"Pfft!"
Immediately, Nagato spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body falling backward, eventually collapsing into Konan's arms.
This was the aftereffect of overexerting his body; it was no longer strong enough to support attracting such a massive quantity of giant rocks with Universal Pull!
"Nagato!"
Konan, who was beside him, couldn't help but cry out in worry at this sight.
"Can we talk now? I'm not interested in your Rinnegan," Takuno said again, moving the giant rocks aside and looking at Konan and Nagato in her arms.
He was actually lying; he was very interested in the Rinnegan. Unfortunately, if he tried to take the other party's eyes, Obito would definitely stop him, and he didn't want to confront Obito, who possessed Kamui, just yet.
As Takuno spoke, countless pieces of paper, mixed with mud, were already surging towards his position.
Konan wasn't just watching Nagato act; she had also thought about how she could help him. Nagato had reached his limit, and now... it was up to her!
Suddenly, Konan placed Nagato on the ground, gripping a Kunai she had taken from him.
"Konan, don't..." Nagato coughed violently at this moment, trying to stop Konan. She was no match for the opponent!
"Nagato, it's my turn to protect you now!" Konan took a deep breath, then charged at Takuno.
"Oh? A cornered dog jumping over the wall, is it?" Takuno watched this scene with interest, taking out a Kunai from his own hand, which quickly clashed with Konan's charging Kunai.
However, the force of this collision seemed very off. Even if Konan, as a woman, was not as strong as many men, her strength should absolutely not be this weak.
Takuno looked at Konan in front of him; lines appeared on her face, eventually transforming into countless pieces of paper, fluttering in the air.
Paper Dance!
"This is..." Takuno frowned, as if seeing this Ninjutsu for the first time.
At this moment, the paper, which had been hidden in the mud earlier, rapidly coalesced into Konan. A paper Kunai appeared in her hand, which she thrust towards Takuno.
"Got him!"
Konan felt the sensation in her hand, a look of joy appearing on her face.
However, at this moment, Nagato's desperate roar reached her ears.
"Konan, run!"
Konan was a little confused, but what she didn't see was Takuno's nonchalant expression and the smirk hidden beneath his mask.
Nagato didn't see it either, but he could see that the opponent was too relaxed, without any panic from being ambushed by Konan.
Just then, the Takuno pierced by Konan suddenly exploded into a puff of white smoke.
"Shadow Clone?! When?!" Konan's eyes instantly widened, trying to find his figure.
However, the exploded Shadow Clone didn't completely disappear like an ordinary Shadow Clone. Instead, it transformed into a stream of water hidden within the white mist, spreading along Konan's still-not-fully-retracted hand to her entire body.
"What is this?!"
Konan's pupils contracted sharply, and she tried to transform into Paper Dance to escape. However, at that very instant, the stream of water burst forth, enveloping Konan's entire body.
Water Release: Water Prison Technique?
Konan realized what this Ninjutsu was, but the Water Prison Technique required the user's hand to remain on the water prison to maintain it. But where was the opponent?
Takuno's figure was nowhere around. It was then that she finally realized his location.
"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!" Takuno maintained the Water Prison Technique with one hand, then emerged from underground.
He looked at Konan, who was completely trapped by the Water Prison Technique and still glaring at him, and raised an eyebrow. This was the Akatsuki's angel from later on.
Unfortunately, her strength was indeed a bit lacking. Aside from the sufficiently high power of the explosive tags she used at the end, whether her strength could be called Kage-level was debatable, let alone the current Konan.
What he used was naturally not an ordinary Shadow Clone, but a Water Release Shadow Clone, similar to Kakashi's Lightning Release Shadow Clone.
He even went a step further by integrating the Water Prison Technique into it, so that in conjunction with the Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu, he could trap the opponent with the Water Prison Technique before they could react.
As for the timing of the Water Release Shadow Clone, it was naturally when Nagato used Universal Pull, and when he used Earth Release to block himself with giant rocks.
Nagato, seeing this scene, wanted to get up from his collapsed state but couldn't help but cough violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood.
"Let Konan go! I'll give you the Rinnegan!" Nagato said calmly at this moment. He still didn't believe that the opponent didn't want his eyes.
If Konan could still speak, she would definitely stop Nagato. Unfortunately, trapped by the Water Prison Technique, she couldn't give any reaction.
"Tsk, didn't I say? I'm not interested in your Rinnegan," Takuno said, suppressing his inner desire.
He couldn't help but think at this moment, what if he could succeed?
Even if Obito, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu targeted him afterwards, it was still the Rinnegan!
Perhaps paying a small price would be acceptable!
After a while, he finally calmed down the impulse to get the Rinnegan in his heart.
First, even if Nagato really wanted to give it, he might not be able to get it.
Second, being targeted by those two after getting the Rinnegan would be very troublesome. He didn't think White Zetsu couldn't find out about his existence, as the Rinnegan could never be turned off.
Finally, there was the problem of the Rinnegan not being able to turn off. He couldn't return to Konoha with a pair of Rinnegan, and could only place them in a laboratory as a decoration. In that case, even getting them now would be useless.
Moreover, if it wasn't his own Rinnegan, he wouldn't be able to unleash its unique abilities, just as Nagato could never use the special ability of this pair of Rinnegan, Limbo: Border Jail.
If possible, he would rather rely on himself to awaken his own Rinnegan or Tenseigan by fusing the Uchiha's Kekkei Genkai and the Hyuga Clan's Kekkei Genkai in the future.
Various reasons made him suppress the desire for the Rinnegan in his heart.
After hearing Takuno's words, Nagato was stunned. The opponent didn't want his Rinnegan? Was the opponent really just a strange creature collector, as he said at the beginning?
If he hadn't summoned the Gedo Statue, the opponent probably wouldn't have attacked them?
Nagato's heart was very strange at this moment, but no matter what, this was a good thing.
"Alright, as long as you release Konan, this Gedo Statue is yours, and I promise, I will never summon it again!"