But... she couldn't!
Her movements froze mid-air.
Her eyes reddened, sorrow surging within them, but it was ultimately suppressed by a deeper resolve.
Nagato's main body was nearby, struggling through the Six Paths Black Receivers to control the Ten-Tails, which had collapsed in will due to The Collector's intimidation but had just entered its Berserk Second Form.
All the top powerhouses of the Allied Forces had gathered here, watching like tigers eyeing their prey.
Even more terrifying was The Collector, who could toy with the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball with a flick of his finger, looking down upon everything with an indifferent posture.
If she were to move now to "salvage" Tendo Pain's corpse, it would be no different from exposing her own position and would severely interfere with Nagato's control over the Ten-Tails.
This would not only invite a fatal blow from the Allied Forces and that terrifying Collector but also cause Nagato's "Divine Punishment" plan—for which he had gambled everything for Yahiko and peace—to completely collapse!
Konan bit her lower lip hard, almost drawing blood.
She forced herself to look away, no longer watching the rapidly falling figure.
"Dance of the Shikigami!"
Silently, her body seemed to dissolve completely, turning into countless thin sheets of paper that almost merged with the charred wounds on the Ten-Tails' surface.
These sheets of paper clung tightly to the Ten-Tails' rough and massive skin, rising and falling slightly with its heavy breathing and the dark purple lightning storm surrounding it, perfectly concealing all her presence and chakra fluctuations.
She carefully tucked herself into the relatively safe shadows and chaotic energy field provided by the Ten-Tails' massive body, turning herself into a harmless piece of "paper scrap" on its back.
She was right here, clinging to the "battlefield" where Nagato controlled the Ten-Tails.
Not to fight, but to protect—to protect this last sliver of possibility for executing the plan.
Even though her heart was wrenched with pain, she could only become the most silent guardian at the center of this apocalyptic battlefield storm.
She integrated herself completely into the "protection zone" provided by this monster, ensuring she wouldn't cause Nagato even a hint of trouble.
...
The celestial anomalies caused by the Ten-Tails were still raging; dark clouds carrying dark purple lightning swallowed the light, and scorching steam erupted from deep within the cracked earth.
Black Zetsu, hidden in the shadows of the battlefield, witnessed Tendo Pain's fall and Konan's disappearance into the Ten-Tails' surface, his dark thoughts churning rapidly.
Nagato's main body had never appeared, but his will, controlling the Rinnegan, was closely linked to the Ten-Tails through the Six Paths Black Receivers.
The plan to forcibly seize control had already failed, but those Rinnegan were crucial to the Eye of the Moon Plan...
The thick shadows writhed quietly as a cold command pierced into the Kamui Dimension.
"Obito," Black Zetsu's raspy voice penetrated the spatial barrier, "the plan begins."
Inside the Kamui Dimension, Obito's single eye suddenly contracted behind his Swirl Mask.
He naturally understood what Black Zetsu meant; Konan was using the 'Dance of the Shikigami' to transform into paper and merge into the charred folds of the Ten-Tails' skin—that was Nagato's last remaining sore spot.
Feeling a needle-like stinging pain from the cursed seal on his heart, Obito remained silent for a few seconds before finally squeezing out a response through gritted teeth.
"...I understand."
In the shadow of a piece of scorched rock on the Ten-Tails' surface, space distorted silently.
Obito's figure emerged like a ghost, his Sharingan precisely locking onto an inconspicuous glimmer of paper between the rock crevices—the very node where Konan was disguised!
Then, he slowly reached out his hand.
As long as he successfully made contact, he could use Kamui to take her down.
Just as Obito emerged from the Kamui Dimension and locked onto that seemingly ordinary paper node on the Ten-Tails' surface, preparing to activate "Kamui" to grab Konan...
That thin sheet of paper suddenly twisted and deformed, and crimson incantations spread like venomous snakes, abruptly transforming into a violently burning Explosive Tag!
"!?"
Obito's pupils shrank sharply as his Mangekyo Sharingan spun rapidly.
The flames and shockwave of the explosion were already right in front of him; he instinctively activated his intangibility.
Scorching light and flames swallowed his position, and the shockwave tore through the air, causing the charred stratum corneum of the Ten-Tails' surface to rustle.
Obito's figure flickered within the distorted space, with most of the explosion's power passing through his intangible body.
However, the scorching heat and the instantaneous glare still made the face under his mask sting, and a lock of hair at his temple was singed and curled.
