Minamoto Takuya vs. Nagato and Konan

Pfft!

Nagato immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. His body fell backward, and he ultimately collapsed into Konan's arms.

This was the aftermath of overtaxing his body. It could no longer support him in using Universal Pull to drag over such an enormous number of massive rocks!

"Nagato!"

Seeing this, Konan cried out anxiously from beside him.

"Can we talk now? I have no interest in your Rinnegan." Minamoto Takuya moved the massive rocks aside and spoke again to Konan and the Nagato in her arms.

He was actually lying. He was still very interested in the Rinnegan, but if he tried to take Nagato's eyes, Obito Uchiha would certainly stop him. He had no intention of facing Obito Uchiha and his Kamui ability just yet.

As Minamoto Takuya spoke, sheets of paper mixed into the soil were already surging toward him.

Konan had not simply stood by and watched Nagato fight. She had also considered how she could help him. Nagato had reached his limit now. Now... it was up to her!

Suddenly, Konan laid Nagato on the ground and gripped the kunai she had taken from him.

"Konan, don't..." Nagato coughed violently as he tried to stop her. She was no match for him!

"Nagato, it's my turn to protect you!" Konan took a deep breath and charged at Minamoto Takuya.

"Oh? Has the dog been driven to the wall?" Minamoto Takuya watched with interest, drawing a kunai of his own. It quickly collided with the kunai in Konan's hand.

Yet something was clearly wrong with the force of that clash. Even if Konan was a woman and weaker than many men, she could not possibly be this weak.

Minamoto Takuya looked at Konan before him. Lines appeared across her face, eventually turning into sheets of paper that fluttered through the air.

Dance of the Shikigami!

"This is..." Minamoto Takuya frowned, as though seeing this ninjutsu for the first time.

At that moment, the shikigami paper that had been hidden in the soil earlier rapidly formed into Konan. A paper kunai appeared in her hand, stabbing toward Minamoto Takuya.

"I got him!"

Feeling the sensation through her hand, Konan's face lit up with joy.

However, Nagato's desperate roar suddenly rang in her ears.

"Konan, run!"

Konan was somewhat confused, but what she could not see was Minamoto Takuya's unconcerned expression and the smile curling beneath his mask.

Nagato could not see it either, but he could tell that Minamoto Takuya was far too relaxed. There was not the slightest panic of someone who had fallen victim to Konan's surprise attack.

At that instant, the Minamoto Takuya Konan had pierced suddenly exploded into a puff of white smoke.

"A Shadow Clone?! When?!" Konan's eyes widened as she tried to locate him.

Yet the exploded Shadow Clone did not vanish completely like an ordinary one. Instead, it turned into a stream of water amid the white mist, flowing along Konan's arm before she could fully withdraw it and spreading across her entire body.

"This is?!"

Konan's pupils contracted sharply. She tried to transform into Dance of the Shikigami and escape, but in that instant, the stream of water erupted and enveloped her entire body.

Water Release—Water Prison Technique?

Konan recognized the ninjutsu, but the Water Prison Technique required the user to keep a hand on the prison at all times to maintain it. But where was he?

Minamoto Takuya was nowhere to be seen around her. Only then did she realize where he was.

Earth Release—Double Suicide Decapitation Technique! Minamoto Takuya maintained the Water Prison Technique with one hand as he emerged from the ground.

He looked at Konan, completely trapped within the Water Prison Technique and still glaring furiously at him, then raised an eyebrow. So this was the Angel of the future Akatsuki Organization.

Unfortunately, she really was somewhat lacking in strength. Aside from the power of the Explosive Tags she used at the end, which truly was high enough, it was debatable whether she even qualified as Kage-level, let alone the current Konan.

What he had used was naturally not an ordinary Shadow Clone, but a Water Clone Technique, much like Kakashi Hatake's Lightning Release Shadow Clone.

He had even gone a step further and integrated the Water Prison Technique into it. Combined with the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique, it could trap an opponent in the Water Prison Technique before they could react at all.

As for when he had used the Water Clone Technique, it had naturally been when Nagato used Universal Pull, while he used Earth Release to raise massive rocks in front of himself.

Seeing this, Nagato tried to force his collapsed body back up, only to break into another fit of coughing and spit out several more mouthfuls of blood.

"Release Konan! I'll give you the Rinnegan!" Nagato said calmly. Even now, he did not believe Minamoto Takuya had no interest in his eyes.

If Konan could still speak, she would certainly have stopped Nagato. Unfortunately, trapped in the Water Prison Technique, she could not give any response at all.

"Tch, didn't I tell you? I'm not interested in your Rinnegan." Minamoto Takuya suppressed the desire in his heart.

He could not help thinking, What if I actually could get it?

Even if Obito Uchiha, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu targeted him afterward, it would still be the Rinnegan!

Perhaps paying some price would be worth it!

It took him quite some time to calm the urge for the Rinnegan in his heart.

First, even if Nagato truly intended to give it to him, he might not be able to get it.

Second, being targeted by those two after obtaining the Rinnegan would be extremely troublesome. He did not believe White Zetsu would be unable to discover his existence, especially since the Rinnegan could never be deactivated.

Lastly, there was still the issue of the Rinnegan being impossible to deactivate. He could not return to Konoha with a pair of Rinnegan in his eyes. He could only leave them in the Laboratory as decorations, and in that case, obtaining them now would be pointless.

Moreover, a Rinnegan that was not his own could not unleash its unique abilities, just as Nagato had never been able to use the special ability of these Rinnegan, Limbo: Border Jail.

If possible, he would rather rely on fusing the Uchiha and Hyuga bloodlines in the future to awaken his own Rinnegan or Tenseigan.

For all these reasons, he ultimately restrained his desire for the Rinnegan.

After hearing Minamoto Takuya's words, Nagato froze. He really did not want the Rinnegan? Could he truly be, as he had claimed at the beginning, merely a strange creature collector?

If Nagato had not summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, would he not have attacked them at all?

Nagato felt extremely strange inside, but no matter what, this was a good thing.

"Fine. As long as you release Konan, this Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is yours. And I promise that I'll never summon it again!"