Through the ubiquitous intelligence infiltration by White Zetsu, Nagato and the others, far away in the Land of Water, also learned of the unexpected incident at the Allied Forces Command Post.
"What on earth is he trying to do?" This wasn't just the Allied Forces' question; it was Nagato's and his cohorts' as well. Truthfully, they couldn't figure out what Namikaze Naruto truly wanted anymore.
"At least for us, the situation is advantageous." Nagato decided to cut through the complexity. Since he couldn't understand Naruto's motives, he would focus on their own position.
"The Allied Forces' assassination squad has reached the Land of Water. Shall I deal with them directly?" With thirty million exploding tags in hand, Konan felt confident enough to face even five Kage-level powerhouses.
"You may." Nagato nodded slightly. The situation was growing increasingly bizarre. Current developments had already deviated from his original intention of making the Five Great Nations understand the suffering of smaller countries, but under the pressure of the overall situation, he couldn't just follow his own script. Besides, crippling the main forces of the Five Great Nations' shinobi, leaving them without the strength to invade other countries, would also achieve his desired effect.
On the boundless ocean, a ship propelled by Kakashi and the others sped forward at a terrifying rate.
"Someone's ahead," Sasuke called out. His Mangekyo Sharingan allowed him to spot the eerie figure floating above the ocean before the others.
"Akatsuki's Angel." By this stage, the hidden villages had a clear understanding of Akatsuki's personnel and their respective abilities. The characteristic white wings were unmistakable.
"I'm sorry, Nagato has things to do. I can't let you disturb him," Konan said, beating her wings and stirring up splashes on the sea surface.
"Are all Akatsuki members this confident?" Darui was the first to leap from the ship, rushing towards the enemy. The others followed suit, while Kitsuchi, who wasn't adept at naval combat, remained on the vessel.
But Konan had no intention of engaging them head-on, merely using paper shuriken for long-range harassment.
"Don't let her drain too much of your chakra," Kakashi signaled to Sasuke beside him. Among those present, only Sasuke possessed effective anti-air combat capabilities.
The Mangekyo in Sasuke's eyes spun rapidly. The Puppet Otsutsuki Urashiki spread its damaged crane-like wings and soared into the sky.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
But exploding tag shuriken flying from mid-air intercepted it. Konan flew straight up, and countless paper shuriken, each tied with an exploding tag, rained down like a storm.
"This was originally meant for the Allied Shinobi Forces, but since you're here, consider it a gift." Given the mutual distrust, how could Konan believe that Uchiha Madara and his associates could actually stop the Allied Forces?
WHOOSH!!
The ocean beneath the ship was like the gaping, bloody maw of an abyssal beast, with an endless sea of exploding tags floating on either side.
"It's a trap!" Seeing this, Darui and the others stared in utter fury, desperately unleashing their techniques to break out.
But Konan, long prepared, wouldn't let them escape the blast radius so easily. Several giant summoned beasts suddenly burst from the sea, knocking Kakashi and the others back.
"Farewell, Allied Shinobi Forces captains."
BOOM!
As if soldiers hearing the call to charge, thirty million exploding tags detonated simultaneously, the resulting steam even shrouding the sky.
"NO!!" Lightning erupted around Darui as he let out an unwilling roar, vanishing into the blaze.
Minutes later, the explosions ceased, and countless dead sea fish floated on the ocean surface.
ROAR!
On the Land of Fire's defense line, the Ten-Tails' heaven-shaking, earth-penetrating roar resounded.
"It's all over," Konan said, dissolving into paper scraps and vanishing into mid-air.
"How did you know about this place?!" From a dark underground space came Black Zetsu's incredulous shriek.
"A dying thing has no need to know so much." Watching the black shadow gradually being annihilated by Yin-Yang Release, Naruto felt a sense of relief. Having taken down the shinobi world's ultimate schemer, the rest would be easier to handle.
A vortex swirled, and the Naraka Path's figure slowly emerged.
"Did you get the other eye?" Naruto asked. Although Konan's thirty million exploding tags were terrifying, it was impossible for them to have killed Sasuke and all the others.
"Got it. Does he need to be kept alive?" Naraka Path Uchiha Obito said, pulling a half-charred body from his alternate dimension—it was Kakashi.
"Keep him alive." Naruto looked at Kakashi, whose life force was nearly extinguished, and recalled the peaceful days after graduating from the Ninja Academy. He sighed softly; there was, after all, a semblance of a teacher-student bond between them. He used Yang Release to save Kakashi's life, but he could do nothing about the left arm and leg that were completely necrotic. Spending the rest of his life safely in a wheelchair might be a decent option.
"You..." Black Zetsu stared in horror at this scene. He had never imagined that his downfall would come at the hands of Uchiha Obito, the one he thought he controlled best. "If I die, there'll be no one to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan! You and Rin will never see each other again!" he struggled desperately, hoping Uchiha Obito would have a change of heart.
"Uchiha Obito died long ago. The Eye of the Moon Plan? It's more like Otsutsuki Kaguya's revival plan, isn't it?" the Naraka Path stared at him indifferently.
"You..." The two eyes on the black shadow widened abruptly, completely unable to comprehend how his plan had been exposed.
Before he could finish speaking, Naruto abruptly increased the output of his Yin-Yang Release, directly annihilating him into dust barely visible to the naked eye.
"While you're at it, clean out what's inside me," the Naraka Path said. To ensure Uchiha Obito would follow their plan, Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu had placed a restrictive seal within his body. Previously, to prevent the fact that Uchiha Obito had been turned into a puppet from being exposed, Naruto had left the seal intact. Now that Black Zetsu was dead, there was naturally no need to keep it.
Naruto manipulated Yin-Yang Release to destroy all the restrictive seals within him. For the Naraka Path, who was already a puppet, a damaged heart was not a fatal injury.
"Nagato has already begun to move. Should we intervene?" the Naraka Path asked, feeling the emptiness in his chest.
"I'll handle the Ten-Tails. You go coordinate with the Deva Path to take down the Lands of Wind and Earth," Naruto waved his hand dismissively. Although the Naraka Path, possessing Dual Kamui, had considerable combat power, it still wasn't enough against Nagato controlling the Ten-Tails.
Meanwhile, the Allied Forces, hamstrung by the White Zetsu who prevented any unified action, had no ability to resist Nagato's powerful offensive with the Ten-Tails. After a few Tailed Beast Bombs, the Land of Fire's defense line was declared lost.
Years of planning were now within easy reach, but Nagato, gazing at everything before him, felt somewhat at a loss. The Five Kage were dead, the main forces of the Five Great Shinobi Nations were destroyed, and everyone had felt pain. This seemed to be the peace he had envisioned.