White Zetsu's Corpse Secured

"It seemed there was no one else besides White Zetsu!"

Worried that other members of the Akatsuki Organization might arrive, Uchiha Fugaku did not act immediately.

He lay in wait atop a tree for a while. When no one else appeared and he confirmed that White Zetsu had come alone, he decided to make his move.

"Not good, someone's here!"

Just as killing intent rose in Uchiha Fugaku's heart, White Zetsu suddenly became alert, his body rapidly sinking into the ground.

He possessed sensory abilities, but as a Kage-level expert, Uchiha Fugaku was highly skilled at concealing his presence and chakra, so White Zetsu had not detected him at first.

However, when Uchiha Fugaku's killing intent arose, White Zetsu finally sensed it.

As an ordinary White Zetsu clone, he had little combat power.

Thus, upon realizing someone was there and intended to kill him, his first choice was to flee.

"I've been discovered!"

Seeing White Zetsu sink into the earth, Uchiha Fugaku immediately understood that White Zetsu must have found him.

Every use of the Mangekyō Sharingan damaged his eyes, eventually leading to blindness.

To avoid losing his sight, White Zetsu's corpse was something he absolutely needed. He could not let this White Zetsu escape.

Whoosh!

His figure shot down from the tree, lunging toward White Zetsu.

Since he had not been far from White Zetsu, he closed in almost instantly.

Pshht—

As he drew near, the kunai in his hand stabbed into White Zetsu's chest, piercing deeply into it.

"Argh!"

White Zetsu, who had been sinking into the ground, let out a scream. With the lower half of his body buried in the earth, he collapsed limply.

His extremely pale body looked like half a white radish buried in the soil, his eyes filled with shock at the moment of death.

Although he had sensed an enemy, he had never expected that enemy to be so fast.

Uchiha Fugaku had closed in within an instant, not even giving him time to sink into the ground.

"White Zetsu's corpse is mine!"

At last, the objective of this trip had been achieved, and unconcealable delight appeared on Uchiha Fugaku's face.

Though there had been some setbacks along the way, including an assassination attempt by Kakuzu, a Kage-level rogue ninja, he had ultimately obtained White Zetsu's corpse.

He hurriedly used his kunai to dig White Zetsu's lower body out of the soil, intending to use Corpse Melting on the corpse immediately.

However, he promptly abandoned the idea and took out a Sealing Scroll to seal away White Zetsu's corpse.

"Now isn't the time. I need to leave first!"

Strictly speaking, the one he had killed was White Zetsu's clone, not White Zetsu's main body.

However, unlike ordinary clones, White Zetsu's clones also possessed physical bodies. After being killed, they would not disappear.

Still, there should have been some kind of connection between these White Zetsu clones and the main body.

After he killed the White Zetsu clone, White Zetsu's main body should have been able to learn of it.

The Akatsuki Organization would likely send someone to investigate soon, so this was not the time to melt White Zetsu's corpse. He needed to leave immediately.

Whoosh!

Carefully putting away the Sealing Scroll, he lightly kicked off the ground and leaped onto a nearby tree before swiftly departing.

Inside a dark cavern containing a colossal figure.

"What happened?"

Hearing Zetsu's cry of alarm, Nagato turned his gaze toward him and asked.

"The White Zetsu clone I sent to investigate Kakuzu's disappearance was taken out!"

Zetsu said.

"Did it send back any information?"

Nagato asked.

As far as he knew, Zetsu and his various clones seemed able to communicate rapidly through some method. He had just used that method to quickly obtain the latest information on Kakuzu.

"No. It was killed before it could send anything back. Whoever did it was probably quite strong."

Zetsu shook his head.

The White Zetsu clones he created were not particularly strong, only around the level of genin.

Yet for someone to kill one of his White Zetsu clones before it could even send back information, that person's strength could not have been weak.

"It was probably the one who killed Kakuzu."

Konan speculated.

"They're really brazen. After killing Senior Kakuzu, they actually stayed behind to lie in wait."

Juzo Biwa said angrily.

"I'll go myself!"

Nagato's voice was as cold as ever, but beneath that coldness was a trace of anger.

He had not thought much of the person who killed Kakuzu. With his Super Kage-level strength, only someone at the peak Kage level could pose even a slight threat to him.

But this person had killed Kakuzu, remained at the scene, and killed the White Zetsu sent to investigate. It was undoubtedly a provocation against the Akatsuki Organization.

As the strongest person in the Akatsuki Organization, he naturally could not remain silent.

"Nagato..."

Konan wanted to stop him.

Others did not know, but she did. Although the Rinnegan had given Nagato terrifying power, it had also brought him terrifying side effects.

Every battle placed an enormous burden on Nagato's body and shortened his lifespan.

However, before she could finish, Nagato interrupted her.

"There's no need to say any more. Anyone capable of killing Kakuzu is no weakling. Only I can be certain of killing them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Nagato, standing atop the finger of the colossal statue, vanished.

Seeing that Nagato had already left, the others also disappeared one after another.

There was no question as to who was stronger, the person who killed Kakuzu or Nagato. They did not believe that terrifying Nagato could lose.

Swoosh—

Dark clouds filled the sky, with raindrops falling from time to time. A figure flew high overhead, streaking across the sky at incredible speed, far faster than any bird.

From the ground, he was no more than a tiny black dot. Thus, even in broad daylight, no one noticed that someone was flying through the sky.

This person was Nagato, who was hurrying over. More precisely, he was the Deva Path, one of Nagato's six bodies.

As the possessor of the Rinnegan, Nagato wielded the powers of the Deva Path, Asura Path, Animal Path, Human Path, Preta Path, and Hell Path.

Nagato had divided these Six Paths powers and made them into six bodies, each possessing the power of one Path.

As the body possessing the power of the Deva Path, the Deva Path was the strongest of the six bodies.

Clearly, in the face of this "provocation," Nagato was serious.

Not long afterward, the Deva Path descended from the sky and landed where Kakuzu and Uchiha Fugaku had fought.

He had orange hair, numerous Black Rods embedded in his body, and eyes as cold and indifferent as ice.

He surveyed the surroundings, searching for the enemy who had killed Kakuzu, but found no trace of them.

After all, Uchiha Fugaku had not intended to provoke the Akatsuki Organization. His only target had been White Zetsu's corpse.

"Shinra Tensei."

Unable to find the enemy and unsure whether they were hiding nearby, he chose the most brutal method of forcing them out.

A powerful Repulsion Force spread outward from him.

Under that immense force, the surrounding trees snapped and flew into the air, while rocks shot into the distance like cannonballs.

In the end, a clearing several hundred meters in diameter appeared in the forest.

It was an extremely exaggerated sight. Compared to the power of this ninjutsu, even Uchiha Fugaku's Susanoo was far inferior.

"Looks like they left!"

He snorted coldly. Since the enemy had still not appeared under such circumstances, the only possibility was that they had already left.

"You dared to provoke the Akatsuki Organization. You'll regret that decision!"

Swoosh!

He flew toward the Land of Fire.