The battle between Sasori of the Red Sand and Kakuzu was the most intense, a true stalemate.
The number of puppets meant nothing to Kakuzu; a few large-scale ninjutsu would take care of them. The main trouble was the Third Kazekage human puppet and Sasori's main body.
After Kageyama Kogetsu appeared, he didn't waste any words and directly attacked Sasori.
Sasori hurriedly controlled the Third Kazekage human puppet to manipulate Iron Sand. The Iron Sand transformed into a dense barrage of senbon, shooting out...
With a thought, Kageyama Kogetsu covered his entire body in an almost tangible Lightning Release Armor. Like a high-speed train, he deflected all the Iron Sand senbon.
Sasori was startled and once again manipulated the pitch-black Iron Sand to form three giant triangular pyramids. The pyramids spun rapidly, attacking from above, left, and right.
"Heh, a petty trick."
Without any fancy moves, Kageyama Kogetsu threw a punch. The pyramid above was directly shattered, and the Iron Sand shot out like bullets, pelting the ground with crackling sounds and kicking up dust.
The pyramids on the left and right didn't hit him at all but collided with each other. With a boom, sparks flew, and the Iron Sand scattered.
Sasori was horrified. He controlled the Third Kazekage human puppet to meet the attack while he quickly dodged.
Crash...
The Third Kazekage human puppet, along with its Iron Sand defense, was smashed into pieces by Kageyama Kogetsu's punch. With a shift of his feet and a turn of his body, he charged at Sasori.
Because Kageyama Kogetsu was too fast, Sasori couldn't dodge at all. He could only raise his hands, one spewing a high-pressure water jet and the other spewing raging flames.
These methods would be very threatening to most ninja, but they were obviously useless against Kageyama Kogetsu.
Forget Kageyama Kogetsu; these two attacks couldn't even break the Fourth Raikage A's defense, or rather, they couldn't even hit him.
Kageyama Kogetsu was too lazy to dodge, or perhaps there was simply no need to.
Bang!
Under Sasori's horrified gaze, Kageyama Kogetsu punched him squarely in the center of his chest.
The force instantly spread throughout his body, and Sasori exploded instantly—literally exploded. His puppet body and core were smashed into powder.
Sasori's vision went black, and he knew nothing more.
"As expected of you. Even the renowned Sasori of the Red Sand is no different from a Genin in front of you," Kakuzu said with a smile, his tone filled with admiration.
"Just normal standards. Let's go."
"Alright."
The two headed north and soon met up with Pakura, Kisame Hoshigaki, Jūzō Biwa, and Itachi Uchiha, who arrived shortly after.
Pakura came forward and pleaded, "Kogetsu, can you give Konan a chance to live?"
"She took good care of me in the Akatsuki."
Kageyama Kogetsu smiled faintly. "That depends on whether she understands the situation."
"Let's go capture the leader of the Akatsuki."
"Yes."
The group jumped onto the back of the monstrous bird and, under Kageyama Kogetsu's command, flew west. A few minutes later, they arrived outside a cave.
"Oh my, we're too late."
Although he said this, there wasn't much pity in Kageyama Kogetsu's tone.
Konan had a bad premonition and looked anxiously into the dark cave...
"Let's go."
The group stepped into the cave passage and soon arrived at a stone chamber that showed signs of artificial construction. Four large candles, nearly burnt out, were lit on the surrounding walls, emitting a dim light.
In the center of the stone chamber was a stone throne. An emaciated Nagato sat slumped on the throne, his eyes gouged out, two streams of bloody tears flowing down his face. His expression held no fear, only anger and unwillingness. A bright ninja sword was pierced through his left chest.
Seeing this, Kakuzu and the others looked surprised and sighed inwardly. A powerful figure of his generation had been killed by a scheme.
When Konan saw this, her eyes widened, and her face filled with immense grief. Tears burst from her eyes. Unable to speak, she could only weep silently.
...
Rewinding time a bit, just as the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path disappeared, Black and White Zetsu, who were watching from afar, decisively chose to leave.
Soon, Black and White Zetsu arrived in the stone chamber. They emerged from the stone throne, and Black Zetsu left White Zetsu's body, attaching himself directly to Nagato.
"Black... Zetsu, what... what are you doing?"
Nagato, his chakra completely depleted, changed expression. He spoke breathlessly, his tone filled with shock and anger.
"Heh heh... your usefulness has come to an end. It's time to return the Rinnegan."
Black Zetsu spoke as he quickly covered Nagato's body like flowing water, his tone sinister and mocking.
Even Obito Uchiha, with residual Six Paths power, couldn't resist Black Zetsu's possession, let alone Nagato, who had no chakra left.
Although Black Zetsu's strength wasn't much, as the will separated from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, his essence was extremely high. He also knew Yin-Yang Release, and his skill in sneak attacks was incredibly formidable.
Even the Six Paths-level Madara Uchiha couldn't withstand a strike from Black Zetsu, although that wasn't entirely due to Black Zetsu's skill.
When Black Zetsu struck Madara, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had already partially awakened and secretly weakened Madara's defenses. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy.
The Ten-Tails/God Tree absorbed by Madara Uchiha essentially belonged to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!
Even though Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki had once absorbed it, its power was still inextricably linked to Kaguya.
This power contained Kaguya's will. Madara Uchiha had just ascended to the Six Paths level and was unfamiliar with the power. He couldn't detect Kaguya's will, nor did he have time to erase it, which allowed the sneak attack to succeed.
If Madara Uchiha had detected and erased Kaguya's will, Black Zetsu's sneak attack would not have succeeded, and Kaguya would have only been able to remain dormant, unable to be revived.
"Return?" Nagato was slightly stunned.
Black Zetsu said disdainfully, "Heh heh... you didn't really think you were the savior of the ninja world, the god who would bring peace, did you?"
"These Rinnegan belonged to the deceased Madara Uchiha. We just secretly swapped your eyes when you were a child."
"Very few bloodlines in the ninja world can withstand the power of the Rinnegan. The Uzumaki clan's bloodline is one of the most suitable."
"You were just the person we chose. To put it bluntly, a pawn. And now, a discarded one."
While mocking him, Black Zetsu controlled Nagato to gouge out the Rinnegan.
"Bas... tard!"
Nagato cursed with difficulty, but he had absolutely no control over his body. He forcibly dug the two Rinnegan out of his eye sockets, blood gushing out...
Black Zetsu put away the right Rinnegan and handed the left one to White Zetsu.
At that moment, a spatial vortex appeared, and Obito Uchiha appeared in the stone chamber.
"Heh... you act fast enough," Obito Uchiha said in a displeased tone.
"Strike first to gain the upper hand. What if Nagato ran away or destroyed his eyes?" Black Zetsu said in a relaxed tone.
"White Zetsu, give him the Rinnegan."
White Zetsu did as he was told.
"Why only one?" Obito Uchiha's tone became even more dissatisfied.
Black Zetsu laughed sinisterly. "Heh heh... you want two?"
"Don't be too greedy. Don't you want the Mangekyō Sharingan's ability?"
Obito Uchiha was silent for a moment before saying, "Not at all. I just think the other Rinnegan would be safest in my Kamui dimension."
"I think it's safest with me," Black Zetsu said bluntly.
Black Zetsu naturally wouldn't fear Obito. Black Zetsu also had the authority to control the curse tag Madara Uchiha had placed in Obito's heart.
In reality, Black Zetsu was the mastermind behind Madara Uchiha's revival plan. Obito Uchiha was just a tool; it was impossible not to leave a means of control.
"Since you think so, that's fine too."
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