Minato didn't know how Nagato was doing. Releasing such a powerful Ninjutsu would certainly consume a massive amount of Chakra.
Speaking of which, Nagato's symbolic red hair, combined with his vast Chakra, fit the characteristics of the Uzumaki Clan perfectly.
Perhaps Nagato was a descendant of the Uzumaki who survived after the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, a clansman of his own wife.
But now, he was standing as an enemy to his wife's clansman.
Minato looked at Nagato, who was fighting desperately beneath the Gedo Statue, with a complicated expression, unsure of what to say.
Perhaps this is the tragedy of being a Ninja!
Everyone must take a side for their own camp! Even relatives must become enemies.
In the torrent of the era, each of us is as tiny as a speck of dust!
A swarm of insects appeared beside Minato, and Ryoma emerged from them, looking at Minato with some surprise: "Sage Mode... Minato, are you already a legendary Sage now?"
Minato nodded.
Ryoma shouted to him, "Minato, Uchiha Madara's giant has been summoned to the Land of Rain by Nagato. Uchiha Madara could show up at any moment."
"We have no more time to waste. We must destroy Nagato's Rinnegan as soon as possible."
"Lord Danzo and Hanzo can't get close to Nagato. Right now, only your Flying Thunder God can get near him."
"Minato, it's up to you!"
Minato's expression turned solemn. It was no longer the time to waste... "It's not the time to waste anymore!"
Obito shouted at Kakashi: "Kill me, quickly! I can't hold on much longer. Tobi's construct is trying to seize back control of the body."
Kakashi's body had already begun to tremble. Kill Obito? Kill his own partner?
Having finally seen Obito again, finally found a path to redemption, how could Kakashi kill his own comrade?
Seeing that Kakashi couldn't bring himself to do it, Obito shouted at Kurenai: "Kurenai, kill me quickly, or you'll all be killed by Tobi!"
"This..."
Kurenai didn't have such deep feelings for Obito; they were merely classmates. Back at the Ninja Academy, Kurenai had never really given Obito a second look.
He failed every subject and spent all day acting like a total creep toward Rin. How could anyone recognize him as an elite of the Uchiha Clan?
But Obito was a fellow villager. How could she strike down her own comrade?
Obito roared: "Kurenai, what are you still hesitating for? From the day I became a Ninja, I've had this resolve!"
Kurenai gritted her teeth hard, drew a Kunai, and rushed toward Obito.
But just as the Kunai pierced Obito's chest, Obito suddenly slapped Kurenai, sending her flying back to her original position.
Kurenai broke down and cried: "I'm not playing anymore! I want to go home and find my father!"
"Whew, whew, whew—I almost got killed. Luckily, I took the body back."
Tobi's cheerful voice rang out.
"Obito, do you want to die that badly?"
"Tobi, you bastard, don't you dare touch my comrades!"
Black Zetsu said coldly, "Tobi, go kill that one named Rin. I'll control Obito."
"I won't let you hurt my Rin—!"
Obito frantically struck against Madara's Genjutsu energy, time and time again, without the slightest flinch.
The battlefield between Minato and Ryou.
Minato wanted to go destroy Nagato's eyes, but Ryou would never let him pass.
Nagato was basically holding off the entire enemy army by himself. If Minato went as well, Nagato's Rinnegan really wouldn't be saved.
Ryou directly shouted a threat from underground: "Minato, if you dare try to destroy Nagato's Rinnegan, I'll go kill Rin and Kakashi!"
"Let's see if the Rinnegan is more important, or your subordinates."
"..."
Minato hesitated.
Ryoma shouted at Minato: "Minato! Now is not the time for indecision! Once Uchiha Madara gets the Rinnegan, everything will be over!"
"I'll hold off Uchiha Ryou. You go destroy Nagato's Rinnegan."
Minato hardened his heart and threw a flying thunder god kunai toward Nagato's direction.
