"Nagato!"
Konan, trapped within the barrier, could see the scene in the sky perfectly clear.
In this surprise attack, she had ultimately been a burden to Nagato.
These thoughts inevitably flashed through her mind, but Konan forced herself not to dwell on them. Her gaze turned to the ninjas maintaining the barrier, and she said coldly, "You... are dead!"
Stacks of explosive tags flew from her sleeves, scattering like thousands of dancing paper butterflies to all sides.
Boom, boom, boom...
A series of explosions thundered, sounding like mere insect chirps compared to the clashes in the sky. But within this small barrier, it was like thunder from the heavens.
However, through the continuous explosions, the barrier held.
This barrier, personally improved by Orochimaru, was in terms of defense alone, second only to the 'Red Yang Formation' that could only be cast by Kage-level powerhouses. As long as the caster had enough chakra, those trapped would not be able to break free easily.
Boom, boom, boom...
Konan stood at the center of the barrier formation. Facing the situation, her expression was as hard as iron. She simply kept increasing the number of explosive tags, her face unperturbed even as she was hit by the shockwaves of the explosions.
By now, the enemy's plan was crystal clear: use herself as bait to force Nagato to passively defend against meteorite attacks.
Konan didn't know how long Nagato could hold out, but by normal standards, ninjas had high offense and low defense. Facing attacks of the same level, they couldn't endure them many times.
In such a situation, the sooner she broke free from the barrier formation, the sooner she could help Nagato break the deadlock.
For this, a few injuries were utterly insignificant.
In just a few minutes, she had detonated nearly ten thousand explosive tags, with enough power to level a small mountain.
But no matter how fierce the power, the teetering red barrier always recovered, as if the caster's chakra was endless.
Konan panted slightly and noticed the increasing white substance covering the four ninjas, her face turning cold. "Damn White Zetsu."
After a curse, she continued to desperately draw out her chakra, creating another storm of explosions.
Meanwhile, under the rain, thousands of lights flickered.
The meteorites, shattered by Nagato's Susanoo, exploded like a brilliant fireworks display in the sky above the Hidden Rain Village, momentarily turning night into day.
However, such a glorious scene was undoubtedly a devastating blow to the fragile man-made structures below.
Even though warning whistles had spread throughout the village the moment the battle broke out, undoubtedly, some people would still not have had time to reach the underground shelters and would lose their lives.
Amidst this rush to move underground, one person, while dodging the fragments of the exploding meteorites, was heading towards the red barrier formation.
"I never expected Obito and Uchiha Madara to attack so soon... Right now, I can't let anything happen to Nagato."
Yakushi Kabuto thought this as he leaped between buildings in the concrete jungle, quickly approaching the red barrier formation. At a turn in a drainpipe, he heard a whistling sound.
Bang!
With a heavy blow, the steel pipe was directly broken, and muddy, dirty water gushed out from the crack.
"I thought this time was just for show."
Shinno, a robust man, stood on the pipe, his blue yet sharp eyes fixed on the white-haired youth before him. He grinned menacingly, "Who would have thought, Yakushi Kabuto, that you are so loyal to Nagato."
A Kage-level powerhouse who could enter Sage Mode was not to be underestimated. He might even be able to break the barrier formation in a short time.
Therefore, when devising the plan, an opponent had already been arranged for Yakushi Kabuto – someone who had pushed their body to its limit, capable of entering the 'Eight Gates Released Formation' in a short time.
Rainwater streamed down Yakushi Kabuto's face. He licked his lips, his golden eyes flashing with a faint glow, locking onto his enemy.
"Shinno, I thought you, like me, would be grateful that Nagato didn't hand us over when he allied with Konoha. To act in betrayal at this point, it truly disgusts me, Shinno!"
"Shut up!"
The flesh on Shinno's face twitched as he became extremely enraged. "Betrayal... Did Nagato betray us first by becoming allies with Konoha? How dare he show his face to us, to those who died before, after doing something like that!"
"You remnants of the Sky Ninja, who have endured for decades, don't you understand what it means to be compelled by circumstances?"
Red corundum crystals emerged around Yakushi Kabuto. A cold sneer played on his lips. "Idle talk leads nowhere. Let me see how much strength you have to spout such arrogant words."
