Whoosh! Whoosh!
One piercing sound after another cut through the air as countless Kami Shuriken (Paper Shuriken) fell like snowflakes, completely enveloping Obito and Zetsu.
"We don't have much time!" Black Zetsu said gravely to Obito beside him. Then his figure sank straight into the earth and vanished from everyone's sight.
Behind the mask, Obito wore a cold sneer, but his movements didn't slow in the slightest. He instantly leapt sideways—dodging the incoming paper shuriken—and then charged straight toward Konan.
"So you really aren't Madara!" Konan stared at Obito, her voice icy. At the same time, her hands rapidly formed seals.
Wings made of paper sheets sprouted from Konan's back.
In a flash, Konan moved in front of Nagato. She spread her wings wide and shouted sharply, "Kami Ame (Paper Rain)!"
Countless paper sheets shot out from her wings. After flying to a certain range, the sheets looped back to her body and fired again, forming a continuous cycle of attacks.
And at the same time, that attack formation kept Konan and Nagato firmly protected at its center.
Facing this, Obito halted his forward rush and tilted his head.
"Konan, I'm fine," Nagato said as he rose from that special apparatus, his voice hoarse.
"You already used Shin · Chibaku Tensei (True Planetary Devastation). You burned a massive amount of chakra—rest for now," Konan replied without turning back.
Nagato shook his head, eyes fixed forward, his voice cold. "Just two clowns."
"Clowns?" A low voice suddenly came from underground.
In the next instant, a white figure burst up from beneath the ground where Konan and Nagato stood.
But the moment it surfaced, countless razor-sharp paper sheets swept in, slicing it to pieces.
A White Zetsu clone!
Konan furrowed her brows, just about to direct the endless Paper Rain downward—
Mokuton: Jigoku no Ran (Wood Release: Hell's Upheaval)!
Obito slammed his hands to the ground after forming seals.
Massive trees spiraled up from the earth, wrapping Konan and Nagato inside and twisting to shred them!
Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!
A terrifying repulsive force detonated outward in an instant, blasting every tree apart and hurling the debris away.
Seeing that, Black Zetsu—who had been hiding underground—rose back up from the earth.
Obito also stopped attacking, retreating to stand beside Black Zetsu.
"What exactly are you trying to do?" Obito asked in a low voice, his tone shaded with suspicion.
Black Zetsu's gaze flickered.
"Nothing. I was just confirming something. Now it's done."
The moment Black Zetsu finished speaking, Nagato—who had been about to continue attacking—suddenly stiffened in place.
Then he spat a mouthful of blood.
At the same time, the Tendō standing not far from Nagato seemed to lose control all at once and collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Konan's face went pale. She flashed to Nagato's side and caught him, voice urgent.
"Nagato, what's happening?!"
Nagato's face was filled with shock and confusion. In a raspy voice, he forced out, "The… Rinnegan… it's out of control."
Konan snapped her head up toward Zetsu and Obito, her voice packed with ice-cold fury.
"What did you two do?!"
Obito spread his hands in a helpless gesture, and behind the mask, even his expression was tinged with confusion.
Now Obito was growing more and more curious—aside from him, what other measures had Madara left behind back then?
"I didn't do anything," White Zetsu said with a giggling grin. "If you insist on blaming something, then it's this—your Rinnegan isn't yours."
Nagato and Konan both froze.
"Hehehe, don't believe it?" White Zetsu continued, still smiling. "Those eyes were only ever left with you for safekeeping. Now it's time to return them to their rightful owner!"
Standing beside Zetsu, Obito suddenly went rigid—then a possibility flashed through his mind.
He whipped his head toward Zetsu, voice dropping even lower.
"What are you trying to do?"
Black Zetsu turned his head and shot Obito a glance.
"I merely activated a technique Madara-sama left behind inside the Rinnegan."
Obito's expression stiffened. He knew it—whether Black Zetsu or White Zetsu, their loyalty had always belonged to Madara alone.
"What technique?" Obito demanded.
A strange light shimmered in Black Zetsu's eyes as he answered calmly, "You'll find out soon."
Their conversation had no attempt at concealment, and every word fell clearly into Nagato and Konan's ears.
Konan—who'd initially found the idea that the Rinnegan wasn't Nagato's to be absurd—didn't know why, but after hearing their exchange, she began to believe it deep down.
"You bastards!" Konan hissed, ready to rush Obito and Zetsu—
But in the next instant, Nagato's Rinnegan suddenly emitted a dim,幽-blue glow.
And everything happening now had completely slipped beyond Nagato's control.
Blood leaked from the corner of Nagato's mouth. Compared to being defeated by someone, the news that the Rinnegan wasn't even his dealt him a far heavier blow.
If that was true… then what, exactly, had the justice he'd clung to all this time even been?
Nagato's stiff body began to move—yet now, it was no longer under Nagato's control.
Nagato brought his hands together and slowly started forming seals.
"Stop me, Konan!" Nagato shouted urgently.
Konan—who had been about to attack Obito and Zetsu—immediately halted.
But the very next moment, Konan's body suddenly locked up, going rigid in place.
At some point, Black Zetsu had already separated from White Zetsu's body and possessed Konan.
Controlling Konan's body, Black Zetsu let out a chilling laugh.
"It's useless. Just watch what happens."
"Damn you—get off me!" Konan's face twisted with rage as chakra exploded through her body, trying to forcibly break free of Black Zetsu's control.
But it was pointless.
The control Black Zetsu exerted through possession was far beyond what Konan had imagined—no matter how she struggled, she couldn't break away.
"Nagato!!"
Watching Nagato continue forming seals at a slow, unstoppable pace, a worsening sense of dread wrapped around Konan's heart, and she couldn't help but scream his name.
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