Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

As for Samehada, that ninja tool...

Even though Samehada can return chakra to its user, the amount of chakra it can return is limited and not enough to help Uchiha Mugen close the gap between him and Nagato. Especially since this ninja tool is currently in the hands of Uchiha Chihaya, the chakra it stored may have already been almost completely used up.

after all,

After battling Nagato's Animal Path clone for so long with such a large Susanoo, an ordinary Uchiha should have exhausted their chakra long ago.

"But what if Uchiha Chihaya, Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Fugaku, and that... Uchiha Itachi all attacked together?"

Black Zetsu asked again.

When Itachi Uchiha was mentioned, he couldn't help but twitch. This young man from the Uchiha clan, who was once favored by Obito, had actually awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan. Obito's judgment was not bad, but unfortunately, he was unable to win Itachi Uchiha over to their side. Instead, he strengthened the power of Konoha.

"The answer remains the same: the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan can indeed interfere with the battle between Pain and Uchiha Mugen, but their chakra reserves are limited. As long as they can withstand the onslaught and hold out for a while, they still have a chance of winning."

Speaking of which,

Obito Uchiha glanced at Black Zetsu, who resembled a pitcher plant, and said, "Furthermore, if Shisui Uchiha and the others want to interfere, we can stop them. I'll take care of Shisui, and Chihaya Uchiha will be intercepted by Pain's Animal Path clone. As long as you can find a way to stop Fugaku or Itachi Uchiha, at most one of them will have to go to support Munegen Uchiha. Pain... should be able to hold on."

[Chapter 386. Time Seems to Be Against Nagato Again?]

Admittedly, Obito Uchiha's reasoning seemed quite reasonable at first glance.

That array of military formations sounded perfectly reasonable.

Even though there are uncertainties lurking in the shadows, such as Orochimaru and Sasori, as long as they don't show any signs of weakness, that venomous snake won't dare to move. At least until Pain fails, there's no need to worry about Orochimaru and the others turning against him.

Therefore,

Black Zetsu pondered for a few seconds and then accepted Obito Uchiha's deduction.

Or rather, he couldn't refuse to agree either. At this moment, he was truly at a loss. If Payne lost, he would only have one last resort left... But if it came to that, the original plan would be completely disrupted, and there would be many uncertainties in the future.

Compared to Obito Uchiha and Nagato, who were both easy fools, that man was much harder to fool. If possible, he hoped to let that man sleep forever. With Nagato and Obito Uchiha's help, the final plan could actually be achieved.

That man,

It is a backup plan when one's strength is insufficient.

After all, collecting the nine tailed beasts is tantamount to making an enemy of the entire ninja world. In the early stages, one might be able to fish in troubled waters, but in the later stages, one is likely to be attacked by all sides. Originally, it was thought that Nagato could sweep away everything with the Rinnegan, but now that the second pair of Rinnegan has appeared, one can no longer be so sure.

"So... what should we do next?"

Black Zetsu humbly sought answers.

"Be prepared to act at any time. If anyone from Konoha tries to join the battle, intercept them immediately. There's no need for us to get involved prematurely. The longer we drag this out, the greater Pain's chances of winning will be." Obito Uchiha observed the situation on the field and made his judgment.

His judgment

It's not unreasonable.

The problem is that his judgment is based on a flawed foundation.

If they had known that the one fighting Pain was merely Sogen's Deva Path clone, they probably wouldn't have been so complacent. Unfortunately... they were unaware of this situation, not knowing that the one entangled with Pain was just a clone, and not knowing that Sogen's true body had already infiltrated beneath Amegakure to carry out a secret operation.

and,

Insufficient chakra... To be honest, this problem only becomes apparent when compared to the Senju and Uzumaki clans. The Uchiha clan actually possesses a considerable amount of chakra. If the Senju and Uzumaki clans are among the top tier in terms of chakra reserves, then the Uchiha clan is a standout in the second tier.

Of course, Sogen also considered the possibility of fighting against Nagato, Obito Uchiha, and Madara Uchiha. These people either inherited the bloodline of the Uzumaki family, or had cells transplanted from Hashirama Senju, or had limbs of White Zetsu cultivated using Hashirama Senju's cells. Each of them had an unimaginable abundance of chakra.

By comparison,

Chakra deficiency can indeed become a problem.

So he had made targeted preparations beforehand, but he had kept them hidden from everyone.

Or,

There was little chance for him to use this trump card.

In an era when the Senju and Uzumaki clans were reduced to mere handfuls, there were very few who could wage a war of attrition against the Uchiha. Ever since awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan, Sogen has always crushed any enemy who dared to stand before him with overwhelming force.

Until now—

"boom!"

The Asura Path's laser cannon struck the Susanoo that the Sogen Tendo clone had erected once again. With a huge roar, dense cracks resembling a spider web appeared on the deep crimson Susanoo. It was countless times that the Susanoo had been hit to the brink of destruction.

Each time Susanoo is repaired, a considerable amount of ocular power is required.

After each and every time,

Even Zongxian was finding it hard to keep up.

“Samehada…” He thought for a moment and gave up the idea of ​​summoning Samehada. Uchiha Chihaya was still fighting against the Animal Path! The Animal Path used the resources that Nagato had accumulated over ten or twenty years to entangle Uchiha Chihaya with one summoning beast after another that seemed to have no end in sight.

If Samehada is summoned back at this time,

I'm afraid Chihaya Uchiha won't be able to maintain the fourth form of Susanoo for very long.

"If I don't use Samehada... this is the only way I can use it." In the deserted underground tunnel, Sogen stood still and thought for a second before making a decision. Well, there wasn't much of a choice he really had.

