Just hearing that Konoha was under attack made her heart jolt in panic, and yet the first name that leapt into Kushina's mind was Ye Zi.
"It's not Ye Zi. It's a man with the Rinnegan," the slug answered.
"Not Ye Zi…"
For some reason, Kushina felt a slight breath of relief. She quickly composed herself and said to the slug,"Please send me back to the village."
The slug hesitated."But you've only just finished training."
It didn't want Kushina to return to Konoha in this state, especially since the village was currently in a favorable position. Normally, it could have withheld this news from her. But the slug knew it couldn't hide something like this from Kushina.
"It's fine. I don't feel tired at all right now," Kushina said firmly.
Seeing her determination, the slug nodded slightly and began contacting its split body in Konoha to prepare for the summoning.
...
Konoha Village
Nagato darted toward another Konoha ninja, using Banshō Ten'in to pull the man in before draining all the chakra from his body.
From life to death took only a few seconds, one lift of the hand, and a life was gone.
With the Preta Path's ability to replenish chakra at any moment, Konoha's numerical advantage was meaningless.
Minato had ordered only taijutsu specialists to stay, while the rest withdrew. Meanwhile, top-tier fighters like Shisui and Tsunade were hurrying to the scene.
When it came to taijutsu, none could surpass Guy.
In the entire village, he alone could use the Eight Gates to unleash taijutsu's full potential.
"The Sixth Gate: Gate of View.... Open!"
Guy skipped the earlier gates entirely, opening the sixth right away, proof of his years of relentless training.
As the gate opened, a burst of pressure exploded from beneath his feet, kicking up clouds of dust. His skin flushed a deep red, like heated iron, and faint green energy danced around his body like tiny forest sprites.
"Hm?"
Nagato noticed the change in Guy, but before he could react, Guy had already moved, transforming into a streak of green light charging straight toward him.
Guy's advance was like the sounding of a counterattack's horn. The remaining taijutsu fighters all rushed the powerful enemy.
Minato's taijutsu was decent, but not his forte. While the others rushed Nagato one after another, Minato held a kunai in his right hand and actually retreated instead of advancing.
About four hundred meters behind Nagato was one of his Flying Thunder God marks, perfect for an emergency teleport.
No words were needed, no orders required.
Every Konoha ninja attacking the Deva Pain knew their role, to create an opening for the Fourth Hokage.
As long as Minato could plant a Flying Thunder God mark on the enemy, they could win this battle.
"Wind Release: Rending Blade."
Guy's speed was incredible, but before he could close in, Nagato acted first, unleashing a massive, crescent-shaped wind blade to sweep across the oncoming Konoha fighters.
The green streak that was Guy leapt upward, tracing an arc through the air to evade the wind blade, then landed without slowing, continuing his charge.
With the Sixth Gate open, he could now use Morning Peacock, a technique that didn't involve chakra and thus couldn't be absorbed by Nagato's Preta Pain ability.
Intent on striking Nagato with Morning Peacock, Guy neatly avoided the wind technique. But over ten of the comrades behind him were not so lucky, unable to dodge, they were cut in half by the massive wind blade.
There was no time to check on them. Once past the wind blade, Guy was within range. He stopped suddenly, then swung his fists in a rapid flurry, producing deep, rumbling shockwaves.
The bursts of air from his fists rubbed against the atmosphere, igniting into flaming bursts that resembled peacock feathers, surging toward Nagato like a flock of returning geese.
"Fire Release?"
The Morning Peacock flames came on fiercely.
Nagato, however, didn't take them seriously. The Preta Path's chakra absorption barrier could neutralize any ninjutsu.
He ignored the blazing feathers entirely and charged toward Minato's position. Having access to all six Paths' powers without restriction, he could use whichever was needed at the right moment, even during Shinra Tensei's cooldown.
He intended to block Guy's Morning Peacock with the absorption barrier and then go after his real target.
But just as the thought turned into action...
"Bang!"
The invisible shield of the absorption technique failed. The blazing peacock feathers passed straight through and slammed into him, sending him flying.
The concussive force shook blood from his mouth. The flames tore his cloak and burned his skin.
He was blasted over two hundred meters before crashing to the ground, skidding a deep trench into the earth.
Guy didn't pause after landing the hit, he and his comrades pressed forward to keep up the assault, hoping to capitalize on the opening.
Not knowing the true nature of Morning Peacock, Nagato had mistaken it for Fire Release and underestimated it. The wound wasn't critical, but it wasn't something he could shrug off, either.
Now, with Guy leading dozens of Konoha ninja charging in, it looked as if a single punch or kick from each might be enough to beat him down.
But lying on the ground, Nagato didn't move. Then...
Shinra Tensei erupted again.
This time, it was faster, larger in range, and more forceful.
The invisible repulsive force was like a solid wall of air, blasting outward and slamming into the encircling Konoha ninja, hurling them away. In the air, they spat bright red sprays of blood from the crushing impact.
Even the blood that should have fallen to the ground was flung away.
Guy, with the Sixth Gate open, had a body of exceptional toughness and coordination. While the others momentarily blacked out from the sudden shock, he managed to stay conscious and adjust his body in midair, but could not escape the push.
Only after the force weakened completely could he drop back down to the ground.
The repulsion swept along with sand, stone, and Konoha comrades, heading straight toward Minato, and quickly passed over the Flying Thunder God mark.
At that instant, Minato's eyes flashed. Flying Thunder God, activate!
He vanished on the spot, reappearing at the marked location, letting the wave of force rush past harmlessly behind him.
Though the repulsion was invisible, the flying debris gave it form. With his superb dynamic vision, Minato had timed his teleport perfectly to evade the omnidirectional Shinra Tensei.
Avoiding it, he raised his hand and hurled a specially marked kunai toward Nagato, beginning to form hand seals.
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Currently on Chapter 594 - Four Kages vs Ye Zi Part I