Even Obito, in that thousandth of a second, felt the tremor of the Kamui Dimension being violently pulled by that terrifying suction!
If he hadn't decisively cut his losses and abandoned his arm...
His entire body might have been forcibly dragged out by this violent sealing power and buried in that darkness along with it!
As the core matter was sealed, the expanding dark sphere suddenly collapsed inward!
Boom!!!
It wasn't an earth-shattering explosive shockwave, but a violent oscillation on a spatial level!
The nearest edge of the sandstorm was forcibly smoothed out for several breaths, and the yellow sand filling the sky came to a standstill.
The sand wall controlled by Gaara shook violently, nearly collapsing.
The dust and the turbulent torrent of chakra slowly dispersed.
At the core location where the seal erupted, a bottomless circular giant pit appeared.
There was no trace of any wreckage left in the pit—Hidan's torso, which served as the key to the trap, along with Obito's severed arm and everything else within a few meters...
Were completely erased by the "Four Symbols Seal," leaving only this void land symbolizing total annihilation.
"Did it work?!" Gaara asked in shock.
On the way, he had received Minato's Flying Thunder God kunai as well as those Kunai inscribed with the Four Symbols Seal.
Otherwise, how could he have remained in a stalemate with Hidan for so long without going to support the others!
Minato maintained his hand seal posture as the technique concluded, his chakra slowly receding; compared to Gaara, he was not as optimistic.
His eyes remained as sharp as a hawk's, staring intently at the still-turbulent spatial nodes above the giant pit.
The fine beads of sweat seeping from his brow showed that activating such a forbidden technique was also a great burden for him.
The sandstorm whipped up the yellow sand again, attempting to cover that terrifying giant pit.
In this brief silence and the wailing sound of the wind and sand...
Hum!
In the air about ten meters away from the edge of the pit, space distorted violently without warning!
From the center of the vortex, a figure was staggered as it was "spat out."
It was none other than Obito!
His iconic mask still covered his face, but within those crimson Sharingan, he could no longer maintain his usual indifference and sense of control; in its place was roiling shock and anger, along with a trace of hard-to-detect fear.
He had lost his entire right arm!
Blood was gushing from the hideous, smooth stump at his shoulder, soaking the sleeve of his black Akatsuki robe, dripping from the hem onto the yellow sand below, spreading into dots of striking dark red.
His originally mysterious and eerie posture, which seemed to place him in an invincible position, was gone, replaced by an unprecedented state of wretchedness and weakness.
His remaining left hand was pressed tightly against the wound on his right shoulder, blood continuously seeping through his fingers.
He suddenly looked up, and a fierce light like that of a wounded beast erupted from his single eye, piercing through the wind and sand to fixate dead on the distant Minato.
"As expected of... Minato!"
After Obito spat out those words through gritted teeth, he once again disappeared from everyone's sight.
With that, this sudden battle came to a complete end.
...
Takuno's gaze locked onto the deep, light-swallowing blackness in the distance—the absolute domain formed by the [Four Symbols Seal].
A hint of surprise quietly crossed his face.
He clearly remembered that in the world of the "original work," the final result of this powerful Sealing Jutsu was merely Danzo perishing together with a bridge.
But now, while Obito had narrowly escaped, the immortal Akatsuki member Hidan was completely imprisoned within that black vortex.
"Minato's goal has been achieved to at least the minimum extent," Takuno thought to himself.
Hidan's bizarre evil technique, which ignored physical laws and linked life and death through a curse, was truly too troublesome and dangerous.
As long as this "immortal body" remained at large, no one would dare to go all out in any future battle with the Akatsuki, living constantly under the shadow of the curse.
Now that Hidan had been successfully sealed, a fatal thorn had undoubtedly been pulled out.
As for the fact that Minato's method of performing the [Four Symbols Seal] was completely different from Danzo's?
Takuno felt this was only natural; Danzo needed to carve the complex Jutsu Formula containing the Four Symbols hexagrams into his flesh in advance, relying on the high-speed surge of blood through his body just before death to activate it.
But the essence of Sealing Jutsu is the application of laws, not an unchanging, rigid dogma.
In terms of mastery of Sealing Jutsu, how could the man hailed as the "Yellow Flash," Minato, and the paranoid Danzo even be compared?
