaunted her erotic figure. And then...
"...K... Know your place."
He almost instinctively answered yes, but quickly changed the line. By then, Mifu and the surrounding Fallen Angels were already looking at him suspiciously, so in the end...
Boom
He blasted the surroundings away with [Shinra Tensei], shaking off his stray thoughts and showing them where he stood.
"That's dangerous, nya!"
"Be careful. That guy pulls and repels people and objects alike!"
Vali had already come close to dying once, and his nerves still hadn't recovered. In the end, while Barakiel fought the Akatsuki members, he offered a warning.
"! T-that kind of thing, say it sooner...! Ghk!"
"Too late."
Sun Wukong and Mifu had already been dragged away by Pain and were impaled by black spears. Then...
Poof
They vanished in a puff of smoke, as if the clone had burst apart.
"Shadow Clone? No... some other mythic power?"
Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the very power of the Sun Wukong from Journey to the West, a technique that created tangible clones from hair. The difference from the original was obvious, but perhaps because he had suffered mental damage from Kuroka's chest for a moment, he failed to notice it.
"Your back is open! Hihah!"
He appeared behind him and swung the Ruyi Jingu Bang, but...
"! Guh!"
He was repelled by [Shinra Tensei]. At the same time, Pain's hand shot upward—not toward the flung-away Mifu, but into the air.
"!! N-no way!"
He had immediately realized, thanks to the [Rinnegan], that the one who attacked from behind was a clone. He used [Almighty Push] on the true body hiding above and dragged it down. With no resistance at all, Mifu was pulled in and...
"Ghk!"
...his body was pierced by a black spear, rendering him unable to fight.
Then another massive blue flame came flying in from behind, and Pain...
[Human Path of the Six Paths]
...absorbed it outright. When he turned his gaze back to Kuroka...
"Dangerous, nya!"
"Boobs!"
Meeting the [Rinnegan] eyes, he instinctively backed away with a chill running through him, but his attention was once again stolen by Kuroka's swaying chest. Before long, he found himself staring at it for far too long again.
"You really are looking this way, nya..."
At first she had thought it was just a mistake, but Kuroka now understood for sure. Her opponent was strong, but he had a weakness. He was weak to breasts. Having figured out only that much, Kuroka said, "You want to see my boobs, nya~?"
"Hey... now's not the time for games..."
As Kuroka slowly lowered her top, her chest began to show little by little. Mifu, who was lying on the ground and still failed to grasp the situation, tried to stop her, thinking she was just acting lewd out of lust.
"..."
But when he saw that the silent Pain clone was still fixed on Kuroka, he fell into dumbfounded silence. It didn't seem like that at all.
"Emergency, main body! Respond. Emergency! There's an incredible pair of boobs here!"
"What!? Boobs!?"
...It seemed Kuroka's plan had worked perfectly. The main body reacted instantly to the word "boobs."
"I'm coming right now! Don't touch anything and wait!"
"Roger!"
For the time being, the clone did nothing and simply stared as ordered by the main body.
"You want to touch them, nya?"
"..."
He wanted to answer yes, but couldn't say it out loud because of appearances. Honestly, he had even considered just subduing her and touching them however he wanted, but...
"No, no, I can't do something so vulgar to a beautiful girl!"
Instead of surrendering to instinct, the clone's pointless sense of gentlemanly restraint kicked in, and he held himself back. Soon after, he muttered to himself, "I'm low on chakra. I'll need to rest for a bit."
With her sharp ears, Kuroka heard that and said, "Now's the time to finish him, nya!"
She spread magic circles in every direction, and a massive surge of magical power began to churn, enough to blow away an entire territory. Then she shouted, "Disappear, nya!"
Facing the enormous blue flames head-on, Pain said, "[Shinra Tensei]!"
He effortlessly erased the massive blaze. Kuroka stared in disbelief and gasped, "Eeeh!? Seriously, nya!?"
"Now, clone!"
While Kuroka was still reeling, a signal came from the main body.
"It's about time to finish this. [Almighty Push]."
He dragged Kuroka in, and with no way to resist, she was pulled straight toward him.
"Nya?!"
Before she knew it, Pain had grabbed her by the nape of the neck.
Then he said, "I don't know what your angle is, but this is the end."
