A fierce wind swept up the sand and dust.
Konoha's remaining forces huddled tightly together.
Jiraiya stood beside Minato Namikaze, gulping down the scorching air.
Sweat streamed wildly down his cheeks.
He stared fixedly at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path standing at the heart of the storm, his nerves stretched to the limit.
Deva Path Pain had withdrawn, and the other puppets had stopped attacking as well.
Jiraiya felt every muscle in his body aching uncontrollably.
Just when he thought he could finally take advantage of this strange lull to catch his breath for a moment—
A chilling chakra fluctuation suddenly descended from the already dim sky above.
There had been no warning whatsoever.
A dazzling red-haired figure slowly floated out of the boundless yellow sand, silent as a true god.
The gale whipped at his black cloak patterned with red clouds.
His vivid red hair danced wildly in the wind.
A pair of pale purple Rinnegan looked down from above, indifferent to the living beings below, who were like ants.
Oppression.
An overwhelming, tangible pressure ten times more terrifying than Deva Path Pain's instantly engulfed the entire battlefield!
Within the shadows of a distant dune.
The enormous pitcher-plant-like leaves of Black and White Zetsu wriggled slightly.
White Zetsu raised his half-white face and looked at the red-haired Nagato descending from the sky, his tone carrying a shameless sort of astonishment.
"He came back so quickly."
White Zetsu turned to Obito Uchiha beside him. "Looks like your guess that he was into corpses was wrong."
The lone eye beneath Obito's mask twitched violently.
The solemn atmosphere that had formed because of Nagato's arrival was nearly ruined by that idiotic remark.
Obito gritted his teeth, his voice emerging dully from beneath the mask.
"When did I ever say he