Naruto: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 210: The World of Perception Suddenly Becomes Strange

Konan did not heed Nagato's words.

She had always silently followed Nagato and Yahiko, considering their ideals as her own. Though accustomed to following Nagato's commands without question, she had helped him without dissent.

But now, she had to defy Nagato's will.

*Whoosh, whoosh~~*

A large number of paper sheets swiftly lifted the bed beneath Nagato. Ignoring Nagato's further pleas, Konan unfurled a pair of paper wings from her back and, carrying the lifted bed, sped away without concern for the consumption of her energy.

She vaguely sensed it.

Right behind her, not far away, a suffocatingly majestic aura was rapidly approaching.

Hagoromo Gengetsu, having pinpointed Nagato's location, directly pursued him.

The battlefield was left in disarray, with the ground sunk around ten meters from its initial state after the intense battle.

On a nearby mountain, Utakata, Hotaru, and Tonbee, who had witnessed the entire process, exchanged glances.

Though the battle had not lasted long, the shocking visuals of it were deeply imprinted in their minds.

"Human strength can reach such a level." Hotaru said, looking at the battlefield that had instantly turned into a massive pit, his usual enthusiasm for boasting completely gone.

Tonbee stared blankly at the battlefield for a long time.

The man who had fought Hagoromo Gengetsu had displayed power far exceeding that of the war's participants and any tailed beast hosts he had ever seen.

Even combined, they would still fall short.

Yet, this formidable figure had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Hagoromo Gengetsu.

After living for over sixty years, Tonbee suddenly found his understanding of the world had become unfamiliar.

"Has the world always been like this? Or was it just an exception?"

He couldn't help but ask himself.

Beside him, Hotaru did not dwell on such matters.

Seeing Hagoromo Gengetsu's overwhelming power, her eyes sparkled with admiration, and her only thought was, "Hagoromo-sama is so cool! Hagoromo-sama is so amazing!"

The three of them felt this way.

Additionally, others had taken notice of this battle.

A squad of about ten Mist Village pursuers stood on a small hill outside the battlefield.

If Pain was the bait that Hagoromo Gengetsu had cast to lure in a big fish, then they were the smaller fish attracted to the bait.

"Lucky us!!!"

Looking at the still-smoking battlefield, the Mist elite team fell into a long silence and heartfelt relief.

Fortunately, they had arrived late and did not take the bait, instead witnessing a much larger fish hooked by the bait and then killed beyond recovery after a struggle.

"Are these two really human?"

The Mist ninja sent to hunt the Six-Tails were all quite skilled.

However, even from such a distance, they felt their hearts racing and dared not step forward. The horror and panic they felt were palpable.

At this moment, not only one person doubted if the two were human, others felt that beneath their surface was something more powerful than a tailed beast, even surpassing tailed beasts.

Especially the one who defeated the other!

The leader of the pursuing squad began to speculate about the identities of the two.

But seeing his subordinates' demoralized state, he thought better of adding to their fears.

"Sir," a subordinate approached after a while, asking about the next move.

The leader looked at the battlefield, his eyelids twitching, and shook his head. "Change direction and continue tracking. This place is not where we belong."

Unwilling to risk getting caught in the crossfire, the Mist ninjas chose to follow their instincts.

Meanwhile, underground, an observing White Zetsu was initially stunned, then disbelieving, and finally shocked.

"This is a major problem!" White Zetsu muttered.

No one had expected that Pain, with his Rinnegan and unparalleled strength, who had been invincible for years, would fall here.

The assailant was none other than Hagoromo Gengetsu.

Seeing that Hagoromo Gengetsu had specifically set a trap for Pain, it was evident that Pain was lured into a trap.

"Immediately report this information to Madara-sama!"

Hagoromo Gengetsu's sudden attack on Akatsuki was already a big deal.

More critically, since he was now pursuing Nagato, if the Rinnegan changed hands, everything would be disastrous.

Thinking of this, White Zetsu dared not delay and quickly set off.

But it hadn't gone far before—

Boom!

A massive crack appeared above it.

White Zetsu had just looked up, not yet understanding what had happened, when a hand clamped onto its forehead, causing it to lose consciousness instantly.

"To avoid unnecessary mishaps, you'd better stay here."

Hagoromo Gengetsu's shadow clone took out a sealing scroll and skillfully sealed White Zetsu inside.

At the same time, other shadow clones were doing the same.

Hagoromo Gengetsu knew that as the leader of Akatsuki and now hunting the Six-Tails, Nagato's side would certainly have White Zetsu responsible for information gathering.

During the pursuit of Nagato, Hagoromo Gengetsu had summoned some shadow clones to capture these White Zetsu to prevent them from calling for reinforcements and causing unnecessary trouble.

As for the Mist ninjas, he ignored them completely.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Soon, shadow clones returned with their spoils, and Hagoromo Gengetsu collected the sealing scrolls, dismissed the clones, and gathered the relevant memories.

Confirming that no White Zetsu had escaped, he looked ahead and saw the target becoming vaguely visible.

"Although the quality of perseverance is good, it is still a futile struggle."

Hagoromo Gengetsu said calmly and clapped his hands together.

"Senjutsu: Water Release: Cutting Rain!"

Pitter-patter~~~

The originally clear sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds, and a large area of rain fell like silk.

Ahead, Konan, who was within the range of the heavy rain, looked up with a serious expression at the artificially created downpour.

She reached out her hand, and numerous paper sheets flew up to form a giant paper umbrella to shield herself and Nagato from the rain.

Normally, paper is afraid of water.

But Konan's paper was specially treated to be completely waterproof.

The only weakness was oil.

After completing this, Konan was about to accelerate and take Nagato away.

But soon, she noticed that the paper umbrella above them was becoming thinner under the impact of the rain.

It wasn't the paper quality that was the problem, but rather the chakra contained in the paper was constantly being weakened.

"The rainwater is problematic!"

Konan realized something was wrong.

Nagato also looked up, and with his Rinnegan, quickly understood the situation. His voice weak, he said, "The rainwater can weaken ninjutsu and chakra outside of Water Release. Disperse the paper umbrella."

After saying this, Nagato extended his hands and quickly used a transparent shield to absorb the cutting rain from above.

But soon, a severe coughing fit erupted from Nagato, causing the technique to falter. The sealing shield flickered a few times before disappearing.

"Cough cough. Sorry, Konan."