Fugaku has gone mad; he's going to create a new Uchiha clan in Kirigakure.

"Damn it!"

Obito cursed under his breath, not daring to let Nagato touch him. He could only activate Kamui again, making his body intangible so that Nagato's attack could pass through. At the same time, he quickly created distance. Under the scrutiny of those purple Rinnegan, he was like a little girl who had been stripped naked. When he entered another world and when he came out, they could see it all clearly.

Never before had using Kamui made him feel so suffocated, with a feeling of being completely seen through and having every step predicted, as if all his trump cards had been laid bare in the sunlight.

However, there was some good news as well.

Why is the other side controlling Nagato?

In Obito Uchiha's view, this was the optimal solution, but also the most unavoidable choice.

The other party knows his abilities and wants to deal with him, so he must be completely focused, but the price is that he can no longer control Nagato.

The opponent can no longer use methods like the [Blade of the Underworld] to seal themselves.

Because, in that instant, once the sword left Nagato's body, Nagato would regain his abilities. Don't be fooled by how miserable Nagato is now; the physical abilities of someone who can wield the Rinnegan are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Given a moment's respite, he would soon regain his strength. He and Black Zetsu could guarantee that. Did they really think Madara Uchiha had chosen the Rinnegan successor randomly? That old man had come prepared.

Therefore, the opponent was forced to make a choice: to directly control Nagato and use Nagato to restrain them, which was equivalent to dealing with two people at the same time.

However, the price he pays is that he is constantly consuming a huge amount of chakra. Does he really think that Nagato, who has the Rinnegan and is also carrying the Gedo Mazo, is so easy to control? When the opponent's chakra is almost depleted, that will be the time when the balance of power shifts!

At that time, with Nagato and me fighting two against one, there is absolutely no chance of us losing!

The bad news, of course, is that things are in grave danger here...

...

"Chief, don't blame me for leaking information."

While dealing with Nagato, Obito Uchiha asked in a smug tone.

"You're amazing! How long until you regain your sense of self?"

Nagato remained expressionless, but his body continued to move. With the aid of the Rinnegan, he moved like a highly precise instrument.

"He possesses half the authority of the Heavenly Dao, and he knows everything he needs to know. I will regain my power in five minutes."

"So, I just need to hold on for five minutes?"

"Yes."

"Hehe, that shouldn't be a big problem."

Obito Uchiha breathed a sigh of relief, his figure constantly shifting between reality and illusion as he dodged Nagato's relentless attacks.

His gaze flickered to the figure standing motionless in the distance. Uchiha Fugaku stood there, arms crossed, seemingly enjoying a battle that had nothing to do with him. But he was probably gritting his teeth and enduring it, huh...

...

"Wait, Chief."

After a brief struggle, Obito Uchiha suddenly retreated a few steps, temporarily creating some distance between himself and Nagato. His mask tilted slightly, and his tone revealed genuine surprise.

"You look much healthier."

Obito could clearly see that beneath Nagato's originally paper-white skin, a very faint hue gradually appeared, like a withered tree coming back to life. His deep-set eyes bulged slightly, and his withered face began to become fuller. Although he was still thin, he no longer looked like a walking skeleton.

Most astonishingly, his legs, which had been damaged by Hanzo's explosive tags years ago and had long since lost all feeling, were now trembling slightly, the scars on them were fading, and the withered muscles were slowly beginning to bulge...

"The opponent's chakra possesses extremely strong vitality, like a unique flame."

Nagato's voice remained calm, but upon closer listening, it seemed to have lost some of its hoarseness and gained a stronger resonance.

"He controls me, and these unique chakras are transmitted to me through the Deva Path. Normally, according to my analysis, outsiders cannot use these chakras. However, I have the Preta Path. Even though most of them are used to maintain the control itself, a portion of them will still be devoured by my Preta Path to nourish my body."

"Wow! Chief, you shouldn't have said that!"

Obito screamed exaggeratedly and covered his head with his hands.

"Wait, I shouldn't have asked, I'm so sorry, Chief! He'll definitely have to adjust his tactics now!"

Nagato remained expressionless, but beneath his controlled body lay a heart full of suspicion.

He could clearly feel that his body was like a desert that had been parched for countless years, suddenly receiving sweet rain. The life essence within him, which had been riddled with holes and nearly depleted by the demonic statue of the heretic, began to repair and replenish itself at a speed visible to the naked eye under the nourishment of this pure energy!

