Nagato felt the true power of the Rinnegan opening up to him; he was now terrifyingly strong.
With a bang, Nagato leaped into mid-air. Massive amounts of Chakra formed a flaming aura around him, and his body underwent a drastic transformation.
Two mechanical arms extended from his back, forming cannon barrels. Then, beams of laser fire erupted from Nagato's body, aimed at the Amegakure and Root forces atop the hills.
Asura Path: Flaming Arrow Missile!
"Is this even a Ninja anymore?"
Hanzo's eyes widened as he watched the laser cannons fired by Nagato.
The aura generated by the Chakra lifted Nagato's long hair, revealing his other Rinnegan hidden beneath the red locks.
Hanzo noticed his extraordinary eyes.
"This is?!"
Hanzo suddenly realized that this might be why Danzo wanted him to mobilize all of Amegakure's Anbu.
With no time to ask Danzo, Hanzo hurriedly commanded the Amegakure Anbu to use Ninjutsu to block Nagato's barrage.
The members of Root weren't idle either. Led by Danzo, they used Body Flicker to reach the base of the hills and launched an attack on the Akatsuki members.
Konan leaned against Ryou's cold body and wept, repeatedly asking why.
"Why? Why? We clearly drove you away, so why did you come back?"
A yellow shadow suddenly appeared—it was Minato. He held a Rasengan and slammed it toward Ryou's head.
Everyone else was waiting for Ryou's body to turn into a loot box, but only Minato was convinced he was faking his death.
"Minato, you despicable guy! Desecrating a corpse after he's dead, you're not worthy of being Master Jiraiya's disciple!"
Konan was shocked and furious, pulling out paper shuriken to stop Minato.
Konan's speed was no match for Minato's. It looked like Ryou was about to be hit by the Rasengan.
Suddenly, he came back to life.
A Gunbai appeared in Ryou's hand. He swung the fan and blocked Minato's incoming Rasengan.
"Uchiha Reflection!"
A powerful Wind Release blast erupted from it, sending Minato and his Rasengan flying back.
"Ryou, I knew you were playing dead!"
"Minato, you bastard, were you trying to desecrate my corpse just now? You have no class!"
Ryou cursed loudly.
He then consumed a life spore, restoring his healthy skin tone. His vitality was so overflowing that one could feel his intense energy even in the rain.
"(◯Δ◯∥)." Konan was instantly stunned.
Everyone who saw Ryou in that state thought he was finished, as he had stopped breathing, but Minato firmly believed Ryou was still alive.
This was based on experience.
The time before last, Minato's Kunai pierced his heart and he didn't die. Last time, he blew himself up in front of the Third Hokage and still didn't die. Minato wasn't falling for it again.
Minato was blown back to a clearing by the Gunbai. Kakashi led Kurenai and Rin as they rushed out to stand behind Minato.
They had just arrived when they witnessed a shocking scene.
Konan slapped Ryou across the face.
"Curse you, Uchiha Ryou, you're lying to me again! Last time you tricked me into calling you 'Grandpa,' and this time you tricked me out of my tears!"
Ryou smiled awkwardly at Konan. "Konan, sorry, my bad."
"I'm a young man! Falling asleep instantly has become a habit!"
Konan suddenly lunged forward, giving Ryou a full embrace, weeping softly against his chest. "Don't ever do that again."
Ryou replied, "I won't, I won't!"
Uchiha Ryou wasn't dead!
Nagato, who had rushed onto the hill, suddenly froze. The overflowing dōjutsu power of the Rinnegan settled down along with his agitated emotions.
His violent offensive momentum was also put on pause.
It was as if Nagato had taken off his shirt and pants, only for the other side to suddenly tell him he was a man.
After Hanzo and the Amegakure Anbu blocked Nagato's fire, they looked down.
Hanzo burst into laughter. "Hahaha... Good, it's good that you're not dead!"
"Uchiha Ryou, I can let the Akatsuki members go, but you must join Amegakure and become an Amegakure Ninja."
