When Nagato was young, his legs were crippled by Salamander Hanzo with Exploding Tags, which made it very inconvenient for him to move around, requiring a half-person-high mechanical aid.
Usually, the four mechanical legs, like crab legs, allowed him to walk at a decent speed, but now, with Nagato's Chakra insufficient, they were more of a burden.
As the two struggled forward, the ground ahead surged, and Konan waved her hand, sticking dozens of Exploding Tags to the ground, ready to detonate them at any moment.
A large Venus flytrap emerged, its leaves opening to reveal Black and White Zetsu inside, slightly reducing Konan's vigilance.
Zetsu raised both hands: "Hey, hey, isn't this a bit too enthusiastic?"
"What is it?" Konan asked, retracting the Exploding Tags.
"Kisame has been taken out, and Deidara too." Black Zetsu intentionally didn't mention Tobi.
Konan asked, "We already guessed that. How's your backup plan coming along?"
Black Zetsu said, "Almost ready, but it still needs a little time. Anyway, let's retreat for now, shall we?"
Nagato, who was about to nod, suddenly paused, feeling several pairs of eyes staring at him: "We've been discovered."
Konan asked nervously, "What's wrong?"
"They must have sensed my location through the receivers on the Pain bodies." Although he was unable to fight, he could still see the scene through the eyes of Deva Path Pain, but it looked like Deva Path was about to be sealed as well.
Black Zetsu suggested, "The distance between the two sides is about twenty kilometers, but we can't rule out the possibility of Flying Thunder God marks nearby, so it's better to leave quickly."
"Nagato, let me carry you?" Konan looked at the cumbersome machine under Nagato, thinking it would be better to carry him on her back or drag him with paper in his current state.
"Okay." Nagato nodded, struggling to get out of the machine.
Black Zetsu suggested, "Give me a little of your Chakra, so White Zetsu can disguise as you, even if it's just to mislead them a little."
"Alright." Nagato and Konan knew that White Zetsu had a special Transformation Technique and thought it might be of some use, so they didn't refuse. Anyway, it didn't need to absorb too much, just a little as a sample.
Zetsu walked up to Nagato, his white half reaching out, preparing to touch Nagato's shoulder to absorb Chakra. Nagato also braced himself.
But Black Zetsu suddenly revealed a strange smile, his attack as fast as lightning, instantly gouging out Nagato's two eyes!
"Ah!" The weakened Nagato was caught off guard by Black Zetsu's sneak attack, screaming, covering his eyes, blood flowing from the empty sockets, staining his hands.
"Nagato!" Konan exclaimed, immediately hugging Nagato. At the same time, paper mixed with Exploding Tags had covered Black Zetsu's entire body, ready to wrap him into a mummy and suffocate him or blow him to ashes.
Konan roared, "What are you doing? Give Nagato's eyes back!"
Black Zetsu smiled fearlessly, "Just taking back what doesn't belong to him. Didn't you ask about the backup plan? This is the backup plan."
Konan questioned, "You bastard... your initial goal was Nagato's Rinnegan?"
"I already said, it never belonged to him in the first place, it was just temporarily placed with him. My purpose has always been to complete the Eye of the Moon Plan, it's just that you are of no use now." Perhaps because the conditions for launching Infinite Tsukuyomi were almost ready, Black Zetsu, who had been low-key for so long, was in a good mood. "Don't look at me with such dangerous eyes. It's hard to say what will happen to you if you detonate at such close range, but Nagato will definitely die."
"What exactly is going on with my eyes?" Nagato asked, enduring the pain.
For so many years, he had never delved into how the Rinnegan came to be. Thinking about it carefully, it didn't make sense at all.
"Who knows? You were just our pawn, as well as that naive Yahiko. Whether it was creating the Akatsuki or dying, everything was just our plan. Ah, I accidentally said a bit too much, but anyway, the Five Great Shinobi Villages won't let you go, right? Good luck!"
A large number of vines emerged from the ground, coiling towards Konan and Nagato. Black Zetsu took the opportunity to dive underground, the Exploding Tags on his body falling off one by one.
Konan, with her left arm around Nagato, jumped backward, and with a wave of her right hand, dozens of paper Shuriken flew out, cutting off the surrounding vines, while detonating the Exploding Tags that were originally on Black Zetsu.
Unfortunately, Black Zetsu was too quick. The Exploding Tags only detonated a few tree vines and a few square meters of land, damaging the machine Nagato was originally riding in.
Konan warily surveyed her surroundings, countless paper pieces floating around her, and looked at Nagato with concern, asking, "Nagato, how are you?"
Nagato's condition was not good. First, he had consumed a large amount of Chakra, and now his eyes had been taken. He was skin and bones, looking particularly miserable.
What was even more serious was that he had already suffered a major blow. He had finally recovered a bit of his spirit under Konan's comfort, but now he was suffering another blow from Black Zetsu.
"Hehehe... Hahahaha..." Nagato laughed miserably. Now his eyes were pitch black, just like his heart that had lost its light. So many years of pain, so many years of endurance, so many years of effort, were all being used by others. "It's all fake, all fake..."
Nagato seemed to lose everything in an instant: his eyes, his dreams, the entrustment of his best friend, the meaning of living... everything was over, there was nothing left...
"Nagato!" Konan called his name sadly, trying in vain to comfort and persuade him, but it didn't work.
...
"It should be in this forest, Hinata, are there any traps?" Naruto asked.
Hinata said, "Some trees and stones are strange, and... I see them, two people, one of whom seems to be in bad shape."
Black Zetsu guessed correctly. There was indeed Naruto's Flying Thunder God mark nearby. Planting eyes at any time is a good habit, and it can save a lot of time at critical moments.
After locking onto Nagato's location through the receiver, Naruto flew over with Minato, Kushina, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Hinata, and quickly found the forest where Nagato and Konan were hiding.
As for the others, Tenten had taken them back to Konoha. Everyone's condition was not very good, and Minato decided to let them return to Konoha first, with Sakura in charge of arranging treatment and care.
"Then I'll go clear the explosives first, Hinata, point out the targets for me." Naruto created more than a dozen Shadow Clones.
Hinata nodded, "Yes! Here, here, and here..."
The clones each chose a target and ran over. In less than a minute, more than a dozen explosions sounded.
Kushina squinted at her son and asked, "You call this clearing explosives?"
"Ah... clear and then explode."
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