The damaged internal organs were healing, the severed nerves were reconnecting, and even deep within the bone marrow of those crippled legs, a long-lost, subtle tingling sensation was returning—they were rapidly regenerating...

Although these changes are only external.

It's like a house that leaks from every direction, barely patched up with broken planks, but the foundation, rotten to the core, remains unchanged. The body will still slowly slide into the abyss, but with this unique chakra, that day will be pushed far into the future...

This was also what made him suspicious. The other party also possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan, and even had half of the Heavenly Dao's authority. These changes couldn't possibly be missed, unless...

Unless the other person doesn't care at all, or... has more important things to do...

Suddenly, Nagato seemed to realize something, and his Rinnegan abruptly turned, purple ripples swirling violently in his pupils as he looked into the depths of the distant forest!

"Pfft~"

Almost simultaneously, Uchiha Fugaku, who was standing still, vanished in a puff of white smoke with a "bang," replaced by an ancient black longsword that clattered into the ground, its blade trembling slightly.

Immediately afterwards, the blade softened and disintegrated, turning into viscous sludge that quickly seeped into the ground and disappeared, leaving only a shallow pit.

[Blade of the Underworld Pool]...

Obito Uchiha finally realized that the thing standing there motionless for so long, looking like he was doing his best to control it, was actually a knife!

A surge of anger, feeling mocked, rose from the depths of his heart.

After all, previous intelligence reports indicated that Fugaku Uchiha's sword could store chakra and then fuse with shadow clones. From the outside, there was no visible problem, and the shadow clones could use all the abilities of the original body, as long as there was enough chakra.

So, his purpose in doing this was...

Obito Uchiha also looked in the direction Nagato was looking, his Sharingan spinning wildly, trying to penetrate the layers of dense forest.

"Konan, it really is her..."

Without a doubt, this must have been because Fugaku Uchiha had previously located Konan using his Rinnegan. After all, her so-called "God Paper Person Technique" was indeed very difficult to deal with, and apart from the Rinnegan, other detection methods were almost impossible to detect it.

...

In the distance, the real Uchiha Fugaku slowly emerged from the dense forest.

On his shoulder was a figure completely covered in dark mud, with only its head showing; it was Xiao Nan.

She seemed to be bound by some force, unable to move, with only her pair of violet eyes fixed on Fugaku, filled with anger and a hint of barely perceptible worry.

Fugaku moved with steady steps, and with a few light flashes, he appeared not far from the two of them like a ghost.

At the same time, the ground trembled slightly, and the [Blade of the Underworld] emerged from the ground, transforming into a black light that merged into his body. Instantly, Fugaku Uchiha's body was once again filled with that seemingly endless, heart-palpitating chakra fluctuation, and the surrounding air was slightly distorted by this power.

"You, the dignified head of the Uchiha clan, one of the strongest ninjas in the world, actually resort to such despicable means as kidnapping a woman?"

Obito Uchiha cursed loudly, pointing his finger at Fugaku.

"It's the funniest thing to hear you say that. You took advantage of Kushina's pregnancy and childbirth to summon the Nine-Tails, causing the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, and instigated my beastly son to wipe out my clan. Now you're jumping out to pretend to be righteous, and..."

Fugaku Uchiha gently placed Konan on the ground and looked at the two of them.

"You two are fighting one against one, and you're talking to me about underhanded tactics? Isn't that a bit of a double standard?"

"Chief, what...what do we do?"

Obito turned to look at Nagato, his eyes behind the mask filled with extreme conflict. It wasn't because Konan had been captured that he couldn't care less about her life or death, but because Nagato had regained his ability to move on his own and was slowly landing on the ground.

Yes, it landed!

His crippled legs actually supported him as he stood on the ground. Although it was clear that he wasn't very stable, he was still able to stand there.

His figure was still incredibly thin, and the wide black robe with red cloud patterns hung loosely on his body, but the sharpness and vitality that emanated from his bones was completely different from his previous appearance when he was slumped in the mechanical chair, barely alive.

This is precisely what troubled him. In fact, the reason he deliberately made himself look like a clown and joked around to "accidentally" point out that Nagato's complexion had improved was because he thought that Uchiha Fugaku hadn't noticed it.

After all, a Nagato who is half-dead is a good Nagato.

Otherwise, White Zetsu could have healed Nagato's injuries long ago, so why keep him in this crippled state? But now, because of his appearance, Fugaku Uchiha was forced to control Nagato, which ironically turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Nagato...

