Since he was suspicious, Black Zetsu naturally had to confirm it for himself.
Black Zetsu would never allow the slightest mistake in his own plan.
Leaving this matter to Nagato was the best choice. If it really was that person…
Thinking of this, Black Zetsu narrowed his eyes and thought to himself, "In that case, Obito is already untrustworthy. I'll have to activate the second plan."
Fortunately, back then, Madara hadn't placed all his bets on Obito.
Although Obito still seemed to be carrying out the plan Madara left behind, Black Zetsu knew that Obito had already begun to form ideas of his own.
On top of that, about Rin's death back then, Obito had begun to harbor doubts, and had even started investigating it in secret behind his back.
He had probably already found the answer.
But even if that weren't the case, once humans obtained power, creatures like humans would inevitably give birth to something called ambition.
Having lived for a thousand years, Black Zetsu understood this better than anyone.
Seeing Black Zetsu shake his head, Obito only shrugged, putting on a helpless expression.
However, behind the mask, his face was wearing a "just as I thought" look.
Black Zetsu really was hiding something from him. No, to be precise, it was Madara from back then who was still hiding things from him.
"Let's go. Since Pain has already begun to doubt my identity completely, I should make some preparations in advance."
Obito spread his hands as he spoke to Zetsu.
As soon as he finished, a vortex of rippling space once again wrapped around the two of them, and they completely vanished.
On the other side.
At the Mist-nin unit's encampment.
At this moment, the Mist-nin were quietly waiting for Yuto to return.
Ranmaru suddenly lifted his head, surprise written across his small face as he said,
"There's a figure rushing this way. Ranmaru can feel a very dangerous aura coming from him."
"Dangerous?"
Zabuza hefted the Decapitating Blade onto his shoulder, a look of amused interest on his face.
For someone who could make Ranmaru feel threatened now, their strength was clearly formidable.
Ameyuri and the others nearby likewise had intrigued expressions on their faces.
They were very curious what kind of person would dare head straight for the Mist-nin unit.
"He's here!"
Ranmaru spoke again, and just as his words fell, a black-clad figure shot over from the distance and came to a stop in front of them.
Thud!
The black figure stood there expressionless, his indifferent gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally settling on Kisame.
"His clothes… they look just like the ones Kisame-senpai used to wear," Ranmaru murmured.
He had carefully taken in Pain's outfit before speaking, unable to suppress his curiosity.
It wasn't just Ranmaru who looked curious.
The others' eyes also flicked back and forth between Kisame and Pain with the same curious, amused look.
But Kisame's expression at this moment was a bit stiff. The corners of his mouth twitched as he said in a somewhat bitter tone,
"He's my former leader. His power is not only bizarre, it's extremely strong."
"So in other words, he's our enemy!"
Ameyuri's eyes narrowed slightly, and a brilliant smile suddenly bloomed on her face.
The very next moment, before Kisame could even warn them, Ameyuri and Zabuza had already lunged toward Pain at the same time.
Ameyuri turned into something like a streak of lightning, and in an instant she was behind Pain, driving her Lightning Blade straight toward the heart in his back.
At the same time, Zabuza appeared a short distance in front of Pain, raising the Decapitating Blade high before swinging it down toward him with a vicious chop.
Pain's face remained blank. Two black rods suddenly slid out from the long sleeves of his cloak as he lifted his arms and turned his body sideways.
The two rods in his hands blocked Zabuza's and Ameyuri's attacks at the same time.
"Looks like you're the enemy, then Ranmaru is gonna chop you to death!"
Ranmaru pouted as he muttered, and his body swelled with chakra in the next instant. At some point, the Blastsword had already appeared in his hands.
He stomped hard with his foot, his whole figure blurring into an afterimage as he vanished from where he'd been standing, reappearing in front of Pain a heartbeat later.
Ranmaru raised the Blastsword high and brought it down in a heavy overhead slash toward Pain, whose hands were still occupied blocking Ameyuri and Zabuza.
"Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)," Pain said calmly.
Boom!
Ranmaru only felt an irresistible repulsive force explode out from Pain's body.
The next moment, all three of them were blasted away at once.
"I told you, Pain's strength is no joke," Kisame said.
Wearing a very grave expression, Kisame stepped forward from the side and came to a stop not far opposite Pain.
In a pile of rubble, Ranmaru lay upside down, head buried in the debris.
"So strong, so strong!"
With a kick of his legs he flipped himself upright out of the ruins, rubbing his little head as he spoke.
In two other heaps of rubble, Ameyuri and Zabuza likewise climbed back to their feet, shocked looks on their faces as they stared at Pain standing in the middle.
Pain paid the others no mind at all and instead fixed his gaze straight on Kisame opposite him.
"Where is Itachi?" he asked coldly.
"He's dead," Kisame said with a shrug.
Pain fell silent for a moment at Kisame's reply. After a while, he spoke again:
"No one can betray Akatsuki. You'll pay the price for this—along with the Mist Village behind you."
As his words fell, the atmosphere turned ice-cold.
The Mist-nin all turned murderous gazes on Pain.
"I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed."
Both hands tightening around Samehada, Kisame spoke in an icy voice.
Just as the fight was on the verge of erupting—
A light set of footsteps reached everyone's ears.
"Funny, I thought I heard someone talking about making the Mist pay a price," Yuto said as he walked over with a faint smile.
Pain turned his head, looking toward the source of the voice.
The moment he saw Yuto, his entire body suddenly froze.
At that moment, Nagato, who was controlling Pain, suddenly felt a stab of pain from the Rinnegan when he saw Yuto through those eyes.
Along with it, the chakra he was using to control Pain stalled for a brief instant.
The stabbing pain vanished in the blink of an eye, but the link between Nagato and Pain suddenly became choppy and intermittent.
"What's going on? Am I overusing the Rinnegan? Or is the distance getting too great?" he muttered, puzzled.
Feeling the faint, flickering signals coming from Pain, Nagato muttered to himself in confusion.
"Relying on just the Deva Path to deal with the Mist Village might be a bit much, and the signal is getting fuzzy… In that case…"
Nagato whispered, but there was undisguised killing intent flickering in his eyes.
Back on the battlefield—
Seeing Pain suddenly freeze up, a puzzled look flashed across Yuto's face.
"You'll all pay for this!" Pain suddenly snarled.
The previously stiff Pain lifted his head and spoke.
The next moment, with a soft pop, Pain turned into a cloud of white smoke and vanished from where he'd been standing.
Obviously, he'd been reverse-summoned away.
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