XXX
Konan
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"WEEEEEEEEE!"
"He's going straight for a full transformation," Madara snapped, beginning to run forward. "We can't let him transform-"
The Raikage suddenly appeared, quick as a flash, his elbow held out to smash through Madara's face. Konan flinched, expecting a connection, but instead the elbow slipped through Madara's head as if it weren't there. The Raikage's eyes widened in surprise, but he was quick to recover, stopping his momentum and flipping into the air to land a downward smash.
"Konan!" She had heard the footsteps a moment before Kisame and she was in the air in moments, her paper wings flapping. More Kumo-nin we're arriving on the scene, some attacking Kisame but other's trying to hit her out of the sky with long ranged attacks. A thin bolt of lightning flew from the mouth of one, clipping her right wing. She retaliated by sending a several hundred sharp paper discs at the cluster, killing some and making the rest scatter as she recovered-
Her wrist tingled. "Konan, it's Zetsu!" She looked down and saw a miniature Zetsu head there. "Madara wants you to forget about the shinobi and focus the Eight-Tails-"
"If only we had the ability to completely avoid every attack coming our way!" she retorted, dodging another vein of electricity. She swooped down and struck the offender head on, cracking his ribs and sending him sprawling into the others. She caught a glimpse of Kisame shredding another shinobi-
The Eight Tails jiinchurki was no longer visible. Instead, a swarm of what looked like tentacles was rapidly expanding from an epicenter of maroon-colored flesh-
She hovered in midair, taking a collected breath. Madara did have a point; Sasuks's report had suggested the jiinchuriki and the Eight-Tails had actually formed a mutual, cooperative bond. If a full transformation occurred, it wouldn't be as simple as a tailed-beast chaotically fighting. Tactical ability and incredible strength would mean a very fast fight-
The other way around if Nagato was here. She shook her head. You don't need him, you can do this yourself.
She raised a hand, and paper from her body began to leave and form above her in a rotating spiral, rippling and flapping in the brisk air. She began infusing explosive tags into it, growing the size of the paper wheel. With a heavy throw, she send it spinning on its way down into the mass of tentacles-
"Ninja Art: Paper Chakram!"
The explosion caused an inhumane shriek to emit from the being, and it vanished beyond smoke and flames, recoiling. She saw Madara dodge another attack from the Raikage before countering and throwing the large shinobi into a building. He stared into the smoke, looking no doubt with his Sharingan.
She began peppering another explosive disc. It couldn't be that easy-
A massive maroon fist smashed down onto Madara, completely obliterating his form. She flinched, and she heard Kisame shout in dismay below.
The smoke was clearing rapidly as the Eight-Tails moved inside; the quickest transformation she could have ever imagined. The power of cooperation, she thought dimly, still holding the forming disc above her.
The Eight-Tails roared, tentacles thrashing behind it. However, she noticed it was avoiding hitting any buildings or civilians in the wide street, and it seemed hesitant to move.
The jiinchurki won't want to hurt it's village. We'll have to use this to our advantage.
"Let them have it, Bee!" the Raikage shouted.
Two tentacles lashed out towards Konan, and she weaved in between them, running loops while maintain the form of her explosive disc. She flew towards the head of the beast, a horned thing with elongated jaw. It gnashed it's teeth at her and she threw the disc; it dug into the lip of the beat and exploded, making it howl. Two more tentacles joined in trying to hit her out of the sky, and she hugged her wings to her body and dived between them all, right under the neck-
"Knock it unconscious!" the little Zetsu suggested.
"Working on it." She looked back at the jiinchurki, now having some distance. It rubbed the wound to it's lip with one of its massive hands, but now it was turning it's attention to Kisame, who was laboring below against other Kumogakure shinobi.
I don't need Nagato. She took a deep breath and tilted her head back. Watch me, Yahiko.
She raised both her hands, and the paper began to form into a disc once more. But it was growing larger this time, a massive thing as large as a small house. The explosive tags went straight into the middle, and she used her chakra to sharpen the edges of the paper on the exterior of the swirling mass, increasing the cutting mass tremendously-
"Ninja Art: Worldly Paper Chakram!"
