Although Obito was very active on the surface, internally he couldn't help but resent Deidara.
'This kid is getting more and more arrogant lately.'
Obito's gaze was dark. If not for his mask blocking it, his malicious stare would probably be immediately noticed.
This was also one of the reasons he wore a mask.
Besides covering his face, it conveniently blocked his gaze.
To prevent being sensed by some keenly intuitive people.
Next, the atmosphere became oppressive.
Time slowly ticked away.
The eyes of the Outer Path Statue opened one by one.
When two and a half hours had passed, only one eye of the statue remained not fully open.
But it had reached a half-open state.
At this rate, the extraction would be finished in at most ten more minutes.
Twenty minutes faster than Pain's estimated three hours.
Achieving this speed came at the cost of most of the Chakra of members, except Kisame, who were still in the safe zone.
Just then, Black Zetsu, who had been keeping silent, suddenly opened his eyes.
"Attention, a White Zetsu clone has detected traces of Kumogakure's Shinobi. Based on speed, it's likely the Fourth Raikage."
Black Zetsu warned.
"How much longer?"
Pain calmly looked at Black Zetsu. "Can you buy us some time?"
"Estimated to arrive at this location in five minutes. They have a sensor among them; they'll definitely detect our location."
Black Zetsu detailed. "I can delay them, but I don't know how long I can hold them."
"Ensure your own safety, delay them for five minutes, then take Kakuzu and Hidan and leave here."
Pain immediately issued the order. "Now is not the time for a conflict with the Fourth Raikage."
"Understood."
Black Zetsu nodded, then sank into the ground.
With Black Zetsu's Chakra Output missing, the others had to bear a greater share.
Fortunately, the sealing was almost complete; they just needed to persist for another ten minutes.
Silence again fell within the temporary base.
But everyone's face was filled with urgency.
The Tailed Beast sealing was in its final stage; nobody present wanted to see all their efforts wasted at the last moment.
So, despite the hardship, everyone gritted their teeth and persevered.
Before long,
They heard the sounds of battle, the vibrations even reaching the base.
The noise grew closer, the tremors increasingly intense.
"Hey, hey, is he going to hold out?"
Kisame couldn't help but say, "Want me to go help?"
"No need."
Pain said. "Since Black Zetsu agreed to delay them, he'll definitely manage."
"Besides, there are no suitable sacrifices nearby for the Shapeshifting Technique. We'll leave this to Black Zetsu."
Pain's words dissuaded Kisame's idea.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Black Zetsu suddenly burst out of the ground.
"Disaster!"
Black Zetsu's voice was somewhat flustered. An unexpected person had suddenly appeared.
"What happened?"
Pain, who had just placed his hopes on Black Zetsu, saw him return so urgently and immediately realized something had gone wrong.
"It's Takumi!"
Black Zetsu didn't dare waste time and quickly said, "A White Zetsu detected Takumi's figure. He's approaching at tremendous speed. He doesn't know the exact location yet, but with his speed, he'll discover this place soon."
Black Zetsu's words made Pain's heart sink.
Not only him, but everyone present except Konan and Deidara had grim expressions.
Although Black Zetsu's pitch-black face was unreadable,
His urgency betrayed his unease.
Black Zetsu was indeed very uneasy.
The plan was progressing smoothly. If Takumi suddenly appeared and rescued Yugito, his thousand-year plan might just fail!
Pain didn't speak further but accelerated the extraction speed.
The unconscious Yugito even let out pained whimpers from it.
But her vitality was already extremely weak; even feeling the pain, she couldn't wake up.
She was doomed.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Outside were the blocked Fourth Raikage, and his guard platoon.
And Takumi, conducting a carpet search at tremendous speed.
Inside, the Akatsuki were racing against time to extract Matatabi from Yugito.
An invisible sense of urgency gripped everyone.
Just then,
Boom—!
A thunderous crash sounded!
"He's here!"
Black Zetsu shouted belatedly, simultaneously rushing quickly to Kakuzu and Hidan's side.
"Plan succeeded, take them and leave!"
Pain said to Black Zetsu, then immediately dismissed the Outer Path Statue, sending it back to its sealed place.
Black Zetsu used the venus flytrap beside him to envelop both Kakuzu and Hidan, but didn't leave immediately.
Black Zetsu looked up at the broken rock wall. There stood a youth, backlit by the rising sun.
Sunlight streamed into the dark temporary base, dispersing the darkness.
But the sunlight falling on Yugito's body could no longer warm her form.
"Go!"
Kakuzu urged.
His Chakra was now almost depleted; he essentially had no combat ability left.
Yet Black Zetsu still stood there dumbly, not moving.
Hidan, on the other hand, didn't care much.
Although his Chakra was also low, his immortal body meant he feared no situation.
"What a pity."
Black Zetsu didn't leave immediately, but smugly taunted Takumi, "You're too late. Otherwise, you could have saved her."
Boom!
Another deafening crash.
The other side of the rock wall was also broken through, revealing several figures.
They were the Fourth Raikage, and his guard platoon.
Now Black Zetsu knew he couldn't linger any longer.
Otherwise, he really wouldn't be able to leave.
Although he found it strange that Takumi showed no reaction to his taunt,
He had no time now to ponder such trivial matters.
The venus flytrap tightened, then quickly burrowed into the ground.
The next instant, a figure appeared directly on the spot where Black Zetsu had sunk down.
A heavy punch slammed down.
With a thunderous boom,
A huge crater was smashed into the ground.
But Black Zetsu and the others' traces had already vanished.
"Damn it, they got away."
The Fourth Raikage was dissatisfied, but then his gaze fell upon Yugito.
"Raikage-sama, Yugito has no vital signs, and there is no Tailed Beast's Chakra either."
The sensor Shinobi immediately stepped forward and reported his findings to A.
"She's dead?"
A's expression completely darkened. "Who the hell are those guys?"
"I don't know, but I recognize one of their faces."