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What surprised Kakuzu and Sasori was that Yagura charged straight toward the puppets blocking his path without even attempting to dodge.
"BOOM!!!"
A powerful impact erupted, and Yagura emerged from the explosion's smoke unscathed.
Sasori, however, realized his puppets were no longer under his control. The chakra strings were still intact, but the puppets refused to move—as if frozen in place.
It was similar to how Rasa's Magnet Release could counter his puppets, though this was even worse.
Corals had sprouted from the joints of his puppets, completely locking them in place.
"How utterly useless."
Perhaps because Sasori had mocked him earlier in Kirigakure, calling him a monkey, Kakuzu couldn't resist taunting him now that he was at a disadvantage.
Sasori shot Kakuzu a cold glare but ignored him, instead speeding toward the ambush point as fast as possible.
The distance between them and Yagura was closing rapidly.
If they did nothing, they would undoubtedly be intercepted before reaching the ambush site.
Seeing that Sasori had no further plans, Kakuzu cursed under his breath.
He manipulated the Earth Release mask monster, sending it charging toward Yagura in an attempt to slow him down.
"They seem rather desperate. Aren't you going to help them?"
Black Zetsu glanced at Obito, who remained silent, merely observing as Yagura pursued Sasori and Kakuzu.
The monster formed by Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear successfully intercepted Yagura, buying the two some time to escape.
Unfortunately, they hadn't gotten far before Kakuzu let out a pained grunt—one of his hearts had been destroyed.
Yagura was far more troublesome than expected.
Shaking off the mask that had been pierced by his hook, Yagura wasted no time continuing the chase.
"Let's go."
Only when Yagura resumed his pursuit did Obito finally follow, Black Zetsu at his side.
As for intervening, Obito had no such intention.
In his eyes, whether Sasori or Kakuzu succeeded in luring Yagura out was all that mattered. Whether they lived or died was irrelevant.
On the surface, they were all members of the same organization, but Sasori and Kakuzu answered to Nagato—not to him, Uchiha Obito.
In other words, they recognized Nagato as their leader, not him.
Obito phased into Kamui's dimension and vanished, while Black Zetsu sank into the ground, disappearing without a trace.
"Damn it! He destroyed three of my hearts!!!"
Kakuzu was furious. Collecting suitable hearts was no easy task, and now three had been obliterated in an instant.
With the power of a tailed beast at his disposal, Yagura was an unstoppable force. Neither Kakuzu's Earth Grudge monsters nor Sasori's puppets could hold him back.
Compared to the two's disheveled state, Yagura had thoroughly overpowered them.
In the original timeline, the Akatsuki had underestimated Yagura's strength, leading to Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame's disastrous encounter with him in Kirigakure.
Had Kisame not saved Itachi at the critical moment, Itachi might not have lived long enough to pass his eyes to Sasuke.
Sasori ignored Kakuzu's outburst, as many of his own puppets had been destroyed.
Thankfully, their mission was complete—Yagura had taken the bait and followed them.
Though they hadn't reached the ideal ambush point, it no longer mattered.
Because the Six Paths of Pain had arrived.
With them here, their roles were effectively over.
All that was left was to watch the show.
"The Six Paths of Pain… So this was the Akatsuki's plan?"
Yagura gripped his weapon tightly, warily observing the six figures surrounding him.
"Admittedly, the plan was crude, but it succeeded in drawing you out, Fourth Mizukage, Yagura."
The Deva Path stepped forward.
Yagura raised his weapon and demanded, "Is the Akatsuki declaring war on the Five Great Nations again?"
"No. Our target is you alone—or rather, Kirigakure."
Obito emerged from Kamui's dimension behind Yagura, cutting off his retreat. He even offered a mocking reminder:
"Don't bother waiting for reinforcements. Your guards and ANBU squad have already been dealt with."
"You're trying to plunge Kirigakure into chaos?"
Yagura's expression darkened.
The Akatsuki's ambitions were far greater than he had imagined. He hadn't expected them to mobilize their entire force just to eliminate him.
Against Obito alone—or even with Sasori and Kakuzu—Yagura had no fear.
But now, the Akatsuki had deployed in full force, including their leader, the Six Paths of Pain.
"No, no, no. You're underestimating us. We don't just want Kirigakure in chaos—we want the entire shinobi world! But first, we need to control you… and take over Kirigakure."
Trapped in the encirclement, Yagura was like a caged bird with no escape. Obito saw no harm in revealing their plans.
"You talk too much."
Though he understood Obito's words were meant to break Yagura's spirit, Nagato was displeased.
If Yagura somehow transmitted this information, the Akatsuki would once again face the united forces of the Five Great Nations.
After years of secrecy and rebuilding, Nagato had no intention of clashing with them head-on again.
"Banshō Ten'in!!!"
Without allowing Obito to continue, the Deva Path raised his hand and unleashed a powerful gravitational pull, yanking Yagura toward him.
"ROAR!!!"
Unable to resist the force, Yagura knew his opponent was formidable. He abandoned all restraint.
Dark red chakra enveloped his body as he entered a partial tailed beast transformation.
Now resembling a massive red turtle with three elongated tails, Yagura used them like arms, uprooting nearby trees and hurling them at the Deva Path.
"Shinra Tensei."
The Deva Path uttered the words calmly.
"BOOM!!!"
A terrifying repulsive force blasted the trees back like cannonballs, forcing Yagura to deflect them with his tails.
"ROAR!!!"
The partially transformed Yagura roared as armored plates began covering his body—he was nearing full tailed beast form.
He just needed a little more time.
But the Akatsuki had no intention of giving him that chance.
"Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees."
Before the Deva Path could act again, Yagura sensed movement behind him.
Vines erupted from the ground, rapidly growing into towering trees that coiled around him mid-transformation.
"Damn it… Wood Release?!"
Yagura's eyes widened in shock.
"How does he know Wood Release?!"
"ROAR!!!"
Trapped within the entangling trees, Yagura thrashed violently, his claws and tails slashing desperately to break free.
His body continued to expand—just a little longer, and he would achieve full transformation.
But the Akatsuki wouldn't allow it.
Missiles launched from the Asura Path rained down, bombarding Yagura in a relentless explosion of smoke and fire.
Amid the chaos, Obito phased through Kamui, reappearing behind Yagura with a black rod in hand.
Without hesitation, he drove it deep into Yagura's body.