Kurogane Ren watched the chakra dragon lunging toward him. After releasing his Earth Release, he used the Body Flicker Technique to evade it.
Then he looked at Nagato, who was panting heavily. As expected, whether it was summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path or maintaining that chakra dragon, both placed an enormous burden on him.
After all, the Demonic Statue had once had its chakra completely drained by the Sage of Six Paths to create the tailed beasts. To use it for combat required pouring in a vast amount of chakra, and that was precisely why Nagato had nearly been drained dry.
"There was actually someone hiding in the shadows?!" Konan stared at the black-clad figure in the distance wearing a fox mask. This person was not the same masked man who had approached them before, yet she hadn't sensed him at all until now.
Hearing her words, Kurogane Ren turned to Nagato with some curiosity. "I'd like to know how you discovered me. Even the Rinnegan shouldn't be able to perceive everything, right?"
The Rinnegan was indeed powerful, but it was far from invincible. If someone observed for a long time, like his previous use of crows, being discovered would be normal.
But he hadn't been here long. Even the Rinnegan shouldn't have detected him so quickly.
"The power of the Rinnegan is beyond your imagination!" Nagato glared coldly and spoke in a harsh tone.
If he were in peak condition, he wouldn't fear this opponent at all. But now, already pushed to the brink, he hoped to scare the other away with the Rinnegan.
Unfortunately, Kurogane Ren was far too familiar with the Rinnegan to be intimidated. He quickly deduced the reason.
"Hmm… it must have been when that big thing behind you was summoned. The tremors exposed a slight flaw in my Earth Release, and you caught it, right?"
Nagato fell silent. His gaze toward Kurogane Ren grew more guarded, because that was exactly what had happened. Only at that moment had he realized someone was lurking nearby.
"Looks like I guessed right." Kurogane Ren shrugged, speaking casually in a voice that made it impossible to tell whether he was male or female.
His real voice was naturally male, but he had no intention of letting the other side identify him through it, so he deliberately used a disguised tone.
"So what if that's true? Leave now, and I'll spare your life," Nagato snorted coldly, the chakra dragon behind him baring its fangs as if to threaten.
"Well, if it had just been summoned, I might have needed to avoid it for now. But at this point, it's nothing more than a paper tiger. It looks impressive, sure, but how long can you keep it up?" Kurogane Ren said with a teasing glance at the dragon.
Nagato fell silent again. Soon after, the chakra dragon that had slaughtered countless Rain shinobi finally dissipated. Its very existence was a massive drain, and that last lunge at Kurogane Ren had already been its final attack.
Yet it had been dodged. Now it served no purpose other than to consume more of his chakra. He had originally hoped to scare the man away with it.
But the opponent was far too perceptive. Nothing he did could fool him.
In truth, Kurogane Ren hadn't been completely certain either. He couldn't gamble with his life. But the moment Nagato resorted to verbal threats, it confirmed everything.
Because if the dragon still had the strength to kill him, Nagato—who had just suffered the loss of a close friend—would never waste time threatening. He would have attacked directly.
In fact, it was likely the dragon had already lost even the ability to attack, which was why Nagato had resorted to intimidation.
"So, you're not planning to leave?" Nagato's voice turned colder. The black rods connecting his back to the Demonic Statue snapped, and he stumbled as he detached, nearly collapsing.
Konan quickly caught him, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at his legs, which had been ravaged by Hanzo's Fire Release and explosive tags.
"Nagato…"
The damage was devastating. At such close range, the explosion had nearly obliterated the flesh of his legs.
Even the best medical ninja in the world would be helpless in the face of such injuries.
Nagato shook his head slightly. This wasn't the time to dwell on that. He stared at Kurogane Ren and asked, "What do you want?"
Kurogane Ren smiled faintly. Finally, they were willing to talk.
"I'm just a collector who enjoys gathering unusual creatures," he said. "And I'm very interested in that massive statue behind you."
As he spoke, he looked at the Demonic Statue. "It looks like nothing more than stone, yet it carries signs of life. Fascinating."
Nagato froze. He hadn't expected the man's target to be the Demonic Statue. But quickly, he reacted. "You're lying. You were already there before I summoned it!"
"I'm not lying, but you're right—that does expose a flaw in my explanation," Kurogane Ren admitted with a hint of helplessness.
"Your words are inconsistent and completely untrustworthy!" Nagato said coldly. Even now, he was secretly squeezing out more chakra. As a member of the Uzumaki clan, he could still force some out if he pushed himself.
At last, he managed to gather enough.
His eyes snapped open wide, the Rinnegan fully exposed.
"Universal Pull!"
Nagato's sudden attack did not catch Kurogane Ren off guard. He felt the pulling force—it was indeed there—but his body didn't budge, as if rooted in place.
That was because he was originally an Earth Release user. The nature of earth was heaviness and stability, and at this moment, he was firmly connected to the ground itself.
Nagato's pupils shrank when he saw that Kurogane Ren hadn't been pulled in. He took a deep breath and roared, forcing out even more chakra as the power of Universal Pull surged again.
This time, Kurogane Ren moved.
Not because his Earth Release had failed, but because the ground beneath his feet began to crack and tear apart under the increased force, dragging him along with it.
"Damn it, if you're at your limit, act like it. Let's see how much chakra you really have left!" Kurogane Ren snorted coldly, forming hand seals and slamming his hands onto the ground.
In an instant, the earth trembled. Massive rocks burst forth from below, rising up in front of him.
"You want to pull? Then take all of this with it."
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be a problem for Nagato of the Uzumaki clan. It would only require more chakra.
But in his current state, it was a burden he simply could not bear.