This sudden turn of events left everyone utterly dumbfounded.
Especially that single phrase—"inferior beings"—which made everyone realize that something was deeply wrong with the individual before them.
And for Obito in particular, the term "inferior beings" was far too familiar!
"Ōtsutsuki Genshiki has always liked to speak about us in that tone."
At this moment, Obito was truly stunned. He could not understand why Nagato had suddenly become like this.
Wasn't this guy supposed to be in the midst of evolution?
Weren't they, just like Kitagawa Gen, all the most special kind of "evolvers"?
"Why… why is this happening?!"
A wave of fear rose within Obito's heart, while "Nagato" lifted his head, his face filled with disdain as he spoke.
"Why? The reason is very simple—because you are nothing more than our 'vessels.'"
"Vessels…"
The word "vessels" instantly made Kimimaro's eyes widen, and Obito himself fell into a brief daze.
"That's right. Otherwise, why do you think I said those things to you back then?"
Kitagawa Gen raised an eyebrow, twisted his neck slightly, and spoke in an unhurried tone.
"So-called 'evolution' relies on oneself, not on some power you don't even know where it comes from—yet one that can still influence you."
"No… impossible. Impossible."
Obito could not help but mutter in a low voice, seemingly unable to believe any of this.
He looked at Nagato, who now, just like himself, was covered in black markings—except for the single horn that had grown from his forehead.
Some words suddenly failed him, because he had seen someone with a similar appearance before!
"That time, when we stole the Senju clan's relics—when Ōtsutsuki Genshiki descended, the one he faced then…"
In an instant, that entire night resurfaced in Obito's mind, but thinking of it only made his expression grow even worse.
"How is that possible?! How could this be possible?! Absolutely impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
All of a sudden, it was as if he had completely lost his mind. He clenched his fists and let out a furious roar.
"There's no such thing at all—even if there were, it couldn't possibly be these people, that's… that's—"
"Rin?"
At this moment, "Nagato" spoke in a rather playful tone, the look he cast toward Obito filled with nothing but disdain.
"Although I possessed this body relatively late, I still saw more or less all of your 'performance.'"
"What are you talking about…"
Obito growled in a low voice, but "Nagato" did not care in the slightest. He had noticed that a certain consciousness within his body was still competing with him for control.
He was also still somewhat wary of Kitagawa Gen, so he simply took advantage of this opportunity to stall for time, while incidentally talking about some "interesting stories."
"I'm saying this—everything you did, we saw it all. You really think what you think and what you feel belongs to you? Don't be ridiculous. That was nothing more than someone guiding you!"
"…"
"Some 'Rin' guiding you—how laughable. Though, admittedly, it really is amusing."
"You—"
"That fellow Isshiki being treated as an inferior being by his own vessel, and even being regarded as a 'guide of the soul'—that's truly something never seen before!"
"Shut up…"
"What's even more interesting is that you seem to trust this so-called 'Rin' completely, believing that he was guiding you toward the correct path?"
"Shut up!"
"But speaking of which, it seems you really loved that 'Rin.' No wonder Isshiki succeeded time and again. Tsk, tsk, this really is quite an amusing anecdote!"
"I said shut up!"
Obito could no longer endure it. Roaring in fury, he charged straight toward "Nagato."
At this moment, even with a mask on, one could still sense just how twisted his expression had become, and his heart had completely collapsed at this very instant!
"Why did it turn out like this—why?!"
His heart was roaring and howling, as if a vast, blazing inferno had ignited his entire soul.
What he had always longed for was peace.
A world of peace personally created by him—one without war, without tragedies like those that happened to him and Rin, a world belonging to everyone!
For that, he had given up everything and betrayed everything, only for fate to play a cruel joke on him?
"The root cause of the turmoil in the shinobi world is, in fact, the Sage of Six Paths."
In order to resist the Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths had laid out the entire shinobi world for thousands of years.
All the tragedies of war, at their core, were caused by this so-called "Sage" who claimed to be acting for the shinobi world's future!
"How ridiculous—I was still following his path, longing for peace…"
And even more ridiculous was "Rin"!
He had always believed that the one guiding him to where he was now was the real "Rin," the "Rin" who longed for freedom.
It was she who made him see the direction he should move toward; it was she who made him see the direction of "evolution."
"And in the end, all of it was fake… fake!"
There was no such thing as a "Rin who longed for freedom," no "Rin" guiding his direction, and no "Rin" who made him understand "evolution."
The real Rin was probably in Konoha right now, or somewhere on the battlefield.
What existed in his heart was nothing more than an evil ghost impersonating "Rin."
A "malevolent ghost" guiding him into the abyss—one that wanted to destroy this world!
"Die!"
Obito roared madly, charging ferociously toward "Nagato," yet "Nagato" remained "disdainful" all the same.
"Tsk, tsk, you can't accept the truth already? What a pitiful inferior being!"
Even so, the Momoshiki inside Nagato was still fairly vigilant, because he understood his current situation.
'This damned inferior being keeps struggling, and Kaguya's chakra isn't behaving either—what a damn nuisance…'
'Forget it. I'll move around first—need to make 'Kāma' release more as soon as possible!'
Momoshiki thought to himself, and in an instant, he moved as well. His violent power caused the ground to collapse in a flash, and amid the ultimate thunderous roar, Obito was sent flying backward in an instant.
