Chapter 150: A True Shinobi
The attack that nearly killed Magu Rō had drained almost all of their chakra.
Even the Three-Tails, Isobu, had been completely exhausted.
Now, all they could do was watch as Tobirama Senju and Orochimaru stole the kill.
"We can still make it!"
"We must get Magu Rō's body!!"
Sasori roared, forcibly extracting the last remnants of his chakra through sheer willpower. He maneuvered the Third Kazekage Puppet toward the battlefield.
After this one final strike, his gigantic puppet had been reduced to a useless pile of scrap.
If he didn't claim Magu Rō's body—he would be left with nothing!
But—
No one else moved.
A deep, bitter silence fell over the group.
Especially over Kakuzu.
His dark green pupils widened, his face blank, his thoughts unknown—he looked like a man who had lost his soul.
The violent waterspout dissipated. Orochimaru stood still, waiting to claim Magu Rō's corpse.
He was certain—they had killed Magu Rō.
This monster, who had rivaled even the Nine-Tails, was finally dead!
Heavy rain poured down, soaking the ravaged battlefield.
Yet—
There was nothing.
Not a trace of Magu Rō's body.
Sasori's entire effort had been wasted.
And Kakuzu's dream of fifty billion ryo had vanished into thin air.
"That thing wasn't a real monster… or did Kagami reclaim it?"
Orochimaru muttered, unbothered.
The fifty billion ryo and the extra reward were more than enough for him.
When he turned around and saw Sasori, his face twisted with rage as he rushed toward them—Orochimaru grinned.
"Blinded by rage, are we, Sasori of the Red Sand?"
Serpentine chakra slithered into countless snakes, lunging forward.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions erupted, swallowing Sasori in a cloud of smoke and debris.
"If I can't have Magu Rō, I'll settle for you. Your body would make a fascinating subject."
Orochimaru was interested in all ninjutsu. The technology behind human puppetry was no exception.
Suddenly—
BOOM!!
The ground quaked violently.
ROOOOAAARRR!!!
A deafening bellow echoed across the battlefield.
A monstrous ox-headed, octopus-limbed beast roared to the sky.
Then—
Its tentacles wrapped tightly around its own body, spinning rapidly.
A raging cyclone engulfed the landscape.
Trees were uprooted.
Stones were torn apart.
The remaining scraps of the Forest of Death were obliterated entirely.
Orochimaru and the others had no choice but to halt their attacks and defend themselves.
"An impressive display of power."
From afar, atop a summoned giant bird, Nagato and his group watched.
Now that he had reforged Kinkaku and Ginkaku into Paths of Pain, he had gained deeper insights into Tailed Beast Chakra.
And that was just a small fraction of the Nine-Tails' power.
Through the Rinnegan, Nagato could clearly see that the Eight-Tails had far more chakra than what he had absorbed.
If he collected all nine beasts and revived the Ten-Tails…
I will obtain power beyond Uchiha Kagami.
The giant bird flapped its wings, flying straight toward the Eight-Tails.
Originally, Nagato had planned to target the Raikage and Tsuchikage first.
Together, they had three Tailed Beasts in their ranks.
He had been careful not to move too aggressively, avoiding Kagami's direct attention.
But the Rain Village lacked its own Tailed Beast.
No one would suspect if he took the Eight-Tails for himself.
Capturing the most difficult target first would make the rest easier.
If things went perfectly…
He might be able to wipe them all out in one strike.
If Kinkaku and Ginkaku's chakra wasn't enough—
Then war with Konoha would be unavoidable.
Nagato was done hoping for peace through words.
Kakuzu, though usually stoic, was visibly affected.
A kill was worth fifty billion ryo.
He had strategized the attack.
They had worked so hard to whittle the target down to a sliver of health.
If it were any normal shinobi, having their kill stolen like this would drive them to madness.
Just look at Sasori.
Kakuzu's black tendrils lashed out, wrapping around Sasori to restrain him.
"Calm down. You lost. You're embarrassing yourself."
Sasori's furious scream followed immediately.
"You don't understand!!"
"You lost nothing! Do you have any idea what I just lost?!"
Especially—
Especially because it was stolen by another white-haired bastard.
Sasori hated white-haired people.
First and foremost.
Second?
He hated red-eyed people.
And now, some white-haired, red-eyed freak had teleported in and robbed him of everything he had sacrificed for.
The overwhelming hatred and mental collapse—
He was barely holding it together.
"You think I lost nothing?"
Kakuzu's voice was low.
"Do you understand what losing fifty billion ryo means to me?"
"And yet…"
"Even when Uchiha Kagami humiliated me, I did not give in to despair."
Sasori froze for a moment.
They had worked together for years.
Sasori knew exactly how deep Kakuzu's obsession with money ran.
Yet even he was able to remain calm in this situation?
"I see…"
Sasori took a deep breath—
Even though he no longer needed to breathe.
"Kakuzu-san, you are a true shinobi. I have learned something today."
"No matter how great the adversity, I will maintain my composure. I have lost control of myself."
Kakuzu nodded approvingly.
Behind his back—
His fingers dug sharply into his waist.
The pain was the only thing keeping him from blacking out from sheer rage.
As the cyclone of destruction expanded, everyone noticed the reverse movement of a giant bird—
Nagato's group approaching the Eight-Tails.
"The leader… he's really going after the Eight-Tails?"
Back beside Kakuzu, Sasori muttered under his breath.
Kakuzu's brows furrowed.
"Isn't this too soon? Won't this expose our organization's plans?"
"…Let's observe first. With his strength, he likely doesn't need our help."
"In my long life, only two people have ever been stronger than him."
The massive whirlwind shredded every remaining Shisui clone in an instant.
When the storm subsided, a disheveled Shisui crawled out of the dirt, coughing.
Swish.
A white-haired woman in a Konoha jōnin vest appeared beside him.
Ryuuzetsu said nothing.
She simply pressed her hands to his wounds, healing him with Mystical Palm Jutsu.
Shisui frowned.
"Did I lose all my last marked locations?"
He had tried teleporting away but found that all his Flying Thunder God seals had been destroyed.
Between Magu Rō's rampage, other powerful battles, and the sheer destruction of the battlefield—
There was nowhere left to escape to.
Ryuuzetsu shook her head.
"Only the mark on me remains. I almost got caught in another battlefield's attacks, so I fled toward you."
"Then stay close to me."
---
Read up to 20 Chapters ahead on patreon.com/Fanglin
[Please leave a 5 Star review and power stone for this novel]
*Thank you*