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“Susanoo.”
A black Susanoo, towering over a hundred meters tall, stood beneath the descending Chibaku Tensei.
“I’m standing right here, you know. Are you trying to crush me?” Shin said calmly.
The Susanoo drew a katana from its back and slashed upwards at the celestial body.
With a single swing, a sword aura that seemed to cleave the sky shot upwards, splitting into eight distinct blades and tearing apart Nagato’s Chibaku Tensei.
“Is that… Shin Uzumaki?”
Jiraiya, who had been awaiting his death with closed eyes, stared in stunned silence at the black, Perfect Susanoo. He’d seen Shin’s Susanoo during the Second Shinobi World War. Though it had been over twenty years, the sight was still familiar.
“Super Shinra Tensei!”
Nagato’s cold, emotionless gaze fixed on Shin’s Perfect Susanoo. A violent repulsive force erupted once more.
“So he’s really lost it. Attacking me too??”
Shin, who had been about to dismiss his Susanoo, was taken aback. He’d just been “Sharpening his sword” on the Chibaku Tensei; was there really a need to attack him?
Since he had attacked, Shin would naturally respond.
“This level of Chibaku Tensei… is pathetic.”
Shin controlled the Susanoo, swinging its katana. The clouds in the sky parted before his slash; for a moment, it felt as if Shin’s blade was the only thing in existence.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Nagato, floating in the sky, was sent flying like a rubber ball, struck by the Susanoo’s single slash.
“Not bad. My swordsmanship seems to have improved again,” Shin said with a smile.
“Jiraiya, you should thank me. If it weren’t for me, Konoha would cease to exist. Hmm, then again, it seems it already has—”
Shin dismissed his Susanoo and walked over to Jiraiya.
“Why?”
Jiraiya looked at Shin, puzzled. Knowing Shin Uzumaki, he wasn’t the type to help others out of pure kindness…
“No reason. You should focus on rebuilding Konoha.”
Shin turned and walked away, leaving Jiraiya staring after him.
Jiraiya’s assessment of Shin was correct. Shin ‘wasn’t’ the type to help others. The reason he’d intervened this time was for Tsunade.
Although she had claimed to sever all ties with Konoha, Shin knew she would be heartbroken if the village was truly destroyed. The village was, after all, the legacy of the Senju Clan, her grandfather’s life’s work.
As a man, he couldn’t let his woman be unhappy. Besides, for Shin, it was a trivial matter.
“THANK YOU!!”
Jiraiya said, spitting out a mouthful of blood, then looked in the direction Shin had left and offered his sincere thanks.
Regardless of Shin Uzumaki’s motives, his actions had saved Konoha. Of course, the current Konoha was a shadow of its former self.
The number of ninja had been drastically reduced, and more than half the villagers were dead. Only those who had been evacuated to the shelters had survived.
The loss of villagers was one thing, but the loss of ninja—over half of Konoha’s shinobi force had perished, and most of the survivors were Genin…
They had only survived because they were in the shelters; otherwise, they would have suffered a far worse fate.
———
Shin, after leaving, appeared before the unconscious Nagato, who had been sent flying by his slash. Nagato’s hair was now white, his face wrinkled; he looked as if he had aged twenty years.
Super Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei had consumed Nagato’s life force, leaving him in this decrepit state.
“Be grateful I held back—otherwise, there wouldn’t even be a body left.”
Shin felt he had held back too much with that last slash. This wasn’t just holding back; it was practically throwing the fight.
Though Nagato had survived thanks to Shin’s mercy, he was crippled. In his current state, who could he even fight??
He probably couldn’t even handle a Kage-level opponent now. If he dared to use his Rinnegan again, he’d likely kill himself without anyone else needing to lift a finger.
“This attack on Konoha… what a mess. Didn’t even get the Nine-Tails, and the Akatsuki is wiped out.”
Shin hadn’t expected this outcome.
Who would have thought Guy’s willpower would be so strong?? If Guy hadn’t intervened, capturing the Nine-Tails wouldn’t have been difficult, and the Akatsuki would have suffered no losses.
Now, the only Akatsuki members left were Obito and Zetsu…
Nagato was crippled…
As for Shin… well, if you wanted to rely on Shin to get things done, that would be difficult. He only acted when he felt like it.
Deidara and Kakuzu, who hadn’t died earlier, were killed by Nagato’s berserk Super Shinra Tensei.
Kakuzu’s five hearts couldn’t save him. Deidara was also unlucky enough to die at Nagato’s hands. Truly, Nagato was a harbinger of Death and Destruction.
Without exaggeration, Nagato had killed more people than Shin had in the entire Shinobi World War.
———
“Oh, you’re here. And you saved your best buddy.” Shin heard footsteps behind him and knew who it was.
The only one who would appear here now was Obito.
Obito was lucky.
If Eight Gates Guy had targeted him first, Obito would be dead.
Obito was unharmed. Kamui’s intangibility made him immune. His body was in another dimension, so even the most powerful Shinra Tensei couldn’t hurt him.
However, Obito was still in shock. It hadn’t been long, yet the Akatsuki had been reduced to such a pathetic state.
At this moment, Obito realized the Akatsuki had no one left to use.
Nagato was practically crippled. Zetsu was best at intelligence gathering, with no combat ability.
Shin Uzumaki was powerful enough, but because he was too powerful, he couldn’t be commanded.
In Obito’s mind, Shin Uzumaki wasn’t even considered a part of the Akatsuki.
‘This is so frustrating.’ Obito felt a wave of exhaustion. He had become a commander with no soldiers. If he had known attacking Konoha would lead to this, he would have stopped it.
But it was too late for regrets now.
From now on, the entire Akatsuki would likely rely on him to support it. Or he’d have to recruit new members.
Thinking of recruitment, Obito’s eyes lit up slightly. There were people he could recruit. For example, Itachi Uchiha’s younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha. He might be a good addition.
His strength was sufficient.
According to White Zetsu’s intel, he had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. If used well, he could become the sharpest blade in Obito’s hands.
“Nagato Uzumaki is all yours.” Shin glanced at the contemplative Obito and said.
Then Shin left, not caring what Obito would do with Nagato. Even if he killed him, it didn’t matter to Shin. He had no relationship with Nagato.
After Shin left, Obito looked down at Nagato, deep in thought. He had initially planned to kill Nagato and retrieve the Rinnegan.
But after a moment of consideration, Obito decided against it. Perhaps Nagato was still useful. He’d let him live for now.
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