Itachi, who usually remained unruffled no matter what happened, changed expression, while the corner of Kimimaro's mouth twitched. Cold sweat appeared on both their foreheads as they had no idea how to answer that question.
"Ronglin, Lord Ronglin."
The palm-sized Katsuyu was on the verge of tears from fright.
Seeing this, Ronglin smiled and reassured her.
"Don't be afraid. I won't really stew you. Though you are all one entity, this split-off version of you has independent thoughts, so I won't make things difficult for you.
Go tell Tsunade and everyone else that Akatsuki's leader is a sickly man. Using the Rinnegan's abilities has left him unable to move, so he can only control these monsters remotely to fight. His location is five kilometers southwest of Kumogakure. Deal with him, and today's matter will be settled. Go."
"Ah?!"
Katsuyu froze, never expecting Ronglin to give them such crucial information.
"Yes, I'll go right away!!"
A few seconds later, Katsuyu snapped back to her senses and hurriedly answered, intending to leave. But to her dismay, she realized that Ronglin was still holding her, with no sign of letting go.
"Um, Lord Ronglin, could you let me go?"
"Oh, I forgot."
As he spoke, Ronglin tossed Katsuyu aside, then took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands. That thing was sticky all over, and it felt awful.
Katsuyu was both angry and indignant at Ronglin's actions, but she could only endure it and quickly leave to relay the information.
"What?!"
At the same time, the Katsuyu clones scattered throughout the area immediately passed on Ronglin's words. Everyone was stunned. So these people relied on remote control to fight—did that mean they were all dead?
The thought of being beaten down by a group of corpses left everyone frustrated.
Fortunately, the news had