She flung it, feeling exhaustion in her body from the precision needed for the attack. The Eight Tails obviously heard the incoming attack, and it raised three tentacles to ward it off. The cutting ability of the chakra, however was beyond even the strength of even hardened steel. It savagely ripped through the tentacles, and the Eight-Tails howled again before turning to face her entirely.
The explosion caused the air to vibrate and burn, and she shielded herself with crossed arms.
The Eight-Tails emerged from the smoky orange, a deep gash in it's chest and it's entire body blackened and bruised. It roared and a hand smashed down upon a building, seemingly trying to use it for support. Screams came from the village, while she thought she saw the Raikage waving his arms at them at his soldiers-
"AKATSUKI!" the Eight-Tails roared, and she saw it snap to him. It's jaws widened, and she saw the Raikage shouting at it-
A black mass was forming rapidly in it's mouth, a ball as dark as the night sky. Her eyes widened, and she began to climb-
One of the intact tentacles grabbed her, and she gasped as her chest creaked with the pressure. I got careless-
Her eyes widened as she saw the ball reach completion, and she knew nothing would survive wherever it struck-
It flew towards her and her eyes shut-
Nothing happened. She opened them and saw a body in front her. Not Madara, not Kisame. Short orange hair was close to the head, held upwards by a headband. The Akatsuki cloak draped its shoulders-
"You should have waited until I was fully ready," it grunted, the tailed beast ball held somehow in it's hands. She saw that it was actually being sucked into his palms, slowly but surely as he stood upon the tentacle holding her. It grew smaller and smaller, shrinking until nothing remained and the slack-jawed Eight-Tails stared at them, it's lidless eyes glazed.
"You will know Pain, Eight-Tails," Pain said, in the body of Raon. "This whole village will."
XXX
Pain
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The Preta Path, using Raon's dead body, summoned a chakra receiver jammed itself into the tentacle it was standing on, and the Rinnegan flared in intensity, shocking the Eight-Tails into releasing Konan. She recovered mid-fall, growing her wings again out of paper and touching down on the ground.
The other four Pain's - minus the unmade Deva Path - came beside her. All the bodies brought to him by her, he saw her amber eyes crease through five different sets Rinnegan. "I told you to wait."
"You told me you'd come as backup." She gestured lamely up at the Eight-Tails, a crooked, thin smile on her blue lips. "Back us up."
A displacement of air came directly beside Konan, and Madara stepped out., looking completely unharmed. "I was waiting for you to rejoin us," he said coldly. "Konan and Kisame attempted to capture the beast themselves, and caused it to transform. You're the only one who has a chance of subduing it. So do it."
"That's why you allowed Kisame and Konan to keep fighting it alone?" Konan snapped at the Uchiha.
The other did not reply but, instead turned to the Animal Path, a former jonin with formerly spiky white, now orange hair and very thin face. "You need to seal it forcefully. Now."
Pain remained mute, but two of the bodies looked to the jinchuuriki. It was holding the wound Konan had inflicted it. Dear Konan, attempting to bring it down on her own. She was his messenger, but that was all unfortunately. Compared to Himself...
The Animal Path detached itself from the others, moving down the street alone towards the Eight Tails. The beast saw this and roared, but the Path did not so much as flinch.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A giant column of smoke came right in front of the Path as the summoning seal spread out before it. The Eight-Tails reared itself to its full height, nursing it's wounded tentacles behind it. Kisame ran through the smoke towards them, bloody and his left arm and leg held loosely as if broken. "Good to see the Leader has come around-" he began, but the Human Path that had formerly been the chunin Hisho raised a hand for silence.
"Nagato-" Konan said, sounding stunned.
"What the hell is that doing here?" Kisame exclaimed, spitting blood between his teeth.
The Gedo Statue rested on one knee, looking more human than it ever had. It faced the Eight-Tails, head lowered, as if in prayer.
