The one who had always kept moving forward was not him alone.
After so long apart, even Kushina had become this strong.
Ye Zi's cold gaze turned in that direction. He and White Zetsu had chosen to reveal themselves so suddenly because they were confident.
They had already decided Nagato would fail, that was reality.
It was a pity, but on the road toward each person's goal, there would always be those who fell. And the greater the goal, the less chance there was to rise again once fallen.
The sudden appearance of Ye Zi and White Zetsu was like a yellow light flashing in Kushina and the others' hearts. They had already crossed the stop line, and when the yellow turned red, there would be no stopping anymore.
Kushina and Minato sensed Ye Zi's presence. Their hearts jolted, and remembering the connection between this enemy and him, all they could do was focus on eliminating Nagato first.
Nagato, lacking the sensory perception of Sage Mode like Kushina and Minato, did not realize the viper Ye Zi lurking nearby.
Nagato, cornered, had little chance to recover the advantage. Most of his abilities aimed at capturing the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki would inevitably be countered by the Flying Thunder God. It was helpless. If not for Minato's jutsu, things should not have come to such a dead end.
Unfortunate timing… perhaps that was all it was.
Take Ye Zi, for example, if luck had failed him at any point, he might already be nothing but bones in the dirt.
Staring at the coordinated assault from Kushina and Minato, Nagato knew his only remaining option was Chibaku Tensei. In his current state, if even that could not settle the matter, then the one who would fall would be him.
"This is the only chance. Chibaku Tensei's range is large, but it takes time to form. The chance of them evading is high. I'll have to risk waiting until they close in before using it." Nagato's thoughts turned rapidly.
From the moment its pull began until its target was drawn into the core, there was always a gap of time. Theoretically, Minato's Flying Thunder God could still escape with Kushina.
Nagato's sharp eyes calmed, fixing on Minato rushing toward him.
Though he understood the basics of the Flying Thunder God, in Minato's hands its applications were endless. No one could predict what he would do in the next instant to maximize its potential.
Just like now, the kunai caught in Kushina's chakra chains. What role would they play?
In battle, every second was precious; there was often no time to think.
When Minato was less than a hundred meters away, he suddenly formed hand seals, splitting off a shadow clone even with his dwindling chakra, a risky move, but clearly one with purpose.
The two Minatos split to left and right, each pulling out smoke bombs.
Puff! Puff!
The bombs burst, rolling up thick white smoke to block Nagato's vision.
"Trying to counter the Rinnegan's sight…"
Nagato reacted quickly, sweeping the smoke away with a rapid Wind Release. But revealed within it, both Minatos hurled a kunai each.
Both kunai bore Flying Thunder God markings, cutting through the air.
Nagato frowned. Bound to the Gedo Statue in partial fusion, his mobility was severely crippled. Without the Nine-Tails' chakra, the statue was nothing more than a stationary artillery piece.
The restraining chains lashed out, batting the kunai aside, breaking this seemingly feeble assault.
Nagato waited patiently. This was his last chance. He had to let the jinchūriki close in before unleashing Chibaku Tensei.
But as the kunai spun away, both Minatos teleported directly to them, grasping the handles mid-flight despite their rotation.
In that instant, both were inside the Gedo Statue's chains' range.
Nagato would never waste the chance. The chains shot out, binding the airborne Minatos who had lost maneuverability. Yet even as they were ensnared, both hurled their kunai toward Nagato, fifty meters away, forming a four-point array.
Puff, puff!
Nagato's chains shredded the two Minatos, but they burst into smoke. Clones.
Nagato's face darkened. He instantly repelled the four incoming kunai with a lighter Shinra Tensei, scattering them away.
No Minato in sight, and Kushina remained motionless hundreds of meters away. But wary, Nagato immediately began the seals for Chibaku Tensei.
The next second, two figures appeared.
One beside Kushina. The other, already a hundred meters behind the Gedo Statue.
A rear assault. Minato's judgment.
When Nagato first summoned the statue, its chakra surge had been terrifying. But since then, it had remained motionless. Minato had sensed something off. Perhaps the statue couldn't move. So he chose to strike from behind.
That was why he had made a clone, to retrieve Kushina instantly. The smoke bombs and clones cut down by chains had only been decoys.
Now, appearing beside Kushina, Minato touched her and warped her instantly to his other self at the statue's rear.
Already prepared, Kushina unleashed a hundred chakra chains toward the statue. Minato's chakra reserves were nearly gone, but he could still assist her offensive.
Fifty meters was nothing, an instant's gap.
But Nagato had prepared as well. Before the chains struck, he hurled the core of Chibaku Tensei skyward.
The black sphere pulsed with dreadful chakra as it shot upward.
At the same time, forty or fifty chains poured from the Gedo Statue's maw, bending around with Rinnegan precision to intercept Kushina's chains.
The kunai on her chains were meant for Minato.
Clang, clang, clang!
The chains clashed again. This time, Kushina's numbers pushed through, a few breaking free to streak toward Nagato.
Nagato ignored them, eyes fixed on the black sphere rising into the sky.
Whoosh, whoosh!
Minato and his clone teleported onto her advancing chains. As they closed on Nagato, natural energy gathered in their hands, ready to strike.
If not for Nagato's ability to absorb chakra, Minato would have used Wind Release shuriken long ago.
