Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"Stop! Don't run! Attack!"

In the crowd, "Conan's dad," already glowing green, led a group of Sand Ninja to surround Hell Path from all sides. Hell Path was in a terrible state; if it weren't for the puppets, he would have been dead long ago. Compared to Human Path, who was being ganged up on by a group of puppeteers, Hell Path was truly miserable.

Although the puppeteers had a large number of puppets, with an average of three or four puppets per person, the puppets were not very powerful. The poison on their puppets was extremely threatening to humans, but it had little effect on the human cultivators who were also puppets. However, there were too many puppets for the human cultivators to fight against, and they were destined to be ganged up on.

However, these puppets are not very lethal. Although Renjian Dao looks miserable all over, the wounds from being slashed and stabbed with needles do not have much effect on him. As long as the core black rod in his body is still there, he will not fall down.

But things were different for Hell Path. The moment he landed, "Conan's dad," glowing green, delivered a powerful whip kick to his chest, causing it to cave in. Before he could even react, various wind, earth, fire, and ice techniques rained down on him, leaving him completely inhuman. Moreover, the Eight Gates were indeed powerful. Whenever Hell Path managed to grab a Sand Ninja who was just joining the fun and tried to devour them to heal his injuries, a ball of green light would appear in front of him the next second and deliver a powerful whip kick that sent him flying. This happened several times in a row. Whenever Hell Path, controlled by Nagato, saw that ball of green light, he felt inexplicably panicked.

"That Green Light from Sand Village is really amazing! No wonder he was able to hold his own against Minato Namikaze back then..."

Hidden in the distance in Sunagakure, three people were also watching the battle. One of them, a white object, was twitching his hands as if searching for something small. Seeing "Conan's dad's" actions, he couldn't help but sigh.

That's right, these three are none other than Obito and Black Zetsu, who haven't appeared for a long time. Ever since they learned that Nagato was coming to Sunagakure to personally capture the One-Tailed and Seven-Tailed, Obito had been trying his best to dissuade him. Although he had never fought against Shiki, he had heard Black Zetsu's evaluation of Shiki over the years, and subconsciously he had the impression that Shiki was very powerful. Although Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, it wasn't his own. Even if he consumed his life force, he wouldn't be able to unleash 100% of his power. So Obito and Black Zetsu were genuinely worried that if Nagato couldn't defeat Shiki, he might overexert himself and die here.

The plan isn't finished yet. Nagato really can't die. We have to revive Madara first...

What worries Obito and Black Zetsu even more is that if Nagato dies, the Rinnegan falling into the hands of Shiki will be a serious problem.

So when Nagato set off for Sunagakure, Obito and Black Zetsu followed him all the way, prepared to take Nagato away even at the risk of exposure if things went wrong, so as not to give him a chance to act rashly.

If you're going to get worked up, at least go to Konoha. What's the point of getting worked up in poor Sunagakure? They're a village in the desert; they can recover with a few Earth Release techniques afterward. It probably won't even make the front page of the news.

As Obito and his friends had predicted, the Six Paths Puppet Masters were no match for Shiki. Several of them were instantly killed. The Human Path and Hell Path were being chased and attacked by the Sand Ninja below. Only the Deva Path Puppet Master, with its somewhat cheating abilities, was able to hold off Shiki. It failed to demonstrate the full potential of the Six Paths Puppet Masters.

Especially after seeing the pitiful state of the Hell Path, Obito and Black Zetsu couldn't bear to watch anymore.

The only thing that gave them a sense of relief was that Nagato wasn't stupid; he knew how to use tactics. Instead of drawing fire himself, he let Itachi and Kisame flank and capture the Tailed Beasts...

"Itachi Uchiha and Kisame have captured the Seven-Tails. White Zetsu is going to inform them of the location of the One-Tails and tell them to hurry up before the Sand Ninja discover it."

Obito is quite anxious now. This is a race against time. Itachi's condition is very serious. He's not the type to fight a prolonged battle, and now that his condition is worse, it's even less likely that he can fight for a long time. If the Sand Ninja finds out, Itachi might die here. This is completely contrary to his plan. He was hoping to wait for Sasuke to awaken the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and trick him into becoming a super fighter.

He hasn't contacted Sasuke Uchiha yet because, although Sasuke Uchiha has risen to fame, he's still too weak. He hasn't even awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan. His ability to defeat Orochimaru back then was probably just a trick. Such a weakling is useless to him. However, Sasuke Uchiha meets all the conditions for the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. He's also Sasuke's brother and has the talent to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. It would be a waste not to take him.

Black Zetsu's previous thoughts were exactly the opposite of Obito's. If Itachi Uchiha wasn't sick, he would have favored Itachi Uchiha even more, because Itachi Uchiha's life, whether in terms of his character or his talents, was just too damn similar to Madara's!

