The Asura Path, Human Path, Preta Path, and Naraka Path suddenly appeared between Danzo, Shindai, and Hikaku.
Danzo sneered coldly at Shindai, Pakura, and Hikaku. "You arrived just in time. That means my plan still stands. You three should figure out how to destroy Danzo's Susanoo!"
Danzo assumed these four Paths were here to assist him since he had hired them.
Even Shindai thought the same way. He shouted at Pakura and Hikaku, "Be careful! Don't take them lightly! These guys are strong!"
Internally, Shindai cursed furiously. That bastard Danzo had actually sought help from the Akatsuki organization!
However, something completely unexpected by both Danzo and Shindai occurred.
Suddenly, the Asura Path swiftly body-flickered right in front of Danzo, throwing a punch directly toward his face.
Danzo barely raised his hands to block, but the monstrous strength rivaling Tsunade's sent him flying backward, crashing violently into a wall.
Without having the chance to activate Izanagi, Danzo crawled out from beneath the rubble, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His eyes nearly bulged from their sockets as he glared at the Asura Path. "Damn it! What the hell are you doing?!"
The Asura Path detached his own wrist from his arm and pulled out a chain of projectiles from the severed part of his arm. Without expression, he stared at Danzo in the distance. "Our target... is you!"
[Five-Finger Projectile Barrage!]
A series of missiles shot straight toward Danzo.
Root ninjas quickly unleashed their Ninjutsu techniques, intercepting and blocking the missiles for Danzo.
Meanwhile, the Human Path charged into the group of Root ninjas. Grasping one of their heads, he yanked the opponent's soul clean out.
The Naraka Path summoned a phantom image of King Enma who then grabbed hold of another Root ninja.
"Reveal Danzo's secrets."
The captured Root ninja gritted his teeth and spat, "I... don't know..."
His tongue involuntarily extended from his mouth. Then King Enma opened his large mouth, extending a long purple tongue tipped with a tiny hand. The strange appendage forcibly yanked the ninja's tongue out and pulled it into Enma's mouth, chewing and swallowing it whole.
The Preta Path went along with the Human Path.
The Preta Path absorbed jutsu techniques while the Human Path extracted souls.
Just at this moment, Yuto Uchiha arrived with reinforcements. Witnessing Danzo and the Root ninjas being beaten mercilessly, he was completely stunned.
Danzo immediately issued orders to Yuto Uchiha and his team who had conveniently arrived, commanding them to attack the four Paths.
In an instant, what had been Danzo's planned operation against Hikaku Uchiha had now transformed into a battle between Danzo himself and the Paths.
Shindai, Pakura, and Hikaku stood there, utterly shocked.
Pakura and Hikaku turned to Shindai anxiously and asked, "What should we do now, Shindai?"
Shindai made a prompt decision. "Let them tear each other apart like rabid dogs. Konoha's already turned into one big mess. No need to waste time fighting them ourselves—whatever side wins, we benefit!"
Hearing Shindai's words, Hikaku Uchiha released his Susanoo and immediately frowned. "Look at the rooftop!"
Shindai and Pakura both turned their eyes toward the rooftop.
On the rooftop, two more figures had appeared—Setsuna Uchiha and Hidan.
But that area was already caught in chaotic battle.
Minato Namikaze and Shisui, Rasa and Baki, Setsuna Uchiha and Hidan.
However, Setsuna Uchiha and Hidan primarily targeted Minato Namikaze while Rasa and Baki were caught in the crossfire.
Shindai summoned a large megaphone and shouted toward Minato's group, "Minato-dono! Don't let that guy with the scythe collect your blood! That fellow has an Immortal Body. Once he gets someone's blood, he retaliates by harming himself. If you accidentally let him obtain your blood, don't allow him inside the ritual circle!"
Minato Namikaze and Shisui, upon hearing Shindai's warning, quickly increased the distance from the aggressive, defenseless Hidan swinging his scythe.
They'd also noticed Hidan's Immortal Body since a Flying Thunder God Kunai was still lodged in his neck.
Although Setsuna Uchiha could teleport using spatial and temporal techniques, Minato Namikaze—who had fought him before—knew his weakness: his teleportation only worked within visual range, so he could be handled.
With Setsuna Uchiha's arrival, the upper hand that Minato and Shisui once had was now turning into a deadlock.
Meanwhile, Shisui had switched to the third form of Susanoo and was locked in combat.
In another battlefield within the arena,
Gaara wasn't just half-transformed into Shukaku anymore; his entire body had become the miniature Tanuki Demon, Shukaku.
Gaara was now completely a miniature version of Shukaku.
Naruto already had two tails forming, and a third tail was beginning to emerge. Naruto was teetering on the edge of control—or had already fallen past it.
Although Kurama had voluntarily given his Tailed Beast Chakra to Naruto this time, the current Naruto couldn't handle such overwhelming power.
Sasuke had also activated his Cursed Seal. His Sharingan, marked by double tomoe patterns, now featured vertical pupils, with snake-like scales forming at the corners of his eyes.
Because Orochimaru's cursed seal research utilized Sage Chakra from Ryuchi Cave, there were no physical transformations.
In his Cursed Seal state, Sasuke's power had spiked dramatically—he was no longer helpless and could finally lend a hand.
Yet right now, Sasuke felt troubled because when he had tried to help Naruto earlier, Naruto attacked indiscriminately regardless of friend or foe.
Shindai muttered in frustration, "How long can Kakashi take? Hasn't he retrieved the Scroll yet?"
"Has Orochimaru-sama's research still not succeeded?"
Inside the Scientific Research Division.
Kakashi rushed into Shindai's lab in a hurry.
He yanked open a cabinet and found a row of scrolls. Among them, Kakashi noticed two scrolls labeled with his own name and Obito's.
Kakashi's eyelid twitched. Could these scrolls hold puppets specifically designed to target him and Obito?
Kakashi grabbed all the scrolls from the cabinet at once, but as he was about to leave, Kabuto blocked his path.
"Senior Kakashi, wait a second!"
Kabuto hurried over to Kakashi and handed him another scroll: "Inside this scroll is a device that can suppress Naruto when the Nine-Tails loses control. Please give it to Aniki Shindai."
"Alright, I'll pass it to Shindai. I'm heading out now!"
Kakashi ran outside the Scientific Research Division and took out five scrolls—Zero, Ao, Kita, San, and Shozan. He spread all five scrolls open.
"Release!"
With a puff of smoke, Kakashi summoned five puppets from the scrolls. Some were humanoid while others resembled beasts.
[Begin automatic enemy search! Targets are marked with nails!]
[Targets have mouths on their bodies!]
[Targets wear masks!]
[Targets have body paint!]
[Targets wear masks on their faces!]
The five puppets dispersed and began scanning for their respective targets.
Kakashi stood there, baffled. What kind of names did Shindai come up with? So abstract!
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