"Chief, what should we do now?"
Looking at the Wooden Man Arhat charging toward them with full strength, A Fei asked hurriedly, "Should we give up chasing him, or use those trump cards?"
Nagato frowned, caught in a dilemma.
Izayoi's strength had far exceeded his expectations.
He had thought this operation would be very easy—as long as they captured Izayoi, they could enhance both his own power and that of the White Zetsu Army.
Unexpectedly, besides the moon's visitor, Otsutsuki Toneri, there was another hidden figure like Izayoi in the ninja world.
To possess such overwhelming strength at his age—he was simply a monster.
After a full day and night of fierce fighting, Nagato had finally gained the upper hand and was close to victory.
But Izayoi actually knew the Flying Thunder God Technique and, rather than using it to escape, sent a wooden clone ahead of time to absorb the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's chakra, preparing fully for this very moment.
Such strength, paired with intelligence, made him just as troublesome as Otsutsuki Toneri, who could observe them from an extreme distance.
And unlike Toneri's Tenseigan, whose abilities were similar to the Rinnegan with no clear winner, Izayoi's level of Wood Release could even suppress Nagato's Six Paths Technique.
If he didn't have A Fei attached, Izayoi would pose an even greater threat than Toneri.
So, Nagato made up his mind and said, "Use the trump cards, A Fei. Let's get rid of him together!"
"Yoshi... Let's go, Chief!"
A Fei's voice became filled with confidence.
Immediately, A Fei detached from Nagato's body.
Nagato instantly disappeared from the head of the Hundred-Armed Buddha statue and reappeared on the ground. He formed seals, squatted down, slammed his hands to the earth, and shouted:
"Summoning Technique: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
...
At the same time, in the underground base of the Hidden Rain Village.
Nagato's wooden clones, responsible for managing the battle between the Impure World Reincarnation Army and the Human Puppet Army, leapt down from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path one after another.
As soon as they landed, the Outer Path Demon Statue transformed into a puff of smoke and vanished.
One of the wooden clones spoke toward the darkness: "Use your trump card."
No one answered aloud, but through the Rinnegan's chakra vision, Nagato could see the ball of chakra in that area had disappeared.
Izayoi's wooden clone also noticed this chakra disappearance.
In the next moment, Shimura Danzo—who was battling Tendo Pain—suddenly vanished without any warning.
Tendo Pain looked around warily, releasing his perception to search for Danzo's whereabouts, but the opponent was no longer on the battlefield.
Seconds later, Danzo reappeared, continuing his attack on Tendo Pain.
Nagato had no idea what Danzo did in those few seconds.
...
A few seconds earlier—deep in the misty mountains of the Land of Water—
Shimura Danzo appeared out of thin air. His left eye had already turned into a sickle-shaped Mangekyo Sharingan. He then used Kamui to send a wooden clone—one that had absorbed the Six-Tails Jinchuriki's chakra and altered its chakra aura to resemble "Otsutsuki Toneri"—into the Kamui space.
Inside the Kamui space were several figures: Uchiha Obito, several White Zetsu clones, Nagato's two wooden clones, and two captives.
"That brat actually forced you to use this trump card?"
"Didn't you see your wooden clone? His Wood Release is nearly as strong as when your real body is fused with A Fei, but his Sage Mode is even better."
Uchiha Obito said solemnly, "Otsutsuki Toneri hasn't appeared yet. Could that really be him? After all, a wood clone can also change its chakra signature."
Nagato repeated the question Uchiha Obito had asked before, "When he enters Sage Mode, his eyes turn from blue to gold. Can Tenseigan revert back to normal?"
Uchiha Obito stayed silent, dispelling the suspicion.
He and Nagato didn't know that self-evolved Sage Eyes could return to their normal state.
"He's clever. He had his wooden clone use the Flying Thunder God to absorb the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's chakra—just like what the real body prepared."
Nagato's two wooden clones each grabbed a captive by the neck, absorbing chakra while chuckling: "But even if he's clever, facing both the Demonic Statue and Wood Release, he's bound to lose—unless he abandons Konoha and runs."
The captives were the Five-Tails Jinchuriki and Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, both unprotected and captured.
Earlier this year, after Nagato returned to his prime and learned from A Fei that tailed beast chakra could restore his strength, he had immediately ordered White Zetsu to keep tabs on all Jinchuriki.
After the final battle broke out, Nagato dispatched two wooden clones into Kamui space with Obito's wooden clone to hunt down Akatsuki's members and capture the Jinchuriki as chakra banks for himself and A Fei.
Seeing the now far more intelligent and powerful Nagato in action, Obito felt dread—genuine fear.
It was too outrageous. Even with restored strength and energy, this level of cunning was something else entirely.
If I had known, I never would have helped him recover his strength.
But Obito didn't know—that was the power of the Human Path.
By extracting so many souls and witnessing countless lives from a detached perspective, Nagato's mind had become terrifyingly clear and calculating.
Just as Nagato's wooden clones were absorbing chakra, he, Obito, and the White Zetsu clones beside them suddenly looked shocked.
"This chakra..."
Nagato looked at Uchiha Obito with both shock and anger: "You betrayed me!"
