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"Is that where the enemy's real body is hiding?"
Perched atop a towering spruce, Itachi and Yamato peered toward a distant mountain peak.
Atop it stood a solitary, tall tree—unassuming at first glance, blending seamlessly with the surrounding forest.
But Itachi's sharp eyes didn't miss the anomaly.
The snow resting on the crown of that tree looked identical to the trees on the right—but something was off. The rime—that delicate, icy coating formed when supercooled mist hits cold surfaces—wasn't quite right.
Rime typically appears as a milky, opaque frost on the windward side of branches and surfaces. It forms when airborne water droplets freeze instantly on contact. But the rime on this particular tree… it wasn't natural.
Itachi narrowed his eyes.
"It's an illusion… camouflaged with chakra."
He turned sharply.
"Yamato, send the signal."
Trained to act swiftly and without hesitation, Itachi wasted no time after locating the enemy's core. Yamato reached for his ninja tool pouch—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before his hand could reach it, the air suddenly hissed—shurikens slicing through it at high speed.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
They struck the trunk where Yamato had stood a second earlier—but it was too late. Both he and Itachi had already dodged.
Yamato landed softly and glanced down.
"Paper?"
His brows furrowed in surprise. Embedded deep in the bark were white shuriken—flat, fluttering like leaves. Had he not been so attuned to wood, he might not have realized they weren't metal at all.
They were paper.
"I won't let you signal for backup."
Floating above them with silent menace was Konan, the enigmatic kunoichi from the Akatsuki.
She had anticipated intrusions, placing "eyes" all around the base. The moment Itachi and Yamato arrived, she was alerted.
"A flying shinobi…" Itachi, he muttered as he and Yamato locked eyes briefly.
Konan hovered gracefully in mid-air, her legs suspended as her paper wings flared wide behind her. This opponent would not go down easily.
Without a word, Itachi stepped protectively in front of Yamato, who reached once again into his pack to retrieve the signal flare.
"Hmph."
With a sharp breath, Konan raised her hand, her paper wings shedding countless sheets. In mid-air, the papers folded themselves into sharp, four-cornered shuriken, whirling like a furious storm.
They rained down like a swarm of bees.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Against paper, fire was the obvious counter—and Itachi, a master of Fire Release, didn't disappoint.
A massive fireball roared forward, consuming the paper barrage in a wave of flame. But something felt off. The attack had been... too easy to stop.
Just then—
"Itachi, behind you!" Yamato's urgent cry cut through the moment. His hands flew into motion, forming seals at lightning speed.
"Wood Style: Wood Wall!"
He had sensed it—a sneak attack, swift and deadly, incoming from behind.
A rush of kunai sliced through the air. Itachi couldn't evade in time—he was directly in their path.
KOKOKOKO!
The kunai hammered into the wooden barrier with sharp, metallic pings, followed by—
Ssszzzztt...
A dangerous sizzling sound.
"Explosive tags!" Yamato shouted, eyes wide as the realization struck.
The enemy hadn't just launched kunai—they'd prepared a trap.
Looking back at Itachi, who was holding off the relentless assault from the flying kunoichi, Yamato couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Neither of them could afford to dodge.
If Yamato evaded the attack, Itachi would be hit by the incoming kunai and explosive tags from behind.
If Itachi dodged instead, he'd be wide open to the paper shuriken from the woman in front.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A violent chain of explosions echoed through the forest, flinging wood splinters in every direction.
"..."
Konan narrowed her eyes, glancing back at the smoldering aftermath.
That much noise? It might as well have been a flare.
"Pakura, let's finish this—together!"
She hadn't planned this ahead of time, but now that her cover was likely blown, there was no point in holding back.
As she gave the command, Konan's form began to unravel—sheets of paper lifting her body skyward before vanishing into the wind.
Pakura didn't hesitate. Flames bloomed behind her, and in a flash, three glowing orange fireballs surged toward Yamato.
"Watch out for Pakura's bloodline technique!" Itachi warned, his crimson eyes locking onto the fireballs. "Don't let those get close—!"
Before he could finish, his form dissolved into a swirling mass of black crows that scattered through the air.
"What a bizarre jutsu…"
Konan's paper had silently swarmed beneath him, merging into a massive orb of white sheets that swallowed the spot where he had just been standing.
If not for his Sharingan, he might not have seen through her trap in time.
She'd set an ambush right under his feet, perfectly camouflaged with the environment.
Meanwhile, white steam hissed from the ground as Yamato braced himself. He was now locked in a fierce battle of his own.
Not far from the chaos, hidden beneath the trees, a mysterious figure observed with an eerie calm.
"Perfect... With them distracted, nothing stands in my way."
A satisfied smile crept across Orochimaru's lips as he slowly sank into the earth.
Uchiha Toshiro—the current Hokage—had traded many favors with him. Now it was time to repay that debt... with interest.
Neither side in the heated battle noticed his arrival—or his departure.
—
"So… the main body is over there."
In the still, ancient forest, the sound of explosions carried far. With his enhanced senses, Toshiro looked up, gaze fixed on a mountaintop in the distance.
He smiled at Pain.
"Now that we've found the real target, there's no need to waste time here."
With a flick of his gunbai, he summoned a gusting storm and vanished in a whirlwind.
"Leader, shouldn't we go after him?"
Sasori, watching Toshiro disappear, turned to Tendō, confused by his calm.
"No need."
Pain's expression remained unreadable. He glanced in the direction Toshiro had gone.
Even if the Hokage had found the main body… it didn't matter.
