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Obito had pondered for an entire day on how to seal a Tailed Beast without relying on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. In the end, he still hadn't come up with any particularly brilliant solution. Of course, this was partly due to the sheer urgency of the situation. The Five-Tails Jinchuriki was on the verge of death. If they didn't want the Five-Tails to break free and rampage, they had to reseal it somewhere else before the Jinchuriki died.
In the end, Obito opted for an old-fashioned method. Since this Jinchuriki was about to die... they would simply create the next Jinchuriki.
Pain pointed at the White Zetsu beside Obito and spoke. "You intend to use this as the Jinchuriki? Are you serious?"
Obito answered calmly. "Of course I'm serious. Since we've decided to create the next Jinchuriki, White Zetsu is the candidate I trust the most and should also be the optimal choice. I don't see any mistake in this decision."
Pain spoke with some uncertainty.
"What I mean is... sealing a Tailed Beast into something like this—can you guarantee nothing will go wrong? What if the Tailed Beast rampages?"
In Pain's impression, White Zetsu was a type of entity with a relatively frail constitution. Pain deeply doubted whether White Zetsu's weak physique could safely contain the sealed Five-Tails. If the Five-Tails went on a rampage, it wasn't that they couldn't subdue it—it was just far too troublesome. The Akatsuki was about to begin capturing Tailed Beasts in earnest. Their operations would gradually become more frequent. They had neither the interest nor the time to subdue a rampaging Five-Tails.
Therefore, Pain hoped that this sealing of the Five-Tails could be done securely—at the very least ensuring that there would be no issues with the Five-Tails before the Four-Tails was sealed.
Obito spoke with a trace of dissatisfaction.
"I already said—with me here, the Five-Tails won't be able to stir up any trouble. Do you not trust me?"
Pain looked at the Sharingan gleaming crimson behind Obito's mask. He was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Fine. I trust you. I am aware, to some extent, of the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan."
With those words, the two ceased their conversation and silently began the sealing ritual.
Pain didn't know sealing jutsu. If he had to name one, it would only be the Planetary Devastation. He didn't know any other sealing techniques.
However, the existence of the Rinnegan and Yin-Yang Release allowed Pain to assist in suppressing the Five-Tails to some degree.
The primary work of the sealing was carried out by Obito. Obito had learned a great many things from the aged Madara. For Madara to task Obito with capturing the Tailed Beasts to realize the Infinite Tsukuyomi, it was naturally impossible that he hadn't taught Obito the methods for sealing Tailed Beasts. So Obito did understand certain Tailed Beast sealing methods.
This was also one of the reasons Obito had been able to make the Nine-Tails rampage back then.
The Sharingan could suppress Tailed Beasts, even control them. But the Sharingan could not destroy a Tailed Beast's seal.
Take Kagaya, for example. He could use his Eternal Mangekyo to control the Nine-Tails, but he couldn't cause the Nine-Tails to break its seal and rampage. This was because Kagaya didn't understand sealing jutsu. He had no way to help the Nine-Tails undo its seal.
Even controlling the Nine-Tails was useless. After all, that seal was something the Nine-Tails couldn't break on its own in the first place. Even if Kagaya controlled it, if he couldn't help the Nine-Tails break the seal, then with just the Nine-Tails alone, breaking the seal was clearly impossible.
Only by possessing both the Sharingan and some knowledge of sealing jutsu was there a possibility of making the Tailed Beast within a Jinchuriki rampage.
Thus, Obito began relying on his Sharingan and sealing jutsu to slowly extract the Five-Tails from Han's body, preparing to seal it into the White Zetsu.
Throughout the entire process, the Five-Tails was destined to be utterly incapable of resistance. Never mind Obito's Sharingan—standing right beside him was Pain with the Rinnegan. Even if the Five-Tails were completely freed from its seal, before these two, it would at most be a slightly larger nuisance.
However, this sealing ritual was destined not to proceed smoothly.
A single kunai came hurtling swiftly from the distance. In the blink of an eye, it pierced through the Hidden Rain Village's defenses and embedded itself into a tall tower.
Then, a flash of black light flickered into existence. Kagaya and his group appeared right beside the kunai!
The Flying Thunder God.
It should be noted here that when Kagaya used the Flying Thunder God, if he had his Susanoo activated, the flash would be golden. If his Susanoo was not activated, the flash would be black.
Kagaya himself didn't understand why. He could only speculate—perhaps the gold of his Susanoo was simply too bright?
Regardless, that wasn't the important part. The important part was that Kagaya had arrived at the Hidden Rain Village!
"To dare to directly trespass into our Hidden Rain Village... have you no regard for your life?! The Angel and Lord Pain will kill you!" Ajisai spoke with a face full of tension.
Three months of coexistence had caused Ajisai to unconsciously begin worrying about Kagaya.
Kagaya chuckled lightly. "Instead of worrying about me, why don't you worry about that Angel and Lord Pain of yours?"
