A cold gleam flashed through Jie's eyes, and golden chakra flames wrapped around his entire body.
"Kurama Mode."
Yugito's eyes widened at the sudden change. "Jie Uchiha is Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? And Kurama actually accepted a human? That's unbelievable."
Matatabi was just as shocked, but a moment later, she noticed something strange. She could not sense the Nine-Tails' will from Jie at all.
'Impossible. Kurama is the strongest among us. How could someone erase his will?'
'Or did Jie Uchiha use the Mangekyō Sharingan to completely control him and strip away his consciousness?'
No matter which answer was true, the fact that Jie could do something so absurd meant his strength was far beyond what she had imagined.
Of course, the Nine-Tails power inside Jie had come from the system's reward. Aside from lacking its own will, its chakra aura was no different from the Nine-Tails inside Naruto.
The Gedo Statue sensed that chakra, the power closest to itself, and let out a sudden roar. Among its ten closed eyes, the last one stirred faintly, its hidden gaze filled with hunger.
"You're the first one who dared hit me with fists."
Kurama Mode fully activated.
A thin layer of golden chakra covered Jie from head to toe, even coating the Kusanagi sword in his hand. He looked at the rampaging Gedo Statue and spoke calmly.
Nagato's expression changed as well when he saw Jie's true transformation.
"Is this his real strength? With this power... has Jie Uchiha also reached the realm of a god? Can the Gedo Statue really stop him?"
For the first time, Nagato's resolve wavered. But now that he had already summoned the Gedo Statue, there was no way back.
He could only hope it was powerful enough to suppress Jie.
Once Kurama Mode was active, Jie's speed rose to a level beyond imagination. No one saw him move. There was only a flash of golden light, and he vanished from where he stood.
At the same time, a deep cut appeared on the Gedo Statue's right arm.
"As expected of the Ten-Tails' shell. Even its outer body is this tough?"
Jie looked at the wound he had left behind, genuinely a little surprised. He had not held back with that slash.
A real Tailed Beast should have been cut in two by that strike, yet the Gedo Statue had only suffered a deep wound.
Just judging by physical toughness, the Gedo Statue had already surpassed most materials in the shinobi world.
A drop of cold sweat slid down Nagato's forehead.
"So fast... If that slash had been aimed at Yahiko, his body would probably be in two pieces by now."
Jie's speed had been too much. With the Rinnegan, Nagato could still see his movements clearly, but seeing them and reacting to them were two different things.
His thoughts could no longer keep up, let alone control Yahiko's body well enough to fight back.
After a short silence, Nagato made his decision.
"Konan, prepare to retreat. Jie Uchiha is too strong. Even if we throw the entire Akatsuki at him, we still won't win. This operation has failed."
His voice was heavy, carrying disbelief and humiliation.
Konan finally felt a trace of relief. "All right, Nagato. I'll notify the others to withdraw right away."
Nagato nodded, a hint of apology on his face. "Sorry for making you worry, Konan. You handle the retreat first. I'll try one last time."
"If this still fails, then from now on, the Akatsuki will stay in the Land of Rain. The shinobi world has already entered another era."
With that, Nagato sighed and focused on the battlefield again.
After being cut open by Jie, the Gedo Statue flew into a rage. Its massive arms swung wildly, smashing toward him again and again.
But attacks with no technique behind them could not threaten Jie at all.
To Itachi, Jie had become streaks of golden light flashing around the Gedo Statue. Each flash left another deep wound across its body.
Before long, Itachi could barely find a single part of the Gedo Statue that had not been cut by Jie's Kusanagi sword.
Looking at the wounded statue, Itachi almost felt sorry for Pain. He could have chosen any other time to act, yet he had picked the one moment when Jie was here.
Now his people were dead or injured, and even the Gedo Statue he had summoned had taken serious damage.
Nagato had not expected things to fall apart so badly in the short time he spent speaking to Konan. He did not dare delay any longer.
Under his control, the Deva Path clasped his hands together. Powerful chakra gathered between his palms, and when Pain pulled his hands apart, a small black sphere appeared.
"Chibaku Tensei!"
Pain raised the black sphere into the air. It slowly floated upward, and a powerful pull erupted from it.
The shattered ground, broken trees, and scattered debris all began to rise, dragged toward the black sphere piece by piece. Under that force, the earth cracked apart, and chunks of land tore free into the sky.
All of Kumogakure trembled.
Everyone caught within the pull staggered, their faces changing in shock.
"What kind of Jutsu is this? It can actually shake the terrain of an entire village?"
Onoki stared at the growing mass of earth in the sky, unable to hide his disbelief.
He was the Tsuchikage, and Iwagakure had studied Earth Release more deeply than any other village in the shinobi world.
Even so, he had never seen an Earth Release Jutsu with enough power to affect an entire village.
As the sphere continued to expand, the pulling force suddenly multiplied.
More and more soil was torn into the air. This time, even the four Kage and the nearby Akatsuki members did not dare remain where they were. They all retreated farther away.
Jie's movements were affected as well. His speed clearly dropped.
To ordinary people, he was still impossibly fast. But compared to the golden streak of light from before, they could at least make out a human figure now.
Seeing Jie slow down, the Gedo Statue let out an excited roar. Its two massive palms came crashing down again...
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