"Come on, I've also been wanting to test out my Sage power against your 'Eight Gates'. Let's see who's stronger!"
With a sinister laugh, Shinno stomped heavily on the steel pipe and charged at Yakushi Kabuto.
The rain exploded, and amidst the shattered mist, two figures collided, creating a sound of impact no less impressive than the ignition of explosive tags.
...
Above the Hidden Rain Village.
The nearly hundred-meter-tall Susanoo strained to shatter a meteorite nearly two hundred meters in diameter. Before it could even catch its breath, the next meteorite was already incoming.
Nagato was not surprised by this.
The enemy he was currently facing was a veteran who had fought in countless ninja wars. Their experience was far beyond mere 'seasoned'. Their attacks would undoubtedly come like a tide, never giving the enemy any respite.
Therefore, he gritted his teeth and once again gathered his strength to face the mountain-like meteorite, fighting and retreating.
And above the rain, Uchiha Madara looked down at the battered and cornered Nagato with indifference in his eyes.
Susanoo was a war weapon of the Uchiha Clan, but it only had the advantage of size. Its offensive and defensive power was not that exaggerated.
A stronger kekkei genkai user could break through Susanoo's defense. Even when wielded with the power of the Rinnegan, it would at best be a stalemate against a kekkei tōta.
'Heavenly Destruction Star' was no less powerful than a kekkei tōta. Its blunt force impact was even greater than that of a body that had endured much.
"Just one more... Hmph!"
With a cold snort, the few remaining powers in Uchiha Madara's eyes surged, and he said coldly, "Now... break!"
An unprecedentedly large meteorite, twice the size of the previous ones, plummeted from near-earth orbit.
By now, Susanoo was already battered. With the exploding meteorites before it, there was not a single part of it that was not damaged.
Nagato knew that this Susanoo had reached its limit. Even if it managed to block it, after the giant spirit shattered, his ocular power would suffer a severe blow, rendering him unable to use ocular techniques for a while.
'Should I use Almighty Push... No!'
The thought flashed through Nagato's mind, only to be instantly rejected.
Attracting a near-earth planet from outside the atmosphere with immense gravitational pull... This Ninjutsu was indeed powerful, but extremely uncontrollable.
Once cast, not even the caster could change its trajectory; it was entirely dictated by the infinite gravitational pull.
The risk of relying on such a Ninjutsu now was too high.
"I have to find another way!"
At this thought, a look of determination flashed in Nagato's eyes. He brandished the long sword in his hand and hurled it towards the red barrier, then followed it down.
Clang!
The moment the giant Susanoo sword hit the red barrier, Nagato immediately dispelled Susanoo, transforming it, including the great sword, into ocular power.
Boom, boom, boom...
The barrier shattered, and the explosion spread outward, instantly engulfing the four Jonin.
Nagato had no time to pay attention to them. He stopped himself in the air, seven to eight hundred meters above the ground, and facing the giant meteorite that was now only a stone's throw away, his hands rapidly formed hand seals, "Summoning Technique!"
Bang!
In an instant, white smoke spread a thousand meters high. Before the shadow within had fully materialized, the fireball-like giant meteorite crashed down.
"Roar..."
The Gedo Statue, as the husk of the Ten-Tails, now contained seven of the nine Tailed Beasts. Its thick hide had become even more formidable, but even so, after taking a direct hit from the meteorite, it emitted a series of pained roars.
The agonizing cries were like a demonic sound piercing the brain, chilling anyone who heard it to the bone.
But the Gedo Statue was, after all, the Gedo Statue. Despite such a heavy blow, it only bent its spine and knelt on one knee, like Atlas in an otherworldly myth, carrying the celestial sphere on his back.
While the Gedo Statue suffered such a grievous injury, a tear of blood streamed from Nagato's Rinnegan, and his mind felt as if it were being pricked with a thousand needles.
The former was severely injured at this moment, and due to its unprecedentedly strong sense of self-preservation, it was forcibly trying to break free from Nagato's control, requiring his full willpower to suppress it.
However, after paying such a heavy price, the deadlock had finally been broken.
Now that Konan was free, and with the Gedo Statue by his side, Uchiha Madara could no longer catch him off guard as he had just done.
Nagato thought this, but then he heard a cold laugh. "It seems I still have to step in."
Obito revealed his figure in mid-air, his eyes filled with clear mockery.