As one, the Pain's leaped forward to join the Animal Path in climbing atop it, two on each shoulder and the Animal Path on the summoning's head. "Rise."
The Statue responded, rising to it's feet. The eyes cried blood; lifelike, it sensed the power of the Eight Tails before it and hungrily screamed at it, like a vulture waiting for it's prey to die. Pain looked at the Eight Tails hesitate, clearly insure of what attack to make on the manifestation.
From afar, a shriveled man called Nagato raised his head and whispered the jutsu into the silence.
The jaw of the Gedo Statue opened, and for a moment nothing happened. The Raikage and his subordinates watched, as unsure of the situation as their giant ally.
Glowing purple chains sprung out of the mouth of the statue, and they wrapped themselves around the body of the Eight-Tails with a life of their own. The Eight-Tails roared, trying to form another Tailed-Beast Bomb-
The Five Pains increased the intensity of the purple chakra chains, and the bomb crumbled away into nothingness as the Eight-Tails shrieked again, trying to use it's tentacles to break the chains. Instead, the chakra and strength was sucked out of them as well as the chains multiplied, grabbing the tentacles as well.
"WE ARE GOD!" The Animal Path shouted at everyone watching. "THE WORLD WILL KNOW THIS, AND THROUGH THIS KNOWLEDGE, THEY WILL COME TO COMPREHEND PAIN!"
"Kill those Akatsuki!" The Raikage shouted, leaping forward. The Pain's knocked them aside with more whip-like chains, the chakra-absorbing ability sucking dry the weaker and leaving the stronger gasping for breath on the ground.
The Eight-Tails was losing strength now, it's resistance fading as it was slowly pulled in by the chains. The Pain's stared at his remorselessly, ignoring it's lesser pain. It knew it did not compare to what he had done; otherwise, it would have been able to put a stronger fight. Therefore there was nothing to pity about the beast's predicament.
With a final hair-rising cry, the Eight-Tails footing suddenly failed on the ground and the chins rapidly sucked it in, the large body being impossibly squeezed into the mouth of the Gedo Statue. In seconds it was gone, only it's cry remaining.
"It is done," Pain whispered into the daunting silence. "At last... peace has come."
The Gedo Statue violently twitched on it's own accord, and the Pain's slipped off at the sudden change. They flipped harmlessly onto the ground I front of it, but the pairs of eyes widened in confusion. What's happening to it?
A scream of absolute agony came from the statue, and large goblets of blood fell to the ground from it's eyes. Its hands went to its head and there was tearing sound, which Pain quickly identified as the mouth ripping itself apart.
Is the power too much for it too handle? He questioned. No, it was built for this purpose. What is happening to it, is it actually alive?
"Control it, Nagato!" Madara materialized beside him, his Sharingan looking up at the Statue dauntingly. "With all the power of the Tailed Beasts, it will begin to... weaponized. You need to keep it contained and under control."
"What's happening to it?" Pain asked calmly.
"It's weaponizing."
"Meaning? It is not time to strike the large nations, not so soon. Or are you telling me the development of this weapon is uncontrollable?"
Before, Madara was able to talk down to the skinny man that was Nagato easily. Standing before five powerful bodies reanimated through the great power of the Rinnegan was certainly intimidating. It was, Pain assumed, the power of a God's presence. Madara said evenly, "It can be controlled. But you know we have agreed it will be I do ultimately do so-"
The Gedo Statue roared and fell to it's knees, hands splayed in front of it like a being that had took a great blow to the chest. Madara swiveled to look at it, seemingly confused. "What-?"
Pain narrowed his eyes. What is this?
It was like Madara's space-time ninjutsu, but seemingly more structured. The air ripped with small white lines at the bent head of the statue, which continued to scream, its breaths blowing hot gusts of air that blew their cloaks wildly about them.
Then, for the first time since the destruction of the Deva Path, Pain felt an incredible feeling in the bodies he exercised himself through: cold. The Rinnegan widened, and Madara raised an uncertain hand up before him, as if to ward off the jutsu.
A white hand emerged from the rip.