Before the smoke cleared, countless snow-white sheets of paper rose from the Ten-Tails' surface like a swarm of angry butterflies, rapidly converging near the explosion site to reform Konan's cold figure.
She floated in the air, a spear made of white paper pointing sharply at Obito, who had just emerged from his intangible state looking slightly disheveled.
Suppressed fury and cold interrogation burned within her purple eyes.
"What are you trying to do?!"
Her voice pierced through the echoes of the explosion, clearly stabbing into the background noise of the battlefield's clamor.
Simultaneously, countless sheets of paper rustled around her, as if gathering strength for the next wave of destructive attacks.
She saw through Obito's goal—it was by no means well-intentioned, but targeted at the key node of Nagato's control over the Ten-Tails.
Obito stabilized his slightly swaying body, his hand brushing over the singed marks on his mask, his exposed crimson Sharingan staring at Konan.
His low, raspy voice carried undisguised sarcasm: "What am I doing? You know very well, Konan."
He slowly raised his hand, pointing at Konan and the berserk Ten-Tails beneath her.
"Your resistance is the best answer. That Explosive Tag trap just now... it was certainly not set up in haste; it was tailor-made for my 'Kamui,' wasn't it? So, why play dumb?"
Konan's face grew even colder, as if covered by a layer of frost.
Obito let out a sneer, his voice penetrating the mask with a malice that saw through everything.
"You see, this is our 'alliance.' Doesn't your resistance just now prove that you and Nagato never truly trusted me—never trusted 'Madara'—from the very beginning? You've been on guard, calculating. So, drop your interrogating posture."
The three tomoe in his Sharingan spun slowly, and his tone turned icy.
"Between us, it's always been six of one and half a dozen of the other. Using each other, wary of each other; neither of us has ever given true trust. I don't trust you, and you don't trust me. We're just forced onto this sinking ship called 'Akatsuki' to achieve our respective goals. Isn't that right?"
Konan's lips pressed into a thin, pale line; she couldn't refute it because what Obito said was the truth.
'Trust?' A voice in the depths of Konan's heart responded coldly.
'From the moment you—or rather, "Uchiha Madara"—appeared in Amegakure with that seductive "Eye of the Moon" plan...
Trust never existed. Hidden behind those eyes were only endless calculations and exploitation.'
'Even if we started with doubts, even if we knew we were playing with fire...
To realize that dream, to ensure Yahiko's sacrifice wasn't in vain... we had no choice.
Nagato needed the power of those eyes, and we needed the resources and intelligence network provided by "Madara."
Even knowing it was poison, to heal this terminally ill world, we could only drink poison to quench our thirst.'
Her gaze didn't waver in the slightest; facing Obito's questioning, she didn't speak to defend herself.
She only let out a very soft snort from her nose, full of disdain and coldness.
This snort was her answer.
'Utilizing each other? Being on guard? So what? As long as the plan can proceed, as long as Nagato is here, as long as the Ten-Tails can become a tool to create peace... All of this can be temporarily endured.'
The sheets of paper around her rustled, all her power concentrated on the paper spear pointed at Obito.
The threat had not been removed; the "ally" before her was now the most fatal enemy.
Konan knew his intentions, just like that scene from the past.
Hanzou had used her to force Yahiko to his death; now, the 'Madara' before her wanted to use her to force... Nagato!
Therefore, she absolutely could not be caught by him.
She was no longer the Shinobi who couldn't even protect herself!
In that instant, Konan's figure shattered directly, turning into countless pieces of white paper fluttering in the air.
Below, the Ten-Tails let out an even more berserk and painful roar.
The dark purple chakra lightning storm churned even more violently, as if sensing the fierce conflict in its controller's will.
The atmosphere of this battlefield became even more solemn and eerie due to the complete fallout between these former allies high in the sky.
On the stone throne, Takuno's Six-Tomoe Rinnegan in his left eye swept over this dramatic confrontation, a playful arc curling at the corner of his mouth.
It was as if he were watching a meticulously choreographed stage play.
Obito hovered in mid-air, his Sharingan locked onto the fluttering wave of white paper on the Ten-Tails' surface below.
Konan's figure had long since completely dissipated, merging into these hundreds of millions of seemingly fragile but lethally hidden sheets of paper.
She wasn't invisible; she was everywhere. Every piece of paper was her eye, and also her weapon.
"Tsk, what a troublesome woman."
Obito muttered, his voice carrying the irritation of being toyed with.
