On the open ground of Konoha's training field, golden and pale purple chakra clashed and interwove. Naruto was wrapped in the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Cloak, his fingernails transformed into sharp claws as he lunged at Su Ye. Su Ye stood still. The instant Naruto drew close, the Rinne Sharingan blazed to life, and an invisible chakra barrier trapped him firmly.
"Don't just focus on releasing chakra. Try communicating with the Nine-Tails." Su Ye's voice came through the barrier. "The more you resist it, the harder it'll be to control its power." As he spoke, a wisp of pale purple chakra gathered at his fingertips and slowly seeped into the barrier. Like a bridge, it instantly connected Naruto's consciousness to the Nine-Tails'.
Naruto's vision went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was inside the Nine-Tails' cage. The enormous Nine-Tails was curled up behind the iron bars, its crimson eyes fixed on him. "Brat, what trick are you trying to pull this time?"
"I'm not here to fight you." Naruto took a deep breath, recalling Su Ye's words. "The Akatsuki are after both of us. Only by working together can we protect everyone."
The Nine-Tails scoffed and was about to retort when the mindscape suddenly shook violently. A flash of pale purple light appeared, and Su Ye's phantom materialized beside the cage. "Kurama, you can feel that the other Tailed Beasts are under threat. Obito is after every one of them. If you keep resisting, you'll end up like Matatabi."
The Nine-Tails' pupils contracted slightly. It had indeed sensed Matatabi's chakra growing weaker. Just then, the training field shook violently. Su Ye's Rinne Sharingan heated up again, and a clear image flooded his mind: deep beneath the sea, Isobu was wrapped in countless black chains. A figure wearing a conical hat was controlling the chains and draining the Three-Tails' chakra.
"Not good—it's the Three-Tails!" Su Ye snapped his eyes open and dismissed the barrier. "Naruto, come with me! The Akatsuki have made their move against the Three-Tails!"
Kakashi and Jiraiya hurried over when they heard the commotion. After learning what had happened, Jiraiya immediately said, "I'll notify Kumogakure and Kirigakure and have them send reinforcements! You head for the waters where the Three-Tails is and buy as much time as you can!"
Su Ye, Naruto, and Kakashi set out at once, racing toward the deep sea where the Three-Tails was aboard a swift boat formed with Water Release Ninjutsu. Along the way, Naruto suddenly spoke up. "Su Ye, how were you able to enter the mindscape earlier? And how did you know Kurama's name?"
Su Ye glanced back at Naruto and replied softly, "My Rinne Sharingan can sense the Tailed Beasts' consciousness. And I once saw Kurama in Madara Uchiha's memories."
As they spoke, the boat reached the deep-sea waters. Su Ye leaped into the sea and activated his Rinne Sharingan, instantly locating the Three-Tails. He called out to Naruto and Kakashi, "Follow me! The Three-Tails is in an underwater canyon!"
The three of them dived down. The sight before them made their eyes widen: Isobu was bound by black chains to the canyon wall, while a figure wearing a conical hat stood atop the Three-Tails, forming Hand Seals as he drained its chakra. The figure was none other than Animal Path Pain, a member of the Akatsuki.
"So, you finally made it." Pain slowly turned around, his eyes devoid of emotion. "But you're too late. The Three-Tails' chakra will be completely drained soon."
Naruto roared, golden chakra bursting around him as he charged at Pain. "I won't let you get away with this!" He threw a punch, forming a golden Tailed Beast Bomb in his palm and blasting it toward Pain.
Pain remained expressionless and formed Hand Seals. "Summoning Technique!" A giant summoned beast burst from the seabed and blocked Naruto's Tailed Beast Bomb. At the same time, more summoned beasts emerged from the seafloor and charged at Su Ye and Kakashi.
Kakashi immediately activated his Sharingan and formed Chidori in his palm, cutting down the oncoming summoned beasts. "Su Ye, stop Pain! Naruto and I will deal with these summoned beasts!"
Su Ye nodded and activated Heavenly Hand Power, teleporting beside Pain in an instant. His black sword thrust toward Pain's heart, but Pain blocked it with a black rod. Su Ye's Rinne Sharingan sensed chakra in Pain's body that was similar to Nagato's.
"You're not the real one." Su Ye frowned. "Where is Nagato?"
