"Wha, wha, how much?!"
"You said how much?!"
"Six hundred billion? Are you sure it isn't sixty million?"
For the first time, Tenten started doubting what "rich" even meant for her own family. Her usual ultimate moves only cost one hundred thousand or five hundred thousand; this time she pulled out a billion and thought that was already the ceiling. She did not expect there to be someone even more outrageous.
"What's wrong with you?" Konan asked, confused.
"Heh, Konan-nee-san, let me tell you!"
Tenten gave a thumbs-up. "Alright! Then later it'll be two operations, with Operation One as the priority!"
Jiraiya and Konan nodded solemnly. The three of them charged straight toward the Gedō Mazō, but before they could reach it, they saw Kabuto being chased by a swarm of insects, with nowhere to go—up in the sky or down on the ground.
Seeing this, Tenten immediately flicked out a handful of Jutsushiki Kunai (Formula Kunai).
The instant the kunai reached Kabuto's vicinity, a thousand Kibaku Fuda (Explosive Tags) were teleported in and detonated.
"Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!" — 420
Kabuto hurriedly countered, blasting away the explosion from the thousand tags. The pursuing insect swarm behind him was also flung aside, but his speed was delayed for a moment because of it.
Shino immediately lashed out with two Rankyaku (Storm Leg) slashes, landing them squarely across Kabuto's back.
The key was that this guy was ruthless. He actually used the push from the slashes to accelerate forward, and in no time at all he reached the Gedō Mazō.
The Gedō Mazō took one look—wasn't this the one who summoned it earlier and got its leg blown off? Back then it had only absorbed a tiny bit of this guy's chakra, and it ended up suffering that badly. Meanwhile, this guy was completely fine. He even yanked out the black rod that had been draining his chakra. How could it accept that?
So the Gedō Mazō pointed a black rod at Kabuto's back again.
But Kabuto suddenly opened his mouth wide. A giant snake shot out from inside, and with a cicada-shell escape, he shed away and sprang up onto the Gedō Mazō's head. He landed beside Obito and Black Zetsu.
At this moment, Black Zetsu looked utterly lost.
Because in Black Zetsu's view, with Madara gone, the Eye of the Moon Plan's success rate was absolutely not high.
Sure, the Shinobi Alliance was locked in chaotic battles everywhere right now, but in the end, the winner would be the strong. That meant the Alliance.
When the time came and a whole crowd turned their attention to Obito and the Gedō Mazō, Obito would likely be unable to hold. The Gedō Mazō would also be at risk of being destroyed.
The main issue was that they still had not captured enough Bijū for the Gedō Mazō to absorb, so its strength was not that great.
If Natsuki freed up his hands, would he not just blow off the Gedō Mazō's other leg as well?
So they had to find a way to rescue Madara!
Black Zetsu's gaze locked onto Tenten near the Gedō Mazō—or rather, onto the red gourd on her back. He needed to find an opportunity to snatch it.
After Kabuto landed, he spoke immediately. "Obito, this can't continue. Didn't you say you already know where the Jinchūriki are? Just drive the Gedō Mazō straight over there and catch the Shinobi Alliance off guard!"
"Heh, Kabuto, you're thinking too simply."
Obito shook his head. "Last time, because of your mistake, the Gedō Mazō lost a leg. It's inconvenient to move now. Trying to smash through the Shinobi Alliance's defensive line will be very difficult. Besides, Gaara—the One-Tail Jinchūriki—is right here. Let the Gedō Mazō devour the One-Tail first."
The Gedō Mazō let out a dissatisfied roar.
Kabuto looked toward Gaara, who was fighting Hashirama. "Then just have Hashirama take Gaara down, right?"
Even Black Zetsu was somewhat speechless. "Kabuto, don't you see Natsuki over there? If Hashirama could capture Gaara, he would have already. The only reason he hasn't is because Natsuki has been stopping him. So the best approach is to lure Natsuki away. Only then can Hashirama successfully seize the One-Tail Jinchūriki!"
Natsuki, huh?
Kabuto looked at Natsuki again, then shook his head.
That guy could not be lured away. And even if he were, he could use Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique) to flash back to Gaara's side immediately.
So what should they do?
Black Zetsu suggested, "Doesn't the Second Hokage and the Fourth Hokage both know Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)? Send one of them to the Island Turtle, leave a Flying Thunder God formula there, and bring us over. As for Gaara, once we've caught the other Jinchūriki, we can come back and focus on capturing him. Wouldn't that be faster?"
Obito immediately approved. "That makes sense!"
So he called out to Orochimaru at once. "Orochimaru, have Minato-sensei follow Black Zetsu to the Island Turtle and leave a Flying Thunder God formula there!"
Orochimaru was currently being driven into constant evasions by Neji. Hearing that, he did not hesitate and immediately issued the command to Minato.
"Don't even think about leaving!"
A roared in fury as he tried to intercept.
Last time, he failed to stop Minato, letting Minato flash to Mount Myōboku. That led to Gaara being brought back, and the Kohaku no Jōhei (Amber Purifying Bottle) falling into the enemy's hands…
Gaara blamed himself. And A, as the Alliance's commander, felt even worse.
He believed it was his failure to stop Minato that caused those consequences.
So this time, he would absolutely not allow Minato to leave again!
Unfortunately, Raiton Shunshin (Lightning Body Flicker) was still no match for Flying Thunder God. Minato merely tossed a Jutsushiki Kunai (Formula Kunai) in a certain direction, and then vanished.
The Flying Thunder God formula was truly absurd. As if, as long as you had enough chakra, you could ignore any time and any distance and reach the formula's location instantly. And the most ridiculous part was that such a powerful technique did not even require hand seals. It was simply unreasonable.
Seeing Minato disappear, A fumed and charged toward Tobirama.
It was all this guy's fault for inventing Flying Thunder God in the first place, putting the Alliance in such a passive position!
And wait—Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) was also something he created, so he was the real culprit!
All of this had been within Natsuki's awareness. The moment he saw Minato accept the mission and leave, Natsuki also flickered away and disappeared.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu had already vanished as well, going to guide Minato.
Obito and Kabuto were focused by the squad of Tenten, Jiraiya, Konan, and Shino, so they did not even notice Natsuki's departure.
After all, the Six Paths Tools were frighteningly powerful.
Even someone as strong as Madara had been caught by them. The Gedō Mazō might also be sealable.
So they absolutely could not let Tenten succeed!
Obito immediately leapt down from above, blocking Tenten's squad. But Shino greeted him head-on with a fresh wave of insects, forcing Obito to turn intangible.
Intangible was good. Intangible meant he could not hurt anyone.
As for the Rinnegan's powers—so long as they stayed alert, they would be fine.
Tenten did not hesitate. She immediately threw out a large handful of Jutsushiki Kunai (Formula Kunai), aiming them at the Gedō Mazō's single remaining foot—only for Obito to blow them all away with Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push).
Good. A five-second cooldown. The perfect opening to strike.
Jiraiya and Konan each threw out several more Jutsushiki Kunai (Formula Kunai), all aimed toward different directions.
These Formula Kunai were given to them by Tenten. While Obito was guarding against Tenten, the two of them could use the chance to scatter kunai and create openings for Tenten to get close to the Gedō Mazō.
(End of Chapter)
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