Minato's voice surged into the ears of every Shinobi in the Allied Shinobi Forces through Inoichi's mental network, steady as a rock shattering a dead silence.
"Everyone, The Collector is not an enemy. He has not harmed a single member of the Allied Forces who didn't attack first, and his heavy blow to the Ten-Tails has helped us! Now is the only chance to end this disaster!"
The wavering within the Allied Forces' ranks came to a sudden halt.
Everyone looked toward the center of the wasteland, where the charred remains of the Ten-Tails writhed. Only half its head remained, with regenerating granulation tissue clinging to dark purple plasma.
Every twitch caused the desert to tremble, yet it no longer possessed its previous world-destroying pressure.
Raikage Ay's body erupted with lightning as he roared, smashing a giant rock shelter with his fist: "The Fourth Hokage is right! This monster bleeds just like anything else!"
Killer Bee's Eight-Tails tentacles began an impromptu rap to ignite their fighting spirit.
"Fool, ya fool~ Heart is torn~ Now it's time for the Tailed Beast showtime~ Yeah!"
Shikaku Nara's voice followed Minato's into the mental network.
"First and Third Divisions, cover the Ten-Tails' wounds with long-range Ninjutsu! Fifth Division Sealing Squad, advance and penetrate; the target is the torn single eye on its forehead!"
At that moment, the Allied Forces finally resumed their movement.
The Allied Forces' roar rose like a tsunami.
Dying, severely wounded soldiers tore off blood-stained headbands to tie sealing scrolls tight, roaring as they were carried toward the core of the battlefield on their comrades' backs...
The Collector, seated on his stone throne, gave a light chuckle. His Six-Tomoe Rinnegan swept over the ant-like figures charging across the desert, finally settling on Minato's silhouette as he leapt up against the light.
"Fighting while burdened with despair... it's quite a good show."
Takuno let out a yawn and glanced over at the Ten-Tails he had just heavily injured.
He hadn't originally intended to intervene, but unfortunately, the other side wouldn't let him be.
Of course, he also understood why the Ten-Tails had targeted him.
Although he wasn't his original body right now and the Mini Ten-Tails wasn't with him, he still carried the chakra belonging to the Mini Ten-Tails.
This chakra shared the same source as the Ten-Tails, so it was only natural that it would target him.
Now, after having taught the Ten-Tails a lesson, the Ten-Tails—being a biological creature itself—naturally didn't dare fix its gaze on him again.
But even if the Ten-Tails was heavily injured by him, did the Allied Shinobi Forces really have a way to deal with it?
Not necessarily.
On the battlefield below, spurred on by Minato...
Like a pack of wolves driven to a corner, the Allied Forces erupted with a roar of defiance in the face of death, fearlessly throwing themselves at the Ten-Tails struggling for breath in the deep pit.
However, in Takuno's eyes—calm as an abyss behind his mask—the outcome of this counterattack ignited by despair was already clear.
'Admirable courage, but... ultimately futile,' the thought drifted silently through his mind.
His gaze pierced through the filling dust and the booming lights of Ninjutsu, landing precisely on the Ten-Tails' massive, mangled body.
At the edges of those seemingly hideous and terrifying wounds, charred tissue was growing new granulation at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Its massive chakra, like an inexhaustible spring, surged within its body, forcibly mending the devastating wounds caused by its own Tailed Beast Ball.
'Vitality... Chakra capacity... this is the true terror of the Ten-Tails,' Takuno judged casually.
'Ordinary attacks, whether it's the Great Fireball or the Giant Waterfall, hitting its tough stratum corneum... the effect is likely no better than an itch.
Even the secret techniques of those so-called Elite Jonin are nothing more than fleeting sparks before it.'
His gaze swept across various parts of the battlefield.
Kitsuchi led the Stone Shinobi unit to perform the Super Earth Release: Sandwich Technique, as two giant rock mountains attempted to pin the Ten-Tails again.
However, the Ten-Tails merely swung its remaining half-head in pain, and its violent power shattered the condensed rock to pieces.
Mei Terumī's Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique and Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique formed acidic steam and corrosive slime that covered the Ten-Tails' legs.
Amidst the sizzling sounds of erosion, the Ten-Tails' leg scales were indeed melted away, exposing the dark purple muscle beneath.
But in just a few breaths, a new and thicker layer of scales regenerated at an incredible speed, as if it had merely shed an old skin.
Takuno was not at all surprised by this, and his thoughts remained undisturbed.
'Kekkei Genkai attacks of the Five Kage level only cause superficial damage; they can't even slow down its recovery.'
