Chapter 424: Endgame
Nagato isn't his match.
The conclusion surfaced in Konan's mind.
Her gaze locked onto the gradually fading "Three Demon Gods"—their remnants still left lava trenches, flame scorch marks, and rock fragments across the sea surface.
That wasn't ordinary summoning technique or energy clones... it was absolutely incomparable to normal chakra. The level contained within even made her vaguely think of what Nagato's Rinnegan eyes connected to—something even more profound.
Menma looked up, locking onto Konan floating in midair like a paper butterfly.
"What's wrong? Nagato still doesn't plan to show himself in person?"
Konan took a deep breath. The cold, salty air stung her lungs, forcibly focusing her chaotic thoughts. She had to buy time for Nagato. She had to determine the opponent's ultimate objective.
"Your target... is Nagato's eyes?"
Her paper wings folded slightly inward, adopting a defensive posture, though she knew it might be completely meaningless before that Three Demon Gods-level power.
Menma's answer was direct and thorough, crushing her last shred of hope.
"Those aren't eyes that belong to Nagato. The Rinnegan isn't a power the Uzumaki Clan can awaken."
His words exposed the cold truth beneath. "To make the Moon's Eye Plan fail completely, if Obito and Zetsu won't show themselves, I have no choice but to resort to this."
The Moon's Eye Plan... how does he know this intelligence?!
But the intention to "seize the Rinnegan" had already been laid bare before her.
Bitterness and resolution burned simultaneously in Konan's chest. She couldn't let him succeed!
"Nagato is... this country's bridge to peace!"
Konan's voice suddenly rose, obsessive yet mournful. "I absolutely won't allow—!"
WHOOSH!
Before she finished speaking, the paper wings behind her back exploded! Not transforming into sharp paper spears for attack, but instantly decomposing into tiny white paper fragments!
These paper pieces divided into several torrents, sweeping toward different targets!
The targets were the unconscious and sinking Suigetsu Hozuki, Juzo Biwa and Raiga Kurosuki trapped in the ice crystal prison, and Hidan still futilely cursing inside his water prison!
The paper pieces attempted to coil around, wrap, and infiltrate—their purpose clear: rescue!
Even more countless paper fragments spread and dispersed madly, instantly obscuring all vision above the entire sea area!
Light was blocked. Between the sky and earth remained only endlessly fluttering white!
This was concealment—creating chaos and opportunity for the rescue and what came next!
At the same instant the paper obscured vision—
RUMBLE!
Beneath them, that vast sea surface that bore the fierce battle and floated with wreckage actually... split open!
Not separated by ninjutsu, but like tectonic plates shifting—the entire sea area tore open a bottomless fissure down the middle!
Even more shocking was that as the sea fissure widened, what was exposed wasn't the deep ocean's darkness, but something that made scalps tingle and hearts stop—white!
It was paper.
Densely packed, layer upon layer, enough to fill the entire bay—explosive tags!
Endless explosive tags disguised as the sea's color and waves, having lurked beneath the battlefield all along!
The real seawater was merely a thin layer of camouflage covering this ocean of explosive tags!
"What?!"
"This is...?!"
The Ember organization members—except for Deidara high above riding his clay bird—everyone else—Shisui, Satsuki, Kakuzu, Zabuza, Haku—all felt the ground suddenly vanish beneath their feet the instant the sea split open!
They, along with shattered ice crystals and floating debris, fell together toward that bottomless "abyss" formed of explosive tags below!
Among the paper fragments dancing through the sky, some precisely attached themselves to the falling figures!
Once tagged, it meant direct connection to that ocean of 300 billion explosive tags below—annihilation in the explosion, bones and all!
Konan hovered at the center of the paper storm, her eyes ice-cold. Her plan was crystal clear: rescue unconscious or captured Akatsuki members, use the concealment to disrupt the enemy, while simultaneously detonating this ultimate trump card prepared over many years—300 billion explosive tags!
In the instant of destructive chaos and carnage created by the explosion, she would use Paper Release secret techniques to sweep away all Akatsuki members she could save and flee thousands of miles away!
This was her resolve, her final measure!
"What?! It's actually... explosive tags! Damn it—!"
