The Hidden Rain Village.
Inside the grand hall of the black spire, Konan approached Nagato and said, "It's confirmed. After Shinno defected, he must have left with Obito."
"That guy, he dares to show his face in the Hidden Rain Village again."
Nagato clenched his fist upon hearing this.
His hatred for Obito was second only to Hanzo, the one responsible for Yahiko's death. If he ever saw the man who had deceived him with lies again, he would show no mercy and would be determined to kill him.
"Hiruko, Shinno… these two have both betrayed the Akatsuki organization. Now, with two key workers gone, the widespread implementation of enhancement surgery is becoming difficult to push forward," Konan said slowly. "Furthermore, the organization's recent expenditures have been substantial, and our funds are insufficient."
"..." Nagato pondered for a moment, then said distractedly, "Then let's put it on hold for now. It doesn't seem like the most important thing at the moment."
"Is there something else?"
"There's nothing else," Konan hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Nagato, is there something you're hiding from me?"
Ever since Orochimaru called him away abruptly last time, Nagato had been lost in thought, seeming to have something he wanted to say but couldn't.
These things were not hard to notice. Nagato was not good at hiding his feelings, and besides, they knew each other far too well.
"...Yes."
Nagato let out a deep sigh, then turned to Konan and said solemnly, "It concerns a terrifying enemy. Knowing his information will only put your life at risk, so I cannot tell you."
"...Then I'm relieved."
The cold expression Konan had maintained softened slightly. "You don't need to tell me, and don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Understanding was for the sake of helping; she would never want to cause him trouble out of sympathy.
Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. If only she were stronger.
"Konan..." Nagato knew she would be considerate but felt speechless at the moment.
After a long pause, he finally said, "I won't be under too much pressure. You don't have to force yourself either."
Just as Konan understood him, he naturally understood what she would think.
"..."
After a brief silence, they looked at each other and felt a sense of relief.
Their earlier worries were completely unfounded. This matter would not affect them, and their bond was not that fragile.
Nagato felt the anxieties of the past few days vanish, and he relaxed, focusing on their recent work with Konan.
A peculiar warmth gradually spread through the hall.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye. Nagato, who was writing documents at his desk, suddenly stood up, his gaze directed towards the west of the Hidden Rain Village, his expression troubled.
" this guy, he dares to appear in the Hidden Rain Village again?"
Given Shinno's precedent, he had reactivated the 'Rain Tiger at Will Technique' to monitor the entire village, and just now, a familiar presence had appeared within its range.
Konan also rose from her chair. "Nagato, what's wrong?"
"Obito, he's back again."
A cold glint flashed in Nagato's eyes. He had already decided to kill Obito, but now that the man had actually appeared, he didn't immediately attack. Instead, he focused on tracking his movements.
Within the veil of rain, Obito's presence flickered in and out, clearly traveling via 'Kamui'. With such elusive movements, ordinary ninjas would be helpless against him. However, within Nagato's wide-ranging perception, the target's destination was perfectly clear.
"This direction... the underground laboratory?"
Nagato pondered for a moment, grasping the man's intention.
Hiruko, Shinno... Uchiha Madara and Obito had successively taken over these two former Akatsuki researchers, not just for their combat power, but more for their research capabilities.
And since Yakushi Kabuto was watching over precious experimental data and materials, these individuals couldn't take them with them. It was likely they came for them this time.
"How can I let you succeed?"
A sharp glint flashed in Nagato's eyes. He turned to Konan. "I'll find a way to kill Obito. You stay here and protect yourself."
Konan shook her head. "I'll go with you. It's not safe here."
If Obito were to come alone this time, as he usually did, she wouldn't be a burden on the battlefield, but rather an asset.
However, if that 'Kamui dimension' hid others, then no place in the Hidden Rain Village would be safer than by Nagato's side.
The last battle had proven that Uchiha Madara was no match for Nagato. But if he used a diversion, using her safety to destabilize Nagato's mind, the outcome would be uncertain.
Nagato pondered for a moment, then said, "Alright."
