Hayashi had long anticipated that Nagato would choose the Five Kage Summit as the perfect place to strike. There was no better opportunity to eliminate the Five Kage than when they had all gathered in one location.
Not only were the Five Kage's defenses relatively vulnerable at the summit, but killing them there also carried a powerful sense of symbolism and irony.
Nagato had not come alone. Alongside the Six Paths of Pain, he had brought the Akatsuki's strongest members, Hiruko and Fugaku.
Konan had accompanied them as well, but Nagato had left her behind with his real body.
As for Hiruko and Fugaku, they certainly were not there merely as spectators. Their role was to restrain two of the Five Kage, allowing the Six Paths of Pain to concentrate on defeating the remaining three.
Six against three.
With complete confidence in the Rinnegan's power, Nagato did not consider those odds difficult at all. Even so, after taking Konoha's strength into account, he believed leaving three opponents for the Six Paths was the safer choice.
Despite all of Nagato's careful planning, Hayashi had no intention of joining the battle.
Nagato believed he could overwhelm three of the Five Kage with ease, but Hayashi thought the Akatsuki's strength was still lacking.
He had brought Minato and Nawaki with him, and Hiruko was secretly working as his spy.
If they truly fought seriously, Minato and the others could easily suppress Fugaku, while Hayashi himself could deal with the Six Paths of Pain without much difficulty.
That was precisely why he chose not to interfere.
If the other Kage were never forced to witness Nagato's overwhelming strength firsthand, they would continue clinging to the illusion that the Five Great Nations were invincible.
Hayashi casually sat down beside Nawaki and quietly signaled Minato and the others to remain still.
They would simply watch.
With Hiruko and Fugaku each occupying one Kage, and the Six Paths of Pain facing the remaining two Kage along with their four Jonin bodyguards, Hayashi expected the battle to be quite entertaining.
Konoha's lack of action immediately put everyone else on edge.
Nagato narrowed his eyes.
"Are they planning to wait until both sides exhaust each other before making their move?"
Hayashi was universally acknowledged as the strongest among the Five Kage, and he was the opponent the Akatsuki feared most.
Yet he simply sat there watching.
Was it arrogance, or did he possess absolute confidence?
In truth, Nagato welcomed Hayashi's decision.
His primary objective today was the Fourth Raikage.
The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki remained within Konoha, and with three Akatsuki members already operating there, capturing it was only a matter of time.
The Eight-Tails, however, was another matter.
Its location remained unknown.
If Nagato captured the Fourth Raikage, the Human Path could extract his soul and search his memories, revealing the Eight-Tails' whereabouts.
No matter what happened today, killing the Fourth Raikage was the minimum objective.
Hayashi could remain seated.
The other four Kage could not.
The Fourth Raikage glared at him.
"So, the Hokage has no intention of fighting?"
Hayashi smiled calmly.
"You already made your position clear. Since you refuse to establish a Shinobi Allied Forces, the Akatsuki is no longer Konoha's concern."
He shrugged.
"If that's the case, why should I intervene?"
"Hmph. Then stay out of it."
The Fourth Raikage said nothing further.
As a fellow Kage, his status was equal to Hayashi's. He would never lower himself to beg for assistance.
His gaze shifted toward the Akatsuki.
He immediately recognized the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito Nii.
The Jinchuriki of Kumogakure had always maintained a close relationship with the Raikage, and Yugito, his cousin, was no exception.
Yet now her face was completely expressionless.
Her silver hair had become orange, and black receivers protruded from her body.
No matter how he looked at her, something was terribly wrong.
The Fifth Mizukage frowned.
"I thought only the Sage of Six Paths possessed the Rinnegan. How can so many people in one organization have it? Is it some kind of clan?"
Ōnoki slowly shook his head.
"No."
He studied each face carefully.
"I recognize them. Hanzō, Roshi, the Third Mizukage..."
He paused.
"I just don't understand why all of their hair has turned orange."
Rasa narrowed his eyes.
"I can see traces of Human Puppet modifications. Sasori must have altered them."
"They're all corpses."
"Damn it!"
The Fourth Raikage's expression darkened.
"To desecrate the dead like this... unforgivable!"
Without another word, he charged forward.
Floating in midair, Ōnoki sighed in annoyance.
"He's already the Raikage, yet he's still so reckless."
As the Raikage advanced, Hiruko and Fugaku moved to intercept Rasa and Hozuki Senjin respectively, leaving the strongest opponents for Nagato.
The Six Paths of Pain remained motionless, calmly watching the Raikage rush toward them.
The moment the Fourth Raikage released his chakra, deafening thunder echoed throughout the summit hall.
Although often impulsive, he fully understood the significance of the Rinnegan.
He knew the six figures before him represented the true leader of the Akatsuki.
Without hesitation, he activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Although his Lightning Release Chakra Mode lacked the overwhelming durability and raw power of the Third Raikage's, it surpassed his father's in speed.
Lightning chakra surged through every nerve in his body, dramatically increasing his reaction speed.
Across the entire shinobi world, only Hayashi and Minato could truly surpass him in that regard.
His hair stood upright as arcs of lightning danced around him.
He shot into the air, his left hand forming a blade as he slashed directly toward the Deva Path.
Lightning Release: Hell Stab!
The Deva Path calmly raised his hands.
"Shinra Tensei."
The Raikage's lightning-infused hand was only moments away from striking its target.
Then it stopped.
An invisible force froze his attack in midair before violently blasting him backward.
At the same moment, the Animal Path, Hanzō, slammed both hands onto the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
A massive black salamander burst from beneath the earth, opening its enormous jaws to devour the Raikage.
Hayashi had once killed one of Hanzō's salamanders.
This was its replacement.
Like the other summons, it was riddled with black receivers and had long since become a corpse under Nagato's control.
The Fourth Raikage vanished with the Body Flicker Technique, narrowly escaping the salamander's bite.
Before he could regain his footing, the creature's tongue lashed out, wrapping tightly around his ankle before smashing him into the ground.
The Animal Path summoned once again.
Another enormous creature appeared.
A gigantic one-horned rhinoceros charged forward like an unstoppable battering ram.
The Fourth Raikage remained completely unfazed.
He planted his feet and extended both arms.
"Liger Bomb!"
With terrifying strength, he seized the charging rhinoceros and hurled the enormous beast away.
The Asura Path, Roshi, transformed one arm into a mechanical weapon.
Dozens of missiles launched into the air.
"Asura Path: Rocket!"
The missiles screamed toward the Raikage.
He raised his fists, smashing two rockets apart immediately.
However, more missiles continued pursuing him relentlessly from every direction, as though there were no end to them.
Ten minutes later, the Fourth Raikage staggered slightly.
Fine cracks had begun spreading across his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Even its incredible defensive power had finally begun to show signs of strain.
This was where he fell short of the Third Raikage.
His father possessed a body durable enough to withstand techniques like the Rasenshuriken.
Still, despite the visible cracks, the armor did not shatter.
It merely held on.
After enduring countless attacks from the Asura Path, only a thin trail of blood trickled from the corner of the Fourth Raikage's mouth.
His expression grew increasingly grim.
His opponents remained completely unharmed.
They had not even taken a single step from where they first stood.