Summoning Jutsu: Gedo Statue.
Rumble!
The entire cave shook and rumbled, as if an earthquake had suddenly struck.
Then, a giant humanoid statue emerged from beneath the ground.
This colossal humanoid statue had nine eyes, a body composed of withered tree trunks, and many protruding large branches on its back.
The statue's hands were clasped together in front of its chest, wearing handcuffs, and also forming an upward-facing flower hand sign.
Seeing the appearance of this gigantic Gedo Statue,
Kakuzu and Zabuza also put away their black threads and greatsword.
"Alright."
Pain glanced at the two with his Rinnegan eyes, and his hands once again formed hand seals.
"Let's begin."
Projector Jutsu!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As Pain's words fell, seven colorful phantoms appeared on the ten fingertips of the upward-facing flower hand.
There were exactly seven of these colorful phantoms, corresponding to the other seven official members who possessed rings, excluding the three present.
Seeing that no one was absent, Pain's phantom flickered and appeared on the fingertip of the upper thumb.
Seeing this, Kakuzu and Zabuza also instantly appeared on the only two remaining empty fingertips.
"All ten spots are filled. It seems this sealing will be much faster than the previously estimated eight-person sealing."
Pain surveyed the fingertips where all ten people stood, estimating the time required in his mind.
After a moment, he spoke to everyone who was looking at him.
"The sealing to extract the Tailed Beast will take approximately two days and three nights, starting now."
"Each of you, pay attention to the situation of your main body and do not interfere with the progress here."
Saying this, Pain looked at Black Zetsu.
"Zetsu, you are responsible for monitoring the surrounding situation. Report any developments immediately."
"Understood." Black Zetsu nodded slightly.
"Two days and three nights, I didn't expect it to take so long even with everyone here."
Kisame's phantom, carrying Samehada, curled his lips into a sharp-toothed grin and looked at Feng Xu opposite him.
"New guy, I remember you're called Feng, right? You're quite capable."
"Orochimaru, whom Sasori and Deidara failed to catch several times, was actually captured by you in one go..."
Before Feng Xu could reply, Deidara, who was beside him, raised an eyebrow and spoke up.
"Feng possesses powerful art. A mere Orochimaru doesn't even require his personal intervention."
"Just by preventing Orochimaru from escaping, my explosions are enough to easily defeat him!"
"The one who needed Feng to act was that resurrected God of Shinobi puppet."
"Just as easily as I defeated Orochimaru, Feng easily sealed him, un!"
"He defeated the resurrected Senju Hashirama?!"
Kakuzu's green pupils showed disbelief as he questioned Sasori, who stood on the other side.
Black Zetsu's eyes also flickered, as if remembering something, and he stared warningly at the other half, White Zetsu, telling him not to speak too much.
Sasori, hidden within hiruko, glanced at Feng Xu out of the corner of his eye.
After confirming that he showed no reaction, he replied in a low, hoarse voice.
"The God of Shinobi's Wood Release, which creates giant wood golems, is formidable. Deidara and I were no match. It was Feng who acted to resolve it."
"Impossible!" Kakuzu, recalling Hashirama's terror, showed fear on his face for the first time.
"If it were the real Senju Hashirama, you wouldn't be alive. So, this resurrected one must be a fake with incomplete power!"
Kakuzu had boasted many times about his experience fighting Hashirama.
Therefore, whether for his own reputation or the truth, he could not admit that Feng Xu had defeated Hashirama!
"Hehehehe... you old geezer, you're truly pathetic."
Zabuza let out a sinister chuckle, mocking him again.
"The boss's power is beyond your imagination. You should put away your ugly and disgusting face."
Zabuza's mockery made Kakuzu's green pupils tremble slightly, and the killing intent around him solidified.
Once this sealing was over, he would definitely check Zabuza's heart to see if it was as foul as his mouth!
"Enough, stop wasting time with idle chatter."
Seeing Feng Xu watching the show, Pain had no choice but to stop the argument.
Having heard Black Zetsu's account of the battle, he knew everything was true, which made him even more wary of Feng Xu.
Suddenly, Itachi, who had remained silent, manifested his three-tomoe Sharingan and looked at Feng opposite him, speaking up.
"Iwagakure has issued a mission to investigate, infiltrate Four Stars Village, and steal intelligence secrets."
"Kisame and I are close by, so we can go through the motions."
Itachi had learned of Sasuke's departure for Four Stars Village immediately.
Unsure of Feng Xu's true intentions, he planned to use the mission as an excuse to investigate.
Pain, however, frowned and immediately rejected the idea.
"I will refuse this mission. You and Kisame have other tasks."
