End of Chapter 424
End of Chapter 424
...Nagato was no match for him.
A conclusion emerged in Xiao Nan's mind.
My gaze was fixed on the fading remnants of the "Three Demon Gods," which still left lava trenches, flame marks, and rock fragments on the sea surface.
That wasn't an ordinary summoning jutsu or energy clone... it was far beyond what ordinary chakra could compare to. The depth of its power even vaguely reminded her of something deeper that Nagato's Rinnegan communicated with.
Mianma looked up and locked his gaze on Xiaonan, who was fluttering in the air like a paper butterfly.
"What? Isn't Nagato going to show himself?"
Konan took a deep breath, the cold, salty air stinging her lungs and forcibly bringing her chaotic thoughts together. She had to buy time for Nagato, she had to figure out his ultimate goal.
"Your target... is Nagato's eye?"
Her paper wings folded slightly, adopting a defensive posture, even though she knew it might be meaningless in the face of those three demonic powers.
Mianma's answer was direct and thorough, shattering her last shred of hope.
"Those are not Nagato's eyes. The Rinnegan is not a power that the Uzumaki clan can awaken."
His words revealed the cold truth beneath: "In order to completely fail the 'Eye of the Moon Project,' if Obito and Zetsu do not show up, I have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure."
How did he find out about Project Eye of the Moon?!
But the intention to "seize the Rinnegan" was already blatantly laid bare before her.
Bitterness and resolve burned within Xiao Nan at the same time. She couldn't let them succeed!
"Nagato... he is the bridge to peace for this country!"
Xiao Nan's voice suddenly rose, resolute and stern, "I absolutely will not allow it—!!"
"call out--!"
Before she could finish speaking, the paper wings on her back exploded with a bang! They didn't transform into sharp paper spears to attack, but instead instantly disintegrated into tiny, plain white paper fragments!
These pieces of paper split into several torrents, sweeping towards different targets!
The targets were the unconscious and sinking Hozuki Suigetsu, as well as the trapped Biwa Juzo and Kurosuki Raiga in the ice crystal cage, and Hidan, who was still cursing in vain while wrapped in the water prison!
The paper pieces attempted to entangle, wrap, and permeate, with a clear purpose: to save lives!
And countless more pieces of paper spread and proliferated wildly, instantly obscuring all view of the entire sea area!
The light was blocked, leaving only endless, swirling white light in the sky! This was an act of concealment, creating chaos and an opportunity for the rescue and subsequent actions!
At the very instant the paper obscured his vision—
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Beneath their feet, the vast sea, bearing witness to fierce battles and floating with wreckage, actually... cracked open!
It wasn't separated by ninjutsu, but rather, like the movement of tectonic plates, a bottomless crack was torn open in the middle of the entire sea!
Even more terrifying, as the cracks in the sea surface widened, what was revealed was not the darkness of the deep sea, but a chilling, heart-stopping white expanse!
That's paper.
It was a dense, layered mass of explosive tags, enough to fill the entire bay!
An endless stream of explosive tags, disguised as the color and ripples of the sea, lurked beneath the battlefield!
The real seawater was just a thin layer of camouflage covering this ocean of explosive tags!
"What?!"
"This is……?!"
All the members of the [Jin] organization, except for Deidara riding a giant clay bird high in the sky, all the others—Shisui, Satsuki, Kakuzu, Zabuza, and Haku—suddenly lost their footing the moment the sea cracked open!
Along with the shattered ice crystals and floating debris, they plummeted into the bottomless abyss below, a place made of explosive tags!
Among the countless pieces of paper fluttering in the air, they precisely adhered to the falling crowd!
Once it's attached, it means you're directly connected to the ocean of three hundred billion explosive tags below, and you'll be obliterated in the explosion!
Xiao Nan hovered in the center of the paper storm, her eyes cold. Her plan was crystal clear: to rescue the unconscious or captured Akatsuki members, to distract and disrupt the enemy, and at the same time detonate the ultimate trump card that had been prepared for many years—three hundred billion explosive tags!
In the instant of the devastating chaos and destruction caused by the explosion, she will use the Paper Release technique to sweep away all the Akatsuki members she can save and escape thousands of miles away!
This was her realization, her last resort!
"What?! It's... an explosive tag! Damn it—!!!"
Unlike the solemn or shocked expressions on the faces of his companions, Kakuzu, during his fall, let out a heart-wrenching wail as he saw the endless white "ocean" below, as if his heart had been ripped out!