"A mere Aburame dares to say he'll hold me, Uchiha Ryou, back? Ridiculous!"
Ryou suddenly surged up from the ground, a Rasengan emitting terrifyingly high heat condensing in his hand.
Minato saw this Rasengan and stopped abruptly: "A Fire-attribute Rasengan! You actually completed the Nature Transformation of the Rasengan's Chakra?"
Adding Nature Transformation to the Rasengan was a difficult hurdle that both Minato and Jiraiya were currently struggling to overcome.
This hurdle was difficult to break through even with the talent of those two, not because it was impossible, but because of the extremely powerful side effects after adding a Nature Transformation to the Rasengan.
One could tell just by looking at Ryou's current state.
Ryou was in bad shape. The Rasengan is an A-rank Ninjutsu; adding a Nature Transformation makes it a forbidden jutsu.
In the original story, Naruto destroyed the Chakra pathways in his arm just by using the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
If not for Senju Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu and Naruto's super-strong constitution as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto's right hand would have been completely ruined, and he'd only have one hand left for everything.
Forbidden Jutsus are all secret techniques with powerful side effects.
The side effect of the Rasenshuriken is that the Wind-attribute Chakra cuts the user's Chakra meridians.
And Ryou's Fire-attribute Chakra was burning his arm; his arm was already starting to be scorched by the intense heat of the Rasengan.
But now was the time to unleash his ultimate move. How could he retreat even half a step?
"Go—!"
"Fire Release: Great Flame Rasengan—!"
The Great Flame Rasengan was a high-density rotating Chakra fireball that glowed red to the point of turning black. From a distance, it looked like a small Biju Bomb.
It released a massive amount of heat, and the moment it appeared, the surrounding raindrops evaporated violently.
Ryou appeared between Minato and Ryoma with the Great Flame Rasengan and then slammed it down with force.
The Parasitic Giant Insects in Ryoma's body were fainted by the scorching heat before they could even make contact.
The Great Flame Rasengan exploded violently!
Rumble—!
A massive explosion rose between Minato and Ryoma, spanning over 50 meters, and a small mushroom cloud rose from the spot.
The sound of the intense explosion drew everyone's attention.
Kakashi was using Chidori to cut through Tobi's Wood Release when he heard the violent explosion and looked toward the small mushroom cloud.
His pupils shrank slightly; that was the direction where Minato-sensei was fighting Uchiha Ryou.
Minato-sensei wasn't good at Fire Release, so this attack must be Uchiha Ryou's forbidden jutsu.
"Minato-sensei—!"
Kakashi was desperate to know what had happened to Minato.
On the high ground above, Danzo and Hanzo, who were fighting the Gedo Statue, looked back with expressions of shock.
"That kind of attack... Who? Who let out a Tailed Beast?"
Konan used Paper Release to protect Nagato. She felt somewhat unwell; the poison mist released by the Salamander had filled the entire battlefield.
Konan and Nagato weren't wearing gas masks, and they had both been affected.
Konan could still move because she had Ryou's life spore in her body. That was the power of Yang Release, and it hindered the spread of the toxin within her.
But Nagato didn't have Ryou's life spore on him.
Hanzo himself couldn't even cure the Salamander's poison; he had always relied on his powerful poison resistance to endure it.
His daily breathing would release poison gas, which was why he and the Amegakure Anbu always wore masks.
The only ones who could cure Hanzo's Salamander poison were Lady Chiyo and Tsunade.
Nagato was now skin and bones, looking like a layer of skin draped over a skeleton. Due to the Salamander's poison, blood was leaking from his five orifices.
Summoning the Gedo Statue and using the Phantom Dragon Nine Consuming Seals had already taken half of Nagato's life.
And because the Phantom Dragon couldn't keep up with Danzo and Hanzo's speed, Nagato had to keep squeezing out his life force to control the Gedo Statue against them. Even without the Salamander's poison, he would have been drained to death by the Rinnegan.