"You... dare to show your face to me again?"
Nagato's anger intensified, but his attention was not diverted by Obito. It remained fixed on Konan. A moment later, his expression changed.
After the barrier was broken, the four ninjas were instantly killed in the explosion. Although Konan was not dead, she was in a pathetic state.
Just as Obito provoked Nagato, a dark shadow stealthily attached itself to Konan.
Not only Konan, but even Nagato, who had been constantly watching Konan, didn't notice until it happened, and only realized it belatedly.
"Black Zetsu, that guy only has some skill when it comes to stealth."
Obito explained with a cold laugh, his eyes flashing red. He used the immense body of Susanoo to block the space between Nagato and Konan.
Seeing Black Zetsu controlling Konan's body and fleeing downwards, Nagato finally reacted, shouting furiously, "Let her go! You want something? Come at me."
"Come at me?"
Seeing Nagato lose his composure and not attack decisively, Obito lost interest in engaging and began to distort his form, disappearing into the vortex.
"You're not allowed to leave!"
Nagato roared, and a torrent of suction erupted from his palm. But no matter how powerful this attack was, it now only missed its target.
At the same time, Uchiha Madara in the rain, Shinno, who was entangled with Yakushi Kabuto, and Black Zetsu, who was dragging Konan along... all vanished, leaving only four corpses in the Hidden Rain Village.
Boom!
The giant meteorite was thrown down by the Gedo Statue, smashing more than ten black tower-like buildings and creating a large crater.
The Gedo Statue then straightened itself and let out a soul-stirring roar to the sky, its fury matching that of its current master.
The cold rain poured down on Nagato's face as he stood blankly in the air.
Only after they had completely disappeared without any further threat did he realize that their goal from the beginning had been Konan.
They had created such a huge commotion just to keep him occupied, so he couldn't support Konan.
"These guys..."
Nagato clenched his fist, his face contorted.
Instead of coming for his life or his eyes... they had targeted Konan. Their objective was clearly the information in her mind.
Even though he hadn't told Konan the most crucial information yet, their close relationship had been known to everyone beforehand.
"If only I had been more prepared, if only I had been more prepared..."
Nagato was filled with regret, his fingers digging deeply into his flesh.
Bang!
The Gedo Statue dissipated into a wisp of smoke. Nagato slowly descended from the sky, his expression as lifeless as death.
A moment later, Yakushi Kabuto, who had gone to provide support, arrived late. Seeing Nagato's state, he asked in surprise, "What happened to you..."
Upon seeing Yakushi Kabuto, Nagato's deathly gaze regained a spark of life. He mumbled, "They took Konan."
"Konan..."
Compared to the distraught Nagato, Yakushi Kabuto was much calmer. After thinking for a moment, he understood the reason behind it.
However, even so, he found it exceptionally strange.
The information in Konan's mind was indeed valuable, but for Obito and Uchiha Madara, it wasn't worth paying such a hefty price.
As he pondered, Nagato suddenly grabbed his shoulder forcefully. With bloodshot eyes, he almost roared, "Now, what should we do? What do we do?"
Yakushi Kabuto didn't want to provoke him further, so he didn't struggle. After a moment of thought, he hesitated and said, "Perhaps... we could try asking Orochimaru-sama for help."
"Orochimaru..."
A glimmer of hope appeared in Nagato's eyes. He murmured, "Yes, he has so many tricks. Maybe he has a way to find Uchiha Madara's whereabouts and rescue Konan."
With this thought, he quickly performed a Summoning Technique, summoning the snake used to contact Orochimaru.
...
The far west, on the sea.
Orochimaru received Nagato's message and his eyes flashed with surprise. "Konan was captured?"
Although he had warned Nagato long ago, calculating that Konan might become a breakthrough point in the future, he hadn't expected the day to come so quickly.
But upon seeing who had captured Konan, the surprise on his face grew even more intense. "Not Otsutsuki Isshiki... but Uchiha Madara?"
Just as Yakushi Kabuto thought, even to Orochimaru, there seemed to be no benefit for Uchiha Madara to capture Konan.
"That's not necessarily true."
A Genie Lamp poked its head out from behind him and reminded, "Originally, it wouldn't matter. But now, Konan might know about Otsutsuki Isshiki."