Three hundred billion explosive tags?!
Even if it were mass-produced in the cheapest way, how much money would that cost?! Hundreds of millions of taels?!
This is simply...this is the most extreme desecration and waste of money!! How much value could he create if he were to manage this money?!
How many years can this organization sustain itself?! This crazy woman! She doesn't understand economics at all! She doesn't understand financial management! She's burning money! She's committing a crime!
Kakuzu's heart was bleeding, a pain caused by the "brutal" squandering of his enormous wealth, which even temporarily overshadowed his fear of death.
Of course, he wasn't truly panicked, because he knew perfectly well that the leader would never let them die here.
Naruto's figure was also falling in the descending airflow. He wasn't too surprised by the sea of explosive tags that had split open beneath his feet; his gaze behind the mask was calm.
He turned his head slightly to look at Zuo Yue, who had fallen beside him.
Their eyes met briefly through masks and fluttering pieces of paper.
Zuo Yue's eyes, hidden beneath the animal mask, blinked gently at him, and then—nodded.
The next moment—black flames mingled with the torrent of paper scraps.
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"...?"
Xiao Nan's thoughts became stagnant and blank.
What... what was I about to do?
Her consciousness told her that the battle had deteriorated beyond repair and that she had to carry out the final plan—to detonate the ultimate trump card that had been prepared for many years, create devastating chaos, and then take advantage of the chaos to rescue the comrades who could still be saved and escape with Nagato.
She remembered that she had indeed acted. The paper wings burst open, some to engulf her companions, and many more to obscure her vision. Then… then the sea must have split open, revealing what lay lurking beneath…
What is being revealed?
Memories here exhibit strange gaps and blurring. A scene that should have unfolded intensely was abruptly cut from the film, leaving only gaps that connect the beginning and end but are ultimately empty.
She was still clearly in the same pose as when she performed the ninjutsu—the lingering chakra still flowed between her fingertips and the fluttering pieces of paper. The torrential rain continued to mercilessly lash the sea.
However, the sea surface was not torn open by a giant rift, nor did it reveal any chilling whiteness, nor did it exhibit the destructive energy fluctuations that, if ignited, would have eclipsed the world.
Only broken ice crystals floated on the water. The unconscious Shuiyue slowly sank, trapped in the ice prison. Her companions, imprisoned in the water prison, remained in a defeated and captured state, powerless to break free.
What happened?
Could it be that... I actually initiated it, but failed?
No, the feeling of chakra depletion is real, the sight of the paper fluttering is real, but the expected result is completely absent. Could it be that from the moment the paper obscured my vision, I was under some kind of extremely sophisticated genjutsu? Trapped in the false moment of successful genjutsu and waiting for the result?
She tried to dispel the illogical sense of chaos. Her gaze swept quickly across the battlefield, and everything was much the same as before the "plan" was launched, except for this vague and contradictory memory of her own.
What exactly is my trump card...?
She remembered that she had a trump card that could turn the tide and lead to mutual destruction, and she had spent countless days and nights preparing for it, expending unimaginable resources.
But what exactly is that card? How is it used? What is its effect?
In addition to reversing the flow of time in this sea area, Satsuki also modified Konan's concept.
Xiao Nan forgot her Emperor card.
Just as Xiao Nan was troubled by this bizarre cognitive dilemma and her mind was in turmoil—
"Spiritual communication!"
A shout pierced the rain, and the next moment, the space fluctuated violently.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"
Six muffled explosions rang out almost simultaneously! Six plumes of white smoke rapidly emerged from different directions above the sea.
As the smoke dissipated, six figures, each radiating the same cold, deathly aura, were revealed.
Their faces are different, but without exception, their eyes are all set with the same pair of Rinnegan, which gleam with a cold purple light and have concentric circles of patterns!
The Heavenly Path, the Asura Path, the Human Path, the Animal Path, the Hungry Ghost Path, and the Hell Path.
The Akatsuki's strongest force, the Six Paths of Pain, have all arrived here!
The moment Naruto saw the six figures appear simultaneously, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly beneath his mask.
All the groundwork has been laid, all the pawns have been used up, and the trump cards have been "forgotten"... Finally, the mastermind behind the scenes is forced to step into the limelight.
"They've finally arrived... Nagato."
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(Thanks to the amazing verification from the owner of "Horse Racing Girl - Golden Ace"! Thank you, boss! There will be another update today!)
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