In Nagato's eyes, this was an unexpected surprise.
After jumping down from the rocks, Nagato lifted his feet and walked toward Sasuke step by step, neither hurried nor slow.
His expression was calm!
With every step Nagato took, a powerful aura surged from his body.
Facing Nagato's effortless display of overwhelming strength, Sasuke was clearly outmatched. He watched Nagato cautiously, keeping a close eye on every movement.
"I should be the one telling you to hand over those eyes."
Sasuke stared intently at Nagato, refusing to back down as he spoke.
Nagato did not answer Sasuke, because there was no point in doing so.
To be precise, even though Sasuke had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, in Nagato's eyes, he was still no match.
There existed a fundamental gap between the two of them, and with his newly awakened Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke could not possibly comprehend that gap yet.
As Nagato drew closer, the aura he projected grew increasingly terrifying. Sasuke's hand gripping his kunai was already slick with sweat.
The battle had not even begun, and Sasuke's will was already starting to waver.
Soon.
When Nagato was less than ten meters away, Sasuke's gaze flickered as he realized something.
If he dragged this out any longer, things would only get worse for him!
The Mangekyo Sharingan Sasuke had awakened possessed two abilities: Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi.
At their current distance, Sasuke had little confidence he could hit Nagato. The only reason he had easily struck Gamariki was because of its mountain-sized body.
Even without aiming, it would have been harder to miss.
Furthermore, having just awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, using it even once had left his eyes throbbing with a dull pain.
Sasuke knew he could probably only use it one more time, so unless he could guarantee a hit on Nagato, he had no intention of taking the risk.
With that thought, Sasuke gritted his teeth and moved, trying to close the distance with Nagato first.
However!
The moment Sasuke moved, a smirk appeared on Nagato's lips as his eyes narrowed.
Tsukuyomi!
Before Sasuke could leave his spot, his body jolted. His entire consciousness had been dragged into a dark crimson Tsukuyomi mental space.
Outside!
Seeing Sasuke's body suddenly go rigid, Nagato shifted and appeared right in front of him.
Though any amount of time might pass within the Tsukuyomi space, in the real world, it was only a fleeting instant.
But for Nagato, that single instant was more than enough.
Victory and defeat could sometimes be decided in a single moment!
Nagato reached out, his hand shooting directly toward the Mangekyo Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes. His speed was so great that even if Sasuke were to awaken now, he would not be able to react in time.
Just as Nagato's fingers were less than two or three centimeters from Sasuke's eyes, a puppet suddenly appeared behind Nagato.
A poisoned blade extended from the puppet's palm, thrusting straight toward Nagato's heart from behind. It was even faster than Nagato's reaching hand.
Given the puppet's speed, by the time Nagato's fingers touched Sasuke's eyes, his heart would likely be pierced by the puppet's blade simultaneously!
A rare flash of anger crossed Nagato's normally indifferent face. Even so, he had no choice but to immediately halt his attack and leap away from his position.
A single flash!
Nagato had already reappeared about five or six meters away from Sasuke.
The puppet's strike missed, and rather than pursuing Nagato, it took up a guarding stance at Sasuke's side.
"Sasori!"
Nagato's gaze followed the chakra strings trailing from the puppet, his expression turning cold.
Sasori's figure slowly emerged from one side, and in a few bounds, he was standing in front of Sasuke.
As for Sasori's original opponents from Sunagakure — Baki, Kankuro, and Temari — all three lay on the ground, breathing weakly, their faces pale.
In a very short time, Sasori had easily defeated all three Sunagakure shinobi.
However, Sasori was not entirely unscathed... or more accurately, "undamaged."
At this moment, several visible cracks had appeared on Sasori's Hiruko exterior, and when it moved, one could clearly feel Hiruko tilting to one side.
Sasori did not care about this at all. Though Hiruko was somewhat damaged, it was merely a puppet, and puppets could always be repaired.
This was the beauty of eternal art!