If it weren't for the fact that Itachi's birth time didn't match Madara's death time, he would have even suspected that Itachi was the reincarnation of his nominal nephew.

It's not that Sasuke Uchiha is bad, but compared to Itachi Uchiha, he's simply not good enough. Just like Izuna Uchiha back then, both of them were geniuses who awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, just like Madara. But Madara had already fought Hashirama Senju, who had awakened Wood Release, while Izuna Uchiha could only fight Tobirama Senju.

The same principle applies now. Unfortunately, fate is cruel. It has been in the ninja world for hundreds or even thousands of years and has never seen this kind of disease on Uchiha Itachi. It's not entirely a bloodline disease, though, because bloodline diseases usually have some warning signs before they appear. But Uchiha Itachi had none of these. This disease comes on suddenly and lasts for a very short time, less than two years in total. His life force has been declining rapidly.

Even transplanting Hashirama Senju's cells into him wouldn't help in this situation.

Finally, he realized that there were only three people left in the Uchiha clan: Obito, Itachi, and Sasuke.

The eldest nephew's reincarnation can only occur in one of these three people. Obito and Itachi are impossible, so it seems that only Sasuke Uchiha remains.

He had never believed that Uchiha Sasuke could be the reincarnation of his nominal nephew, because Uchiha Sasuke's talent was far inferior to both his nephew's and his previous reincarnations!

1115. The Last Stand of a Single Tail

Moreover, given his nephew's bad habits, he's used to being the eldest brother, so why would he be willing to be someone's little brother?

Although Sasuke Uchiha was born at the right time, he still did not believe that Sasuke Uchiha was the reincarnation of Shura.

However, there are only three members left in the Uchiha clan. Obito can be ruled out. The remaining two Uchiha brothers are either the older or younger brother. The older brother's birth timeline doesn't match up, and he is currently suffering from a terminal illness and won't live much longer. So, only the younger brother is left.

After confirming that his younger brother was indeed the reincarnation of Shura, Black Zetsu ate several kilograms of food. When did Shura change? He actually wanted to be the younger brother?

...

Meanwhile, while Black Zetsu had eaten several kilograms, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame were discovered. Although Itachi Uchiha and Shuri's battle had been quite large-scale, everyone's attention was focused on the aerial combat between the two bosses in the sky, so no one noticed that a fight had broken out here as well.

However, after the Human Path and Hell Path were being chased and the battle in the sky reached a stalemate, someone finally discovered Itachi Uchiha and Kisame. However, they were discovered a little too late. The Seven-Tails inside Shuri had already been extracted and sealed by Itachi Uchiha's Totsuka Blade, and Shuri had fallen into a coma. Fortunately, the Seven-Tails had not forgotten its previous agreement and left its tail inside Shuri's body, so it was not in any danger.

After capturing the Seven-Tails, Itachi and Kisame rushed to take down the One-Tails as soon as they learned Gaara's location. It was at this moment that they were discovered. Itachi's ancestral red giant shone brightly like a firefly in the night sky. The reason it wasn't noticed before was because everyone's attention was on the sky. Now, the story in the sky is pretty much over, and it's not going to make any sense to watch it. At this moment, Itachi's fiery red ancestral giant was finally discovered.

Of course, the Sand Ninja underlings who discovered Itachi Uchiha and Kisame were quite clever. Instead of blindly rushing in, they immediately ran to summon the Kazekage after assessing the level difference between the two sides.

When Rasa found out, he pretended to be shocked. He had to keep up the act. If he showed a calm demeanor at this moment, not only would the Akatsuki organization be suspicious, but even his subordinates would doubt his ruthlessness.

After his initial shock, Rasa's expression underwent a series of dramatic changes in a second, as if he were contemplating something important. He then slapped his thigh and explained that after capturing the Seven-Tails, the next target would definitely be Gaara. He then led a group of underlings who couldn't get the boss and charged aggressively towards Itachi Uchiha and Kisame.

If they don't react at a time like this, anyone would know they're putting on an act...

So when Itachi and Kisame found Gaara's hiding place, they were ambushed by Rasa and his Sand Ninja underlings. Itachi's ancestral giant sword even went head-to-head with the One-Tailed Beast. Kisame, carrying Samehada, stood behind Itachi, holding off Rasa like a lone warrior. The Sand Ninja underlings looked at each other, completely unable to get a word in edgewise at this level of battle... or rather, unable to get involved. It was a super water-style attack and a massive sandstorm. And over there was something even more intense: a fiery red giant was grinding the One-Tailed Beast to the ground. Just watching it made their scalps tingle.