Pain had a faster way to return.
"Keep an eye on Deidara. He's been circling up there since the battle started. If he's planning to use that jutsu of his, we can't afford a misfire."
With a muffled bang, Tendō and the other Paths of Pain vanished, leaving Sasori standing alone.
—
The blast from the exploding tags wasn't just heard by Toshiro—it had caught the attention of two others who had remained hidden in the shadows all along: Zetsu and Obito.
Now, with the location confirmed, they moved with urgency toward Nagato's stronghold.
"You seem... unusually concerned about Nagato."
Obito glanced sideways at Zetsu, suspicion flickering in his eyes.
Zetsu, long known for his calm and detachment, had recently grown… agitated.
Especially when it came to Nagato.
"He's essential to the plan."
Zetsu's voice caught slightly before he recovered. It was true—but also more than he dared reveal.
Inwardly, he was screaming.
He couldn't stay calm anymore.
This plan had taken thousands of years. Any misstep before could have been patched over. But if Nagato, or worse—the Rinnegan—fell into Toshiro's hands…
Then it would all be over.
"Is that so?" Obito murmured, unconvinced—but said nothing more.
The air rippled, and Obito vanished into his personal space-time vortex.
—
In the dim hollow of a tree trunk—
"I can't wait any longer."
Orochimaru crouched in the shadows, watching Nagato form hand seals. His breath slowed. He couldn't afford a single mistake.
He had hoped Toshiro might distract the enemy long enough for a surprise attack.
But Nagato was faster. He was summoning the Six Paths back to him.
This changed everything.
Originally, Orochimaru planned to strike while Nagato's clones were engaged with the Hokage and his guards were preoccupied with Konan.
But now—
A flicker of chakra pulsed beneath Nagato's feet.
Too late. He sensed it.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A massive purple serpent burst from the earth—its twisted form crowned with horn-like bulges.
At the same moment, Orochimaru lunged from the darkness like a shadow with purpose.
"This time... I won't fail!"
With deadly intent, Orochimaru drew Kusanagi, summoned from his own throat, and charged from behind.
The summoned snake, already aware of the plan, lunged at Nagato from the front—no hesitation, no confusion.
Clearly, the terms of their alliance had been established well before the summoning.
The strike was perfectly timed.
"Orochimaru... it's you!"
Nagato's voice cut through the shadows, laced with both recognition and fury.
As the mastermind behind this remote base, he had, of course, set up surveillance. Yet even he was surprised Orochimaru had managed to slip in undetected.
"You've got a death wish."
His eyes narrowed, a cold gleam of killing intent flashing across his Rinnegan.
This damned snake… At such a critical moment, he still dares to make a move.
Does he not understand what it means to die?
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Though the massive serpent lunged from the front and Orochimaru charged from behind, Nagato's focus didn't waver for a second. His hands moved in a blur—he was summoning the Six Paths of Pain.
At the same moment, he slammed his hand onto the mechanical platform beneath him.
Whoosh!
A sleek black rod—tethered to a fine cord—snaked through the air, twisting mid-flight before piercing straight toward the attacking Orochimaru.
Pffft!
Orochimaru didn't flinch. The rod struck his body, but he let it happen.
Suddenly—
HSSSSK!
From the mouth of the massive snake, another Orochimaru burst forth, ignoring the rod entirely.
Moving faster than the eye could follow, he closed the distance to Nagato in a flash, his sword gleaming with lethal intent, aimed directly at Nagato's throat.
It didn't matter to Orochimaru—cutting his throat or gouging out his eyes would lead to the same result.
"Foolish delusion."
With impeccable timing, the Six Paths of Pain materialized, forming a tight ring around Nagato.
Tendō smirked coldly.
"Shinra Tensei."
In an instant, a colossal repulsive force erupted from him.
Both the serpent in front and the rushing Orochimaru behind were violently hurled away, crashing into the surrounding walls with a thunderous impact.
Nagato exhaled, but only for a moment—then his expression froze.
"Below—!"
Just as he spoke, a massive spike burst from the earth beneath him—the tail of the giant serpent, Ten Thousand Snakes—aimed directly at his paralyzed body.
SLAM!
Nagato barely managed to manipulate one of the Pains to intercept the strike.
But the assault didn't stop.
From the air, Orochimaru—flung moments ago—lashed out his long, crimson tongue, striking toward Nagato like a whip.
Simultaneously, yet another Orochimaru appeared—this one spewing a torrent of venomous snakes. There were so many, they surged forward like a crashing wave, threatening to swallow Nagato whole.
And still—it wasn't over.
A single, massive purple scale, shed from Ten Thousand Snakes' tail, hit the ground… and morphed into another Orochimaru clone.
It moved swiftly, arm outstretched, palm glowing with sealing chakra—
"Four Symbols Seal!"
Orochimaru truly lived up to his reputation—a veteran of countless blood-soaked battles, a monster forged in the fires of war.
When he struck, it was never reckless.
He had anticipated Nagato's use of Shinra Tensei and baited it using both his own body and the serpent.
He followed with the serpent's tail to launch a surprise ground attack.
Then he unleashed his transformed scale clone, hidden and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike with a chakra-sealing technique.
To top it off, he created enough chaos using another clone and his real body to overload Nagato's attention and confuse the Six Paths.
If the seal landed, Nagato would be finished—his chakra locked, his power neutralized.
And with the real body immobilized, the Six Paths of Pain would be reduced to little more than puppets.
The battlefield had become a stage, and Orochimaru—a master strategist—was orchestrating a deadly performance.
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