The sealing of the Nine-Tails began.
No one knew who taught Nagato how to seal Tailed Beasts, but under his direction, the process was agonizingly slow.
Maybe it was a faulty version. He struggled immensely. But when it came to Obito Uchiha sealing a Tailed Beast? Easy as slurping noodles. The incomplete Ten-Tails just needed one good slurp to swallow the fox whole.
Perhaps it was an evolution that occurred after the old husk regained its vitality.
Anyway, during the Nine-Tails' sealing, Qianyu appeared calm. But his focus wasn't on the fox or the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path at all…
He knew the moment the sealing finished was the moment everyone turned on each other.
Well, not "everyone." Only three here would fight for the Ten-Tails: the Deva Path (Nagato), Obito Uchiha (Black Zetsu), and Jigen (Isshiki Ōtsutsuki).
As for Nagato… time for him to exit stage left. He'd fulfilled his historical role perfectly. Done enough, he could retire now.
His life had been miserable enough. It didn't need to get worse. Qianyu could shine a bit of that ancestral humanity, saving a descendant from disaster.
As for which of the remaining two should get the Ten-Tails? Qianyu decided to steer the script. Control could go to Obito and Black Zetsu. For now.
"Hmm… should be about time?"
The moment the last wisp of the Nine-Tails' Chakra was about to be swallowed by the statue, Qianyu's focus snapped into place.
The next instant, every eye on the Demonic Statue's forehead snapped open. Pupils spun in their sockets with a twitching, frantic speed. Then it raised its arms high and roared at the sky.
The immense pressure made everyone present—except Qianyu—shiver. That included Black Zetsu, familiar with the Ten-Tails, and Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, who had awoken from slumber and taken over Jigen's body.
None expected the revived Ten-Tails to be this powerful.
As it roared, it was like watching a withered tree greet the spring. It came alive. Its dry, bark-like surface smoothed over. Meanwhile, unidentifiable masses—arms? tails?—sprouted rapidly from its back.
Qianyu flashed to Sasuke's side. "Go. Now. Follow your own will. Decide for yourself whether to report this to the Hokage."
Sasuke glanced at him. No pointless words. He just turned and walked out.
Everyone's attention was locked on the Ten-Tails. No one cared what Sasuke did.
Once outside the hidden space, Sasuke quickly left Amegakure's borders. He paused briefly.
He dispelled his Transformation Technique, his appearance shifting from his late teens back to his early twenties. He stared toward the Rain Village for a moment. Then he turned north.
Not toward Konoha. Not out of stubbornness. He'd decided. He would report this.
The Akatsuki already knew the Five Kage Summit was being held in the Land of Iron. That's where he'd go.
Truthfully, Sasuke didn't know Qianyu's exact plan. But he chose to trust him.
The Ten-Tails, rapidly growing—or rather, reverting to its true form—soon burst the hidden space. Its colossal figure appeared in Amegakure, instantly causing widespread panic.
A true mobile calamity. Just one look at the Ten-Tails filled any normal person with primal fear. The correct response was to run.
But the moment its roar ended and its form stabilized, the Deva Path, Obito, and Jigen all charged at it.
"Huh? What's the meaning of this?" The Deva Path, controlled by Nagato, knew the question was pointless even as he asked it.
The Deva Path prepared to unleash a universal Shinra Tensei. But then, its body went limp like a puppet with cut strings. It collapsed face-first to the ground.
"Nagato… Deva Path! What's wrong? No!" Konan saw something was wrong and lunged forward, but then she realized what must have happened.
She immediately took to the air, flying toward a specific part of Amegakure.
To speed up the sealing, she had come to assist personally. That meant Nagato's real body was alone.
Nagato was hidden deep within Amegakure, surrounded by layers of barriers and his own powerful sensory abilities. He should have been safe. Yet…
The Deva Path losing control meant Nagato's main body was in danger.
Konan knew the threat likely came from the masked man. But she had no time to deal with him now. She had to get to Nagato.
The Ten-Tails? She couldn't care less.
Meanwhile, in Nagato's hiding place.
The emaciated man sat on a wooden wheelchair. Pale faces now sprouted from the wheelchair's frame, half-burying him.
This wheelchair was made from White Zetsu. Now, it had simply reactivated.
White Zetsu were theoretically weak. But first, these had been near Nagato for too long. Second, Nagato was special. His combat power relied almost entirely on the Rinnegan. Once its function was disrupted, he had no means to resist.
"You were quite vigilant…" one White Zetsu face said.
"But you trusted that woman too much. Beyond reason," another replied.
"Using her Chakra to blend in beside you was too easy."
"You've been together day and night, haven't you?"
Every White Zetsu face could speak. The scene was deeply unsettling.
Regardless, Nagato trusted Konan completely. He never sensed any threat from her Chakra. Or perhaps… even if Konan suddenly attacked him, he'd accept dying by her hand.
Black and White Zetsu exploited that.
Nagato's Chakra was being rapidly drained by the White Zetsu, leaving him weak.
In a fair Chakra absorption contest, a hundred White Zetsu couldn't beat the Preta Path. But now, Nagato was a fish on a chopping board.
"Don't waste your strength. We've disrupted your eyes."
