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"Containment—complete."
Deva Path stated coolly.
Then, with a "bang," Satori transformed into a puff of white smoke and disappeared.
Deva Path turned around, placing his hand on Mui's head. "Your technique… is quite interesting. Become one of the dead and fight for me!"
"Almighty Push!"
Bang!
Watermelon juice splattered everywhere.
At the same time, the black receivers inserted into the corpses of the surrounding guards and prisoners also vanished. Hozuki Castle, which had been somewhat lively, was transformed into a ghost town in just over ten minutes.
Misfortunes never come singly, blessings never arrive alone.
Just as the Six Paths of Pain, having expanded their combat strength once again, were preparing to leave, Sasori arrived, manipulating his puppet ship across the sea.
From afar, one could see two unconscious Jinchuriki lying prone on the ship, while Sasori's partner, Fūka, was nowhere to be seen.
Perhaps… he had taken off his uniform.
But anyway, the Jinchuriki capture plan for the Land of Earth was considered complete.
"Leader, you finished quickly here too."
"Mm."
Sasori sighed, "The organization has lost another member. Fūka was hit by the Five-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb, couldn't dodge, died~"
"The weak, in this cruel Shinobi world, have no right to choose, only the fate of being chosen."
Deva Path casually brushed off Fūka's death.
Now, after a battle-royale-like selection process, those who had survived until now were perhaps the ones truly suited for Akatsuki's ninja way.
Him, Nagato; Sasori; Hiruko; Zetsu; and… Konan.
"Take these two Jinchuriki back to the base."
"The next target is the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata, who is active in the Land of Water. Sasori, you will capture him. As for the Seven-Tails and Eight-Tails… I will personally handle them."
"Understood, Leader."
Sasori, enhanced by various black technologies, and now possessing the Third and Fourth Kazekage puppets, had become increasingly proficient in capturing Tailed Beasts. Although each operation seemed to cost him a teammate, it was highly efficient, wasn't it?
First Kakuzu, then Shinnō, and finally Fūka… Teammate sacrifices lead to boundless power.
Just as the two were preparing to return to the Amegakure base.
Black Zetsu's head emerged from the ground, shouting frantically, "N-Not good, Leader!"
Deva Path frowned, a bad feeling welling up in his heart.
But a leader had to act like a leader. Deva Path calmly asked, "What is it?"
"Leader! I went touring the Five Great Nations, collecting the corpses of powerful individuals to give to Hiruko as materials. But when I went to Konohagakure, I accidentally saw the Vice-Leader…"
Nagato, hiding in the paper tree, felt his pupils constrict, his breath stopping at that moment, as if an invisible hand had seized his heart.
Konan… something happened?!
Nagato could no longer maintain the leader's facade, his trembling voice transmitted through Deva Path's mouth: "The Vice-Leader… is dead?"
Sasori's expression was somewhat strange as he looked at Deva Path's back.
Aesthetics. It was clearly a puppet body, yet he could still hear emotional fluctuations… But just moments ago he was talking about the fate of being chosen, and now he breaks down. This leader really had an indescribable double standard.
However, the next sentence reversed the situation entirely.
Black Zetsu finished catching his breath and finally explained clearly: "No, no, the Vice-Leader isn't dead, but the Vice-Leader she…"
Black Zetsu's expression was hesitant as he looked at Sasori, the meaning unspoken.
Nagato breathed a sigh of relief, his expression somewhat displeased. "Sasori is absolutely loyal to the organization. Just say what you need to say."
"This… is really hard to say, Leader! Why don't you just see for yourself~"
Black Zetsu took off his ring and handed it to Deva Path.
Its ring was made of chakra metal and specially modified. It could use ninjutsu to record events that occurred over a period of time and project them after explanation.
Chakra metal was just that magical.
'Konan is fine, that's good.'
As long as it wasn't news of Konan's death, Nagato felt he could accept whatever had happened.
But, could he really?
He infused chakra into the ring, and the events that had transpired on the forest path were projected without reservation. He saw—
First, a wide-angle shot confirmed that Gojo Kaigetsu and Konan were on a path in a dense forest. No one else was visible, indicating they were in a "secret rendezvous," having deliberately avoided others.
Then the camera zoomed in, focusing on the two. Perhaps due to the viewing angle, Konan and Gojo Kaigetsu's bodies seemed to overlap.
And their current facial expressions were completely recorded.
Gojo Kaigetsu's lips curved into an "ambiguous" smile, as if enjoying the sight of the woman before him struggling in the vortex of [Bonds] and [Betrayal].
And Konan? Her expression shifted from hesitation to determination, and finally, that sideways glance she gave Gojo Kaigetsu, that flirtatious look—even Nagato, her childhood friend, had never seen it!
If the previous scenes could be explained away as coincidence, as him overthinking things… then the action of their hands, there was no explanation for it, enough to make Nagato's eyes pop.
Gojo Kaigetsu's fingers looked long and powerful, as if they were finely crafted works of art. The knuckles were distinct, without excess flesh. A simple extension revealed a beauty of precision and strength.
The nails on each finger were trimmed neatly, gleaming faintly, as if meticulously cleaned in preparation for something.
Such preparation was perhaps similar to how some single female ninjas painted their fingernails but deliberately skipped the middle and index fingers.
His fingers looked agile and rhythmic, as if a gentle poke from such fingers would bring a soul-stirring touch.
Such fingers, if used to write articles, perhaps every word would be like a dancing note, giving vibrant life to people's spiritual world; if used to explore the ninja way, each touch would make a kunoichi completely lose herself…
He held it! Gojo Kaigetsu held it!
Nagato's breathing quickened. From his perspective, Konan seemed completely unguarded towards Gojo Kaigetsu.
She just straightforwardly reached out Gojo Kaigetsu's hand in mid-air!
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