Seeing the resolute look on Nagato's face, Konan didn't say anything more.
Even though, deep down, she had a very bad feeling about this attack on the Mist.
But Konan knew Nagato would never abandon his plan to strike the Mist Village.
In that case…
She looked at Nagato and asked softly,
"When are we heading to the Mist Village?"
Nagato slowly raised his head, his Rinnegan fixed straight ahead as he answered calmly:
"Now."
At that moment, in another dark room within Akatsuki's hideout—
Obito looked in puzzlement at the suddenly appearing Zetsu.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Nagato is going to attack the Mist Village. We need to make preparations in advance," Black Zetsu said evenly.
Attack the Mist?
Obito's expression tightened. This was absolutely not the time.
The plan had only just reached the second stage—right now, Akatsuki could not afford to expose itself so casually to the eyes of the other villages.
"Why didn't you stop him?" Obito looked at Zetsu, a hint of displeasure in his voice.
"We follow your orders only to help improve Madara-sama's plan. It's not because we're actually loyal to you," Black Zetsu replied coolly, his gaze on Obito. "The original plan can no longer be carried out. Now we can only activate the second plan Madara-sama left behind."
Obito froze, his face darkening behind the mask. So, Madara really had left other countermeasures.
"From now on, we switch roles. You'll be the one assisting me."
Black Zetsu's voice sounded again in Obito's ears.
Obito's eyes narrowed, a flicker of anger flashing within them. Just a manufactured creature, and it wanted him to assist it?
But when he thought of Madara's terrifying power, Obito fell silent. He was also very interested in seeing the backup methods Madara had left behind.
After a brief pause, he said, "Fine."
Seeing Obito agree, Black Zetsu showed no reaction at all.
As for the little schemes Obito had just now, there was no way a being that had lived for a thousand years like Black Zetsu would fail to notice them.
"But I'm still curious," Obito said, looking at Black Zetsu with a hint of skepticism in his eyes. "Just because Akatsuki's been exposed, that alone is enough to make you switch to another method?"
"Of course not. There's an even more important reason. You'll find out soon enough," Black Zetsu replied blandly, offering no explanation.
"So what do we do now?" Obito spread his hands and asked him.
"Head to the Mist Village," Black Zetsu said without hesitation.
——
Land of Water, Mist Village.
As a village usually shrouded in heavy fog all year round, the weather had, for some unknown reason, been unusually clear of late.
For many civilians who were used to living in the mist, it actually felt a bit uncomfortable at first.
Still, sunny weather always had a way of lifting people's spirits.
In a forest some distance from the Mist Village—
A man in a black cloak patterned with red clouds, with bright orange hair, slowly stepped out from between the trees, expressionless as he walked toward the distant Mist Village.
One of Pain's Six Paths—the Animal Path.
From here, there was still quite a distance to the Mist Village.
The Animal Path surveyed his surroundings. After confirming there were no shinobi nearby, he lowered his stance slightly, then launched himself forward, sprinting toward the Mist Village.
He ran swiftly, using the trees and rocks along the way to hide his presence as he moved.
Just as he was getting closer and closer to the Mist Village, the sharp sound of something slicing through the air came from directly ahead.
A kunai buried itself in the ground a short distance in front of him.
The Animal Path's speeding body paused slightly, then came to a halt. Expressionless, he lifted his head and looked toward the direction the kunai had come from.
Not far ahead, a young man was sitting casually atop a large boulder, chin propped in one hand, studying him with great interest.
The Animal Path was silent for a moment.
"So I've been discovered," he said.
"Yo, faster than I expected, actually. If you'd taken any longer, I was about to come looking for you," Yuto said with a bright grin, watching the Animal Path as he spoke.
"So Kisame has already leaked Akatsuki's intel to the Mist. In that case, we'll just have to kill everyone who knows," the Animal Path replied, his voice as cold as ever.
Yuto blinked, then laughed out loud.
"How decisive. But that depends on whether you've actually got what it takes."
As the words left his mouth, Yuto's voice vanished from where he'd been.
The Animal Path's Rinnegan darted around quickly as he scanned the surroundings, both hands ready to slam down onto the ground at any second.
Splurt.
A spray of blood flew out.
The Animal Path's attempt to use Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) froze midway. He twisted his body violently, retreating backward as fast as he could.
Even so, one of his arms was still twisted off with ridiculous ease by Yuto.
"If your movements are too slow, you won't even have time to form hand seals in front of me," Yuto said lightly.
He tossed the severed arm aside at random and watched the Animal Path retreating rapidly, the faint smile never leaving his face.
As he retreated, the Animal Path lifted his remaining arm and pressed it swiftly against his own body.
Poof! Poof!
A string of explosions of white smoke burst into existence in front of Yuto.
When the smoke cleared, six figures stood neatly in a row, all facing him.
"So even a single arm is enough to pull off Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique), huh," Yuto said, eyes gleaming with curiosity as he looked at the Animal Path. "I really didn't know that."
"With the intel compromised, it's no surprise the Mist was able to make preparations in advance. In that case… we'll start with you," the Deva Path said.
Standing in the center of the six, Pain spoke in a voice unnaturally calm.
Boom.
With a dull thud, the Asura Path was the first to charge at Yuto.
In just two leaps, he had closed the distance and was right in front of him.
The Asura Path whipped up his fist and drove it toward Yuto in a heavy punch.
Yuto's body flickered, shifting sideways from his original position in an instant to appear at the Asura Path's flank.
As he slipped past the attack, Yuto raised his own fist and slammed it hard into the Asura Path's skull.
Bang!
A muffled roar rang out.
Half of the Asura Path's head was blasted away by Yuto's punch, exposing the spinning gears inside.
"One down. Next up… is the rest of you," Yuto said.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled at the Six Paths of Pain standing before him.
Nagato's real body shouldn't be too far from here. Until he located it, it looked like he'd have to enjoy a little fight with these six first.
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