His gaze finally turned in two directions.
One was toward Ōnoki, suspended in the air with his hair and beard bristling, as a small but deadly white light condensed in his palms once more.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
A beam of white light cut out once again, precisely hitting a regenerating spot on the edge of the Ten-Tails' broken head.
Silently, the matter in that area was completely decomposed into atoms.
However, relative to the Ten-Tails' mountain-like size, this loss was like having a layer of skin scraped off by a razor.
Ōnoki himself was panting heavily from the consecutive use of such a taxing Kekkei Tota; his chakra was already hitting rock bottom.
Ōnoki's Dust Release was powerful enough to harm the Ten-Tails, but its range and sustainability... were too weak.
His own chakra couldn't support a fatal enough attack.
As for the others...
Looking at the Explosive Tag Kunai thrown by the Allied Shinobi below and the combined Wind and Fire Release exploding in bursts of fire on the Ten-Tails, failing to leave even a scorch mark, Takuno shook his head slightly.
'Just scratching the surface.'
His gaze finally moved up, locking onto Tendo Pain hovering high above the battlefield.
That orange-haired figure, with cold determination flickering in his Rinnegan, was clearly connected to the agonizingly writhing Ten-Tails below by six black receivers.
It was through these black receivers that Nagato's will was able to drive this terrifying behemoth.
Although the Ten-Tails' will had collapsed due to fear and it had become unusually submissive, Nagato remained the key.
All the efforts of the Allied Shinobi Forces—whether attacking the Ten-Tails head-on to kill it...
Or attempting to seal it through flanking maneuvers—the greatest obstacle was not the Ten-Tails' own terrifying power and vitality, but its cold controller behind the scenes: Nagato.
As long as Nagato was there, the Ten-Tails would not stop its destruction, even if it was howling in pain.
It would follow the will of destruction implanted by Nagato, struggling to rise and using its mangled body to continue creating god-like agony.
Conversely, if Nagato could be dealt with and the connection of those six black receivers severed...
Then what would become of this Ten-Tails, whose will had already collapsed, leaving only biological instinct?
It would become a masterless beast, either falling into a deep sleep due to its injuries or attacking aimlessly...
A weapon deprived of a "God's" driving will.
'Attacking the Ten-Tails is like the foolish old man trying to move a mountain; you'll exhaust yourself before the mountain is leveled,' Takuno's thoughts were cold and piercing. 'The best way is still to cut off the source.'
'Concentrate all top-tier forces and, at any cost, first take down Nagato, who stands in the clouds controlling everything with the Rinnegan!'
'Once the controller is cut down, the threat level of this behemoth with a collapsed will will plummet.
At that point, whether gathering everyone's strength for a powerful seal...
Or using its chaotic and weakened state to find other opportunities, the difficulty would be ten or a hundred times lower than it is now!'
'This is... the only chance of survival for the Allied Shinobi Forces.'
Of course, problems still remained.
Takuno gave a light laugh. When Nagato is dealt with, there is still Obito. When Obito is dealt with...
There is still... Madara!
Takuno yawned, shifting his gaze from the battle below to a certain direction. There was a very interesting chakra over there.
...
Black Zetsu, currently traveling through the deep soil like invisible flowing water, had its yellowed eyes contract violently due to extreme shock.
The terrifying energy fluctuations coming from the ground above, as well as the overwhelming wails of despair originating from the Ten-Tails' own destructive will, all clearly confirmed the scene it had "seen."
That Collector... he actually...
Black Zetsu's cold mind, unchanged for a thousand years, was now sinking into a quagmire of chaos.
It had personally witnessed the power of its mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, beheld the great power of the Sage of Six Paths and his brother sealing her, and watched the epoch-making struggle between Indra and Ashura stemming from their bloodline.
It believed it knew all the peaks and secrets of power in the Shinobi World.
Yet now, that being suspended on a throne, who with just a snap of his fingers...
Had toyed with the Ten-Tails—which should have been the ultimate weapon condensed from the power of the nine Tailed Beasts—and even caused its will to collapse...
Completely subverted its understanding!
Even if the current Ten-Tails hadn't grown to its complete form, this was still the case!
That power to swallow and reflect an ultimate Tailed Beast Ball with a wave of a hand...
That absolute indifference, treating a world-ending beast as nothing and crippling it to the point of death with a flick of a finger.
"This is impossible... How could this level of power appear in the Shinobi World?!"
Black Zetsu's consciousness roared silently in the cold soil.
