The exchange between Zabuza and Shi was brief, ending as swiftly as thunder before one could cover one's ears.
In the blink of an eye, before anyone could react, the fierce clash everyone had anticipated—one that might have been evenly matched—had already come to an end.
Shi, who had initially performed brilliantly, collapsed to the ground, clutching his head in agony. Judging by the cold sweat covering his face, he had clearly suffered badly.
But the problem was that no one present had seen what Zabuza had actually done.
"Nagato, did you see it clearly?"
Yahiko, with his orange hair, looked slightly grim.
Nagato's Rinnegan possessed extraordinarily powerful perception, so at first, the three of them had paid little attention to Shi and his companions.
That changed when Zabuza Momochi made his move.
It had been something of a coincidence.
Over the years, Nagato's development of the Rinnegan's abilities had steadily matured. Although he had yet to establish the complete Six Paths of Pain system he would possess in the future,
the powers of attraction and repulsion, soul extraction, ninjutsu absorption, and more had already begun to take shape. Thus, the first time he saw Zabuza, he noticed the dense aura of vengeful spirits around him, so thick it seemed impossible to disperse.
The struggling wails of countless wronged souls left a profound impression on Nagato, and he immediately marked Zabuza as a person of absolute evil.
After all, to the three members of Akatsuki, who yearned for a world where everyone could understand one another in peace, an evildoer like Zabuza, who had slaughtered countless people, was someone they had to defeat.
That was why they had been paying close attention to Zabuza's movements.
"It should have been some kind of genjutsu..."
Nagato's voice, faint as a mosquito's buzz,