"Ah…"
Amid screams of agony, many ninja were cleaved cleanly in half. Those cut at the waist but not yet dead lay on the ground, letting out piercing, sorrowful wails.
The battlefield instantly turned into a scene of hell—blood splattered through the air, severed limbs flew everywhere, and entrails were scattered all around.
Many of the paper shuriken were stained a glaring blood-red, and as they spun at high speed, the blood scattered everywhere, as though a rain of blood were falling from the sky.
"No!" At that moment, even Nara Shikaku's eyes turned red. He no longer cared about any fear of Hanzō of the Salamander.
He made a hand signal, and Akimichi Chōza immediately charged forward. His body turned into a ball of flesh, rolling like a war chariot as he rushed straight toward Konan.
Konan did not have Susanoo—she could not meet Akimichi Chōza head-on—but she could fly!
From the area of her shoulder blades, sheets of paper unfurled, instantly forming a pair of pure white, enormous wings.
With a gentle flap, the wings stirred up powerful air currents, and like an angel, she soared into the sky, easily evading the lethal charge from the ground. Only a few sheets of paper, like feathers, drifted lightly down, but as they neared the ground, their color suddenly changed, transforming into explosive tags that detonated with a thunderous boom.
Akimichi Chōza struck empty air and instead was caught directly in the explosion. If not for his robust physique, he might have been blown to death on the spot.
As for the "Shadow Binding Technique" sneaking up behind him, it naturally also missed entirely—not even brushing the hem of Konan's robe.
But their reaction was exceedingly fast.
At the same time he was blasted, Akimichi Chōza immediately leapt up. His body rapidly expanded as he endured the damage, quickly chasing after Konan. He spread his massive palm, bringing with it a howling wind, and reached out to grab her.
Konan flapped the wings on her back, intending to ascend higher, but suddenly her head went blank for an instant—she froze slightly, her hand loosened, and the child she was holding dropped from midair.
Instinctively, she turned to catch him—but was seized firmly by Akimichi Chōza.
"Die!"
Akimichi Chōza shouted loudly, tightening his grip and crushing Konan into pieces.
"Konan!"
Pain roared, rushing out from his hiding place like a madman.
But he too had lost his composure out of concern—though Konan lacked combat experience, her secret survival abilities were extremely strong; she wasn't so easy to kill.
When Akimichi Chōza opened his hand, Konan's body turned into a pile of white paper, fluttering away with the wind and scattering toward the ground—then, midair, the pieces gathered once more and re-formed into Konan's body again.
Konan cast a deep glance at Yamanaka Inoichi, who had tricked her once before, then turned her head to reassure Pain.
"Pain, I'm fine."
"It's still not time for you to take action."
"Go back. Leave this place to me."
Pain swept his eyes over the Konohagakure group, firmly engraving each of their faces in his memory, then let out a cold snort and vanished from the spot.
Although he hadn't made a move during that brief appearance, he had already drawn everyone's attention to himself.
Looking at those strange eyes, Nara Shikaku couldn't help but feel a quiet shock in his heart.
What was going on with the Land of Rain?
How had another Bloodline Limit ninja appeared?
Since when did Bloodline Limits start popping up so easily?
Moreover, those eyes felt somewhat familiar—as if he had heard of them somewhere before…
As one of Konohagakure's great clans, the Nara Clan's own archives contained records of almost everything. And as the Hokage's most trusted military advisor through the generations, Konohagakure's entire intelligence system was open to Nara Shikaku.
He had seen information related to the Rinnegan—so it wasn't surprising to him.
However, the records concerning the Rinnegan and the Sage of Six Paths were far too ancient; even if documented, they were mostly regarded as myth or legend.
For the moment, he didn't realize that those eyes were the legendary Rinnegan—the same eyes as the Sage of Six Paths—only assuming them to be some strange dōjutsu Bloodline Limit.
For no apparent reason, a faint sense of unease suddenly arose in his heart.
Especially when he suddenly noticed that their primary target, "Uchiha Itachi," was now sitting leisurely on a tree branch to the side, watching the commotion, his legs swinging back and forth in a relaxed manner.
Even though they had taken back the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, "Uchiha Itachi" didn't seem to care at all—showing not the slightest intention of coming to reclaim him.
Damn it!
Something was wrong here!
This battle felt completely inexplicable!
But the bowstring had already been drawn; their own shinobi had already died—this matter could no longer end peacefully.
However… if they made enemies on both fronts, what would become of their mission?
Dealing with one "Uchiha Itachi" was already troublesome enough, but adding two Bloodline Limit shinobi from Amegakure—there was little chance they could hold on to "Uchiha Itachi." Perhaps today he might truly escape alive.
That must not happen!
The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—I want him!
"Uchiha Itachi"—I can't let him go either!
Nara Shikaku's brilliant mind immediately began to operate at high speed, trying to find a way to break the situation.
But Konan, on her side, would not wait for him.
Having been outwitted once and nearly lost her life here—while even Pain's eyes had been exposed—she was now filled with deep regret.
Although Pain hadn't taken action, and it seemed for the moment that no one could recognize those eyes as the Rinnegan, once the Konohagakure shinobi returned and conducted an investigation, the information would surely be leaked.
Especially since Jiraiya-sensei was also a Konohagakure shinobi—he knew far too much...
Naturally, Konan had already resolved in her heart to silence everyone present.
The wings on her back lifted as she once again took flight.
This time, having learned her lesson, she did not ascend in a straight line but instead curved and twisted gracefully through the air, drawing arcs as she dodged Akimichi Chōza's giant hands while also avoiding another mental strike from Yamanaka Inoichi.
She circled around Akimichi Chōza's massive body from every direction, then stepped onto his enormous arm, running upward against it until she reached his shoulder. There she raised both arms high—her arms turning into countless sharp-edged paper blades that whirled up a storm, crashing toward Akimichi Chōza's head, aiming directly for his eyes, ears, and other vulnerable points.
However, the shadow behind Akimichi Chōza suddenly came alive. Like a giant serpent, it slithered over his shoulder, transforming before him into dozens of shadow whips that intertwined in the air into a dense web of blockade. With a flurry of airtight lashes, all the paper blades were struck away.
Yet those paper sheets flipped midair, and dark ink marks appeared on their surfaces—each one transforming into an explosive tag. Fluttering and drifting, they stuck toward Akimichi Chōza's body.
"Oh? So the Paper Person of God Technique is finally coming out?"
Uchiha Yasuo hurriedly backed off even farther, afraid of being caught in the explosion.
Konan surely didn't have six hundred billion explosive tags this time, but sixty million was definitely within reach—and she didn't even need sixty million. Just sixty thousand explosive tags would be enough to easily blow Akimichi Chōza to ashes.
The difficulty in using explosive tags had never been their quantity, but rather how to make sure they hit.
As long as they hit, a single explosive tag was usually enough to send a Jōnin to his death.
After transforming, Akimichi Chōza's defense had indeed increased correspondingly, but it still had its limits—it would only let him endure a few more blasts at most.
Uchiha Yasuo retreated far into the distance once again, found another tree, sat down, and watched them fight desperately to the death, enjoying himself thoroughly. Yet he failed to notice a strand of thin purple thread silently creeping toward him from afar. Wherever it passed, the grass withered, sand and stone changed color, leaving behind a distinct purple-black trail across the ground.
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