Unlike his companions' gravity or shock, Kakuzu, falling through the air, upon seeing that white "ocean" with no visible end below, released not fear but a heart-wrenching wail as if his heart had been carved out!
300 billion explosive tags?!
Even produced in the cheapest batch method, how much money was this?! How many hundreds of millions of ryo?!
This was simply... this was the most extreme blasphemy and waste of money!! If this money were given to him to manage, how much value could he create?!
How many years could it support the organization's operations?! This crazy woman! She didn't understand economics at all! Didn't understand financial management! She was burning money! This was criminal!
Kakuzu's heart bled—that pain from seeing vast wealth consumed so "savagely" even temporarily suppressed his fear of death.
Of course, he wasn't truly panicking, because he knew deeply—the leader would never let them die here.
In the falling airflow, Naruto's figure was also plummeting. Facing the ocean of explosive tags that had split open beneath his feet, he showed no great surprise. His gaze behind the mask remained calm.
He turned his head slightly, looking toward Satsuki falling beside him.
Their four eyes briefly met across their masks and dancing paper fragments.
Satsuki's eyes, hidden beneath her animal mask, blinked gently at him, then—nodded.
In the next moment—black flames mixed into the torrent of paper.
---
"...?"
Konan's thoughts fell into viscous confusion.
What was she... just about to do?
Her consciousness told her the battle situation had collapsed beyond recovery—she must execute the final plan. Detonate that ultimate trump card prepared over years, create destructive chaos, then take the opportunity to rescue whatever companions she could and escape with Nagato.
She remembered she had indeed acted. Her paper wings exploded—part went to sweep up her companions, more obscured vision. Then... then the sea surface should have split open, exposing what lurked below...
Exposing what?
Her memory showed a bizarre gap and blur here. The drama that should have unfolded intensely had been forcibly cut from the film, leaving only connection points that linked before and after but contained hollow content.
She was clearly still maintaining that jutsu-casting pose—the chakra's afterglow still flowed between her fingertips and the paper fragments dancing through the sky. The storm still mercilessly lashed the sea surface.
However, the sea surface showed no torn fissure, no exposed heart-stopping white, no destructive energy fluctuation that once detonated would be enough to make heaven and earth lose color.
Only shattered ice crystals floated. The unconscious Suigetsu slowly sank. Her companions trapped by ice prison and water prison still maintained their defeated and captured postures, unable to break free.
What's happening?
Did I... actually already activate it, but failed?
No, the feeling of chakra consumption was real. The sight of dancing paper fragments was real. But the expected result was completely absent. Could it be that from the moment the paper obscured vision, she'd fallen into some extremely sophisticated genjutsu? Trapped in the false instant of waiting for results after successful casting?
She tried to dispel that illogical chaotic feeling. Her gaze rapidly swept the battlefield—everything was the same as before the "plan" activated, except for her own vague and contradictory memory.
My trump card... what exactly was it?
She remembered having a trump card sufficient to reverse desperate situations and die together with the enemy. She'd prepared for it countless days and nights, expending unimaginable resources.
But what exactly was that card? How to use it? What effect?
In addition to reversing time in this sea area, Satsuki had also modified Konan's concept.
Konan had forgotten her trump card.
Just as Konan was troubled by this bizarre cognitive predicament, her mind violently shaken—
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A shout pierced through the rain curtain. In the next moment, space violently fluctuated.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Six dull explosive sounds rang out almost simultaneously! Six clouds of white smoke rapidly surged forth at different positions above the sea surface.
The smoke dispersed, revealing six figures radiating the same cold, deathly aura.
Their faces differed, yet their eyes—without exception, each pair was identical, gleaming with indifferent purple light, bearing concentric circle patterns—the Rinnegan!
Deva Path, Asura Path, Human Path, Animal Path, Preta Path, Naraka Path.
The Akatsuki organization's strongest military force—the Six Paths of Pain—had arrived in full!
Naruto, the moment he saw these six figures appear simultaneously, felt his mouth curve slightly beneath his mask.
The groundwork was complete. The pawns were exhausted. The trump card was "forgotten"... Finally, the puppetmaster behind the scenes was forced onto center stage.
"You've finally come... Nagato."
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