A chill, born from the instant shattering of the confidence accumulated over a thousand years of planning deep within its soul, almost made it stop moving.
This power even exceeded the realm reachable by the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura!
Only the Sage of Six Paths could possibly master this level of power. Just what kind of thing was he?!
Panic, like a cold viper, truly coiled around its heart—which beat only for the resurrection of its mother—for the first time.
The existence of The Collector had become a massive variable in its thousand-year chess game that was completely incomprehensible, unpredictable, and even more uncontrollable.
The power he displayed was enough to turn any meticulous plan into bubbles, including the Eye of the Moon Plan it had fought for over a millennium!
The chaos lasted only for a moment.
The image of its mother and the hope of Kaguya's escape were like the most solid rock in the darkness, instantly crushing all shock and wavering.
"No... I can't panic!"
Black Zetsu forced itself to calm down; a thousand years of lying in wait had endowed it with extraordinary reason.
"No matter what he is, no matter how strong he is... as long as Mother is resurrected, everything will be reset! Now... I must complete this step first!"
Its yellowed pupils refocused, and its cold gaze pierced through layers of soil and rock, turning once again toward the direction where it sensed the Six Paths of Pain and the Gedo Statue.
The connection of that will remained resilient; Nagato was still stubbornly controlling the mangled remains of that beast on the verge of collapse, carrying out death-struggle-like destruction against the Allied Forces.
But the problem was... where was the controller himself?
Strong doubts surged in Black Zetsu's heart again.
It had been lurking underground in this chaotic battlefield for a long time, its perception sweeping through every possible corner like invisible tentacles.
Abandoned caves, deep fissures, pits blasted by Ninjutsu, beneath the Allied headquarters...
It had explored every location where Nagato's original body could theoretically be hidden.
Nothing!
Reasonably speaking, with Nagato controlling such massive power, his original body must be under immense burden and chakra consumption; he couldn't be too far away.
The Six Paths of Pain required the precise control of his will, and the Gedo Statue was directly connected to his chakra core through black receivers.
Too much distance would lead to control delays, power attenuation, and even backlash against himself!
Especially now, with the Ten-Tails having suffered such a heavy blow, maintaining control must be even more taxing for Nagato, and the requirement for the stability of his original body's location should be higher.
"Where on earth is he hiding?!" Black Zetsu's mind worked at high speed, eliminating one possible location after another.
"The reaction speed and power intensity of the Six Paths of Pain indicate the connection is very tight... Could it be... he used some kind of Space-Time Ninjutsu to block perception? Or..."
A thought that made even itself a bit alarmed flashed by.
Could it be that The Collector did something?
But it was immediately suppressed; The Collector didn't seem to have any intention of directly interfering with the control.
Without finding Nagato, the most critical step could not be executed.
Control him and activate the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to resurrect Madara!
Madara was an indispensable vessel for resurrecting Mother and the core key to the Eye of the Moon Plan!
"I must find him!" Black Zetsu's will became more determined and anxious than ever before.
A thousand years of planning and countless sacrifices must not fail here!
Even facing the god-and-demon-like power shown by The Collector, the obsession to resurrect Mother overrode everything.
It would continue to search for Nagato. If it still hadn't found him by the time the Gedo Statue underwent its next transformation, then it could only proceed with the final step of the plan.
Thinking of this, a look of cruelty appeared in Black Zetsu's eyes.
...
Just then, the situation on the battlefield changed.
And the first one to bring about this change was... Deidara!
The dead silence on the desert battlefield seemed to freeze time.
Allied Shinobi either collapsed on the ground or gazed blankly at the indifferent stone throne in the sky, their minds completely torn by the miracle of The Collector crippling the Ten-Tails with a snap of his fingers.
Fear, like physical ice water, soaked into everyone's marrow, making them forget the roaring beast, the flying sand, and even breathing.
Amidst this absolute silence where mental will was on the verge of collapse...
"Heh... heh heh heh..."
A low laugh, suppressed to the point of distortion, abruptly rang out from an inconspicuous corner.
The laughter was extremely light at first, carrying a long-accumulated madness, and then it was like a floodgate of venting had been opened, instantly swelling into a hysterical wild laugh!
"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
It was Deidara!
The clay bird beneath his feet had long since been shattered by the Ten-Tails' roar and the shockwaves caused by The Collector.
At this moment, his whole body was curled up on the leeward side of a huge sand dune kicked up by the shockwave.
He was covered in dust and small scorch marks, traces of being grazed by the continuous lightning pursuit of the Lightning Release unit.