He clearly understood Konan's goal: to stall for time, to buy every second for Nagato to complete the Ten-Tails' transformation, and to prevent herself from becoming Nagato's Achilles' heel.
"Kamui!" His Sharingan spun, and the space in front of him distorted into a vortex.
He attempted to suck a large, concentrated swarm of paper into the Kamui Dimension.
However, that area of paper seemed to have a life of its own; the moment the spatial suction formed, it suddenly scattered in all directions!
They were like a startled flock of birds, skillfully avoiding the core area of the suction.
A few sheets of paper sucked into the edges burned and exploded violently before entering the vortex!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Successive flashes of Explosive Tags erupted at the edge of the spatial vortex, and although they failed to harm Obito's main body...
They successfully disrupted the stability of the spatial vortex, causing it to collapse prematurely.
The shockwaves and flames instead pushed more paper further away, spreading them over a larger area.
"It's useless!" Konan's cold voice seemed to come from all directions, carrying a hint of subtle mockery.
"Your Space-Time Ninjutsu cannot catch this many explosive tags."
Obito's gaze sharpened, and he gave up on point-suction.
His hands quickly formed seals: "Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A towering giant wave was generated out of thin air, slamming down with immense force upon the vast sea of paper on the Ten-Tails' back!
The water surged and churned, instantly submerging a large area.
In the past, this would have been enough to soak Konan's paper and make it useless.
But now, a strange sight appeared.
Those sheets of paper being washed by the flood did not become soaked, clumped, or sink as expected.
They were as if coated with an invisible layer of oil; as the water washed over them, the paper was merely tumbled and scattered by the powerful current, yet it remained light and dry!
Water droplets quickly rolled off their surfaces, leaving no trace.
"As expected, she's improved it..." Obito's expression under the mask was grim.
Intelligence had mentioned that Konan had specifically enhanced the resistance of her Paper Style; waterproofing was the basic level.
"Then I'll burn it all! Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Obito took a deep breath, his chest expanding, and blazing flames like a burst torrent of lava instantly covered an even wider area than the previous Water Release!
High temperatures distorted the air, and wherever the flames passed, sand and stone were charred and melted.
This time, the effect was evident!
The paper in the high-temperature core of the flames could not resist this B-rank or even near A-rank powerful Fire Release.
They quickly turned to ash! Wherever the flames swept, a large area was cleared.
However...
"Detonate!"
A cold voice rang out from the edge of the flames.
Those sheets of paper on the outer periphery of the flames, enduring the high-temperature scorching but not yet fully burned...
As well as the paper further away not yet affected by the flames, suddenly had dense crimson incantations appear on their surfaces!
Following that was an even more dense explosion, like a barrage of firecrackers!
Boom boom boom boom boom!
A continuous chain of Explosive Tag explosions went off at the edges and periphery of the sea of fire.
They were not meant to kill Obito, but to create shockwaves and a sky full of fluttering charred debris!
The shockwaves of the explosions instantly extinguished parts of the Great Fire Annihilation's flames and even pushed the burning paper ash and the flames themselves outward.
A large amount of explosive smoke and dust filled the air, severely interfering with Obito's vision and perception.
Most importantly, the chaotic airflow generated by the explosions blew more dry paper further away from the flame zone.
Like dandelion seeds scattering across the sky, they drifted down onto other areas of the Ten-Tails' massive body and even toward the further battlefield.
Konan's "presence" was further diluted and spread.
Obito, in his intangible state, watched all this, a hint of solemnity and anger flashing in his Sharingan.
He understood Konan's tactic: never fight head-on, never gather.
She had turned herself into countless improved "seeds" carrying Explosive Tags.
Using the Ten-Tails' massive, rugged surface as cover and a pathway.
If he tried to burn them with Fire Release, she would detonate the outer paper in advance to create chaos, protecting the core swarm and taking the opportunity to spread.
If he used large-scale Ninjutsu to clear the area, she would scatter even further, merging into the environment where she was harder to find.
If he tried to use Kamui to grab her, the targets were too small and dispersed, making the efficiency extremely low and easily triggering counterattacks from Explosive Tags.
Unless he could use a super large-scale, absolutely inescapable powerful Sealing Jutsu.
Or a Secret Insect Technique like that of the Aburame Clan, specifically designed to counter tiny targets.
Otherwise, trying to "capture alive" a Konan who was determined only to stall and never engage in direct combat in a short time...
Especially a Konan who had improved her Paper Style resistance and applied the Dance of the Shikigami to such an extent, was simply like trying to punch the air!