Chapter 141: Intercepting and Killing the Remnants of the Three Great Ninja Villages
Watching Pain depart, a deep glint flashed through Yuto's eyes.
Nagato, the Rinnegan.
'I never expected that before I even went looking for him, he would come to me on his own.'
Yuto muttered softly to himself. He truly had not anticipated Pain appearing in person.
However, considering the enormous commotion caused by the Five Great Ninja Villages, Pain's presence here was not entirely unexpected.
'I originally planned to proceed cautiously, but now it seems that was nothing more than wishful thinking… Uchiha Madara.'
Yuto murmured in a low voice.
Pain's sudden appearance had disrupted Yuto's initial plans.
Especially the scene just now, where Pain's body seemed to lose control, made Yuto suddenly think of a certain possibility.
If that were truly the case, then the ninja world would likely become very interesting.
"My lord!"
Seeing Yuto return, Ranmaru hurriedly dispelled his cursed seal transformation and jogged over to Yuto's side.
Yuto gently patted Ranmaru's head, then turned to see Ringo Ameyuri and Zabuza Momochi approaching as well. Both wore guilty expressions as they spoke.
"Sorry, Lord Yuto. We failed to stop him."
"Stop him? In your current condition, you couldn't defeat him. On that point, Kisame should be very clear."
Yuto waved his hand casually and spoke with a light chuckle.
Kisame nodded and shared all the information he knew about Pain with everyone present.
When he mentioned Pain's Rinnegan, shock spread across the faces of Zabuza and the others.
The Rinnegan was a legendary eye that many had heard of but none had ever seen. To realize that Pain possessed the Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths was enough to leave everyone stunned.
While the others were still reeling, Yuto looked toward Ao.
"Ao, lead the Mist ninja forces to attack the remaining ninja of the three great villages. Eliminate all the remaining Cloud and Stone ninja if possible."
"As for the Sand ninja, leave an opening and let Maki escape back to the Sand Village. Temari and Kankuro, who are related to the Fourth Kazekage, bring those two back alive."
"Yes, Lord Yuto!"
Ao straightened immediately and responded, but only after speaking did he fully process Yuto's order.
A startled expression appeared on Ao's face as he spoke cautiously.
"My lord, intercepting and killing the ninja of all three great villages at once—won't that be too much?"
"The other villages are likely already suspicious that this entire incident was orchestrated by the Mist in secret. If we do this now, we may offend all four great villages at once."
Hearing Ao's concern, Yuto spoke softly with an unreadable expression.
"Do you know what the ninja world is about to face?"
Before Ao could ask, Yuto's faint voice reached his ears.
"A brand-new era. And my revival will not remain hidden for long."
Pain's appearance made Yuto realize that news of his revival would soon spread throughout the entire ninja world. Before that happened, he needed to make preparations.
Ao's body trembled slightly. Although he could not fully understand what Yuto meant by a brand-new era, he could clearly sense a fierce, iron-blooded aura bearing down on him.
Ao nodded, then turned and headed toward the Mist ninja forces.
"Lord Yuto, is there no need to attack Konoha?"
Zabuza asked respectfully, confusion visible in his eyes.
"Of course we still need to attack. The goal this time is to release the three jinchuriki trapped by the Wood Release seal."
"The Eight-Tails and Five-Tails jinchuriki can be ignored, but the One-Tail jinchuriki must be brought back. We need Konoha to believe that our objective is the tailed beasts."
Yuto's expression remained indifferent as he spoke calmly to Zabuza and the others.
On the outer edge of the battlefield's center.
The remaining Sand ninja forces had gathered together.
Maki, his body soaked in blood, swept his gaze over the survivors, his face dark to an extreme degree.
Including himself, fewer than twenty Sand ninja had survived.
"Teacher, what about Gaara?"
Ignoring her own injuries, Temari looked at Maki with a worried expression.
Maki's face was grim. No matter what, a jinchuriki absolutely could not be left in Konoha.
Step, step—
Several sets of footsteps approached from the other side. Soon after, the wounded remnants of the Cloud and Stone ninja entered the Sand ninja's field of view.
Akatsuchi and Kitsuchi of the Stone, along with Darui of the Cloud, led their surviving forces as they hurried over.
The expressions of everyone present darkened. No one had expected Konoha to possess such powerful ninjutsu.
"Where are the Mist ninja?"
Darui asked coldly.
Although the battlefield had been chaotic, he could still tell that the Mist had suffered the least losses among the four villages.
He now strongly suspected that the mysterious man who appeared had a special connection to the Mist Village.
He even suspected that the entire plan for the four great villages to attack Konoha had been secretly orchestrated by the Mist.
But what exactly was the Mist's objective?
Not only Darui, but Maki, Kitsuchi, and the others thought the same.
"My apologies, everyone. This matter is indeed the fault of our Mist Village."
At that moment, a voice suddenly came from the side.
Ao appeared before them, leading a large force of Mist ninja.
Seeing the Mist ninja appear so suddenly, the ninja of the other three villages became alert.
"Our fault? What exactly did you do?"
Akatsuchi looked at Ao, his voice low.
"Of course, the mistake was not wiping all of you out."
Ao replied with a smile.
As his words fell, the Mist ninja forces behind him launched an attack on the remaining ninja of the three great villages simultaneously.
"Damn it! Mist Village, are you trying to make enemies of the entire ninja world?"
Darui roared in fury at the sight.
"Enemies of the entire ninja world? You have no right to represent the entire ninja world. Attack and show no mercy!"
The smile had long vanished from Ao's face as he spoke coldly.
The battle erupted instantly. Compared to the nearly intact Mist forces, the other three villages had suffered devastating losses.
With everyone already injured, the moment the two sides clashed, the battlefield became completely one-sided.
Run.
With their remaining strength, there was no possibility of defeating the Mist.
After only a brief exchange, the remnants of the three great villages scattered and attempted to break out in three different directions.
Ao watched the scene before him with a cold expression. Aside from Maki, escaping would not be so easy for anyone else.
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