Yahiko's… body?
Pain's words made Uchiha Shion pause for a moment.
What use would he have for Yahiko's corpse?
Talk-no-Jutsu? Please. That man's tongue could only sway the old members of Akatsuki who still clung to their ideals. Anyone with real battle experience, anyone who had tasted true darkness—mere words wouldn't shake them. How could it compare to Naruto's willpower?
"Calm yourself!"
A sudden voice cut off Pain just as he was about to erupt with power.
In the next instant, countless sheets of paper surged forward, wrapping around the massive trees that had burst from the ground.
Boom!!
A thunderous explosion shook the ruins. Dozens of trees were blown apart, splintering into fragments.
Explosive tags?
Shion raised a hand to deflect the whirling debris, his eye narrowing at the woman who appeared in midair. Vast wings of paper spread from her back, each infused with chakra.
Konan.
Her unique Paper Release ninjutsu was unmistakable.
"All the villagers are already in the shelters. An enemy of this level doesn't yet require your power."
As her words fell, eight paper clones stepped out from the shadows, each one perfectly positioned beside the scattered Flying Thunder God kunai.
The clones bent down and retrieved the marked blades.
"These kunai bear the coordinates of a space–time technique. You've already thrown eight of them. How many more do you have left?"
Shion only smiled at Konan, then drew out a scroll.
"Release!"
With a puff of smoke, another batch of Flying Thunder God kunai appeared, which he calmly stored back into his pouch.
"Not that many left. Maybe a few dozen. After all, I heard the Yellow Flash once slaughtered fifty enemies in an instant with this technique. So I figured… better to keep a few spares."
He glanced at Konan, who seemed momentarily at a loss for words, then shook his head.
"Really, I only came here to borrow something. No need to make such a fuss."
Noticing Pain beginning to tense up again, Shion quickly added,
"Relax. I don't want Yahiko's body. I don't have any strange fetishes—what would I want with his corpse?"
Pain stepped forward, his voice low and cold.
"Transforming yourself into Yahiko's likeness, then sealing the other five Paths of Pain inside a scroll… Your intent is obvious."
"But the power of the Rinnegan isn't as simple as you think. Even if you possessed these bodies, you could never claim the Rinnegan's power for yourself."
So that's what this was about.
Pain clearly believed Shion coveted his Rinnegan. Which wasn't entirely wrong—but he had the wrong target.
Shion wasn't after Pain's eyes. His goal was the pair connected to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path… the ones possessed by Nagato, hidden away in the tower.
Shion was just about to explain when a swirling space–time vortex suddenly formed amid the ruins.
From it stepped a man in an orange mask, his voice distorted by a vocal jutsu.
"Well, well… if it isn't Uchiha Shion. Tell me, how's that arm of mine working out for you?"
The mocking tone carried easily, but behind the mask, Obito's heart was unsettled.
Even at a glance, he could see the sheer force of the Wood Release that had just been unleashed. There was no way a single grafted arm of his could account for that. Not without White Zetsu's support. The life force of the First Hokage's cells—he knew exactly how dangerous and difficult it was to control.
Shion's lips curled in defiance.
"So your arm has grown back already? Good for you. But it doesn't matter—yours is useless to me now."
Masked Obito looked around slowly, chuckling.
"Are you here alone? Makes sense. You're not really a Leaf shinobi, are you? Last time you just got lucky. In that case… you should stay here forever."
Boom!!
The earth split apart as a massive tree tore upward, lunging toward Shion from behind.
But just as it was about to strike, the tree froze, coiling and twisting instead—lifting Shion high into the air until he hovered at eye level with his foes.
"You still dare to use Wood Release here? That meager power of yours… it's not even worth watching."
Shion turned back to Pain, his voice calm.
"My goal was never the Six Paths of Pain. The reason I came straight to the tower was to meet your true body… Nagato."
The words fell like thunder.
Konan and Pain froze.
Both the existence of the true body within the tower and the very name Nagato were secrets known only to a handful within Amegakure.
Yet this man had spoken them so casually.
"Who are you really?!" the Deva Path demanded.
Konan's eyes slid toward the masked man. "Do you know who he is?"
Obito's lone Sharingan narrowed, his voice grave.
"I don't. His name has spread through the black market, and his red hair proves his ties to the Uzumaki. But red hair isn't unique to them. His true identity is uncertain. He wields the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God, and judging from earlier, his mastery of Wood Release surpasses even mine."
He kept his gaze locked on Shion. In truth, there was much he wasn't saying.
Like how this man seemed to know far too much about him.
Or how, two years ago, his entire mission in Konoha had been ruined because of this very man. If not for White Zetsu's intervention, he might not have survived.
And now…
If Shion exposed his true identity here, then his guise as "Uchiha Madara" would be useless. And he could not risk losing Nagato's Rinnegan—not when he still needed them.
"I don't know how you've learned these secrets," Obito said darkly, "but it doesn't matter. The timing is perfect."
With that, he lunged straight for Shion.
Whoosh!
Chains lashed out, only to be casually knocked aside by Shion.
"That's it? I don't know what gave you the courage to talk so big."
He formed the Ram seal, and at once a forest of massive trees surged forth, crashing down from every direction.
The relentless assault tore apart the ground, spearing through Obito's intangible form again and again.
His phasing ability was troublesome, yes, but it had time limits. This technique wasn't without a counter.
Boom!!
The earth split and shattered under the trees' rampage, yet Obito showed no panic. He simply dragged entire trunks into his Kamui space, one after another.
His Mangekyō spun slowly in his eye, watching, waiting.
Whoosh!
Shion suddenly hurled six Flying Thunder God kunai in rapid succession.
They pierced through Obito's body harmlessly, then clashed in midair, ricocheting off one another until three came spinning back toward him again.
The timing was perfect. Now!
In an instant, Shion vanished.
Flash!
Thud!
When he reappeared, a sharp pain tore through his abdomen. Looking down, he saw an iron chain had already pierced clean through his stomach.
Drip…
Blood splattered, dripping onto the massive tree beneath him.
Impossible…
Ignoring the wound, Shion's lone eye locked on Obito in the distance, clutching the other end of the chain.
"Speed? No… even with the Mangekyō and Hashirama's cells, you shouldn't be able to react that fast."
…