At this moment, only a few short seconds had passed in reality.
In Konan's eyes, Hanzo's soul had been mostly extracted, on the verge of becoming an empty shell. Victory seemed to be within Pain's grasp.
But just then, the Deva Path, Asura Path, and Human Path suddenly froze. The Human Path's soul extraction process abruptly stopped, and the hand pressed against Hanzo's head twitched violently.
Bang! Bang bang!
Before Konan could react, the three figures, like birds with broken wings, abruptly fell to the ground.
"Pain!"
Konan, who had been silent, could not help but shrink her pupils at the sight. Without hesitation, she spread the paper wings behind her. Countless sheets of paper flew out, covering the bodies of the Deva Path, Asura Path, and Human Path. Taking advantage of Hanzo's spiritual body still being in a daze as it returned to his physical form, she enveloped the three figures and flew out of Amegakure without looking back.
At this moment, Konan knew better than anyone that Pain's sudden state meant something had happened to Nagato's main body! Was it Zetsu? Or Madara? Sure enough, those two malicious individuals were utterly untrustworthy!
Hanzo and Amegakure were now cast aside by Konan. She didn't believe Hanzo could have caused Pain such distress. Her only thought was to immediately rush to Nagato's side!
"Gah! Damn it!"
Hanzo was forcibly dragged back from the brink of soul extraction. He panted heavily, his eyes still holding extreme terror and the shock of surviving a disaster. He staggered to his feet, raised a hand to his head, shook it, and then looked into the distance, his expression furious. "Still trying to run?!"
But just as he was about to give chase, a voice entered his ears.
"Don't rush."
Hanzo followed the voice and looked up, seeing Hyuga Kawa standing on the salamander's head. He gazed at Konan, who was spreading her wings in the distance, then lowered his head to look at Hanzo below, smiling. "First, let me tell you what they've experienced."
"Then, it'll be your turn to make a choice."
Meanwhile, over ten kilometers away from Amegakure, in a cave sealed by rocks. If anyone were to try and touch the rocks, they would find the texture quite peculiar.
It was Konan's God's Paper Creation Jutsu. It could transform paper into any object, even deceiving the Sharingan.
Now, deep within the dark, damp cave, Nagato, gaunt and emaciated to almost just bones, stood within a crude wooden apparatus. Countless black receivers pierced deep into his back. On the other side, White Zetsu "Obito," whose body was covered in spiral patterns, sat cross-legged on the ground.
"Oh dear, really, Lord Madara always makes us run errands. What danger could Nagato possibly be in?"
It wobbled like someone with ADHD, bored and muttering to itself, "Speaking of which, is White Zetsu a plant or a human? If it's a plant, why can't it decompose poop? If it's a human, why can't it poop? Hmm..."
Just as Obito's thoughts were jumping to all sorts of nonsensical poop-related questions,
Buzz!
Nagato, standing in the cold apparatus, opened his eyes, and his deep Rinnegan eyes suddenly widened. An unprecedented, violent mental shock surged through the chakra black rod connected to the Human Path. Like a bursting flood, it poured into his soul, catching him completely off guard!
"Ugh, ahhh!"
A piercing scream echoed throughout the cave, making Obito nearby instinctively shiver and leap up to look at Nagato. His emaciated face was twisted to the extreme by the intense pain, his withered body trembled uncontrollably with the screams, and his eyes seemed to bulge from their sockets as he threw his head back.
Pain! Soul-rending pain! The sudden pain was incredibly, unimaginably fierce! Nagato felt as if his brain was being stirred by countless red-hot iron rods! Even in his painful struggle, the apparatus that held his body was torn, and blood instantly gushed from the wounds.
"Ahhh? What's going on, what's going on??"
Seeing this, Obito's featureless face showed no expression, but its erratic scrambling around Nagato indicated how flustered and panicked it was.
"Pfft!"
A large mouthful of hot blood spewed from Nagato's mouth, staining his withered body and the cold apparatus beneath him. Obito ran around inside and outside the cave, unable to find any enemy, fretting like a headless fly or an ant on a hot pan.
"Damn it! Didn't Zetsu tell me to be wary of enemies? Where are the enemies??"
Seeing Nagato's pale face turn even paler, it angrily jumped on the spot and clamored, "If anything happens to Nagato, Lord Madara will feed me to wild dogs to turn me into poop!"
Recalling this, it didn't care about anything else. It directly leaped onto Nagato's apparatus, its spiral body unfolding like a blooming ephemeral flower, directly engulfing the bleeding Nagato.
It was at this moment that Konan's figure appeared inside the cave. She immediately caught the scent of blood and saw Nagato enveloped by White Zetsu.
"Damn it! What are you doing?!"
Konan instantly confirmed her suspicions but was worried about accidentally harming Nagato, so she dared not use ninjutsu to attack. She could only let out a low growl and rush forward, furious.
But as she tried to pull Obito off Nagato, her outstretched hand was suddenly grabbed by the wrist. Then she heard Nagato's voice, suppressing his pain.
"Calm down, Konan, this White Zetsu is helping me!"
"What?"
Hearing this, Konan was stunned. Forcing down the shock and anger in her heart, she looked closely and realized that Nagato's painful gasps and trembling body were indeed gradually ceasing.
At this moment, Nagato could feel a powerful life force suppressing his injuries and alleviating the pain in his soul. Not only that, his body, like a long-parched land receiving sweet rain, was gradually filled with long-lost vitality, even his Rinnegan became much gentler.
"White Zetsu actually has this use?"
Nagato felt no joy in his heart. Instead, a bone-chilling coldness arose.
As if sensing his emotional change, Obito, which was wrapped around him, unfolded again, revealing his emaciated body once more.
"Ahaha, it's finally over!"
Obito closed itself and jumped out, scratching its head, its tone full of innocence. "Lord Nagato, it's good that you're alright, otherwise Lord Madara will feed me to wild dogs to turn me into poop!"
Nagato said nothing and did not stop it. He only gave it a cold look. This was because he wasn't sure if this White Zetsu could, in turn, interfere with him, and his battle with Hanzo of Amegakure was not yet completely over.
Pitter-patter… Pitter-patter…
Steady, undisguised footsteps entered their ears. The dazed Konan's pupils instantly constricted. She shielded Nagato, vigilantly looking towards the deep, dark entrance of the cave.
Hanzo and Hyuga Kawa emerged from the shadows. Their gazes immediately locked onto the emaciated figure standing in the strange apparatus in the center of the cave.
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