The Failed Reverse Summoning Technique

Uchiha Ensei did not care much about intelligence.

Rather than letting it rot in someone's belly, it was better to let it serve its proper purpose.

Few people could interrupt Uchiha Ensei's account; they only wanted to keep listening. Konan was no exception. Whenever they reached something crucial, she even took the initiative to ask questions.

And whenever she asked, Uchiha Ensei patiently explained.

"All right, you now know everything you should know. It's time to return our people to us."

Having said what he wanted to say, Uchiha Ensei brought up the most important matter of this trip.

But Nagato and Konan were still immersed in those brutal truths and had not recovered their senses at all.

Only when Uchiha Ensei brought it up again did they answer, "They're not with us. Madara Uchiha already took them away."

"No... at this point, he should be called Obito Uchiha."

"What you said... it's hard for me to tell whether it's true."

"But whether it is true or not, there's no reason for me to keep working for him. As for the Rinnegan, if he wants it, he can come take it."

Nagato's voice came from Pain's mouth, its tone exceptionally cold, entirely devoid of any human quality.

Nagato had made this decision because of the strength Uchiha Ensei had displayed just now. That kind of power was not something they could easily deal with.

If that attack came again, Amegakure would probably be flattened.

To be honest, due to Nagato's physical condition, the power of the Rinnegan had not been brought to its fullest extent.

In the original storyline, the Nine-Tails alone had been enough to rival Nagato's Six Paths of Pain at this moment.

Compared to the power it wielded in Madara Uchiha's hands, the difference was like heaven and earth.

Should he take this opportunity to collect the Rinnegan?

If his real body came here, it seemed possible.

If anything went wrong, he could just expend a Sharingan. He had happened to recover Kagami Uchiha's Sharingan earlier.

Uchiha Ensei knew that Madara Uchiha had left contingencies within the Rinnegan, but he had no intention of implanting it into himself.

If it was only going to be used as research material, then perhaps it was worth trying.

"A deal! I'll heal your body, and you give me one Rinnegan."

Faced with Uchiha Ensei's sudden proposal, Nagato refused without the slightest hesitation, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

Unfortunately, once Uchiha Ensei had made up his mind, he would see it through.

"Is that so? What a pity."

"Since persuasion won't work, I can only force you into making this deal."

As soon as he spoke, the three artificial humans beside Uchiha Ensei flew off in one direction.

Konan looked toward the direction they were heading, and her expression instantly changed. She knew full well that it was where Nagato was hiding.

She had no time to think about how he had found it. Konan rushed forward desperately, hoping to arrive before the enemy did.

At the same time, Nagato's real body also noticed what was happening. He had not expected his true location to be discovered.

"Summoning Technique!"

"Summoning Technique!"

First, Nagato used the Summoning Technique to call the Deva Path back. Then he summoned the contracted beasts of the Animal Path.

Before long, Zero-One, Zero-Two, and Zero-Three were stopped by the summoned creatures.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Konan returned to Nagato's side as well.

With Konan protecting him, Nagato finally had a free hand to use Planetary Devastation.

A tiny black-hole-like point appeared in Nagato's palm. Then, like a petal, it drifted into the air and slowly flew toward Uchiha Ensei.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Ensei's Shadow Clone took out more blood and performed the Summoning Technique, calling forth an orange cat as large as a house.

"Huh? Ensei, weren't you..."

Chachamaru asked curiously.

In just two short years, Chachamaru had grown from the size of an ordinary cat into something as large as a house.

Naturally, this was not because orange cats were fat, but because of Natural Energy.

Although the Ninja Cat Clan could also be considered summoned beasts, they had never mastered Natural Energy like the three great sacred lands, nor did they possess anything like Sage Mode.

Now, Chachamaru was the first ninja cat capable of absorbing Natural Energy.

But because the Natural Energy in this world was too violent, Chachamaru could not properly control the power within his body and was little more than a hollow shell.

"Use the Reverse Summoning Technique to summon my real body here."

"Notify Cat Ninja Village. Be ready to use the Reverse Summoning Technique to call me back at any time."

Uchiha Ensei gave his orders.

The Summoning Technique was a type of contract ninjutsu, but it was also one of the simplest space-time ninjutsu.

Uchiha Ensei had reason to suspect that the Flying Thunder God had been developed from the Summoning Technique.

Although Uchiha Ensei had not mastered the Flying Thunder God yet, that did not mean he could not make use of the Summoning Technique.

The difference was that, unlike the Summoning Technique, the Reverse Summoning Technique could only call someone over. It had no ability to send them back.

"Do we really need to go that far? Understood."

After saying that, Chachamaru spat out a scroll.

Compared to Chachamaru's body, the scroll looked incredibly tiny.

Yet when it landed beside Uchiha Ensei, it stood taller than a person.

As the scroll opened, Chachamaru's cat paws struggled to form hand seals...

Poof!!!

A huge cloud of white smoke drifted past, but the person who should have appeared did not show up.

"Chachamaru, what happened?"

Although they had not tried the Reverse Summoning Technique in two years, this should not have happened.

At that moment, Chachamaru had exhausted too much chakra and had no strength left to answer Uchiha Ensei.

"Well... the Reverse Summoning Technique consumes an enormous amount of chakra."

"And the more chakra the summoned target has, the more chakra it takes."

At that moment, Kakashi Hatake, who had been standing around doing nothing, finally spoke up to explain.

At the same time, Kakashi Hatake was inwardly shocked. Even a monster like this can't perform the Reverse Summoning Technique. Uchiha Ensei, just what did you do to your body? That amount of chakra is almost greater than a Tailed Beast's.

Only then did Uchiha Ensei finally remember the hundred thousand Byakugan he had sealed inside his body.

With some helplessness, he canceled the Summoning Technique. Chachamaru's house-sized body vanished in a puff of white smoke.

"No choice but to give up. I'll try again next time if I get the chance."

"What a pity. Exploding Flies can only be used once. I won't find an opportunity this good next time."

Uchiha Ensei looked regretfully at Zero-One, Zero-Two, and Zero-Three, who were fighting in the distance.

Just the summoned beasts called forth by the Animal Path, along with the Deva Path, had managed to hold the three of them off for so long. It seemed the Six Paths of Pain had truly been careless earlier.

Was it because he had been standing nearby?

No, the main reason was that information about these three artificial humans had leaked. As expected, intelligence was crucial in battles between ninjas.

"That's enough. You can come back now. This thing over my head seems like it's about to start!"