It was only normal for Minato to make adaptive improvements to the Jutsu Formula to make it more compatible with his own fighting style and situational needs.
However, the direction of this battle also clearly revealed a shocking fact: the strength of the Akatsuki would likely be completely exposed to the world because of this conflict!
The strongest leaders of the five great Shinobi villages, the Five Kage, had joined forces and yet showed signs of being on the back foot in this exchange?
Once this news spread, what kind of stormy waves would it stir in the entire Shinobi World? It's likely no one would dare believe it.
"Heh... interesting."
A playful smile appeared at the corner of Takuno's mouth; he had developed a bit of investigative interest in the upcoming ripples and subsequent developments.
Before his voice had even faded, his figure standing atop the towering building had already quietly dissipated like mist.
When Takuno's figure vanished, at the same time, thousands of miles away, Minato felt a strange flutter in his heart, and his eyes subconsciously turned toward a distant direction.
However, looking as far as he could, there was only a vast sky at the end of his vision, with no trace of anything unusual to be caught.
Kazekage Gaara frowned deeply, his gaze firmly locked on the other side of the battlefield where that figure wearing the spiral mask stood once again, completely intact.
Gaara also felt a strong sense of disappointment, his voice carrying an obvious sense of frustration.
"Did we... still fail to seal him?"
If they could have completely sealed this powerful enemy who called himself "Uchiha Madara" in this battle, they could have undoubtedly lifted a heavy burden for the subsequent war!
Hearing this, Minato slowly withdrew his gaze and turned to Gaara.
He shook his head gently, a slightly helpless but comforting curve appearing at the corner of his mouth as he spoke words of consolation.
"There's no need to be too hard on ourselves. He is 'Uchiha Madara' after all; even if he inadvertently fell into our trap, with his unfathomable strength, wanting to retreat unscathed is not impossible."
Minato's voice was calm and steady; however, deep in his heart, he also felt some regret at failing to finish the job in one go.
But as a commander who had weathered countless storms, he knew better how to weigh gains and losses; this trip was not without its rewards.
At least, they had successfully left behind another member of the "Akatsuki," Hidan.
This cultist of Jashin might not be the most destructive member of the Akatsuki on his own, but his nearly immortal body and bizarre "Death Controlling Blood" curse technique were the most impossible-to-guard-against nightmares on the battlefield.
Minato knew well how terrifying Hidan was; once he went into hiding and obtained a target's blood with the help of his colleagues, the threat he could pose would escalate exponentially, making him impossible to defend against.
Looking back at the thrilling moments of the fierce battle just now was the best illustration.
Even though his heavily injured brother Killer Bee had incited Fourth Raikage Ay's violent thunderous rage, this Raikage, renowned for his speed and strength...
Still maintained incredible restraint during his furious assault, making sure Kakuzu didn't touch even a single drop of his blood!
As for the young and scarred Darui, Minato understood his inadequacy.
Facing "Sasori of the Red Sand," a powerful enemy who controlled countless puppets and used ruthless, unpredictable methods, it was already not easy for Darui, who had a clear gap in strength, to struggle and preserve his life.
It was truly impossible to demand that he also guard every drop of his own blood without a single leak amidst that overwhelming, fatal attack.
Otherwise, the state of the battle just now would have been even better.
But even so, a rare hint of gloom appeared in Minato's eyes.
Even if they still had the injured Ōnoki who hadn't stepped in—once his injuries improved, he would definitely be among the top-tier powerhouses on their side.
But the other side also had 'Madara,' who hadn't made his move!
It would still be very difficult for their side to achieve victory...
The smoke of battle had not yet completely cleared, and the biting wind of the Land of Iron carried the scent of blood and char.
The battlefield was a mess, with puppet fragments and scorch marks scattered among the ruins.
Medical Shinobi moved through the area, hurried yet orderly.
"Lord Darui! Hang in there!"
The medical captain brought by Kumogakure said, hands placed over Darui's scarred and bleeding body, as fluorescent green chakra light strove to repair wounds deep enough to see bone.
Darui's face was as pale as paper, his breathing weak; being besieged by Sasori's puppets earlier had nearly exhausted his life.
On the other side, several Konoha Medical Shinobi surrounded the unconscious Killer Bee.
"Bee..."
Raikage Ay stood to the side, his burly frame trembling slightly, his clenched fists turning white at the knuckles.