He had prepared more than one trump card, but the Heavenly Dao clone had no other choice but to use it.

then,

next second,

His hands began to form hand seals. The seals were not complicated. Basically, any Jonin could tell what Sogen was going to do. The Summoning Technique was as widespread as the Shadow Clone Technique. Jonin would generally contract with summoning beasts that suited their wishes to help or assist in battle. Therefore, they were all very familiar with the hand seals of the Summoning Technique.

By the way, the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu are 'Hai-Xu-You-Shen-Wei'. Regardless of whether they are Konoha ninjas, Kumogakure ninjas, Kirigakure ninjas, or Iwagakure ninjas, the Summoning Jutsu they master are all the same. The power of the Summoning Jutsu lies in the strength and purpose of the summoned beast; the Summoning Jutsu itself is not different.

Payne immediately recognized the hand seal in Zongxian's hand.

My heart suddenly tightened.

What are they preparing to summon?

Is it a summoning beast bred using the abilities of the Animal Path? As a fellow Rinnegan user, he knew very well the troublesome nature of summoning beasts bred using the Animal Path. Unfortunately, his Animal Path clone was currently locked in battle with Uchiha Chihaya. If Uchiha Munen actually summoned such a thing…

Just as Payne was pondering,

Zongxian's Deva Path clone slammed his palm onto the ground beneath his feet. The pitch-black incantation expanded, and the violently erupting chakra turned into white smoke. No one noticed that the incantation on the Deva Path clone's arm, which had been concealed by his sleeve, disappeared the moment his palm struck down.

Then--

"what?"

Payne was speechless with astonishment.

Not only was Payne surprised and lost his composure, but the guys hiding in the darkness also found it difficult to remain calm. Looking at the enormous thing that appeared in their field of vision, they showed complex and different reactions, the only thing they had in common was that moment of surprise.

It wasn't just the enemies and those with ulterior motives who were surprised.

Even his own people were surprised that Zongxian had such a trick up his sleeve.

"It's... the Three-Tails?"

Standing atop the concrete pillar, Jiraiya looked up at the monstrous, grotesque creature and let out a sigh.

it turns out,

They have such a trump card.

It's no wonder he's the Sixth Hokage, unmatched by anyone.

At this moment, nearly one-fifth of Amegakure had been razed to the ground in the battle between Sogen and Pain. Looking around, all that could be seen were ruins. Jiraiya couldn't even find a flat place to stand and could only stand on the half-remaining cement pillars.

Kabuto Yakushi also temporarily set foot on a concrete slab nearby. If the aftershocks of the battle reached them again, the two of them would have to retreat.

and,

Such a thing was bound to happen.

After all, even the real tailed beasts have appeared, haven't they?

"The Three-Tails... If I remember correctly, the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure who has passed away was the Three-Tails Jinchuriki?" Kabuto Yakushi looked at the huge monster in the distance and felt the vast and powerful chakra fluctuations. For some reason, he remembered the Six-Tails Jinchuriki who was still in Konoha.

Speaking of,

Before setting off, he even asked the Hokage if he should do something to the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.

The village's experts have mobilized all their forces for this operation, leaving only a handful to protect the village. If the Six-Tails Jinchuriki were to harbor any disloyalty, it could cause immense damage to the village. Even with Lord Shisui present, the destructive power of a tailed beast, without any intervention, could easily cause astonishing destruction with just one or two strikes.

However, the Hokage remained noncommittal.

It's just that there are experts in the village, so there's no need to worry about any problems.

Kabuto Yakushi still couldn't figure out who this expert was. Almost all the top experts he knew from the village were involved in this operation. It couldn't possibly be the Fifth Hokage or the Hyuga clan leader, could it?

Of course, the Fifth Hokage and the Hyuga clan leader were not weaklings.

But to be honest, compared to the Hokage and others, these people are still a notch below, or perhaps... there are other top experts in the village that he doesn't know about.

"Lord Jiraiya, is it alright for the Hokage to do this? The Three-Tails belongs to the Hidden Mist Village..."

“If this were in the past, there would definitely be a problem with this.”

Jiraiya sighed, "But that was all in the past. Now... as long as Sogen remains in control, the Kirigakure shouldn't dare to raise any objections. Compared to Sarutobi... compared to the previous Hokage, Sogen is quite domineering. That Fifth Mizukage wouldn't do anything stupid if he wasn't already."

"Furthermore, the Fourth Mizukage has been gone for quite some time, yet no new Three-Tails Jinchuriki has appeared in Kirigakure during this long period of time... I think that Kirigakure may have known about this all along, while we are completely unaware of it."

The pharmacist suddenly realized.

That's right!

Although the role of Jinchuriki is not something that can be filled by just anyone, Kirigakure is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. It's impossible that they haven't been able to find a suitable Jinchuriki after all this time. Rather than not being able to find a suitable candidate for the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, it's more likely that the Kirigakure ninja already knew that the Three-Tails no longer belonged to them.

As a result,

Indeed, there's no need to worry about any hidden dangers related to fog.

Jiraiya didn't speak again, but silently watched the huge figure in the distance, still pondering the Rinnegan. He had never considered the origin of the Rinnegan before. Rather, it was because Nagato possessed the legendary Rinnegan that he became even more convinced that Nagato was the chosen one.

Although later, for some unknown reason,

The Great Toad Sage said the future was unpredictable, and the prophecy of the Child of Destiny turned out to be empty talk.

But when he saw the Rinnegan in Sogen's eyes today, a question he had never thought of before surged into his mind: Where did the Rinnegan come from? If Sogen wasn't currently locked in a fierce battle with Pain, he would have loved to go up and ask him about the origin of the Rinnegan right now.

"What exactly is the Rinnegan?"

Jiraiya sighed deeply.

Having too many unresolved questions piling up in your mind is an unbearable feeling!