Dance of the Shikigami is a unique Paper Release technique of Konan. Once performed, she can transform herself into sheets of paper, granting immunity to physical damage.
Its weakness is oil; once the paper is soaked in oil, the technique cannot be performed.
Neither Amegakure nor Root has Ninjas who use oil-based Ninjutsu; only Jiraiya's techniques contain oil.
With Konan having this move, Ryou felt much more at ease and concentrated his attention on Minato.
As for the others in the Akatsuki who had to face Hanzo, Danzo, the Amegakure Anbu, and Root, they would have to fend for themselves.
Ryou wasn't even sure if he could stop Minato; blocking the strongest among them, Minato, was already doing more than enough.
Ryou let Snowy and Candy jump down from his shoulders to help the Akatsuki members defend against the enemies.
"Konan, be careful!"
Konan nodded: "You should be careful too."
Ryou nodded.
A pair of white wings then grew from Konan's back, and she flew into the air like an angel, heading toward the hills with Nagato to rescue Yahiko.
Ryou activated his Sharingan, meeting Minato's azure eyes.
Kakashi, Kurenai, and Rin didn't dare look into Ryou's eyes.
Minato, however, could look directly at them.
Ryou performed the Genjutsu: Tree Binding Death that he had copied from Kurenai, but the Minato across from him showed no signs of being controlled by the illusion at all.
There are two ways to break a Genjutsu: one is through external force, and the other is by oneself.
That is, realizing one is in an illusion and then forming seals to disrupt one's own Chakra flow to break it.
Such people are generally Ninjas gifted in Genjutsu and possess excellent Chakra control.
Masters can even reflect Genjutsu back.
Minato was not a Genjutsu-type Ninja, but his stats were at the Kage level, allowing him to endure Ryou's Genjutsu purely through his own spiritual energy.
He then disrupted his own Chakra flow.
Against an elite Ninja like Minato, Genjutsu released by a three tomoe Sharingan wouldn't work; it would take a Mangekyo to control him.
Ryou then looked behind Minato and said in surprise: "Ancestor, why are you here? These small fry don't need you to step in at all!"
Minato immediately broke into a cold sweat; his greatest fear had come true—Madara had arrived!
Minato looked back, but saw nothing.
Damn, it was a trick!
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Ryou spat out three fire dragons. The intense heat evaporated the rain falling from the sky as the fire dragons roared and charged toward Minato.
Minato used the Body Flicker, taking Kakashi and the other two away from the range of Ryou's fire dragons.
He said to the three: "Be careful, you three. Find an opportunity to rescue Obito."
"Yes!"
Kakashi nodded.
Minato then picked up a Kunai and attacked in Ryou's direction.
Minato rushed over like a Yellow Flash; the members of the Akatsuki couldn't see Minato's shadow at all.
Only then did they understand why Minato was known as Konoha's Yellow Flash.
Because his speed was like a flash of light.
Ryou also had to activate his three tomoe Sharingan to see Minato's movements clearly.
Minato approached rapidly.
"Heavenly Foot!"
Ryou concentrated all his Chakra into his foot and slammed it down toward where Minato was attacking.
At the critical moment, Minato quickly performed the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape.
Rumble—
The ground was shattered by Ryou's powerful kick. Within a ten-meter radius of him, a large crater was smashed out as if hit by a meteorite.
Both the Akatsuki and the Root pulled far away, leaving the battlefield to Minato and Ryou to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
"The Yellow Flash?!"
Hanzo had never seen Minato before and didn't know that Danzo had also called Minato to besiege the Akatsuki.
He sensed something was wrong, thinking that Danzo and Minato were specifically there to eliminate Uchiha Ryou and cut off the Land of Rain's dream of becoming a great nation.
"Amegakure Ninjas, go protect Uchiha—"
Danzo suddenly shouted to stop Hanzo: "Hanzo, wait. We are not enemies."
"Bah!"
Hanzo cursed Danzo: "Danzo, you even called the Yellow Flash. Is this a lineup for dealing with the Akatsuki? I even suspect you're here for a special decapitation strike against me."
"..."
Danzo was speechless.
Listening to the conversation between Hanzo and Danzo, Yahiko realized that the Konoha people were here for Nagato's Rinnegan.
Hanzo had been kept in the dark, thinking the Konoha people were here to eliminate Ryou.
He sneered: "Hanzo, you're really pitiful, being kept in the dark by them this whole time."
"What did you say?"
Hanzo looked coldly at Yahiko, his gaze like a cold blade ready to slice Yahiko into a thousand pieces.
Yahiko mocked: "To think you're the leader of Amegakure, yet you don't even know what our the Akatsuki's most precious possession is?"
Hanzo was confused. Wasn't the Akatsuki's most precious thing Ryou's Medical Ninjutsu and the forbidden jutsu of Immortality?
What else could they have up their sleeves?
Hanzo turned his head and stared fixedly at Nagato's side.
At this moment, Nagato was being tied up by the Amegakure Anbu, facing poison and various endless secret assassination techniques.
Nagato's Rinnegan had just erupted once, but because Ryou was stirring things up again, the dōjutsu power of the Rinnegan stopped boiling, making it quite difficult to deal with Amegakure's secret assassination techniques.
Nagato's techniques were too bizarre; he could release Ninjutsu without forming seals, much like the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan could perform Genjutsu without seals.
Moreover, Hanzo had never seen these techniques of repulsion and attraction.
Was this even Ninjutsu?
Hanzo had a suspicion: "Could it be?"
Yahiko nodded: "That's right—"
Danzo quickly rushed over to interrupt Yahiko: "Hanzo, what are you dawdling for? Hand Yahiko over to me."
Danzo couldn't catch Konan. If he had known Nagato was so sentimental, he wouldn't have let Ryoma hand Yahiko over to Hanzo just now.
He could have threatened Yahiko to make Nagato surrender the Rinnegan.
Yahiko shouted it out: "Nagato's eyes are the Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths!"
"What? The Rinnegan?!"
Hanzo was horrified: "The Rinnegan... so it's the legendary Rinnegan! No wonder he has such bizarre Ninjutsu!"
"No wonder Danzo called Minato and was so impatient!"
The value of the Sage of Six Paths's Rinnegan was clearly above Ryou's.
Legend has it that the Sage of Six Paths's Rinnegan is the eye that governs the cycle of life and death. What use would it be for Hanzo even if he obtained Ryou's immortality technique?
Immortality without power would one day result in being cut down.
As long as he obtained the Rinnegan, Hanzo might be able to unite the Ninja World.
Danzo rushed up, wanting to snatch Yahiko to threaten Nagato.
"Danzo, get away from me!"
Knowing the importance of the Rinnegan, Hanzo directly broke with Danzo, taking out his chain-sickle to cut off Danzo's hand.
Danzo quickly backed away. His greatest fear had happened; Hanzo would turn against him because of the Rinnegan.
Hanzo grabbed Yahiko by the throat and threatened Nagato loudly: "Nagato, give me your Rinnegan, or I'll kill Yahiko."