Valley of the End

Valley of the End.

Nagato had already recalled his Giant Bird Summoning Animal. At this moment, he was using Earth Release—Light-Weight Rock Technique to make his body lighter than a feather, hiding himself among the clouds.

Through his Rinnegan, Nagato clearly saw that a Seal Barrier had already sealed off the space in this area.

As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, and with Sealing Technique as his major at Imperial University, Nagato could naturally see through the abnormalities here at a glance.

It seemed that because the seal had already been completed, this place was guarded only by one masked Root ninja at each of the four corners.

Sensing that these people possessed no more than ordinary Jonin-level strength, Nagato no longer hesitated.

"Summoning Technique!"

As Nagato slowly spoke, he pressed one hand downward. Even a thousand meters away, countless incantations instantly appeared underground, followed by the emergence of two Summoning Animals.

A gigantic Centipede and a Chameleon appeared before him.

As soon as the Chameleon appeared, it quickly merged with its surroundings and vanished.

The Giant Centipede, meanwhile, burrowed underground, preparing to attack the four Root ninjas.

These two Summoning Animals shared one characteristic: both had the white sclera and black-and-purple irises of the Rinnegan, and countless black rods were embedded in their bodies.

The ground began to bulge, and the entire area trembled slightly as the Giant Centipede writhed beneath it.

"What was that sound?" one Root ninja asked warily.

"Not good! Be careful!" another ninja noticed something strange as well.

Suddenly, the Giant Centipede burst out of the ground and slammed into the barrier surrounding the sealed space.

Although the barrier trembled violently, it was not broken through.

"Not good! The enemy's target is this Isolation Seal! I'll contact Lord Danzo!" one of the Root ninjas said anxiously.

The other three Root ninjas exchanged glances and replied in unison, "Good!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the three Root ninjas attacked simultaneously, each casting a different ninjutsu at the Giant Centipede.

"Fire Release—Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

"Earth Release—Yellow Spring Swamp!"

"Lightning Release—Earth Walk!"

As the three Root ninjas finished speaking, a mighty fire dragon bullet shot out and flew straight toward the Giant Centipede. The ground beneath it instantly turned into a muddy swamp, restricting its movements, while the third Root member placed both hands on the ground, sending terrifying currents through the earth and into the Giant Centipede's body.

Control, paralysis, overwhelming firepower... With the three of them working together perfectly, all their attacks struck the Giant Centipede at once.

The Giant Centipede cried out in pain, letting out a miserable hiss.

Seeing this, the three Root ninjas all showed signs of relief.

However, before they could breathe a sigh of relief, the Giant Centipede suddenly went berserk and attacked them.

"Summoning Technique!"

The Root member protected behind the other three quickly summoned a Dark Crow, then recorded all the information on a scroll and sent it to Lord Danzo.

The Dark Crow had barely taken flight when it was swept away by a tongue dozens of meters long.

"Not good! There's another enemy!"

At that moment, the Chameleon revealed itself.

The four men suddenly found themselves under immense pressure. One Summoning Animal had already forced them to exhaust every method they had merely to restrain it slightly. Now there were two...

To ensure that he would not be discovered and cause a serious mistake, Nagato no longer showed any mercy to the masked ninjas.

Under the attacks of the Chameleon and the Giant Centipede, the four Root Jonin were soon devoured.

"I'm sorry..."

Nagato murmured as he confirmed that there was nothing left here that could expose him. Then he slowly descended.

With only a glance at the Sealing Technique, Nagato saw through its foundation.

"An Isolation Seal?"

Nagato could sense that the space inside had been isolated. No Chakra or matter could penetrate it. It was like a vacuum, with everything inside erased.

"No wonder the Empire couldn't sense this world."

Nagato formed hand seals and deduced the method of undoing the seal based on his own conclusions.

Forcing his way through might damage this space, which could cause even more trouble later.

"Isolation Seal—Release!"

After forming the final seal, Nagato pressed one hand against the sealing barrier.

The sealing barrier immediately drilled into his body through his hand, while the Chakra maintaining it was devoured by his Preta Path ability.

The losses from summoning the Animal Path's Summoning Animals were replenished in an instant.

Looking at the world that had returned to normal, Nagato formed hand seals.

"Genjutsu—Mirage!"

Ripples immediately spread through the space. Then the area transformed into an ordinary mountain forest, blending seamlessly into the surrounding environment.

The surrounding terrain also underwent earth-shaking changes under the influence of the Genjutsu.

Only after finishing all this did Nagato expressionlessly begin contacting the Empire, Kakashi, and Obito.

Land of Waves.

Led by Tazuna, the group finally arrived at the bridge construction site.

Obito glanced at Sasuke, whom Kakashi was carrying on his back and who was still immersed in the Genjutsu. He helplessly dispelled it.

Sasuke was drenched in sweat. He looked around at his surroundings, and only after a long while did he recover.

"This... Master Obito... this Genjutsu... is too powerful!"

Seeing that his Two-Tomoe were faintly showing signs of transforming into Three-Tomoe, Sasuke shouted excitedly.

When they defeated Zabuza, he had been unable to resist asking his master to stimulate him with Genjutsu again.

"Heh heh, this is only the most basic Genjutsu training designed to help the Uchiha awaken their eyes. Since you're willing to join the Empire, we certainly won't be stingy with you!"

As Obito spoke, his gaze swept over Kakashi and Zabuza.

Neither of them said a word.

As they arrived near the bridge that would later be known as Naruto Bridge, they saw a short, fat man chasing several workers and beating them.

Many of the workers had broken arms and legs. They lay on the ground, crying out in pain, while countless tools had been destroyed and scattered everywhere.

At this sight, Tazuna's eyes filled with tears. His eyes nearly bulged from rage as he helped up a worker whose leg had been broken and who was trying to stand.

"Wada! How are you? What happened?"

Tazuna's eyes were filled with heartache as he looked at his fellow worker.

"What happened? Heh heh, naturally, I won't allow this bridge to be completed!"

An extremely arrogant voice approached from a distance. Gato strode over with an overbearing gait, dressed in a black suit and holding a cigar. He casually extinguished it on the face of a nearby worker.

Behind him were several hundred ninjas and henchmen he had hired.

Seeing this scene, Naruto forgot that the Chakra in his body was still sealed and charged forward in fury.

"Hey! You bastard! Don't you know that burning someone else's face with a cigarette is painful?"