In fact, they had dealt with enemies in this manner before. It was just that recently, he had been too worried.
The two left the black spire and flew into the dim rain. Before long, they stopped on Obito's expected path.
Without a word, as soon as the man's body reappeared in the ninja world, a faint glow flashed in Nagato's eyes. A powerful suction erupted from his palm. "Almighty Push!"
Due to the time limit of 'Kamui', Obito was unable to escape this grasp. His body shot towards Nagato and Konan like an arrow from a bow.
Konan waved her hand, and countless white paper butterflies had already flown ahead, igniting the darkness of the cold rainy night.
Boom, boom, boom...
Explosions followed one after another, shattering the countless raindrops into even finer particles. This swirling mist, in the next instant, was torn apart by an indigo light.
Amidst a series of sharp bangs, two enormous shuriken flew towards them, one after the other.
Their speed was so rapid, it felt like they were tearing through space. Even a resilient Sage Body might not escape unscathed.
But a faint glow flickered in Nagato's eyes, and a gray shadow, imperceptible to ordinary people, leaped out from behind him, directly resisting the shuriken from the Perfect Susanoo with its physical body.
Space briefly distorted, and the rain and the shadow were pulled into it. However, the latter momentarily resisted before flowing back behind Nagato like water.
'Limbo: Border Jail' operated on a similar principle to the Nara clan's 'Shadow Imitation Technique', both being Yin Release constructs existing between reality and illusion. The distortion of space had no effect on the physical body's resistance.
From an observer's perspective, only the explosion of the two indigo shuriken in front of Nagato was visible, causing no damage whatsoever.
Within the colossal Perfect Susanoo, Obito showed no surprise. He merely flapped his wings, swept away the rain, and accelerated further using the powerful thrust.
The cooldown period after using a dojutsu was not just for 'Kamui'; it applied to the Rinnegan as well. The opportunity during this period was the same for both of them.
One hand drew the samurai sword at his waist and swung it fiercely towards Nagato.
"Perfect Susanoo... it's not something only you can use."
Nagato stood in mid-air, neither dodging nor evading. Facing Obito's assault, a mocking glint appeared in his eyes.
In the next instant, an even larger and more complete blue giant spirit was projected, blocking the attack with its giant sword.
Clang!
Nagato exerted a slight force, sending Obito flying back. Then, the blue giant spirit stepped on the air and pursued him, its great sword relentlessly slashing down at Obito.
Although one of his Rinnegan eyes was destroyed, his chakra power was still far greater than that of the Mangekyo Sharingan. The Perfect Susanoo summoned by a single eye was more than one-third larger than Obito's, and its strength was even more considerable.
As they fought, for Nagato, it was like a father beating his son. The latter didn't even have a chance to defend himself. After a few exchanges, his body was already showing signs of damage everywhere.
It seemed that before long, this shell would completely shatter, and his chakra power would be severely damaged. It was uncertain whether he would even be able to use 'Kamui' afterward.
The situation was overwhelmingly in Nagato's favor, yet he showed no sign of complacency.
After the first round of combat, his opponent had not immediately fled, evidently plotting something, which made Nagato cautious.
After all, his opponent was not just Obito, but behind him was a seasoned top-tier expert like Uchiha Madara.
Therefore, even while pummeling Obito, most of his attention was focused on maintaining the 'Rain Tiger at Will Technique' to fully sense the entire Hidden Rain Village.
As expected, at a certain moment, Nagato's gaze fell upon the area below a black spire, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Here?"
On the path between two tall spires, sticky white material flowed from Uchiha Madara. He paid no mind to his unseemly appearance and opened his hand, aiming it at someone in the sky. "Almighty Push!"
A terrifying suction force suddenly erupted. Konan, flapping her paper wings, was completely defenseless before him, plummeting rapidly from the air like a broken butterfly.
"You dare!"
Nagato's usually expressionless face showed clear rage. He repelled Obito, who was trying to entangle him, with a single sword strike, unleashing a torrent of chakra. It was indeed a Rinnegan dojutsu.
