Peaceful days never last long.
Soon, the Akatsuki received alarming news: the reappearance of Mōryō's undead army in the Land of Demons.
Although they had already learned the truth about the ninja world from Jiraiya, the arrival of this day still filled everyone with tension.
After all, their next opponents were no longer humans—they were gods.
"Let's begin," Nagato said.
Deidara and the others were now in the underground secret base of the Rain Village—no, the newly renamed Tenjingakure. Before them stood the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which had already absorbed the chakra of eight Tailed Beasts. Only the Nine-Tails remained.
"Nagato, as soon as the Nine-Tails' chakra is sealed, you must immediately use your Rinnegan to absorb the Demonic Statue and become the new Jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails," Deidara instructed.
"You can't hesitate for even a moment, because Obito also has a Rinnegan. We can't give him any chance to intervene."
Nagato understood this well and nodded solemnly.
"Then let me activate Sage Mode first to clear out any potential pests," Jiraiya announced. As he spoke, orange markings appeared on his face, and a powerful aura emanated from his body.
"Found one! Don't think you can escape!" He dashed forward and punched the ground, pulling out a White Zetsu from hiding.
With his near-Six Paths-level strength, Jiraiya's sensory abilities easily detected the presence of White Zetsu.
"Alright... Let's begin!" Nagato declared.
Hearing this, Kisame approached the Demonic Statue, wielding Samehada, which held a large chunk of Nine-Tails chakra it had bitten off from Naruto.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Samehada let out a disgruntled noise. It desperately wanted to devour the chakra itself, but it didn't dare. The people around it were far too terrifying. If it dared to eat the chakra, it would surely meet its end.
"Come on now, don't be so stubborn. I'll buy you extra fish later," Kisame coaxed, and only then did Samehada reluctantly spit out the Nine-Tails chakra.
"Nine Phantom Dragons Seal!"
This time, only six people—Sasori, Itachi, Kisame, Kakuzu, Hidan, and Kakashi—participated in the sealing ritual. Since the amount of Nine-Tails chakra was relatively small, the process was completed quickly.
"ROAR!"
As the Nine-Tails chakra was sealed, the previously lifeless Demonic Statue suddenly came to life. Its nine eyes opened wide, and its massive body began to move, letting out an earth-shaking roar.
"Nagato, now's the time!" Jiraiya shouted.
"Understood!" Nagato activated his Rinnegan, placing one hand on the Demonic Statue as he poured all his strength into absorbing the revived Ten-Tails into his body.
"This isn't good! The Ten-Tails is resisting—Nagato can't handle it!" Hidan yelled.
Nagato's own strength was insufficient. He was neither an Uchiha nor a Senju, so his bloodline was inherently lacking.
Look at Madara—he could absorb the Ten-Tails effortlessly. Even Obito, though he struggled, managed to subdue it. But Nagato was clearly struggling.
However, there was no need to panic. Deidara and the others were all gathered here precisely to prevent such situations.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
Sasori and Itachi simultaneously used Wood Release, summoning two massive wooden dragons to temporarily restrain the Ten-Tails.
Then, a colossal clay creature resembling a mountain of flesh extended numerous tentacles, further binding the Ten-Tails.
"Now it's my turn! Haaa!" Tsunade charged forward and delivered a powerful punch to the Ten-Tails.
BOOM!
The entire cavern shook violently from the impact. Fortunately, barriers had been set up in advance; otherwise, the whole place might have collapsed.
"ROAR!"
The Ten-Tails let out another furious roar. Though it lacked intelligence, it instinctively resisted being sealed and absorbed.
It raised its head, and an unprecedentedly massive Tailed Beast Ball began to form.
"Watch out!" Konan shouted. The sheer size and power of the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball radiated an overwhelming sense of destruction.
But instead of panicking, Deidara's face lit up with excitement. "Leave it to me!"
To unlock his ultimate art, Deidara needed two conditions: Perfect Clay and a Tailed Beast Ball from the Ten-Tails.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Gulp!
The system absorbed the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball.
Meanwhile, Nagato still couldn't fully suppress the Ten-Tails. At this critical moment, Jiraiya stepped in.
"Sage Art: Giant Rasengan!"
A massive Rasengan slammed into the Ten-Tails. Unlike previous attacks, this one was a near-Six Paths-level strike, finally inflicting significant damage on the Ten-Tails.
It let out a pained cry, and its resistance to Nagato's Rinnegan weakened.
"We did it!" Hidan cheered.
The Ten-Tails was gradually drawn into Nagato's body, as if everything were coming to an end.
But of course, things were never that simple.
After fully absorbing the Ten-Tails, Nagato raised his hand, seemingly about to say something. Suddenly, his expression twisted, and his body began to swell uncontrollably, becoming increasingly grotesque.
"Itachi, Kakashi, use your Mangekyō Sharingan now!"
Deidara and the others had anticipated this scenario. The Ten-Tails within Nagato was trying to escape.
At this moment, the Sharingan's ability to control Tailed Beasts was crucial to helping Nagato regain control.
Thanks to the Senju cells implanted in Kakashi, his Sharingan was now capable of controlling Tailed Beasts as well.
"Got it!" the two responded, activating their Mangekyō Sharingan to target the escaping Ten-Tails.
After a long and arduous struggle, Nagato finally transformed into a white sphere.
"Hey! Why did the boss turn into an egg?"
"Is he going to hatch into a chicken or something? Mmph!" Hidan's sarcastic remark was abruptly cut off as Konan sealed his mouth with paper.
He clawed at the paper covering his lips, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remove it. All he could do was let out muffled grunts.
"Ah, Hidan's been disciplined again," Kisame remarked, glancing at Deidara. Usually, this was the kind of moment when Deidara would join him in stirring up trouble.
But this time, Deidara seemed lost in thought.
"Deidara, what's on your mind?" Kisame asked curiously.
Deidara glanced at Konan, rubbed his chin, and whispered, "The paper that sealed Hidan's mouth came from Konan's clothes, right?"
"Yeah, that's right," Kisame nodded after thinking it over.
"So, if I grab the paper flying out of Konan's clothes, does that mean I'm touching her... there?" Deidara gestured vaguely at his chest.
"Deidara, that's a tricky question!" Kisame was momentarily stunned.
What was meant to be a private conversation between the two was overheard by a notorious eavesdropper.
"Jiraiya, what are you mumbling about?" Tsunade asked, noticing Jiraiya's lecherous expression. She suspected he was up to no good again.
"Tsunade, why don't you learn Konan's Paper Release technique?"
"Why would I do that?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
"That way, you could share some of your... assets with me!"
"Go to hell! Why is your brain always filled with such filthy thoughts?" Tsunade roared, punching Jiraiya into the air.
"It wasn't me! It was Deidara who said it!" Jiraiya protested loudly.
And so...
"Konan, don't listen to that old pervert! Spare me!"
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