He looked at his brother's pale face; that violent Lightning Nature chakra had long since receded, leaving only deep worry and lingering fear.
If Minato hadn't moved him in time just now, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
After the Lightning Release Armor on his body dissipated, it also revealed multiple wounds burned and struck by Kakuzu's Ninjutsu, which were being treated by Kumogakure's Medical Shinobi.
Mei Terumī sat on a somewhat flat rock; because she had been performing passive defense, her injuries were actually the lightest among these people.
She looked at Killer Bee and Darui, who were receiving treatment, and then toward the distant Ōnoki, who was being supported by Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi as he walked over.
This Tsuchikage of the Two Scales' face was even more ashen than before; forcibly suppressing his injuries to prepare to act had been a huge burden on him.
Gaara controlled his sand to completely crush the last bit of debris belonging to Hidan on the battlefield and bury it deep underground, ensuring that the Jashin cultist had no possibility of resurrection.
Minato's figure moved between several groups of wounded.
He first used Flying Thunder God to assist in moving the seriously wounded to a safer area more convenient for treatment, and then personally inspected the huge pit left after sealing Hidan's torso, confirming that the [Four Symbols Seal] was stable and correct.
His face was also somewhat pale; continuously using Flying Thunder God to support various locations, especially the precisely executed [Four Symbols Seal] at the end, had consumed a large amount of his chakra and mental energy.
Kakashi, Shisui, and Neji guarded him on his left and right, alertly scanning the surroundings to prevent the Akatsuki from launching a surprise counterattack.
When the condition of the seriously wounded had initially stabilized and the lightly wounded had been treated, a relatively intact side hall near the ruins of the destroyed conference room was temporarily cleared out.
The Five Kage, along with the Land of Iron's General Mifune, gathered once again.
The atmosphere was even more solemn than when the talks began, the air filled with the exhaustion of having survived a disaster, as well as a deeper sense of crisis.
Minato took a deep breath, breaking the heavy silence; his voice was clear and steady, yet it contained an explosive amount of information.
"Everyone, before reporting on the battle and discussing follow-up measures, I must first reveal a piece of intelligence sufficient to overturn our understanding."
His gaze swept over every Kage present, a sharp glint flashing in his azure eyes.
"The core leader of this attack, that orange-haired man controlling six corpses, possesses a pair of legendary eyes."
Minato paused slightly, his expression grave.
"Those eyes... are the Rinnegan."
"What?!"
"The Rinnegan?!"
"The eyes of the legendary Sage of Six Paths?!"
Exclamations erupted almost instantly!
Even the experienced Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki was so shocked that he suddenly straightened his body, causing him to let out a muffled groan as it pulled at his wound, but the look of horror on his face did not diminish in the slightest.
Raikage Ay's face, tight with anger, was also filled with disbelief; Mei Terumī's beautiful eyes instantly widened; although Gaara's expression didn't change much, the surrounding sand clearly churned violently for a moment.
Mifune's hand also subconsciously tightened around his sword hilt.
And the auras of the guards behind the scenes were equally chaotic, clearly stunned by this news.
"That's right, the Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths, which only exists in myths and legends." Minato nodded with certainty, his brow full of gravity.
"Purple ripples, so deep they seem able to peer into all of creation.
In the exchange with him, the vision of those six pairs of eyes was shared with almost no blind spots!
No matter where my 'Body Flicker Technique' moved to, my attack intentions would be instantly seen through and met with a counterattack."
Recalling that perilous struggle, his tone became low and filled with wariness.
"Not only that, Tendo Pain displayed a terrifying ocular technique that controls gravity and repulsion!
Named 'Bansho Tenin' and 'Shinra Tensei'.
The former can forcibly suck people in, while the latter erupts with an all-encompassing destructive repulsive shock.
The essence of this power... I have experienced it once before."
Minato looked up, his gaze sweeping across everyone's still-shocked faces, as he threw out a second, even more terrifying conjecture.
"This feeling of controlling gravity and repulsion has striking similarities to the power used by 'The Collector' whom I encountered before!"
"How is that possible?!"
"Could it be that 'The Collector' is also..."
This time, even the exclamations carried a hint of trembling and disbelief.
The reappearance of the Rinnegan was already earth-shattering news; now it was actually being suggested that there might be a second pair?!