Takuno looked at the Chakra giant dragon pouncing towards him. After dispelling his Earth Release, he used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge it.
Then, he looked at Nagato, who was panting heavily. As expected, both summoning the Gedo Statue and maintaining this Chakra giant dragon took a huge toll on him.
After all, the Gedo Statue had previously had its Chakra drained by the Six Paths Sage to create the Tailed Beasts. To use the Gedo Statue for an attack, an extremely large amount of Chakra had to be injected. This was why Nagato was almost sucked dry.
"Is there still someone hiding in the dark?!" Konan looked at the black-clad person wearing a fox mask in the distance. This person was not the same masked individual who had approached them before, but she hadn't noticed him at all until now.
After hearing Konan's words, Takuno also looked at Nagato with a hint of curiosity and asked, "I also want to know how you discovered me. Even the Rinnegan can't perceive everything, can it?"
The Rinnegan was indeed powerful, but it was by no means invincible. If he had been under long-term surveillance, like the crows earlier, then it would be normal for him to be discovered.
But his arrival wasn't long ago; even the Rinnegan shouldn't have been able to detect him in such a short time.
"The power of the Rinnegan is beyond what you can imagine!" Nagato looked at Takuno with cold eyes, speaking in a chilling voice.
If he were in his prime, he naturally wouldn't worry about the opponent, but at this point, nearing the end of his rope, he hoped to scare the opponent away with the Rinnegan.
But unfortunately, Takuno, who was not unfamiliar with the Rinnegan, naturally wouldn't be intimidated. He pondered the reason for his discovery and quickly came to a conclusion.
"Hmm, it must have been the ground shaking when that big guy behind you was summoned, which caused a slight flaw in my Earth Release concealment, allowing you to discover me, right?"
Immediately, Nagato fell silent. His gaze towards Takuno grew more wary because what the other party said was true; he had indeed only discovered that someone else was hidden in the dark at that moment.
"Looks like I guessed right," Takuno shrugged, speaking in a voice that was indistinguishable between male and female.
His natural voice was, of course, male, but he didn't want the other party to recognize him by his voice, so he naturally chose to use a false voice.
"So what if it's true? If you leave, I can spare your life," Nagato snorted, and the giant dragon seemed to roar menacingly.
"Hmm, if it had just been summoned, then yes, I would need to avoid its edge. But now, it's nothing more than a bluff, only impressive in appearance. So, how much longer can you keep it up?" Takuno said, eyeing the giant dragon mockingly.
Immediately, Nagato fell silent, and then the giant dragon that had killed countless Rain Ninja finally dispersed. Its very existence was a huge drain, and that last pounce towards Takuno was arguably its final attack.
But it was dodged by the opponent. Now, it only increased his consumption without any real effect. Originally, he had wanted to use the giant dragon to scare the opponent away.
But the opponent was too perceptive; everything he did simply couldn't be hidden from him.
Takuno wasn't entirely sure initially; he couldn't gamble with his own life. But since the other party was threatening him, he could then be certain.
Because if that giant dragon still had the strength to kill him, then Nagato, who had just experienced the pain of losing a friend, would never threaten him with words but would directly use the giant dragon to kill him.
One could even say that the giant dragon couldn't even attack anymore, which was why the other party chose to threaten him with those words!
"So that means you don't want to leave?" Nagato's voice grew colder. The black rods connecting his back to the Gedo Statue broke, and he detached himself from it, stumbling and almost falling.
Konan, standing nearby, caught him. Seeing the injuries on Nagato's legs caused by Hanzō's Fire Release and explosive tags, her eyes couldn't help but show worry.
"Nagato..."
Such injuries, with explosive tags detonating at close range, had almost obliterated the flesh on those legs!
Even the best medical ninja in the entire shinobi world couldn't heal it, could they?
Nagato shook his head at Konan. Now was not the time to discuss this. He looked at Takuno and asked, "What do you want?"
Takuno smiled at this. Finally, he was willing to talk. He said, "I'm just a collector who enjoys collecting strange creatures. I'm very interested in that giant statue behind you."
As he spoke, he looked at the Gedo Statue and said, "It seems like just a stone statue, yet it possesses traces of life. Truly interesting."
Nagato was startled. He hadn't expected the opponent's goal to be the Gedo Statue, but he quickly reacted, "You're lying! You were already there before I summoned the Gedo Statue!"
"I'm not lying, but what you said is indeed true," Takuno said, a little helpless.
"You're speaking incoherently, without any truth!" Nagato said coldly. At this moment, he was secretly continuing to squeeze his body. After all, as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, there would always be some Chakra if he squeezed it.
And now, he finally completed extracting Chakra. Immediately, he opened his eyes wide, his Rinnegan completely exposed to Takuno's view without restraint.
"Universal Pull!"
Nagato's sudden attack... didn't surprise Takuno. He felt the opponent's Universal Pull; there was indeed suction, but... his body didn't move, as if rooted there.
Because he was a ninja who possessed the Earth Release from the start, and the nature of Earth Release was heavy. At this moment, he was truly connected to the earth.
Nagato watched Takuno, who hadn't been pulled in by his Universal Pull, his eyes narrowing. He took a deep breath and shouted, Chakra erupting again, and the power of Universal Pull increased once more!
Finally, Takuno moved. It wasn't that his Earth Release had failed, but rather... the ground beneath his feet was also cracking due to Nagato's intensified Universal Pull, seemingly about to be pulled in by the opponent.
"Tsk, a spent force should act like a spent force. I want to see how much Chakra you still have!" Takuno also snorted coldly, then formed hand signs and pressed his hands on the ground.
Instantly, the earth shook, and countless giant rocks emerged from underground, appearing before him.
Didn't you want to pull? Then pull these rocks too.
Takuno knew that normally, these wouldn't be much for Nagato of the Uzumaki Clan; after all, it was just a matter of adding a bit more Chakra. But for Nagato at this moment, it was an unbearable burden!