"Universal Pull!"
He naturally could not wrestle with Uchiha Madara and let their dojutsu tear Konan's body apart.
While he couldn't stop Konan from falling, he could directly attack the enemy who was casting the jutsu.
Konan practiced paper ninjutsu. The powerful impact of falling from the sky would be fatal to others, but it was harmless to her. The truly dangerous one was Uchiha Madara.
In a short time, Nagato made the best choice and further planned his next steps in his mind. However, the situation below exceeded his expectations.
A pulling force and a repelling force, two massive powers exerted almost simultaneously. The former caused Konan to fall from the sky and descend towards the alley. The latter, striking Uchiha Madara, caused him to disappear directly, leaving behind only the exploding corpses of White Zetsu.
"Shadow Clone..."
Nagato casually blocked Obito's desperate attacks, but before he could ponder, Konan, who had stopped in mid-air due to the disappearance of the pulling force, was suddenly kicked away by a muscular and robust figure that appeared out of nowhere, crashing into the alley between the tall spires.
"Shinno..." Upon recognizing the man's identity by his aura, Nagato became even more enraged.
Shinno, who had originally had a kind face but now had his seals released and was using the 'Eight Gates', merely looked up slightly at Nagato's fury, revealing a contemptuous smile.
And in the alley between the spires, four ninjas clad in a sticky white substance emerged from the ground and shouted, "Barrier: Four Violet Pillars Formation!"
Four transparent crimson walls immediately rose, trapping Konan, who had not yet managed to fly up.
"What are they trying to do?"
Nagato forced himself to calm down from his rage, yet he still couldn't understand their intentions.
He recognized Konoha's barrier techniques and knew the power of the Akatsuki's 'Four Violet Pillars Formation,' which could restrain even ordinary Kage-level experts for a time. However, using it to restrict Konan's movements seemed... inexplicable.
"I don't know what you're trying to do, but a barrier of this level is just a single sword strike for me."
Despite Obito's desperate entanglement, Nagato was still rapidly approaching the barrier.
"This sword strike... you probably... won't be able to swing it."
Tears of blood flowed from his eyes, but a strange smile appeared on Obito's face as he said with difficulty.
Nagato pondered the meaning of his words and his expression suddenly changed drastically. He looked up at the sky.
Crimson fire broke through the thick clouds and plummeted towards the Hidden Rain Village, or more precisely, towards the barrier where Konan was located.
Uchiha Madara, who had used 'Heavenly Punishment', played a trick of hiding in plain sight, staying high above the clouds, beyond Nagato's 'Rain Tiger at Will Technique's' blind spot.
It was natural that he was no match for Nagato at this time.
If their abilities were compared to artillery, his prime self was like a fully loaded howitzer. Even if he didn't win against Nagato, he could maintain a fifty-fifty balance in a direct confrontation.
But now, he only had three to five shells left.
With such a limited number, it was obvious that they wouldn't cause fatal injuries in a fierce battle. After they were all used up, his life might even be in danger.
However, even so, it did not mean he could not injure Nagato.
Although the three to five shells were few, as long as the other party braced themselves and charged into the shells, the effect would be tremendous.
"He's actually planning this..."
A sharp glint flashed in Nagato's eyes. He turned his gaze towards Obito's Perfect Susanoo beside him and reached out to grasp it.
However, as if he had anticipated this, the scarred indigo giant spirit turned from solid to void, and his grasp missed. The master of this Perfect Susanoo had also disappeared within a suddenly appearing vortex.
At this moment, the colossal crimson rock, carrying the steaming rain and the howling wind, hurtled towards them.
With such a widespread attack, Nagato had myriad ways to evade it. Even if he couldn't evade it in time, he wouldn't be harmed.
But now, behind him was Konan.
The 'Four Violet Pillars Formation', a barrier technique that could be cast by just four Jonin, was like thin paper against this sudden impending disaster.
Without any hesitation, the blue giant spirit's feet stepped on the void, and its great sword met the descending boulder.