Pain didn't answer. Instead, he formed Hand Seals again, and more black chains burst from the ground, reaching for Su Ye. Su Ye activated Limbo, and three black shadows separated from his body to block the chains. Taking advantage of the opening, he leaped up and thrust his black sword again, piercing Pain's body.
But Pain's body turned into smoke and vanished. A moment later, more copies of Pain appeared in the underwater canyon, surrounding Su Ye and the others.
"Not good. It's Pain's Clone Technique!" Kakashi's expression changed. "These clones all have physical bodies, and they can use both summoned beasts and black rods!"
Naruto gritted his teeth as the Nine-Tails' chakra burst forth again. "No matter how many clones there are, I'll take them all down!" He leaped into the air, forming a Tailed Beast Bomb in his mouth and firing it at Pain's clones.
Su Ye's Rinne Sharingan spun rapidly as he analyzed the clones' weaknesses. "All their chakra comes from the same source. If we find the point connecting their chakra, we can take them all out at once!" His gaze swept across every corner of the underwater canyon before settling on a black vortex deep inside it. That was where the chakra connecting Pain's clones converged.
"Naruto, Kakashi, cover me!" Su Ye shouted and activated Heavenly Hand Power, teleporting beside the black vortex. Pale purple chakra gathered around his black sword as he swung it down hard at the vortex.
"Not a chance!" The Pain clones unleashed their ninjutsu at the same time, sending countless summoned beasts and black rods toward Su Ye. Kakashi immediately activated Kamui, sucking the incoming attacks and summoned beasts into another dimension. Wrapped in golden chakra, Naruto stood in front of Su Ye, cutting down the Pain clones that came near.
Seizing the opportunity, Su Ye brought his black sword down hard on the vortex. Pale purple chakra exploded, cleaving the black vortex in two. The Pain clones all turned into smoke and vanished at once.
The black chains around the Three-Tails disappeared as well. It broke free and swam toward the depths of the sea. But just then, a powerful chakra surge came from the distant sea surface—it was Obito's presence, and it was even more violent than before.
Su Ye's expression turned grave. "Obito is here. We have to get out of here now!"
The three of them swam toward the surface, but as soon as they broke through the water, they saw Obito standing aboard a massive wooden ship. His right eye turned as his gaze fixed on Su Ye. "Su Ye, you keep ruining my plans. This time, you won't get away."
Obito formed Hand Seals. The sea suddenly shook violently as countless White Zetsu emerged from the depths and attacked Su Ye and the others. Kakashi immediately used Flying Thunder God to take Su Ye and Naruto to shore. "We should retreat first. It's too dangerous to stay here!"
The three of them hurried away. Watching them disappear, Obito smirked. "It doesn't matter. The Three-Tails is already injured. It'll soon be ours. Su Ye, next time we meet, I'll take your Rinne Sharingan."
Meanwhile, the three of them returned to Konoha. Jiraiya had already gathered key members from Konoha, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure. Su Ye told everyone what had happened in the underwater canyon. Jiraiya furrowed his brow. "Pain and Obito have both made their move. It seems the Akatsuki have begun using their full strength to capture the Tailed Beasts. We have to speed up our joint defense, or the Akatsuki will soon capture the other Tailed Beasts."
Gaara stood up, his voice firm. "Sunagakure is ready. We can send elite shinobi at any time to work with the other villages to protect the Tailed Beast Jinchūriki."
Yugito nodded as well. "Kumogakure will send shinobi to help protect the other Tailed Beasts."
Su Ye looked around at everyone, his Rinnegan glowing faintly. "My Rinnegan can sense the locations and conditions of the Tailed Beasts. We can use their distribution to devise a targeted protection plan. Also, I suspect Nagato is in Amegakure. If we find him, we can stop Pain's operations."
Everyone's eyes lit up. Jiraiya immediately said, "I'll go to Amegakure and search for Nagato. The rest of you, keep working on the joint defense plan."
After the meeting, Su Ye went alone to the training field. His Rinne Sharingan heated up again, and a hazy memory surfaced: a conversation between Madara Uchiha and Nagato. It mentioned the key to the Eye of the Moon Plan: gather all the Tailed Beasts, revive the Ten-Tails, and use its power to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi.
"The Eye of the Moon Plan..." Su Ye clenched his fists. "Obito's goal is the entire Shinobi World. It seems a much greater war is now unavoidable."
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