He pointed out the trick she had just used by exposing her chest. Kuroka realized it had all been a misunderstanding and regretted her judgment, but it was already too late. She was slammed into the ground, and as killing intent poured off him while he prepared to drive in a black spear...
"You bastard!!"
"!!"
A spinning blue something came flying toward Pain's back, and he immediately dodged to create distance. What had attacked him was...
"Found you at last! Yahiko!"
"Issei..."
Hyoudou Issei, in his [Rinnegan] state, stood there with a [Rasengan] in one hand. Pain called his name softly, as if they knew each other.
And with Issei's sudden appearance, not only Kuroka and Vali, but even the Fallen Angels and the Akatsuki members were thrown into confusion. That was only natural, because Hyoudou Issei's name and face had already become known alongside the Akatsuki, Uchiha Madara, and Senju Hashirama. He had already shown power in the Demon World by blasting Hidan away in a single blow, so it was only natural that he had become a target of attention. And since he was the one who had defeated Kokabiel, some of the Fallen Angels recognized him too.
"That man..."
"The Red Dragon Emperor..."
"An enemy...?"
Even though he had stepped in to block Pain, the Fallen Angels were still confused about friend and foe, since he was the one who had defeated Kokabiel.
And while the Fallen Angels were still hesitating, Pain said, "It's been a while, brother disciple."
"Long time no see, damn senior brother."
It seemed the setup had already been completed: they were now senior brother and junior disciple. And so began another trashy performance, a staged game of cards where everyone's attention was drawn in.
"Is it already five years since you left the teacher?"
"Don't you dare speak of my master! Because of you, Master...!"
He had once told Rias about his power. He had said that he learned ninjutsu from the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan, and that he himself was the final disciple. And if Pain was the senior brother, then that meant Pain had also been a disciple of that last surviving Uchiha. That was the setup, at least. The two of them glared fiercely at each other.
"I see. So he's finally dead? That's something I can call fortunate."
"You bastard..."
"Without the master, you and I are the only ones in this world who can use these [Rinnegan] eyes. And when only one remains, one of us will gain the power to surpass even Uchiha Madara and seize the world."
From Pain's words, it was clear that when only one [Rinnegan] remained, something would happen that even Uchiha Madara could not control. The Fallen Angels and Vali still didn't fully understand what that meant, and Issei had no intention of explaining it right now.
"These [Rinnegan] eyes I inherited from my master—let's settle here and now who uses them more effectively."
"That's exactly what I wanted, damn brat!"
It was obvious that Issei had come here chasing Pain, but how he had found this place remained a mystery. Still, the Fallen Angels swallowed hard and watched tensely.
Then...
"That's enough!"
"!!"
Suddenly, a solemn voice rang out from above. It was an absolute existence to ninjas.
"You weren't late, were you, Issei?"
"Master..."
"Senju Hashirama..."
It was the appearance of Issei's other master, the god of ninjas, Senju Hashirama. Everyone there was stunned by Hashirama's arrival, and even the Akatsuki members, including Pain, slowly began to back away. The Fallen Angels were also breaking out in cold sweat and going on guard. Even if they had never seen him in person, the name Senju Hashirama was already known across every faction as the one who had stopped and overwhelmed Uchiha Madara, the man who had nearly destroyed the Demon World by himself. With such a being standing before them, and with no way to tell whether he was friend or foe, it was only natural that they were tense.
"As long as I'm here, I won't let you run wild as you please. Followers of Madara!"
At Hashirama's shout, infused with chakra, the Fallen Angels and Vali were left speechless by the amount of magical power they could never have imagined. They had heard the rumors and had some idea, but they never expected him to be this overwhelmingly powerful. And before that presence, Pain said, "It seems I have no choice but to withdraw for now."
"No. You'll end here! Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees!"
A giant mass of tree trunks surged toward Pain and the Akatsuki members as they tried to flee. Pain repelled it with [Shinra Tensei] and escaped by riding a summoned beast, but the other members were caught without mercy.
At the same time...
"Ghk, my magical power!"
"It's being sucked out!"
"Please save us, Lord Pain!"