Danzo cursed, "Damn it, playing with my emotions! Teacher was right, the Uchiha are a clan naturally possessed by evil."
"Everyone, attack! Kill this evil Uchiha!"
Danzo led Root to launch an attack on the Akatsuki members.
Hanzo shouted, "Danzo, what are you doing? Stop at once!"
Danzo ignored Hanzo completely. He only wanted to capture Ryou and obtain his forbidden jutsu.
Or capture Konan to blackmail Nagato into handing over the Rinnegan.
From the previous situation, it was clear that Nagato was someone who cared about his comrades. Such a person was not a qualified Ninja.
What made a qualified Ninja?
The kind of person who uses cheats and doesn't care even if their whole family dies.
Cold, heartless, and single-minded!
Snowy and Candy appeared on Ryou's shoulders. Black Zetsu emerged from the ground and told Ryou, "Ryou, Lord Madara has entered the Land of Rain."
Ryou nodded.
Kakashi recognized the hermaphroditic figure emerging from the ground. "Obito!"
Tobi said, "No, no, no, we are not Obito. My name is Tobi. I will kill you and sever all of Obito's bonds."
Minato assessed Obito's current state; he seemed to be possessed and controlled by this white creature and black substance.
Perhaps a Contract Seal could be used to break their control.
A Root Jonin suddenly used Body Flicker to appear in front of Konan, seemingly about to grab her.
"Seeking death!"
Ryou slammed a heavy punch into that Jonin.
Chakra exploded within the meridians of his arm like a detonation. Instantly, Ryou's punch blew the Root Jonin apart, scattering gear all over the ground.
Hearts, livers, lungs—it was all a mess of red.
Some members of the Akatsuki who had never experienced the cruelty of the battlefield vomited immediately.
Rin stepped back in fear, and Kurenai didn't dare look at Ryou's figure.
This was the brutal Uchiha!
They were truly lucky that Ryou had no killing intent toward them that day; otherwise, they would be like the Root Jonin, with even their soul rings bursting out.
Ryou's strike blasted a massive crater into the ground.
"..."
The people from the Akatsuki and Root were stunned by this immense power.
Danzo said gloomily, "Monster Strength? Damn it, Tsunade has no sense of duty as a Konoha Ninja, actually passing Monster Strength to an evil Uchiha!"
Danzo had never intended to rescue Tsunade; he even hoped she would have the sense to commit suicide so as not to reveal the Village's intelligence and secret techniques to the enemy.
But as the granddaughter of the First Hokage, she lacked that awareness, all because Hiruzen spoiled her.
Minato swallowed hard, glancing at the scattered remains of the Root Ninja.
Ninjas did have physical resistance.
But being hit by this kind of Monster Strength... perhaps only the Third Raikage could emerge unscathed!
The Akatsuki members' morale instantly soared. With Ryou killing a Jonin in one punch, such formidable strength combined with Nagato's recent explosion of power...
Maybe they could actually escape today.
Some blood from the exploded Root Jonin had splattered onto Konan. Ryou carefully wiped it clean for her. "Konan, I'll have Candy take you away. This isn't a place for a girl like you to be involved."
"No—!"
Konan refused. She adjusted her forehead protector and looked at Nagato and Yahiko on the hill.
"My partners are there. How can I run away?"
Ryou was helpless.
"Fine then, take this power!"
Ryou detached a life spore from his body and sent it into Konan's, hoping it would save her life at a critical moment.
With Ryou's life spore, Konan's body felt warm and cozy.
The flow of Chakra became smoother, and her body overflowed with a massive amount of it. The technique she had been conceptualizing, Dance of the Shikigami, could finally be performed.
Konan formed hand seals and performed the Ninjutsu. Her body instantly transformed into countless paper fragments.
Now, conventional physical attacks would have no effect on Konan.
"Ryou, what did you give me?"
"Just think of it as my child!"
"Huh?!"