"Nagato…"
Konan whispered his name, an unbearable sense of dread surging in her chest. Tears flowed uncontrollably, mixing with the rain as they streamed down her face.
Under the gloomy sky, it was impossible to tell where the rain ended and her tears began. The scene felt unbearably desolate.
The moment her grief peaked, Konan moved.
Her body dispersed into countless sheets of paper, surging forward in a sudden, violent assault toward Obito.
Standing atop the sea's surface, Obito made no move to evade. The paper sheets passed straight through his body, as if striking nothing at all.
Then—
Konan's upper body materialized mid-attack.
Obito's eyes widened.
A spiraling vortex appeared, and he reached out instantly, attempting—
—to drag Konan into the Kamui dimension.
But in that instant, the paper changed.
What had seemed like harmless sheets were revealed as Exploding Tags, all clinging tightly to Obito's body.
Damn it!
Obito sensed the danger immediately.
The tags flared to life, glowing with searing light. Obito forcibly interrupted Kamui.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!!!
A chain of deafening explosions tore through the air, followed by a thick cloud of smoke.
When it finally cleared, a portion of Obito's mask had been blown away, exposing his darkened skin beneath.
His clothes were shredded, his condition clearly far worse than before.
Konan herself had also been affected by the blast—but it was obvious that Obito had suffered the heavier damage.
At last, Obito's expression turned serious.
He finally acknowledged the truth—
This woman was not someone he could afford to underestimate.
His gaze sharpened.
Konan gasped for breath. Even with her unique paper techniques, evading that counterattack had not been easy.
Slowly, the scattered sheets of paper gathered together once more, reforming into Konan's body.
She raised her hand and swept it downward.
To Obito's astonishment—
The sea itself split apart.
Obito plunged downward, disbelief flashing across his face.
Looking down at him from above, Konan spoke coldly and clearly.
"Your ability allows you to transfer yourself to another dimension. What remains outside is merely a projection."
"When you attack, you must materialize. And even your intangibility has a limit—five minutes at most."
Her voice echoed across the sea.
"I prepared six hundred billion Exploding Tags."
"This many tags can sustain continuous explosions for ten minutes."
"This place will be your grave."
For the first time, panic flickered in Obito's eyes.
Konan watched him coldly, a quiet sigh echoing in her heart.
She had never trusted the Masked Man.
These Exploding Tags were not prepared overnight—they were accumulated over many years.
Some had been purchased using funds earned by Kakuzu, but the majority had been crafted by her own hands. No one could sell Exploding Tags in such astronomical quantities.
Konan's mastery of Paper Release Ninjutsu was unmatched in the ninja world.
One could say she was an Exploding Tag manufacturing master.
If she had ever learned the Second Hokage's Mutual Explosive Tags Technique, her destructive power—before chakra depletion—would have ranked among the very top.
Below her, Obito continued to fall.
Each time he attempted to activate Kamui, new Exploding Tags clung to him, forcibly interrupting the technique.
Then—
An explosion far greater than the rest erupted.
Within the smoke, the three-tomoe Sharingan in Obito's eye socket flashed violently.
The sea surged into massive waves, water crashing over Konan's body. Strangely, she felt no cold—only a fierce sense of release rising in her chest.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!!!
The explosions continued relentlessly.
Ten full minutes passed before the detonations finally subsided.
Dead fish floated across the sea's surface—those closest had been torn apart entirely, while the few remaining intact had been flung there from afar.
The sharp stench of gunpowder filled the air. Heat shimmered above the water, its temperature rapidly rising from the sustained explosions.
Before the smoke fully dispersed—
A few drops of fresh blood fell into the sea.
Konan's pupils shrank.
Obito appeared behind her.
A black metal chakra rod materialized in his hand and stabbed straight through her body.
One of Obito's arms was gone—destroyed in the earlier explosion—but he showed no reaction, as though the injury were nothing more than a scratch.
Konan staggered forward, blood spilling from her lips. Forcing herself to move sent sharp pain through her body, her footing becoming unstable.
Standing shakily atop the sea, she formed a massive paper shuriken and hurled it backward.
Obito leaped aside instantly.
With a swing of his metal rod, he knocked aside every paper blade.
Now, facing an injured Konan, Obito had clearly gained the upper hand.
At that moment, the dark clouds overhead slowly dispersed.
Konan looked up.
Her heart sank.
Nagato's ninjutsu had failed.
And that could only mean one thing—
Something irreversibly terrible had happened.
The steel pipe in Obito's hand was unexpectedly sturdy.
Konan's spiral paper swords—sharp enough to slice through steel—were effortlessly deflected one after another.
Within just a few exchanges, the gap between them became painfully clear.
Already weakened by her injuries, Konan soon found herself completely overwhelmed.
In the next instant, Obito's hand closed around her throat.
Konan struggled desperately, her fingers clawing at his arm, but Obito showed no mercy. Facing a woman who was not Rin, his eyes were utterly cold.
With a sharp twist—
Her neck snapped.
The light in Konan's eyes faded at once.
Above, the rain gradually stopped. A faint rainbow appeared across the darkened sky, and in her fading consciousness, a familiar smiling face emerged.
Naruto-kun…
In this dark world… there must be light…
Konan slowly closed her eyes.
Her body fell into the sea below, vanishing beneath the waves.
Bloodstained sheets of paper drifted across the water, carried farther and farther away by the wind.
At that moment, Black Zetsu appeared silently beside Obito. He gave a slight nod.
Obito did not even spare the scene a glance.
Turning away, he left without hesitation.
Only the lonely rainbow remained in the sky.
"What… did you say?"
Shisui suddenly stood up, both hands slamming onto the table. His face was filled with disbelief.
The ninja kneeling below him lowered his head, remaining silent.
This was one of the shinobi Shisui had dispatched to Nagato's side.
And just now, he had delivered devastating news.
Nagato—
The man who wielded the Rinnegan—
Had been killed.
Konan was dead as well.
And the Rinnegan had been taken.
They had been powerless to stop it, able only to return and report.
For a moment, Shisui felt as though he hadn't heard correctly.
Having fought Nagato before, he knew better than anyone how terrifying the Rinnegan truly was.
And yet—
Even someone like Nagato had fallen.
"Nagato and Konan… were like family to Naruto."
Shisui let out a long sigh.
Although Naruto's bond with Jiraiya was not as deep in this life, Shisui knew that Naruto deeply respected him. Naruto had often said that Jiraiya was a truly great shinobi.
Even Naruto himself probably hadn't anticipated this.
Nagato was not yet dead, yet Obito still chose to act.
And that single action triggered a chain reaction.
It forced Black Zetsu to move openly, risking exposure—
Digging up the graves of legendary shinobi from the Warring States era and enabling Obito to use Edo Tensei.
A helpless expression crossed Shisui's face.
But more than sorrow, what troubled him was something else.
What exactly is Obito planning?
A heavy sense of an approaching storm pressed down on him.
"…Is this the beginning of the final battle Naruto spoke of?"
Shisui dismissed the messenger.
Soon, only he remained in the room.
Seated quietly in his chair, Shisui lowered his gaze, his eyes gleaming with a deep, thoughtful light.
(End of Chapter)
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