With Sasori's arrival, Nagato's attempt to seize Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan would no longer be as easy as before.
And at this moment!
White Zetsu, who had been hiding in the shadows and silently observing everyone present, took a deep breath.
"That was close, so close."
"Good thing Sasori arrived in time, otherwise Sasuke would have been in real danger."
White Zetsu wiped sweat from his forehead that wasn't even there and let out a heavy sigh of relief.
White Zetsu took another careful look in Sasuke's direction, and after confirming that Sasuke was unharmed, his entire body sank back into the ground.
In a cave at the bottom of the valley.
When White Zetsu reappeared, he was already inside the cave.
"Lord Uchiha Madara, Sasuke has successfully awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan."
White Zetsu looked at the spectral projection of Uchiha Madara seated atop the Gedo Statue and spoke eagerly.
Uchiha Madara slowly opened his eyes, his face betraying no emotion. He simply gave a slight nod.
"Slower than expected. It seems pure hatred alone wasn't as useful for Sasuke as I imagined."
Uchiha Madara murmured softly to himself, as though Sasuke awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan was the most ordinary thing in the world.
After speaking.
Uchiha Madara looked up to check the progress of the One-Tail's chakra extraction.
"The One-Tail's chakra is nearly extracted as well."
"There's no point in staying here any longer. Notify the others to prepare to leave."
Uchiha Madara closed his eyes again, speaking in an indifferent tone.
At present, the Eight-Tails Gyuki, the Five-Tails Kokuo, and the One-Tail Shukaku had all been captured.
The Three-Tails Isobu, the Two-Tails Matatabi, the Six-Tails Saiken, and the Seven-Tails Chomei were all in the hands of Yuto at Kirigakure.
The only ones remaining were the Nine-Tails, which was with Senju Hashirama in Konoha, and the missing Four-Tails Son Goku.
The only thing Uchiha Madara found regrettable at the moment was that the Nine-Tails jinchuriki had also appeared, yet he had no way of capturing him.
Uchiha Madara's current state was a chakra projection sustained through the Rinnegan, using the Akatsuki rings Nagato had previously created as a conduit.
Because of this, Uchiha Madara's spectral form could not leave the area that had been prepared in advance.
For this mission to capture the One-Tail jinchuriki, Konoha had actually sent people. And who could have imagined that Senju Hashirama would be capricious enough to send the Nine-Tails jinchuriki along as well.
This was entirely beyond Uchiha Madara's expectations!
But then again, considering Senju Hashirama's utterly incomprehensible thought process, Uchiha Madara found it somehow perfectly normal.
If he had known earlier that the Nine-Tails jinchuriki was also present, Uchiha Madara would likely have come in person and absorbed the Nine-Tails jinchuriki into the Gedo Statue as well.
What a pity!
It was already too late to come now, and with the situation in Iwagakure, he truly could not pull himself away.
"Yes, Lord Uchiha Madara!"
White Zetsu nodded with a grin, and his body sank into the ground once more, ready to notify the others that it was time to leave.
[
Dear Readers,
I am currently posting two chapters every day across two active fictions, along with bonus releases and extra chapters. The workload is steady, and I am putting in the effort to keep the schedule consistent for everyone.
Right now, my financial situation is not great. Patreon support is what keeps this translation work sustainable. If you have been following the stories and want to help, joining a tier makes a direct difference.
Here is what membership offers:
Adventurer — $3 per month
10 chapters in advance for all of my works
Warrior — $7 per month
20 chapters in advance for all of my works
Immortal — $10 per month (Highlighted Tier)
30 chapters in advance for all of my works
Access to character images
Important note: Subscribing through the Apple App adds an extra 30 percent fee (Apple/Patreon policy). Subscribe through your browser to avoid the extra charge. Apple also processes payments very late (2 to 3 months), which makes it much harder for me to receive money quickly after you subscribe.
If you can support, it would genuinely help me continue the daily releases and early access content. If you cannot, reading and sharing the work is also appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44
]