"You didn't really think these eyes were yours, did you? Someone lent them to you. The Rinnegan was merely stored with you. You are not their master."
"Using the original owner's power, we can briefly interfere with the Rinnegan's operation."
The White Zetsu, attached to Nagato, temporarily seized control of the Rinnegan in his sockets. How? Simple. These White Zetsu contained cells of Madara Uchiha.
Madara, while no grand strategist, was full of cunning tricks. Clearly, he'd prepared various contingencies before his death to ensure his eyes could be recovered.
Nagato could wrestle White Zetsu for control. But he couldn't wrestle Madara. Because these eyes were Madara's. When choosing a master, they had a tendency. When executing commands, they had a priority.
Despite his vigilance toward the masked man, Nagato had still been trapped. Honestly, it wasn't entirely his fault. You can't guard against a thief every single day. And he was always a pawn chosen by Madara Uchiha.
Pawns are destined to be moved. The moment Nagato received the Rinnegan, he was destined to lose them.
"These eyes should return to their original owner."
"No, no. I should say these eyes will never return to their original owner."
As the White Zetsu chattered nonsense, its biomass finally engulfed Nagato's face. A pained grunt escaped him as the Rinnegan were plucked from his sockets.
One White Zetsu detached from the mass, instantly merging with the ground and vanishing.
"Those eyes of yours… seem decent. But I cannot hand over the Ten-Tails to you."
Isshiki Ōtsutsuki hovered mid-air, posture dripping with condescension. He was already in his horned, left-white-right-black-eyed form. Was praising a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan even a compliment in this state?
Seemed like praise. Was actually disdain.
But showing off often backfires.
If Obito only had a single Kamui eye, calling himself "an empty shell without power" had some merit. But now? He had both.
And original equipment is always better than modified.
Obito remained silent. Yet Isshiki felt an instinctive, scalp-prickling danger. He subconsciously shifted his body to the right.
The left sleeve of his wide robe vanished. Gone. If he'd been any slower, his left arm would have been erased.
Even so, his forearm bled profusely. A chunk of flesh had been cleanly sheared off.
If Kakashi's Kamui was a sluggish, constipated affair, then Obito's offensive Kamui was a violent, explosive purge. The left eye's offensive version was even faster than the right eye's defensive one.
"You dodged it… Jigen. Just who are you?"
Arrogance? He could play that game too. Obito was still faithfully playing the role of Madara.
In this first exchange, Isshiki's showboating failed. Obito's succeeded. Clearly, the Uchiha talent for this surpassed even the Ōtsutsuki.
Just then, a white mass crawled up Obito's ankle, spreading over his body.
"Hmph. Finally back. Took you long enough."
"Don't say that. I was fast. You think retrieving these eyes was simple?"
The White Zetsu delivered its package, then detached from Obito.
Obito ignored it. He raised his left hand, covered his mask, and pulled it off.
Black shadows spread across his skin, dyeing his forehead completely before tracing tear-like streaks down both cheeks.
"Now… I can control the Ten-Tails."
Two slits cracked open above Obito's eyebrows. Two Rinnegan manifested. A four-channel visual system. Pretty neat, huh?
Obito completed his "transformation." Now, looking at Isshiki… the Ōtsutsuki was trembling.
Not over the Rinnegan. No. Isshiki was barely containing a tsunami of hatred from the depths of his being.
"I smell a detestable stench."
Isshiki Ōtsutsuki held boundless hatred for Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Black Zetsu reeked of her. He might fool others, but he couldn't hide that from Isshiki.
Minutes later, the hidden room's wall exploded inward. Konan shot inside like an arrow.
"Nagato! Nagato, are you alright?"
"Heh… hehehe…"
A series of eerie giggles answered her strained voice.
The wheelchair was covered in white, grotesque biomass, but a human shape was vaguely visible. Nagato was buried within.
Konan didn't waste a second. She started slapping on Explosive Tags.
Years of working with explosives made her a master. She could even achieve controlled demolition effects with the tags.
Thump. Thump-thump-thump.
A series of muffled explosions later, the White Zetsu covering Nagato was blown clear. The charring indicated most had been deactivated.
Konan quickly dug out the motionless Nagato. She dragged him aside—a bit roughly—cleared his mouth and nose, then began efficient CPR. After a moment of violent coughing, Nagato gasped back to life.
"Nagato, your eyes…"
Only after confirming he could breathe did Konan check his other injuries.
Seeing the trails of blood from his empty, sunken eye sockets… she already understood.
"Taken… I didn't expect him to have laid a trap."
"I shouldn't have left your side."
"Not your fault. I was careless."
It really wasn't Konan's fault. If she'd stayed, Black Zetsu would have had another plan.
"Ahem. Sorry to interrupt. Anyone need medical attention?"
The voice came from behind them, sudden and calm.
Qianyu stood there.
He'd let the two fight over the Ten-Tails for a bit. Subduing it had a process. He wasn't in a hurry.
"Who… You? Why are you here?" Nagato recognized the voice instantly. "Konan, run. You're no match for him."
Without the Rinnegan, Nagato's judgment had become brutally pragmatic.
Qianyu ignored Nagato, answering Konan's question earnestly.
"I have many identities. Right now? Just a passing doctor, here to save lives and heal wounds."
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