The True Planetary Devastation turned the original Akatsuki base into a sphere.
And Nagato and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path were inside it.
Only when Nagato's chakra was nearly exhausted did the sphere slowly disperse, turning into a pile of shattered stones.
"Damn it, Kabuto, come with me to find Nagato."
"No, find the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Nagato must be together with it."
Uchiha Makito had already brought Kabuto back. This puppet boy had suffered a tremendous blow this time.
The light in his eyes had vanished.
Hearing Uchiha Makito's words, he showed no reaction at all.
Originally, he wouldn't have suffered such a huge shock. The main reason was that the entire island had disappeared, and along with it all his puppets.
The Third Kazekage was gone. The Hundred Puppet Performance was gone.
A puppeteer without puppets is nothing but trash. Right now, Kabuto felt like his life had turned completely gray.
Those puppets had all been precious treasures.
They were what he inherited from Sasori of the Red Sand.
How could they just disappear like that?
"Hey, kid. If the puppets are gone, then they're gone."
"When the time comes, I'll personally capture people for you and let you turn them into puppets, alright?"
"Pull yourself together!"
Seeing Kabuto completely devoid of fighting spirit, Uchiha Makito felt speechless.
This kid collapses after taking a little hit?
"Are you serious?"
"Serious!"
"But Kakuzu is gone. Where are we going to get money?"
"....."
Damn it, knew this brat wasn't as fragile as he looked.
So he's worried about money, huh.
Well done!
When the spherical island formed by Planetary Devastation completely shattered, Uchiha Makito brought Kabuto and stood on a field of ruins, beginning to search for Nagato's whereabouts.
"No need to search."
"Come with me."
At that moment, Zetsu—who had been missing for a long time—finally appeared.
And he even took on the role of guide.
Uchiha Makito frowned and immediately followed with a complaint.
"Zetsu, that's a bit too much."
"You disappeared during the fight, and now that it's over, you show up?"
"Hmph."
Faced with Uchiha Makito's displeasure, Zetsu didn't say anything.
After all, given the situation at the time, even if he had helped, it wouldn't have made much difference. His techniques had minimal effect and weren't suitable for direct combat.
"Enough. Just follow me. Nagato's situation isn't very good."
Hearing Zetsu's words, Uchiha Makito's brows furrowed even deeper.
Nagato's condition isn't good?
With the Rinnegan and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, even if he lost the battle, it shouldn't have threatened his life.
But judging from Zetsu's tone, it didn't sound like a joke.
For a moment, Uchiha Makito also became tense.
This island was completely destroyed. What lay before them now was nothing but ruins.
After weaving through the wreckage, under Zetsu's lead, the three of them finally saw Nagato inside a ravine.
Nagato's condition was exactly as Zetsu had said.
Extremely bad.
"You've come..."
Nagato's weak voice slowly sounded.
At this moment, several black rods were stabbed into his back.
Blood was still dripping from his abdomen, and his face was pale to a terrifying degree.
"What happened to you?"
"Even if you used Planetary Devastation at that level, you shouldn't have ended up like this."
"Is it the wound in your abdomen?"
Uchiha Makito's gaze fell on the bleeding wound still seeping blood from Nagato's abdomen.
The latter endured the pain and said:
"That bastard Gekko Chizan shattered the crystal long blade and drove the crystal fragments deep into my body."
"Even using the power of the Preta Path, I couldn't fully neutralize them."
"And then I used the True Planetary Devastation. My chakra was almost completely exhausted..."
His words made everyone present show expressions of discomfort.
Especially Uchiha Makito, who directly cursed out loud.
"That damn bastard, his methods are so despicable!"
"No, that bastard has always been despicable!"
Then he turned his gaze toward Zetsu.
At this moment, he could only place his hopes on Zetsu.
After all, in some sense, Zetsu was his strategist.
"Don't look at me. I have no solution for a situation like this."
"This can't even be described as trauma anymore."
Even if Black Zetsu wanted to keep Nagato alive, in the current situation it was impossible.
Nagato's body was already riddled with holes.
How could this be healed?
Even if the greatest medical expert in the ninja world, Tsunade, were here, she probably wouldn't have any solution.
"What about the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?"
"Impossible. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's vitality was severely depleted in the battle just now."
Black Zetsu glanced at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Even though this shell of the Ten-Tails wouldn't be destroyed, it still required vitality to be used.
The battle just now had greatly reduced the vitality and chakra contained within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
"So what do we do now?"
Uchiha Makito was extremely irritated.
This won't work, that won't work.
He was truly speechless.
They had finally established the Akatsuki organization, yet it had been turned into this mess by a single Gekko Chizan.
Most importantly, Gekko Chizan was a jinchūriki.
Which meant he was also one of their capture targets.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Nagato coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of blood.
His vitality had been severely overdrawn.
No, it would be more accurate to say it had already withered.
"Madara, Zetsu, take these eyes."
"Although not everyone can use them, with these Rinnegan it is entirely possible to create a brand-new army."
"Just like the bodies I used."
Nagato tremblingly voiced his idea.
The hatred deep in his eyes made him willing to dedicate everything he had.
He wanted Gekko Chizan to die...
"Cough, cough..."
Another mouthful of blood surged out.
Nagato's life had reached its end.
Just as Gekko Chizan had said, only one path awaited him.
Death...
"Nagato, we will carry out your final wish and kill Gekko Chizan."
Black Zetsu's gloomy voice became the last sound Nagato heard.
Nagato died just like that inside the Akatsuki base.
Oh no.
The former base.
"Damn it, Zetsu, retrieve his eyes."
"The Rinnegan cannot be lost."
Uchiha Makito looked at Nagato's corpse, a trace of hatred flashing in his eyes.
But he still forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart and told Zetsu to retrieve them.
"What next?"
"Half of the organization is already gone. Is there any point in its existence anymore?"
Kabuto sat on a nearby rock, looking at the surrounding corpses.
He had already begun to think about leaving.
After all, staying here any longer would gain him nothing.
"The Akatsuki organization will not collapse because of a single failure."
"Zetsu, find a new base. I will be responsible for transporting the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."
"As for manpower..."
"Other than Kirigakure, go search in the other villages."
"After suffering something like this, Kirigakure's defensive forces are already nearly depleted."
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