Nagato stared in astonishment, then slowly lowered his head.
His attention had been focused on channeling Dojutsu into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. And he hadn't expected Shinji to give up the struggle so decisively. So when Shinji dispelled Susanoo and used the Body Flicker Technique to lunge straight at him, he hadn't reacted in time.
"Contract Seal."
When Nagato realized that A was using a Sealing Technique on him, he froze.
As the leader of the Akatsuki Organization, Nagato was no stranger to all kinds of Sealing Techniques, so he quickly understood what Shinji was trying to do.
There was no doubt about it.
Now that he had lost the struggle, the Tailed Beast Chakra inside Shinji's Susanoo would inevitably be devoured by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The Ten-Tails' resurrection was unavoidable.
Though its resurrection wouldn't be perfect, the Ten-Tails would still become a major force capable of swaying the battle as soon as it revived.
After all, compared to the Ten-Tails, ordinary Tailed Beasts were practically harmless—even the strongest of them, the Nine-Tails, was no exception.
The gap between the Ten-Tails and ordinary Tailed Beasts was immeasurably vast.
Since the Ten-Tails' resurrection was unavoidable, Shinji had to make sure Nagato couldn't use it. He made his decision in an instant, forcibly severing Nagato's contract with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path using the Contract Seal.
That way, even if the Ten-Tails revived, it wouldn't side with Nagato. It might even retaliate against him because he had once contracted with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
The Ten-Tails was no pet that could be easily controlled.
After the Sage of Six Paths and his brother sealed their mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, they had faced the question of what to do with the Ten-Tails.