Everyone on the field was watching Mokgetsu.
The Rain Ninjas, led by Hanzo, hoped that Mokgetsu would obediently commit suicide, saving them a lot of effort.
The Ninjas of the Ninja Sect brought by Mokgetsu hoped that he would not commit suicide, no matter how they looked at it.
The Hidden Rock shinobi led by Kitsuchi had no particular thoughts, only curious about what Mokgetsu would choose.
Shimura Danzo didn't care what choice Mokgetsu would make; he just wanted to see rivers of blood, hoping the Ninja Sect and the Rain Village would both suffer, as a strong Land of Rain wasn't in Konoha's interests.
"Hanzo-senpai, now's not the time to play these tricks; it only lowers your reputation," Mokgetsu took the kunai shot by Hanzo from Yahiko's hand and infused it with Fire Attribute chakra.
Intense flames rose on the surface of the kunai, drying the rain-drenched weapon.
Whoosh!
Mokgetsu aimed ahead of Hanzo and threw the flaming kunai.
With his actions, Mokgetsu made his choice clear to everyone: asking him to commit suicide was a pipe dream.
If Nagato weren't the one standing here but instead Shisui or Obito, Mokgetsu might have been interested in faking his death.
Because that would most likely stimulate them enough to awaken their Mangekyo Sharingan, rapidly increasing their strength.
But Nagato wasn't quite there; although he couldn't yet fully use the Rinnegan, he already possessed it.
Nagato didn't need to awaken the Rinnegan but to unlock its power. Intense stimulation could accelerate this process, but it wasn't a necessity like the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Sosuke, you've made a wrong decision," Hanzo said coldly, looking at Mokgetsu.
Boom!!
Hanzo gathered chakra and flung a kunai, intercepting Mokgetsu's flaming kunai, which exploded mid-air.
The whole valley instantly became tense, an invisible smoke of gunpowder permeating everywhere.
Kitsuchi perked up instantly; it looked like a fight was about to break out.
He actually wanted to see a one-on-one fight between Hanzo and Mokgetsu, but he doubted Hanzo would give up the numerical advantage of the Rain Ninjas.
"Attack!" Hanzo didn't make a move himself immediately, instead directing a hundred elite Rain Ninjas to attack.
Upon hearing Hanzo's command, the elite Rain Ninjas quickly infused chakra into their hands and threw their kunai.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!
A multitude of black kunai shot from all directions, enclosing Mokgetsu and his group like a black net.
This was why Hanzo chose the meeting place here; the Rain Ninjas on the mountains could easily launch dense attacks that Mokgetsu and his people found hard to dodge.
Hanzo watched Mokgetsu in the valley with a calm face; they had all the advantages of geography and timing. What could Mokgetsu use to fight him?
Nagato was rapidly thinking about what Ninjutsu could defend against these attacks from all directions and protect all his companions.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
Mokgetsu gathered chakra and converted it into Wind Attribute chakra, unleashing it the moment he clapped his hands.
Whoosh whoosh!!
A sudden fierce wind blew from Mokgetsu and his group, scattering all the incoming kunai in disarray.
A large amount of rainwater splattered outward, causing the trees in the mountains to rustle.
Although Gale Palm was only a regular C-rank Wind Release Ninjutsu, under Mokgetsu's master-level proficiency with Wind Attribute Chakra Nature Changes, it was quite effective, easily countering such ninja tool attacks.
Nagato looked at his own hands and then at Mokgetsu.
Nagato also knew Gale Palm, but he knew he couldn't achieve such results.
He recalled the Water Array Wall Mokgetsu used at the start, which was different from an ordinary Water Array Wall, capable of defending against all attacks without a blind spot.
"Keep attacking," Hanzo said expressionlessly.
He expected Mokgetsu might block the attack but didn't think Mokgetsu could do it with a simple C-rank Ninjutsu at such a scale.
Yet Hanzo still felt confident, because chakra for a ninja was finite; the more Mokgetsu used to protect his companions, the less he'd have for the fight.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Sharp black kunai sliced through raindrops again, forming a black net thrusting towards Mokgetsu and his team.
And again, Mokgetsu used Gale Palm to deflect the kunai.
"Sosuke, have you not prepared any contingencies? Don't tell me you didn't expect this; I need to reassess your abilities," Kakuzu appeared to be mocking, but was actually reminding Mokgetsu not to waste energy.
Hanzo's tactic was to conserve energy while wearing down Mokgetsu's stamina and chakra.
Before Kakuzu could say another word, Mokgetsu's hand rapidly struck Kakuzu's chest, lifting the seal on Kakuzu.
It wasn't that Mokgetsu completely trusted Kakuzu, but Kakuzu was now much weaker with just one heart left. Additionally, with Mokgetsu's Flying Thunder God Mark on him, Mokgetsu could eliminate Kakuzu instantly if he tried anything funny.
Though not fully trusting, based on Kakuzu's behavior, Mokgetsu deduced Kakuzu was unlikely to backstab him at this critical moment; at most, Kakuzu would run away alone.
If Kakuzu could help take care of the Ninjas of the Ninja Sect, it would relieve a lot of pressure on Mokgetsu.
Although weakened in power, Kakuzu at full strength was formidable, and even with one heart, he wasn't comparable to an ordinary ninja.