Ajisai shouted. "Have you gone mad?! How could you possibly be a match for the Angel and Lord Pain? Listen to me—when the Angel appears, you must apologize properly! Suddenly trespassing into the Hidden Rain is an extremely rude act! It will anger the Angel! If you apologize properly, and I help persuade the Angel on your behalf, perhaps we can get through this safely."
Before Kagaya could even speak, Karin interjected with a face full of contempt.
"Hey, aren't you overestimating that so-called Angel and Lord Pain of yours? Well... I suppose since you've never seen Kagaya's true strength, it's normal to be this afraid. In the end, you're just a Chunin. Hmph!"
In Karin's view, this so-called Angel and Lord Pain were nothing more than self-aggrandizing boasts by shinobi of a minor nation. Angel? Then I'm a heavenly god.
Karin didn't know who Pain was, nor did she know who the Angel was. Although Karin had met Konan before, she had no idea that Konan was the Angel.
Karin had also met Pain, but she truly hadn't paid him any mind. After all, the one time she had met Pain, Kagaya had beaten him to the ground with effortless ease. Karin had completely dismissed him from her thoughts and had long since forgotten all about him.
Haku also offered gentle reassurance."Don't worry. Kagaya is very strong."
Ajisai shook her head frantically.
"No! You all think that because we're a minor nation, we're beneath notice. But you truly can't think that way! The Angel and Lord Pain are really, really strong! Listen to me, please?"
In Ajisai's understanding, the Angel and Lord Pain were practically invincible. She had never believed that anyone could defeat those two.
And in fact, that was more or less the truth. In this era, the Hidden Rain Village was truly a den of dragons and a pit of tigers. Any shinobi who treated this place like an ordinary minor nation was certain to pay a devastatingly painful price.
In the original story, even one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, had come to investigate the Hidden Rain Village and left his life behind here. Let alone anyone else?
Even if Onoki, the strongest of the Five Kage, came here, he certainly wouldn't have an easy time.
But what a pity... Kagaya was the anomaly of this era. Any other person coming to the Hidden Rain would have a miserable time. But Kagaya alone was different. Nearing invincibility in this era, he had arrived at the Hidden Rain. As for who would have a miserable time... that was far from certain.
Flutter, flutter, flutter...
Just at that moment, countless sheets of white paper came flying in from all directions, converging before Kagaya and his group. Finally, these paper sheets formed the shape of a person—Konan.
"Kagaya... we meet again. It truly has been a long time. If I recall correctly, you should still be a wanted target of the Akatsuki right now."
Konan's voice always carried a sense of calm, cold detachment.
Kagaya denied this. "Then you've remembered incorrectly. I've already made a ceasefire agreement with your leader."
Konan spoke with feigned surprise.
"Oh? Is that so? Then what are you doing here?"
Kagaya raised his hand and aimed it at Konan. "I'm here... to break that agreement, of course!"
A golden skeletal arm materialized and punched Konan's entire form into scattering pieces!
Flutter, flutter, flutter...
The paper sheets fluttered wildly. Not long after, those sheets once again formed Konan's shape.
"Breaking an agreement is not a wise choice. Are you certain about this, Kagaya?" Her tone had already taken on several degrees of chill.
Nagato and Obito might fear Kagaya because of his strength. But Konan would not.
It wasn't that Konan was stronger than Nagato or Obito. Nor was it that Konan was braver.
It was because Konan had no other choice.
In the course of Konan's life, it had initially been a story of passionate, arduous struggle—Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato, training diligently under Jiraiya, then advancing toward peace with burning determination.
Up to that point, Konan had been very happy. In the process of pursuing peace, her feelings with Yahiko had gradually deepened. Vaguely, they could almost see their future: peace would arrive, there would be no more war, she and Yahiko would marry and have children, and they would spend their blissful lives together in a tiny wooden house.
But alas... their story had only been written halfway before it came to an abrupt, grinding halt.
Hanzo, who bore the title of "Demigod," had struck against Konan and the others under the guise of peace negotiations.
All that was beautiful vanished in that single battle. Yahiko, to save Konan, had died. Nagato, as a result, had gone berserk, countless black receivers sprouting from his back, his legs crippled and burned beyond use.
The catalyst for all of this... had been Konan's capture by Hanzo.
Was it Konan's fault? Perhaps, from a god's-eye perspective, it wasn't Konan's fault, but the fault of Obito and Danzo. But Konan didn't have a god's-eye view. She couldn't know everything. From her perspective, Yahiko's death was her responsibility. Precisely because she had been captured, Yahiko had died.
The trio who had once chased their dreams together—one dead, one crippled, and only she, the very cause of the tragedy, remained completely unscathed.
From that point onward, Konan had encased her heart in ice. She devoted herself entirely to staying by Nagato's side, with no other purpose whatsoever. It was solely to continue walking forward together with this one remaining comrade, this one remaining family member.
Carrying Yahiko's hopes and expectations... to continue walking forward together.