The school textbooks say the One-Tail is incredibly powerful. Before Shinto rose to prominence, the village suffered greatly from it. Even the Second Hokage was killed by the One-Tail. How come it's now being completely overwhelmed by the red giant summoned by Itachi Uchiha, without even the slightest chance to fight back? It's far weaker than the Seven-Tail!

The Seven-Tails may be cowardly, but it could still last for dozens of rounds. This One-Tail couldn't even last one round...

The Sand Ninja underlings, already numb with fear, could only put away their kunai and pull out colorful flags and megaphones to cheer on their Kazekage, hoping he could quickly deal with the shark-faced monster and then take on the fiery giant in a two-on-one fight...

However, the cheers and encouragement from these Sand Ninja underlings had no effect whatsoever. Rasa was still the same great mage, Rasa, and he was quite suppressed when facing Kisame, who wielded the Samehada sword. It was as if he had returned to the time when the Konoha members took on that ugly monster with three bloodline limits during their assessment. Seeing that his super-deluxe Golden Sand combo was completely ineffective against the Samehada sword, Rasa resorted to cheating.

Fortunately, this Kisame isn't like that ugly monster from before who could reflect ninjutsu, nor does he possess any of those messy bloodline limits like Swift Release or Steel Release, so he won't be humiliated. But at this point, it's a miracle he's even managed to defeat this shark-faced guy; just being able to stay undefeated thanks to his flight ability is already a blessing...

However, Kisame's title of "humanoid tailed beast" wasn't given lightly. Seeing Rasa flying around in the sky, he was annoyed by the Sand Village's Magnet Release and casually unleashed a barrage of Water Release techniques on Rasa. What was chakra? Kisame was so poor that all he had left was chakra.

The scene was even more spectacular than the battle with Chiyo. They literally carved a small river out of the desert, making the Sand Ninja underlings cheering from afar practically drool. Actually, it's probably a good thing that the Kazekage didn't defeat this shark-faced guy so quickly; Mom won't have to worry about them not having water to bathe anymore. If they could create an ocean... sunshine, and a beach, that would be even better! ヾ(^?^)?

On the other hand, the situation of the One-Tailed Fat Cat was not so good. Due to the tight schedule and heavy task, and because it had just fought with the Seven-Tails, with the Seven-Tails as a reference, Uchiha Itachi immediately summoned the ancestral giant with its own divine weapon. The Fat Cat, on the other hand, had been sealed since its debut and had never encountered Uchiha Madara. It had no idea what the Uchiha's ancestral giant was. Even when it sensed that its little brother Seven-Tails was sealed, it only thought that the little brother Seven-Tails was too weak and cowardly.

Unlike its timid little brother, Shukaku, who is as timid as a mouse, is the eldest brother who is vying to be the leader of the nine-tailed beast!

Faced with the charging fiery giant, the fat cat didn't even need Gaara to summon it; it just jumped out, raised its fists, and charged forward menacingly!

result...

It had quite a strong presence, but unfortunately, the One-Tailed Fat Cat's strength was far inferior to the Seven-Tailed, and even weaker than the Two-Tailed. It even made Itachi Uchiha, who was on the forehead of the fiery giant, doubt whether this tailed beast was a fake.

With this little strength, they call themselves a Tailed Beast? And they're even vying with the Nine-Tails for the title of leader?

However, the biggest difference between the fat cat with one tail and the seven tails is that the fat cat with one tail is stubborn!

After all, it's a tailed beast capable of vying for supremacy with the Nine-Tails. Even when being utterly crushed by the fiery giant, it still kept barking and taunting. As long as it didn't die, its mouth would never stop...

1116. A fat cat: Come here!

"Damn it, Uchiha, come here!"

"Don't let me stand up, or you're finished..."

"Damn it, take this spit from me..."

“........”

"Shukaku is truly a brave warrior!!"

"We can't lose either! Kill those two! Charge!"

The entire village echoed with the stubborn cry of a fat cat. Even though it was being thoroughly beaten, its spirit remained undiminished, deeply moving the Sand Ninja underlings. Even those who had been relentlessly pursuing the Human Path and Hell Path were greatly encouraged. "Conan's dad," whose green light had previously dimmed, seemed to have rediscovered a purpose in life. His body surged with power, as if breaking through some kind of blockage. The dim green light on his body began to shine brightly again. With a sweeping wave of his imposing hand, he led the charge, unleashing a devastating barrage on the Hell Path...

After chasing the Human Path and the Hell Path for so long, they have realized that these two things are not human. If they were human, they would have died long ago after being bombed like this. However, apart from looking a bit miserable, they are still agile and are not human at all.

"Kudo, Lord Jie, that black rod sticking out of those two things should be their driving core. Try to pull out that black rod."