"Impossible—how did he appear in Kamui space?" Obito panicked.
Kamui and Izanagi had always been his ultimate trump cards. As long as he stayed hidden inside Kamui, he was untouchable and could appear anywhere at will.
But now, a second person had entered his safe haven.
Obito panicked.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Several green beams of light shot from the shadows within Kamui space.
"Run! Don't let him separate us!" Obito came to his senses. He immediately grabbed the nearest Nagato wooden clone and the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, warped his body, and escaped Kamui space.
The other Nagato clone released the Five-Tails Jinchuriki and launched a missile barrage to block the green beams.
The missiles exploded, but no sound followed—everything had been absorbed by the green spheres of light.
The beams scattered in all directions. One of them flew directly toward Nagato.
He quickly used the Hungry Ghost Path to create a transparent white shield.
The beam struck the shield and couldn't penetrate, but instead transformed into chakra and was absorbed by the shield—into Nagato's body.
While Nagato could defend, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki next to him was less fortunate.
The beam passed through him, draining all his remaining chakra.
The beam then flew back into the darkness and re-formed into a green orb.
Izayoi, disguised as Otsutsuki Toneri, stepped out of the shadows holding the orb and absorbed it into his body—his chakra surging once again.
"How did you do it?" Nagato asked coldly.
"This is the difference between our eyes."
Izayoi replied arrogantly, "Nothing in this ninja world can escape my Reincarnation Eye. You monkeys might have good eyes, but you're arrogant—and careless. Who gave you the confidence to leave such an obvious flaw when I am your enemy?"
"You can read lips..." Nagato immediately understood, and his expression turned ugly.
Because he hadn't studied Mangekyo Sharingan in depth, he assumed left and right eyes had different abilities—like Uchiha Itachi's.
But he forgot: the Mangekyo can also possess the same technique in both eyes!
Too careless.
Too deadly.
Uchiha Obito, you idiot!
Nagato and Black Zetsu—who received this intel through White Zetsu—were both cursing inwardly.
"I'm not afraid of godlike opponents—I'm afraid of teammates like pigs."
This saying perfectly reflected their current mood.
Fortunately, Obito still knew the stakes.
Before Izayoi could act, Obito reappeared beside the remaining Nagato clone, grabbed him and the drained Five-Tails Jinchuriki, and left Kamui space.
Izayoi's wooden clone didn't stop him.
Because its job was just to cut off the retreat—not to eliminate the enemy.
But outside, pressure surged.
With a bang, a thick puff of white smoke erupted from the forest.
ROAR...
A deafening roar blasted out soundwaves and wind gusts, clearing the smoke instantly.
Ninjas watching from afar saw a monster—similar in color to the Wooden Man, but more humanoid, with ten spikes on its back and nine closed eyes on its face.
"What... is that?"
"Is that also a Wood Release technique?"
"Why can't I sense any chakra from it? Is it really Wood Release?"
...
The battlefield's three behemoths now stood frozen.
Izayoi pretended to be wary of this new "opponent," his face serious.
Nagato's face was extremely grim.
Ever since returning to his prime, Nagato—now with his youthful appearance—had always remained calm, no matter what.
His strength and mind had even scared Uchiha Obito. Black Zetsu had prepared a whole new plan to handle him.
Even after fighting for a day and night, and with Toneri possibly observing from the shadows, Nagato was still confident.
But now, he wanted to kill someone.
His rage was at its peak.
Just then, the space beside Nagato twisted.
Obito emerged from a fist-sized black hole with a wooden clone and the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki.
Ignoring Nagato's murderous gaze, Obito quickly flew to the top of the Hundred-Armed Buddha statue, let A Fei attach to him, and used Kamui to return to Kamui space.
Moments later, he brought back Nagato's other wooden clone and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
He also carried a chained fan—the Uchiha clan's treasured Flame Fan, crafted from part of the God Tree.
Having retrieved everything—including the Flame Fan—Obito didn't feel the least bit relieved.
Because he knew—he had used up his only Kamui return opportunity.
And now that Izayoi's clone was squatting in the Kamui space, Obito was panicking.
Without Hollow Kamui, being in a battlefield of such monsters terrified him.
Only he knew his real strength.
With Kamui, he could survive anything.
Without it, and with only half-baked Wood Release, Mangekyo, and a fan—he was just above average in the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Compared to the monsters present, he was nothing.
So Obito rushed to the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki and said, "A Fei, absorb her chakra."
"Obito, you're a mess—and you're weak."
A Fei complained while draining the remaining chakra, "Your chakra's so weak, even attached to you, I probably can't use the Tree World Descent."
Nagato added in disgust, "Give me the clone. Let him and the wooden clone control the Wooden Man. You go find your other eye."
"The other eye?" Obito blinked—thinking of Hatake Kakashi.
"That guy can read lips. When your identity was exposed, he would've figured it out too," Nagato scowled. "The Mangekyo can have the same jutsu in both eyes. You knew this and still didn't recover your other eye. You left such a huge flaw."
Obito stayed silent.
The once-hidden puppet master of the ninja world—brought low by Izayoi, who knew the entire story.