"What on earth happened..."
Black Zetsu's clone gritted his teeth, a powerful sense of unease rising within him.
His original body had held four trump cards: All-Killing Ash Bones, Yomotsu Hirasaka, Kotoamatsukami, and Shadow Clone Group Assault. With Uchiha Hikari's Yachihoko supporting him, even if he could not kill Ryota Uchiha, he should at least have been able to escape unscathed.
Yet now his original body was dead, and there was no word of Uchiha Hikari either.
"I have to get to Amegakure immediately!"
Black Zetsu's clone sank into the shadows and stealthily headed toward the Land of Rain.
Three days later.
An underground base somewhere in the Land of Rain.
Four figures arrived one after another.
Obito arrived first. He sat on a stone chair, his gaze beneath his mask gloomy.
Nagato and Konan came next. Nagato had changed into a loose black robe that concealed the changes to his body, but his empty left eye socket remained a jarring sight.
Black Zetsu arrived last. When he emerged from the shadows, his aura was noticeably weaker, and even his outline was somewhat blurred.
"Everyone's here."
Obito spoke slowly, his voice hoarse. "Tell us how things went on your ends."
Nagato spoke first, his tone calm but carrying suppressed fury:
"On my end, the Six Paths of Pain were all destroyed, Genbu took my left eye, and Konan was badly injured. We barely escaped thanks to Deva Path Pain covering our retreat and a phantom of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. And in the end, even Hiruko attacked me!"
Black Zetsu had also visited the battlefield over the past few days and roughly reconstructed what had happened from the scene, so he spoke next:
"Lin Ze caught up with me. Although I escaped in the end, Ryōta's