As the only clerical worker, Mei Chuan Neiyi had been carefully observing these two strange, inhuman beings. When he saw that the Human Path and Hell Path were still alive and kicking despite being beaten so badly, he became even more certain that these two things were not human. However, he couldn't figure out how they moved if there were no chakra threads connecting them. And when he saw that Hell Path had a big hole kicked in its chest by "Conan's dad," with a black rod sticking out, he had a hunch...

......

"...Hahaha! Well said! As expected of the boss among the tailed beasts, that's it, go Fat Cat...Slash Wave!"

"boom!"

Shinto, who was in the air fighting the Heavenly Path Puppet—"You attack, I'll slash"—hearing the stubborn voice of the fat cat, almost fell off the sky. Having a fat cat with a dullard like Gaara was such a waste; perhaps a savior and a fat cat were a perfect match...

This kind of personality—unyielding, even after being beaten up, still spouting trash talk—is a perfect match for a savior!

"...It seems I'll have to find another opportunity to rescue Scorpion. Let's deal with the first tail first."

Nagato, hiding in the shadows, never expected that this weak One-Tailed Beast would be so stubborn, and with its halo effect, it made the Sand Ninja feel powerful again after a round of verbal attacks. Moreover, the Sand Ninja in the wheelchair had already discovered the secret of the Six Paths Puppet, and they could not delay any longer, otherwise their comrades' corpses might be in danger.

He had originally planned to let Itachi Uchiha finish off the One-Tailed and Seven-Tailed before finding an opportunity to "rescue" Sasori, but now that the secret of the Six Paths Puppet has been exposed, he can't delay any longer.

With that, her frail body flew toward the place where One-Tailed Beast and Itachi Uchiha were fighting.

After dealing with the first tail, we immediately withdrew. The matter of "rescuing" the handsome scorpion can be dealt with later...

"Sog! So that's how it is, I've found you..."

Shinto sensed Nagato's movements with his Observation Haki and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly pretended to close his eyes as if he had sensed something, looking in Nagato's direction and muttering to himself with a profound and enlightened expression, trying to make sure Pain could hear him.

He was secretly getting anxious. That stupid One-Tailed Fat Cat had patted his chest and promised to complete the mission, but now he'd gone overboard again. If he didn't get Itachi to extract and seal it soon, Gaara would really be done for once Nagato passed away...

"Oh no! The Golden Lion has spotted us! Let's go..."

Just as Nagato was about to leave, he paused. Through Pain's perspective, he saw Shiki looking in their direction and saw Itachi Uchiha had already dealt with the One-Tailed Beast and was sealing it. Without hesitation, he immediately pulled his companions and controlled Pain to retreat without any hesitation, even abandoning the Human Path and Hell Path puppets.

Anyway, only the body of my friend is the most important. The bodies of the others don't matter. We can find them when we go back.

"We're retreating! Amaterasu!"

"Watch out for the fire!"

Itachi Uchiha had just sealed the One-Tailed Beast, and he came to Kisame's side and used Amaterasu to pull Kisame away.

Although Shiki knew his identity, now that Pain had already fled, it would be unreasonable for them not to retreat quickly. If they encountered Shiki, they would be able to escape unscathed.

The key issue is that he's been fighting two tailed beasts in a row, and his condition is terrible; he's practically blind. He needs to go back and recuperate, otherwise he might not even live to see his duel with his brother...

"Damn it! Don't let them get away, let's chase them..."

Seeing the enemy take away the Tailed Beast, the cheerleaders perked up, pulling out kunai and shuriken, looking ready to give chase and attack, displaying the true spirit of the Sand Village...

"Alright, alright, stop chasing. Let's check on Gaara. We can just catch the Tailed Beast again next time..."

Shindou looked at this group of people speechlessly and looked up at the sky. How did those simple-minded, honest, and fearless underlings from back then become like this?

Shuri has already woken up, but because the tailed beast was extracted, her body is extremely weak. The fact that she woke up so quickly is due to the strong life force of the Uzumaki clan and the fact that she bit into Karin a few times...

"Phew! I just got away with it. Luckily, I didn't get completely carried away and remembered to leave chakra on Gaara..."

Luo Sha quickly picked up his youngest son and checked him over. He found that his son was still alive and breathed a sigh of relief. He was really worried that the fat cat had forgotten about him because of its stubborn appearance earlier.

If his youngest son died, he would be devastated. He had three children. Temari was out of the question, as she would eventually marry out. His second son was unlikely to amount to anything, as he had already reached the pinnacle of elite Jonin. Only his youngest son was truly talented, and all his hopes rested on him. If his youngest son were to die because of Fat Cat's momentary negligence, how would he explain it to Karura?

Now that things are finally over and their plan has been a complete success, he can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

God knows how much pressure he was under before the Akatsuki arrived, after all, it concerned his son's life...