Time rewinds a little.
Over at Akatsuki's main base.
Obito had originally planned to team up with Gedō Mazō (Demonic Statue of the Outer Path) and wipe out Jiraiya and the others in one go, but the statue was suddenly reverse-summoned away.
For a moment, he just froze on the spot, mentally cursing Kabuto.
Jiraiya's group also stared, eyes widening.
Gedō Mazō had been summoned away… were they still fighting or not?
But Shino was the first to sense something off. "The Rinnegan is with Obito. How did someone else manage to summon away Gedō Mazō? Could it be… the holder of the other Rinnegan?"
Samui nodded. "Sounds about right. It looks like the other Rinnegan already has a master, instead of being kept by Obito. In that case, we need to make a choice. Jiraiya-sama, do we retreat, or do we stay and wait for Gedō Mazō to come back? You decide."
Konan and Akatsuchi also turned to look at Jiraiya, waiting for him to make the call.
Jiraiya was conflicted. He had not expected such a drastic change to the sealing plan, and as the leader of this operation, the responsibility on his shoulders was not small.
He had not expected that after Obito got his hands on the Rinnegan, he would actually give one of the eyes to someone else, only for that person to summon away Gedō Mazō at a time like this.
Was this not just making things worse?
And Obito himself clearly looked surprised too.
Things really did always turn out contrary to expectations. Making a decision right now was not easy at all.
He thought for a moment, then turned to his own student. "Konan, what do you think we should do?"
Konan paused, pressed her lips together, then said, "It'll be dangerous, but I think we should use this chance to eliminate Obito. And even though Gedō Mazō was summoned away, from what I know of it, if there are no Tailed Beasts to absorb, it won't stay away for long. It doesn't have much patience."
Oh? Gedō Mazō has no patience?
If it has no Tailed Beasts to absorb, it will quickly come back?
That was valuable intel.
Jiraiya relaxed a little and smiled. "Then we take Obito out first. If Gedō Mazō comes back while we're at it, we destroy it too. That way, everything is settled."
"Yes!" Everyone let out a breath of relief.
In truth, no one wanted to head home empty-handed. Otherwise, this entire trip really would have been for nothing.
Even if Gedō Mazō was gone, they still had the real culprit, Obito. If they killed him, there would be no need for a Fourth Great Ninja War at all, right?
With an opportunity this good in front of them, how could they just let it pass?
In short—beat him down.
"Heh heh heh, you're really bold, yelling all that about killing me right to my face. Want me dead? It won't be that easy."
After a brief moment of shock, Obito quickly steadied his mood. Settling things with Kabuto could come later—dealing with these enemies came first.
These enemies were not easy opponents. The bugs of the Aburame clan and that kunoichi from Kumo were already annoying enough on their own, and Jiraiya was an even bigger problem.
One of the Legendary Sannin would never be easy to handle.
If he had not intervened just now, Gedō Mazō would have been burned to death by Amaterasu. Who knew what other techniques Jiraiya might be holding back? If he did not go all out, this would not be a simple fight.
"Since you insist on staying here and dying… I'll be happy to oblige!! Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Pein Rokudō (Summoning Jutsu: Six Paths of Pain)!"
He slammed his palm into the ground, and with a series of puffs, six silhouettes appeared around him.
The hearts of Jiraiya's five-man squad tightened. They had deep misgivings about the Six Paths of Pain, and it appeared Obito had created a new set. The question was: how strong were these new bodies?
They took a closer look at the faces and could not help but stare in shock and confusion.
Samui gasped. "Yugito? Our Kumo's Two-Tails jinchūriki, Yugito?! She's an Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) body now? And she's been turned into one of the Six Paths?"
You had to admit, Edo Tensei was a truly twisted jutsu.
Obito had plagiarized Nagato's Six Paths of Pain concept and combined it with the advantages of Edo Tensei, then selected jinchūriki for their raw power. He had even returned part of their Tailed Beasts' chakra to their bodies, allowing these jinchūriki-based Paths to wield fighting strength close to their living peak.
With this new Six Paths at his side, he was confident he could take down Jiraiya's group.
Jiraiya studied them carefully, then blurted out, "Two-Tails jinchūriki Yugito, former Three-Tails jinchūriki and Fourth Mizukage Yagura, Four-Tails jinchūriki Rōshi, Five-Tails jinchūriki Han, the Scorch Release user Pakura, and one I don't recognize. Every one of them was a powerful shinobi in life. This is going to be trouble."
Konan, however, did recognize the last one. "That last one is the Six-Tails jinchūriki, Utakata. The original Six Paths of Pain personally went to the Land of Water to capture him."
The Six-Tails, huh. Just as expected.
Now, they all knew they had to take this seriously.
"Die! Go!"
At Obito's order, the new Six Paths moved.
First, the Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and Six-Tails jinchūriki all half-transformed, their bodies wrapped in blood-red Tailed Beast chakra, their forms becoming monstrously twisted.
Then, the Hyūga ninja leaped in.
Jiraiya's group immediately fell back. They had no intention of clashing head-on with these opponents.
It was not just that the enemy was overwhelmingly strong; the key issue was that these were Edo Tensei bodies. Even if they landed direct hits, their attacks would be almost meaningless.
"Suiton: Teppōdama (Water Style: Water Bullet)!"
From the rear, Yagura unleashed a Water Style attack. Jiraiya's group did not try to block it, choosing to dodge instead.
Pakura took the opportunity to rush forward, holding only a single kunai as she slashed toward Samui. Samui was just about to meet her strike when Jiraiya suddenly yanked her back, pulling her heavily out of the attack's path.
Samui protested in confusion. "Jiraiya-sama, I was only going to block her. Is there a problem with that?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "You kids probably don't know who Pakura is. She's Sunagakure's famous Scorch Release user. Her signature move, Kajōsatsu (Oversteam Kill), is terrifying."
Oversteam Kill?
"The idea behind Kajōsatsu is that, while you're trading blows in close combat, she suddenly superheats and evaporates all the moisture in your body, drying you up in an instant and killing you on the spot."
Evaporating all the moisture in someone's body in an instant?!
What kind of horrifying technique was that?
Samui broke into a cold sweat from head to toe. She had never imagined that her simple attempt to block a kunai had brought her just half a step away from death.
Scorch Release user Pakura was truly no ordinary opponent. Most people, seeing her charge in with a single kunai, would not even think of dodging. They would choose to parry—giving her the perfect opening for an instant kill.
No wonder she had been chosen as one of the new Six Paths. There was nothing "simple" about her at all.
"Shikigami no Jutsu (Paper Technique)!"
Konan sent a torrent of paper flooding toward the enemy, each sheet concealing an explosive tag.
Explosions boomed again and again. They did little real damage, but they did hold the enemy back.
Shino released his insects, Akatsuchi shaped a giant golem of stone, and together they managed to barely keep up with the new Six Paths in a desperate, grinding tug-of-war. The battle was at a standstill, and every moment was dangerously close to collapse.
But not a single person shouted for a retreat, because this was their best chance to get rid of Obito. They absolutely could not give it up so easily.
(End of Chapter)
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