Their magical power began to be drained away completely, and they begged Pain for rescue. But since he had brought these trash among the Akatsuki here precisely to use them as disposable pieces, there was no reason to save them. In the end, the members had all their magical power sucked out and lost consciousness.
"You're running away!? Yahiko!"
"To understand everything, power is necessary. Grow stronger, foolish junior disciple."
When Issei shouted at the Pain floating in the air, Pain answered expressionlessly and opened a gate to vanish. Once Pain disappeared...
"W-we survived?"
"Thank goodness..."
"Lord Azazel!"
The Fallen Angels breathed a sigh of relief, and some of them rushed toward Azazel, who had fallen unconscious. Vali finally came to his senses and said, "Azazel!"
He shook Azazel awake, but there was no response. Not a trace of magical power could be felt, and he wasn't even breathing. Vali's face darkened with frustration as he pounded the ground in vain.
"Madara... is this truly the world you wanted?"
Looking at the Grigori fortress, now erased from the map and reduced to ruin, Hashirama let out a quiet lament. It was a scene worthy of applause for the clone that had stayed in character to the very end, and the Fallen Angels kept their guard up as they watched Hashirama.
Then Hashirama said, "I am not your enemy. Rather, I am on your side."
"..."
"E-even if you say that..."
The Fallen Angels still didn't easily let their guard down. Then one of them stepped forward and knelt.
"Thank you very much! Senju Hashirama-sama!"
"Oh? And who might you be?"
"I'm Barakiel, an executive of the Fallen Angels! I truly wish to express my gratitude for saving our realm this time!"
Knowing full well that he was not someone they could afford to make an enemy of, Barakiel immediately knelt in Azazel's place and thanked Hashirama. Hashirama responded with a kind smile and encouraged him, and the Fallen Angels gradually relaxed and began approaching him to offer their thanks. As the atmosphere turned warm and friendly...
"You're the Red Dragon Emperor, nya?"
"...Y-yes, that's right."
Kuroka approached Issei, who had effectively saved her life, and spoke to him. Issei looked at Kuroka's chest, was overwhelmed by its sheer size, and stammered. Kuroka, seeing his face turn red, looked amused and said, "Thanks, nya~ If it weren't for the Red Dragon Emperor, I wouldn't be here, nya~"
She pulled Issei into an embrace and buried him in her chest. Issei melted at the soft, refreshing scent brushing against his face, and then...
"Th-thank you very much!"
...while still buried there, he blurted out his honest impression. Kuroka said, "Nya~ You're honest, unlike Vali~ You're my type, nya~"
Comparing him to the same heavenly dragon, Vali, she held Issei even more actively and refused to let go. Issei thought he had come here at just the right time and was basking in happiness when...
"Issei, it's about time we headed back."
"...Damn that clueless bastard..."
As expected of Issei, who couldn't stand seeing others do well, even his own clone Hashirama ruined the mood by barging in. With a big shot like Hashirama stepping forward, Kuroka finally let Issei go and fell quiet. Just as Issei and Hashirama were about to leave...
"P-please wait! I have a request!"
"Hmm? What is it?"
One of the Fallen Angels approached and knelt.
"I've heard Lord Hashirama possesses a special power! Please, Lord Azazel...!"
They had tried to revive Azazel with their own magic, but he still didn't respond. So, clutching at straws and believing the baseless rumors, they knelt before Hashirama and begged him. Then Hashirama said, "Hmm... I don't have a way to help him myself, but Issei, wouldn't you be able to do something?"
Indeed, with Issei's [Rinne Rebirth Technique], even the dead could be brought back to life. And if he could create a little goodwill here, it would help later too, so for now...
"I'll do what I can."
"Ohh. Thank you!!"
""Thank you!!""
Just the fact that Issei was willing to step in was enough for the Fallen Angels to bow their heads in gratitude. Then Issei pretended to heal Azazel with medical ninjutsu while...
"[Rinne Rebirth Technique]"
...forming the hand sign, he let light return to Azazel's body.
"...Where am I...?"
"Lord Azazel!!"
"Uwooo! Lord Azazel has been revived!"
""Thank you! Thank you!!""
As Azazel's magical power returned and he opened his eyes, then slowly sat up, the Fallen Angels were moved to tears. They bowed over and over to Issei and Hashirama, expressing their gratitude again and again.