In that moment, no one knew how many people were blasted away by the shockwave, and no one knew how many were knocked flying by the Obito who was thrown back!
"Cough, cough, cough…"
Obito coughed hoarsely on the ground. Blood had already seeped out inside his mask, yet he still stood up and glared furiously at Momoshiki.
"I won't accept it… I absolutely won't accept any of this!"
Humm—
The crazed Obito charged again, making Momoshiki frown, but at this point he could only meet him head-on.
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
Violent detonations erupted across the entire battlefield in an instant, and wave after wave of surging energy fluctuations immediately cleared out this entire area.
"This is…"
And when they lifted their heads and looked at the figures battling, almost everyone was stunned.
"Is the Akatsuki fighting a civil war?"
"What on earth is going on?"
"Why did those two start fighting each other?"
Internal strife was hardly a rare sight, but to actually turn on each other right on the battlefield—this was truly the first time they had ever seen something like this.
They could not make sense of what was happening at all. Even the members of the Akatsuki felt their scalps go numb at this very moment.
"What are they even doing?"
"Are we still fighting or not? If not, we might as well leave this place already!"
Even from afar, Uchiha Madara was left dumbfounded upon noticing this scene, and he nearly gave Senju Hashirama an opening because of it.
'Damn it—trouble had to break out at a time like this?'
Quickly evading Senju Hashirama's attacks, Uchiha Madara could not help but curse inwardly.
'Was it discovered by Nagato, or is Uchiha Obito trying to snatch my Rinnegan?'
Uchiha Madara could not figure out what was going on, and his expression was far from pleasant.
And as for Kitagawa Gen and the others, who were watching all of this unfold with their own eyes, their scalps felt numb as well.
"Gen—that disciple of Jiraiya, and Uchiha Obito…"
Senju Tobirama fell silent for a moment before finally asking.
"What exactly is going on with them? Were they possessed by the Ōtsutsuki?"
"You wouldn't be wrong to put it that way."
Kitagawa Gen glanced at Kimimaro, who was still standing there with a bewildered expression, then nodded as he spoke.
"I actually noticed long ago that the chakra inside them was off, because I seem to have encountered this kind of chakra in one person before."
"Encountered it before—you mean Ōtsutsuki Genshiki?"
Namikaze Minato immediately realized something, and that instantly caused Senju Tobirama's expression to darken.
"Damn it—so it really was them?! Gen, you kept not killing them—could it be that…?"
Although Senju Tobirama's scalp felt numb, he was not foolish.
Nagato suddenly becoming like this was because he had been ambushed by that black thing, and in all likelihood had suffered a fatal injury.
This situation immediately made him realize something—Namikaze Minato saw it as well.
"We can't kill them, otherwise it will accelerate the emergence of those Ōtsutsuki?"
"Yes. I observed this process—it's probably irreversible. There's a stream of chakra inside them that keeps releasing nonstop."
Kitagawa Gen marveled at how quickly the two Hokage had reacted, then slowly continued speaking.
"Combat can accelerate the process. Severe injuries and death can accelerate it as well. The only good news is that those guys can't control them—they can only guide them."
"So they can't make them commit suicide, and they're enemies to us as well, and…"
Namikaze Minato frowned as he spoke, while Senju Tobirama smoothly finished the rest for him.
"No matter what we say, they won't believe us. So all you can do is slow down the efficiency of the fighting to hold them back?"
"…"
Kitagawa Gen blinked, realizing that he seemed to have nothing left to say, since the two of them had already filled in everything for him.
It could only be said that at his current level, no matter what he did, someone would always help him come up with a suitable reason and justification.
In truth, he was waiting for the Ten-Tails to emerge, and at the same time waiting for those Ōtsutsuki to deliver themselves right to his doorstep.
"However, it seems a small accident has occurred for now."
Kitagawa Gen tilted his head, looking at the battlefield in puzzlement, but soon he raised an eyebrow.
"This is…"
"Damn it—could it be that once they're possessed by those guys, there's no longer any way to stop their resurrection?"
Senju Tobirama's expression turned exceptionally grim, while Namikaze Minato noticed the change in Kitagawa Gen's face and could not help asking curiously.
"Gen, what's going on over there? Or did you think of some method?"
"As for stopping their resurrection, I haven't thought of a concrete way yet. But if it's about preventing one's own consciousness from being replaced, there might not be no way at all."
Kitagawa Gen pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
"As long as one's own will is firm enough, it might actually be possible to stop it. After all, no matter how much the body is altered, it's still his own."
"A firm will?"
Both Senju Tobirama and Namikaze Minato were puzzled, but in the next instant, a sudden upheaval erupted!
Boom—
From the site where Nagato and Obito were clashing came a violent, earth-shaking roar!
"Rooaaar—"
Immediately afterward, a massive, soul-shaking howl that made one instinctively feel fear rang out.
Along with that soul-stirring howl, an incomparably enormous black silhouette appeared before everyone's eyes!
Within the vast clouds of dust, a colossal being could be seen looming indistinctly, ten tails that looked like wooden pillars gently swaying.
And atop its protruding head, a gigantic Rinnegan slowly opened!
Countless people had clearly never seen this monster before, yet in that instant, an unmistakable answer silently surfaced in their minds.
"This is… the Ten-Tails?!"
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