Banshō Ten'in!
Asura Path: Arm!
Invisible force snatched one Minato, flinging him into the other. At the same time, mechanical arms sprouted behind Nagato, seizing Kushina's chains, breaking their assault.
By then, the Chibaku Tensei core had settled in place. A sudden, overwhelming gravitational pull erupted.
"—!" Minato and Kushina both stiffened.
The earth split open, rising into massive chunks drawn skyward.
Stones and gravel poured like rain into the black sphere, while the larger slabs of earth rose more slowly but inexorably.
The Minato caught by Banshō Ten'in was a clone. When he collided with the real Minato, he exhausted the last of his chakra and vanished. Minato himself was lifted by a massive slab of earth, carried skyward.
Kushina too, her footing gave way as the ground beneath her became a rising plate of earth pulled into the sky.
The smaller stones reached first, clustering around the black core to form a rocky sphere, swelling larger with each layer.
The suction was overwhelming, yet Nagato and the Gedo Statue remained rooted, untouched.
Minato and Kushina could not resist the force, carried aloft by the rising masses. Her chains still tangled with the statue's pulled taut, keeping her from flying higher but freezing her in place like a target. Meanwhile, Minato drifted farther away.
Decisions are often made in an instant.
Minato's chakra was nearly gone. He could teleport to Kushina's side, but not carry her beyond the Chibaku Tensei's pull. What he could do was sever her from the statue's chains.
The Chibaku Tensei had been aimed at her all along. Seeing her immobilized in the air, Nagato instantly sent the dragon spirits at her.
His original plan had been to seal her inside the growing sphere, then use the dragon spirits to drain the Nine-Tails. But this opportunity was too perfect to pass up.
His choice forced Minato's.
When the dragon-shaped spirit shot toward Kushina, who was suspended in midair, immobilized by the opposing pull of the suction and the chains—Minato teleported to her side first. Then he warped her a hundred meters away, and with that, his chakra was finally exhausted.
Minato's action freed Kushina from immediate danger, but the two of them were still within the range of Chibaku Tensei.
In just moments, both were dragged upward into the sky.
"I'm out of chakra," Minato signaled with a hand gesture, the same one he used back in their team days to let Kushina know he had little chakra left.
Seeing the gesture, Kushina gave a small nod, retracting her Adamantine Chains, leaving only one to coil around Minato and pull him closer.
Normally, with the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak, she could manifest giant hands to grip Minato and give him stronger protection. But right now she couldn't control that power well enough. If she used chakra hands, she might crush Minato outright. So she could only rely on the chains to keep them near each other.
Having no idea how Chibaku Tensei really worked, the two of them could only allow themselves to be drawn toward the growing stone sphere in the sky.
Soon, Kushina and Minato were slammed against the rocks pulled aloft, and more and more gravel poured over them, covering them in the blink of an eye.
The sphere above grew larger and larger, while the crater below grew wider and deeper.
The light in Nagato's eyes gradually dimmed. Having unleashed Chibaku Tensei he no longer had the strength to fight on, not because of chakra, but because of his body.
The only way to recover was to absorb the Nine-Tails' chakra into the Gedo Statue, then fully fuse himself with it. Only then could his severely damaged body be instantly restored.
This was his last chance…
At that moment, every conscious person in Konoha including the Leaf shinobi who had survived Nagato's Shinra Tensei outside the village stared up wide-eyed at the massive, planet-like stone sphere.
Most had no idea that Minato and Kushina were trapped inside. Only members of the Hyūga clan, with their Byakugan, could just barely discern their figures within.
The suction slowly weakened. The enormous stone sphere, vast as a small moon, floated silently in the sky, while endless grains of sand sifted down to the ground.
Ye Zi gazed coldly at the colossal sphere. "So that's the power of the Rinnegan?" he said lightly.
It was his first time witnessing Chibaku Tensei. He thought the technique was visually overwhelming, but in terms of killing power, it was perhaps inferior to Deep Forest Emergence.
"Let's go."
He walked toward Nagato's battlefield as if on a casual stroll.
Whether Nagato succeeded or failed, he would die by Ye Zi's hand. That was already decided. This battle between Nagato and Konoha only saved Ye Zi some effort.
White Zetsu followed with a silent smile, while Black Zetsu remained wordless, lost in unknown thoughts.
On the battlefield.
After sealing Kushina within Chibaku Tensei, Nagato was running on fumes, gasping heavily as he guided the dragon spirits upward toward the floating sphere. Once he absorbed the Nine-Tails' chakra, his body could be instantly restored with the Gedo Statue's help.
Ye Zi perhaps had not realized this. If Nagato were to complete the sealing of all nine Tailed Beasts right here, he could wield the full power of the Gedo Statue, and Ye Zi might not be able to best him.
Everything hinged on whether Nagato succeeded.
The dragon spirit swiftly closed on the floating sphere, burrowing into it, pressing straight toward Kushina's location.
Here, three forces converged. The future would be defined in this very moment.
If Nagato succeeded, the final clash would be between Ye Zi and Nagato, and the other hidden villages would be nothing more than background scenery.
If Nagato failed, then the final clash would be between Ye Zi and Konoha. As long as he seized the Nine-Tails' chakra, everything would be over.
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