Without waiting for Itachi to continue, he immediately activated the Demonic Dragon Nine Consuming Seals.
Ten blue Chakra dragons emerged from the mouth of the Gedo Statue, enveloping Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, on the ground.
"From now on, all of you, focus your minds and concentrate."
Chapter 184: Pick a Scapegoat to Be Feng Xu's Partner
Two days and one night passed quickly.
The disappearance of Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, caused no ripples.
Or rather, it was because Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, had a falling out with the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki and left.
This led to Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, also being implicated and marginalized.
That's why he had been missing for so long without attracting Iwagakure's attention.
As the giant dragons formed from Chakra slowly retracted into the mouth of the Gedo Statue,
Han's body, enveloped in mid-air, fell heavily to the ground.
And from the nine tightly closed eyes on the face of the Gedo Statue, one suddenly opened.
Like the eye of a living person, its pupil darted around, as if observing something.
"It's a success."
Pain's originally calm tone also carried a hint of joy.
Kisame rubbed his aching arm and echoed,
"Less than two days have passed. It seems the actual time taken is faster than anticipated."
Pain glanced at Feng Xu noncommittally, his wariness even greater.
"The speed of sealing depends on the number and strength of the casters."
"I can only say that your strength somewhat exceeded my expectations."
While Pain said "you all," he was actually referring only to Feng Xu.
The fact that it was approximately half a day faster than his estimate fully demonstrated the terrifying Chakra contained within Feng Xu's body.
If he weren't unsure of defeating Feng Xu, Pain would truly want to try extracting the Tailed Beast Chakra from Feng Xu's body.
He wondered if it could substitute for a real Tailed Beast and make the Gedo Statue open an eye.
Feng Xu, sensing Pain's gaze, a slight arc formed at the corner of his mouth beneath his mask.
"If you want to chat, I can accompany Leader Pain for a good talk once I return to the base."
"However, I still have some matters to attend to right now. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
If it were the previous Feng Xu, he would indeed have been somewhat worried that his Shadow Clones couldn't defeat the Six Paths of Pain.
But now that he had the Mangekyo Sharingan and could activate the Susanoo, a combined Gundam, he was completely unafraid of Nagato's Six Paths of Pain.
If it weren't for his subsequent plans and the need to record other Tailed Beasts for future exchange,
He would have already moved to take over the entire Akatsuki Organization.
"Wait." Konan, beside Pain, suddenly spoke.
"The Akatsuki Organization usually operates in two-person teams, and you currently don't have a partner."
Saying this, Konan turned to look at Pain: "Let me team up with Feng and act together."
While Konan said "team up and act," she actually just wanted to personally monitor Feng Xu.
She had just witnessed Deidara and Sasori's attitude towards Feng Xu.
She believed Pain must have seen it too.
Although she didn't know what Feng Xu had done,
She couldn't risk letting anyone else partner with Feng Xu.
However, no sooner had she finished speaking than Pain immediately rejected her.
"Konan, Feng's strength is already formidable enough for him to complete two-person missions alone."
"Therefore, there's no need to waste manpower by pairing him with an equally powerful partner."
Saying this, Pain turned his gaze to Black Zetsu.
As Black Zetsu had a bad premonition, Pain's voice rang out again.
"Zetsu, from now on, you will partner with Feng Xu."
"Your powerful information gathering ability, combined with Feng's strength, which is no weaker than mine, makes for a perfect combination."
Nagato would never let his only companion, and the object of his unrequited love, Konan, be with the dangerous Feng Xu.
He didn't believe Konan could successfully monitor the cunning Feng Xu.
It was more likely that Konan would become a hostage, allowing Feng Xu to threaten him!
But with Zetsu, who was aligned with Obito, he had no such worries.
Nagato looked down on Obito, who claimed to be Madara and always wore a mask, but he was also very wary of him.
However, they ultimately shared the same goal: to bring peace to the Ninja World.
So Nagato couldn't easily break their fragile alliance.
But arranging for the ulteriorly motivated Feng Xu to go there was a good idea.
Perhaps he could even use Feng Xu to probe Obito's true intentions.
Thinking of this, Nagato unconsciously looked at the spy from Konoha, the equally dangerous Uchiha Itachi.
He remembered Feng Xu saying he could help him deal with Itachi, making it easier to attack Konoha and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Why not replace Black Zetsu with Itachi and team him with Feng Xu, making it easier for Feng Xu to act?
Before Nagato could finish his thoughts, Black Zetsu's hoarse, low voice rang out.
"I understand."
"Feng, I look forward to working with you. I'll be relying on you for combat."