The two figures appearing before Konan were the mysterious masked man who called himself Uchiha Madara and the most elusive member of their organization, Zetsu.
Konan had never trusted 'Uchiha Madara'… she even believed he was involved in Yahiko's death at the hands of Hanzo the Salamander.
As for Zetsu… she had long suspected him, and the current scene confirmed her thoughts.
Looking at it this way, the truly dedicated members of the Akatsuki were few and far between.
Orochimaru had defected, Kakuzu had left early, and Deidara and Sasori were still on missions. Almost all the remaining members were moles.
The mole density was comparable to that of the Black Organization next door.
"Enough talk. We don't have much time."
The masked Obito coldly cut off Zetsu, who was about to continue speaking.
Honestly, Naruto had completely exceeded his expectations.
That inhuman appearance, that power seemingly capable of affecting the Kamui Dimension...
"It's you! You want to take the Rinnegan?"
Konan's gaze fixed firmly on the two, paper wings forming behind her as she prepared for an all-out battle at any moment.
With Nagato's body on the verge of collapse, she was all he had left to rely on.
"Heh… fool. This pair of Rinnegan was originally given to him by me."
Obito sneered dismissively, not intending to waste more words as he charged forward.
High up in the tower, Nagato's life entered its final countdown.
Below, Naruto finished off the remaining Pains with a single slash, completely ending the battle.
The depletion of one side's power and the further ascent of the other's made the fight end somewhat anticlimactically.
As the several puppets fell to the ground, the hem of Naruto's floating clothes slowly settled.
The gravity acting around him had completely dissipated.
Naruto had tried to 'recreate' that power within his body but failed due to the lack of certain key factors.
"That kind of Chakra..."
He recalled the feeling after swallowing that Chakra.
Within it were several distinctly higher-level forces.
Suddenly, Naruto's gaze turned toward the distant tower, as if he could see what was happening inside.
At that moment, Karin also flew back with Jiraiya and Sasuke in tow.
Unfortunately, they were a step too late, and Naruto had taken all the kills.
In every sense of the word.
"Naruto-san, are you alright?"
The Garuda quickly shrank, transforming back into human form as Karin looked at Naruto with concern.
When they were thrown out earlier, she had thought Naruto would be sealed inside that rock.
Jiraiya, meanwhile, silently looked at Yahiko's headless body on the ground, quietly exiting Sage Mode.
The only one who sensed something wrong was Sasuke.
Not only did he not revert to human form, but he also pulled the two behind him, staring intently at Naruto with a serious expression.
"Naruto, what's wrong with you?"
At this moment, in Huodou's vision, Naruto's body was entwined with an indescribable 'misfortune'.
It shouldn't even appear on a specific person.
Misfortune of this degree could only arise from a crisis on the scale of a nation… or even the world.
In other words, the greatest danger was no longer the threat of the Akatsuki.
It was Uzumaki Naruto.
Hearing this, Karin and Jiraiya were both puzzled, not understanding why Sasuke would say that.
Naruto expressionlessly looked at Sasuke as if seeing a stranger.
"No, nothing happened."
"Let's go. We still have some unfinished business."
Even Karin and Jiraiya, slow as they were, could now see that something was off with Naruto's state.
That kind of demeanor… it was exactly like the Pain they had first encountered.
As if everything in the world was nothing but ants.
Naruto's current attitude clearly showed he didn't want to waste time on this.
Because in his perception, that masked guy had already appeared.
He instantly vanished from his spot, a golden afterimage trailing behind him as he charged toward the tower's summit.
Since he couldn't use gravity, he'd just use Geppo instead.
Though Jiraiya and the others were worried, they couldn't force Naruto to do anything. They could only follow him to that tower.
For now, dealing with the Akatsuki was more important. Whatever was wrong could be discussed after the battle.
Naruto's speed wasn't slow, but unfortunately, Obito acted even faster.
Although Konan's seemingly endless explosive tags could briefly threaten Obito, Nagato's true body was still nearby, preventing her from fighting at full strength.
And Obito's goal here wasn't to defeat Konan.
The Rinnegan.
That was why Obito had to show himself.
To be honest, after witnessing the true power of the wild card that was Uzumaki Naruto, his confidence in realizing the [Eye of the Moon Plan] had wavered slightly.
This kid was already strong to the point of being inhuman.
Even though Nagato could barely use the Rinnegan's power with his true body, it was only a matter of time before he was captured.
Therefore, Obito had no choice but to change plans and retrieve the most crucial item, the Rinnegan, ahead of schedule.
As for who would use these eyes after Nagato was gone...
If necessary, he could just use a White Zetsu's clone.
Countless paper swirled madly within the room, continuously slicing through Obito's body.
But with his true body hidden in the Kamui Dimension, he paid no mind to such attacks, charging straight toward Nagato.
Nagato naturally sensed Obito's approach.
He barely raised his head, his Rinnegan fixed firmly ahead.
"Shinra Tensei-"
"Useless. All your attacks are ineffective against me."
A mocking expression appeared beneath Obito's mask. In terms of contact time with the Rinnegan, he might even have been longer than Nagato.
He knew all the weaknesses of this ability.
Once the repulsive force disappeared, it would be time to reclaim the Rinnegan.
Sure enough, the repulsive force of Shinra Tensei did nothing to Obito. He continued approaching unhurriedly.
But Nagato's purpose in using this move wasn't just to attack.
"Escape, Konan."
The repulsive force sent Konan flying out, and Nagato took one last look at his companion.
In truth, he knew Konan wasn't like him… she didn't enjoy killing.
The only reason her hands were stained with blood was because of him.
Now, with a powerful enemy before them and himself becoming a burden, there was no need to sacrifice another life.
When Naruto burst through the wall and rushed in, what he saw was Nagato, with eyes closed, face covered in blood, looking on the verge of death.
And Obito standing nearby, hands still stained with fresh blood.
"Was it him?"
Naruto asked.
"It was him."
Within the seal space, Kurama replied.
In the next instant, Naruto's fist had already pierced through the other's body.
"Useless…"
Obito's words were cut short abruptly.