The sea roared with crashing waves, and ripples spread out in layers across the surface.
A chilling killing intent surged like a tangible force, stirring up invisible winds that raged around Pain as the center.
White Zetsu, who had been smashed into the seabed by a massive rock, suddenly reappeared from another direction.
A playful smile tugged at his lips as he examined the newly appeared "Yahiko."
Upon noticing his eyes, he let out a soft chuckle.
"The Rinnegan... the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. Perfect. Let me see today just how powerful they really are."
"Thank you..."
Konan, recovering from the spiritual whip-like assault, turned toward the "Yahiko" beside her and expressed her gratitude.
If Nagato hadn't acted in time, White Zetsu might've seized the opening just now, diving straight into her mental island and digging out the information on Groselle's Travels.
She had already estimated the power of a Sequence 4 to be terrifying.
But now that she faced one directly, Konan finally understood just how dangerous it truly was.
The Spectator pathway's Beyonders were just too strange—impossible to guard against!
Even a moment of carelessness could result in having one's mental vulnerabilities exploited.
And once her mind island fell, it would mean a complete loss of self-will—she'd become a puppet under White Zetsu's control!
Staring at the mentally drained Konan, who looked as if she'd just suffered a grievous blow, Nagato felt a fire ignite in his chest.
He clenched his teeth and glared at White Zetsu.
"I won't let you get away with this!"
Bang!
Suddenly, a splash burst from the water.
A massive figure shot up from the sea right beneath White Zetsu's feet.
The man's inner forearms suddenly ejected blades, snapping together like a crab's pincers, aiming to slice White Zetsu clean in half.
However, White Zetsu reacted with startling speed, almost as if he had anticipated it. His foot slammed against the water's surface, and his figure shot upward into the sky.
But the burly man's back suddenly sprouted a turret, mechanical in nature, and several miniature missiles streaked upward through thick smoke, locking onto the airborne White Zetsu.
Boom!
The explosion from the missiles filled the sky with a dense cloud of dust and smoke.
"Is it over?"
Nagato, watching the battlefield through Yahiko's eyes, asked with a tinge of unease.
"No, not yet. Don't lower your guard, Nagato."
Konan exhaled slowly, her eyes sharp. "That guy's defense is like steel. That kind of damage won't be enough."
As her words fell, White Zetsu stepped out of the smoke.
His entire body was now covered in pale grayish-white scales, making his appearance look strange and inhuman.
"Even the Asura Path's missiles couldn't pierce those scales?"
Nagato felt a chill in his heart. The Asura Path's firepower was among the strongest, yet even that had been completely blocked.
It seemed that if they truly wanted to injure him, they'd have to rely on the Human Path's power.
Yahiko turned to look at Konan, his eyes speaking more than words.
Having grown up together, Konan immediately understood his intention.
She nodded gently and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I'll restrain him for a moment. It'll be brief—less than a second. You must seize that moment."
Yahiko gave a slight nod and once again directed the Asura Path to launch an attack.
"That's all the Rinnegan can do?"
White Zetsu glanced at the burly man below and narrowed his pale golden eyes.
Fear.
The psychic impact condensed from pure mental power struck the burly man head-on.
However, something unexpected happened.
The burly man didn't react at all.
Instead, he suddenly stomped down on the surface of the water and launched himself forward like a cannonball.
"Did that not work?"
White Zetsu froze for half a second, then his expression twisted into fury.
Without hesitation, he clenched his fist and punched straight at the Asura Path.
The force behind it was terrifying, tearing through the air with a deafening sonic boom.
The Asura Path was blasted away.
Its limbs shattered, metal fragments scattered in all directions, and its body plunged into the sea.
"No wonder… it was just a puppet."
White Zetsu sneered coldly, thinking he had uncovered the truth.
But at that moment, a shrill bird cry echoed through the sky, pulling his attention away.
A massive bird-beast spread its wings and swept across the sky in a powerful arc.
Behind it, enormous bird eggs began to fall one after another like raindrops.
"Bird eggs?"
While White Zetsu was still dazed—
The falling eggs suddenly exploded one by one.
Blinding flashes of light burst forth along with violent shockwaves, engulfing the area where White Zetsu stood.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The continuous chain of explosions forced White Zetsu to move quickly, trying to escape the danger zone.
But a giant crab had already been lying in wait.
A stream of water compressed into a high-pressure blade shot toward White Zetsu's face like a cutting saw.
White Zetsu twisted his body with sheer force, barely dodging the water blade.
His heart burned with shock and rage.
But before he could catch his breath, a massive centipede burst from the smoke and debris, its enormous body coiling as it tried to entrap him.
"Another one?"
The endless wave of summoned beasts filled White Zetsu's eyes with murderous rage.
"Filthy animals—get lost!"
Intimidation!
A terrifying pressure, like the might of a dragon, swept across the battlefield in an instant.
The giant centipede and the crab vanished in fear.
Only the strange bird in the sky remained, safely circling high above, beyond the reach of the suppression.
At this moment, even someone as dull as White Zetsu realized there had to be more people nearby than just the ones in plain sight.
He released his mental perception, and soon enough, he detected someone not far away — a person hidden inside a lizard.
That was the one constantly summoning new creatures.
"Take control of him first!"
White Zetsu stepped onto the water, his figure shooting out like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, heading straight for the camouflaged lizard.
"Don't even think about running!"
Just then, Yahiko made his move.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Buzz!
White Zetsu, caught in a powerful gravitational pull, was instantly yanked toward Yahiko, completely unable to resist.
"What is this power?!"
His eyes widened in shock and anger.
Just how many abilities did the Rinnegan have?
*******
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