Thus, Nagato was driven by peace. Obito was driven by the Infinite Tsukuyomi. They might yield to Kagaya out of fear that he would interfere with their respective goals.
But Konan was not like them. Konan only wanted to remain by Nagato's side and protect her sole remaining family.
Now, Kagaya had invaded the Hidden Rain. How could Konan possibly back down? She didn't want to achieve peace. She didn't want to achieve anything else. She only wanted to protect her one remaining family. Now, Kagaya had invaded her home—was she supposed to be afraid?
No. She would drive him out!!
Kagaya looked at Konan's body, composed entirely of paper sheets, and muttered to himself.
"Physical attacks are ineffective, huh... That really is troublesome..."
Kagaya's strongest techniques were all physical attacks. As for ninjutsu and the like... to be perfectly honest, he really wasn't very good at them.
Konan spoke in a deep voice.
"Kagaya... I'll ask you one more time. Are you absolutely certain you wish to move against us?"
Kagaya smiled. "Not moving against you is also an option. Hand over the Five-Tails, and everything can be discussed."
With that, Konan's expression completely hardened.
"Then there's nothing left to discuss."
It was just at this moment that Ajisai, who had been standing off to the side, suddenly spoke up.
"Angel! This... could you please let me explain?"
Konan turned her gaze and spoke with a hint of surprise.
"Ajisai... you're actually still alive?"
In Konan's view, Ajisai, having been sent to investigate Kagaya, should have been dead beyond any doubt. That she was still alive was somewhat unexpected.
Ajisai didn't catch the underlying implication in Konan's words and answered with delight.
"Yes, Angel! You actually still remember me... I'm truly honored."
Kagaya rolled his eyes and cut off their yet-unfinished conversation. "Alright, enough chit-chat. Save the family talk for later. Haku, freeze her!"
The vast majority of Kagaya's attacks were physical attacks. But that didn't matter—by his side was someone proficient in ninjutsu. Or rather, a Kekkei Genkai.
Haku nodded and extended a hand.
"Ice Release!"
Crack... crackle...
The temperature plummeted rapidly. Ice began forming on the ground. Then, a pillar of ice shot skyward, surging directly toward Konan in midair!
Flutter, flutter, flutter...
The paper sheets swiftly separated, evading Haku's ice pillar. Then, countless sheets of paper descended from the sky, shooting toward Kagaya and the others!
Paper Rain!
A golden skeletal framework rapidly expanded, enveloping Kagaya, Haku, Karin, and Ajisai within.
No matter how swift and fierce the Paper Rain was, it couldn't breach those golden ribs in the slightest.
To some extent, the Susanoo could be considered immune to physical attacks. After all, before such formidable defensive power, there were very few physical attacks that could break through.
At the very least, Konan could forget about it. Even if she brought out her six hundred billion explosive tags, it would still be impossible to blast through the Susanoo's defense.
The so-called six hundred billion explosive tags—their actual power wasn't really that much greater. It was simply that their duration was longer, specifically used to counter Obito's intangibility with Kamui.
On Konan's side, there was no way for her to breach Kagaya's defense. Meanwhile, Haku's Ice Release relentlessly pursued Konan. Konan could nullify physical attacks, but she couldn't nullify ninjutsu attacks.
If she were frozen by this Ice Release, Konan would be unable to use her "Dance of the Shikigami." At that point, Kagaya could simply swat her to death with a casual strike from his Susanoo.
However, Konan was extremely nimble. No matter how Haku's Ice Release pursued her, it couldn't catch up.
Kagaya furrowed his brow, then began forming hand seals.
Serpent – Ram – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive, scorching fireball materialized and surged toward Konan with intense heat!
Konan twisted her body and evaded without the slightest concern. "Far too slow!"
Kagaya sneered. "Is that so?"
Suddenly, Konan's face felt damp. Immediately after, her entire body was quickly soaked through.
It was the Great Fireball from just now—it had melted the Ice Release that had been trailing Konan all along!
Konan spoke dismissively. "Trying to use water to counter my paper, are you? What a pity. If I were still a child, this move might have been effective. But now... it's different. Water is useless against me."
When Konan was young, being soaked would render her unable to use her "Dance of the Shikigami." But later, Konan had refined her paper. She no longer feared water.
It was precisely at this moment that a flash of lightning appeared in Kagaya's hand. Then, that flash of lightning was hurled directly at Konan by Kagaya!
Lightning Cutter!
By applying the Lightning Cutter to a kunai, one could throw the Lightning Cutter! In the original story, Kakashi had also done this.
The kunai was extremely fast. Konan had no way to evade.
But that was fine. Konan didn't fear physical attacks. Also, paper didn't conduct electricity. Lightning Release attacks weren't very effective against her.
No... wait. Paper didn't conduct electricity. But... she had just been soaked through!
Water... did conduct electricity!
In the very next second, the Lightning Cutter struck Konan with pinpoint accuracy!