Therefore, he could only admit defeat even more.

A healthy Nagato, let alone his Sharingan, even with both Mangekyou Sharingan, might not be a match for him.

He knew the power of those Rinnegan better than anyone else.

"Your purpose."

Nagato looked at Fugaku Uchiha, equally puzzled. Although everything seemed to be going smoothly and every step was natural, his intuition told him that something was wrong.

However, now is not the time to think about these things.

State your conditions.

...

Upon hearing this, Fugaku Uchiha suppressed his smile and said seriously.

"Whether it's a ceasefire or a peace treaty, you can interpret it however you like."

"War must be profitable, but right now, if I continue to fight you, not only will there be no benefit, but we will both suffer losses. You may not be able to kill me, and I may not be able to kill you either. It will only benefit some rats hiding in the shadows."

Fugaku Uchiha's words were clearly directed at something, and that was naturally directed at the ninjas of Konoha.

It can only be said that those ninjas were indeed elite. After taking the first wave of Shinra Tensei, they quickly regrouped and left the battlefield. Even while the two were fighting, they were still able to monitor the area from a distance, mostly using a telescope technique similar to the one that the Third Hokage often used to spy on people.

Nagato was naturally aware of this, but both of them knew that they dared not approach this place at that time. After all, their strongest ability, the simplified version of the Four Red Yang Formation, was nothing more than a Shinra Tensei to Nagato. But what would happen after the two tigers fought?

That's hard to say...

"It seems you are aware of this as well, but generally speaking, such actions are accompanied by a contract."

"But contracts are the easiest to break. The five major powers have been tearing up signed contracts over the years. In my opinion, a simple contract is not even as useful as toilet paper. Therefore, I believe that in addition to contracts, we need a more reliable relationship."

He paused, then turned his gaze to Xiao Nan, who was bound.

Xiao Nan met his gaze with her purple eyes, which held no fear, only icy anger. After all, the way this man had restrained her made her feel somewhat ashamed, and he had carried her all the way here!

Fugaku smiled, a strange appreciation in his eyes, and then looked back at Nagato.

"If I want to revitalize the Uchiha clan, I need to expand its branches and leaves. This woman's bloodline limit is very unique, Paper Release, which is both offensive and defensive, with huge potential. She is also beautiful and has a cool temperament. I like her very much. I can marry her properly as one of my wives, let her enjoy all the treatment a wife should have, and guarantee her safety."

"Of course, she will also be a hostage, and for her safety, you are not allowed to set foot in the Land of Mist again."

As he spoke, Fugaku Uchiha raised his hand, and a ball of chakra gathered in his hand. It seemed as if something was imprisoned within the chakra ball.

"What's sealed inside is your Heavenly Dao authority. Well, that's not entirely accurate. Your Heavenly Dao is still intact. As I understand it, it's just a special sealing technique that can steal your power from a certain distance."

"Therefore, if you don't step into the Land of Mist, it is of no use to me. Similarly, if you don't step into the Land of Mist, it will not have any effect on you."

"Then, make your choice, you who call yourself 'God'~"

The scene was somewhat quiet.

Nagato didn't even know what to say.

beat?

Xiao Nan will be the first to die.

Do not hit?

That would be tantamount to handing Xiao Nan over for sale.

At that moment, he felt a pang of regret. If he hadn't been so arrogant and provoked this mysterious man, perhaps none of this would have happened. Unfortunately, reality doesn't offer "what ifs"...

...

"I agree."

Suddenly, Xiao Nan, who was being held still and unable to move, spoke. Her voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

Konan's gaze fell on Nagato, her eyes filled with no resentment or grievance, but rather with emotion, joy, and a sense of relief.

Standing there, Nagato, though still as withered as a bamboo stalk weathered by time, exuded a refined and resilient quality, a strength born from the passage of time. To an outsider, he would only think, "This man is so thin," rather than, as before, evoking immediate pity, "Is this man about to die?"

In a sense, Nagato in this state no longer needs her constant protection and worry. Therefore, it is the optimal solution for her to pay the price for this battle and for her to take the initiative to provoke others and lose.

"I can assure you."

Then, Konan turned her head with difficulty and looked at Uchiha Fugaku. Her eyes were devoid of any emotion, whether it was anger or any other emotion. They were calm, like a stagnant pool.

"I choose to stay, and I will not run away. I will fulfill all the duties of a wife. I have only one request. I beg you, my future husband, please... completely cure his legs."