In the afternoon, Konoha's battle situation had deteriorated to the extreme.
Six Paths of Pain's abilities completely exceeded everyone's expectations at Konoha. Asura Path's mechanized transformation and large-scale missile bombing, Animal Path's endless stream of psychic beasts, Human Path's soul extraction, Preta Path's Chakra Devour, especially Deva Path's Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in, is an almost invincible killing move. Konoha's ninjas rushed forward one after another, but fell down one after another. The defense line was torn to pieces, and even the streets near the Hokage building were caught in the flames of war.
The hospital was already crowded with wounded people. Shizune led the medical ninjas continuously to stop bleeding, debridement, and surgery without stopping. However, more and more wounded people were brought in, and the air was filled with the strong smell of blood and disinfectant. The shelter was crowded with villagers. Listening to the continuous explosions outside, the adults held their children tightly, with fear in their eyes.
In the command room of the Hokage building, Tsunade looked at the battle reports coming back from the front line, his face was livid, and his fists were clenched. The number of casualties was still rising. The six corpses of the opponent were not afraid of death at all. Even if they were beaten to pieces, they could be repaired by the abilities of other Daoists. Complex, and every Konoha ninja who dies will lose one. What makes her even more anxious is that the other party has been searching for the whereabouts of Naruto in the village, asking the villagers where Naruto is. Many civilians have been brutally killed by Human Path because they refused to speak.
"Lady Tsunade, the defense line on the west was breached, and the psychic beasts rushed into the residential area, causing heavy casualties!"
"Several nodes of Lady Tsunade, Barrier Team were destroyed, and the defense strength of the village protection barrier dropped by 30%!"
"Lady Tsunade, Jonin Commander's captain was killed in battle, our people can no longer hold it back!"
The messengers rushed in one after another, bringing all bad news. Shikamaru stood aside and quickly adjusted the defense plan, but in the face of Six Paths of Pain's ability that was completely beyond conventional cognition, any tactics were pale and powerless. His father, Shikaku, had already led Nara Clan's ninjas to the front line, and until now, even the news could not be sent back.
"Lady Tsunade, we can't go on like this." Shikamaru put down the deployment plan in his hand and spoke solemnly, "The other party's abilities are too weird. Conventional Ninjutsu and tactics are of no use to them. If they continue to be wasted, our people will be exhausted."
Tsunade gritted her teeth, and the Yin Seal on her forehead shone faintly. She had sent out all the Anbus directly under Hokage, and even sent her own personal guards to the hospital to guard them, but the situation was still deteriorating. She knew very well that if this continued, Konoha would really be completely destroyed.
"I'll go to Mr. Rinto's place." Tsunade took a deep breath and made a decision. She didn't want to disturb Rinto before, but now, she has reached the point of last resort. In the entire Konoha, the only one who can possibly reverse the situation is the man who lives in seclusion and understands the rules of Chakra to the extreme.
"Lady Tsunade, I'll go with you." Shikamaru followed immediately. He knew Rinto's temperament very well. With him by his side, he could at least avoid saying the wrong thing and causing Rinto to disappear behind closed doors.
Without any delay, the two people immediately rushed towards the laboratory in the northwest corner of the village. The road was full of collapsed houses, burning flames, and injured ninjas and civilians. The originally prosperous Konoha was now in devastation. Occasionally, there were out-of-control people. The psychic beasts rushed over, but were quickly stopped by the accompanying Anbu Ninja. Tsunade didn't even stop. Her mind was now filled with the idea that she must ask Rinto to take action, no matter how high the price was.
Ten minutes later, the two finally arrived outside the gate of Rinto.
But what stunned them was that the familiar courtyard actually "disappeared". Where the courtyard gate and the wall should have been, now it looked like a bombed-out open space without even a trace of a building. When they scanned it with their senses, there was only an ordinary piece of rubble, without any Chakra fluctuations in the barrier, and there was no breath of Rinto.
"What... what's going on?" Shikamaru was stunned for a moment. He had just been here a few days ago. It was clearly at this location, how could he disappear out of thin air?
Tsunade also frowned. She could feel that there were extremely subtle abnormalities in the space here, but even if she turned on Strength of a Hundred Technique and improved her perception ability, she could not find the specific location of the laboratory, let alone penetrate it.. She could only face the empty space and raise her voice, with a solemn tone and a hint of imperceptible pleading. "Mr. Rinto, my name is Tsunade. I have something urgent to call you. Please open the door."
After she finished speaking, a few seconds later, the space in front of her eyes fluctuated slightly. In the originally empty open space, familiar courtyard doors and walls suddenly appeared, as if the previous disappearance was just an illusion. The courtyard door slid open a crack silently, and Rinto's cold and obviously impatient voice came from inside. "If you have anything to say, please don't stand at the door and make noises, which will delay my experiment."
Tsunade and Shikamaru looked at each other and hurriedly walked in. The yard was completely different from the devastated Konoha outside. It was clean and tidy, with not even a fallen leaf. The doors and windows of the laboratory were closed tightly, and the sound of gunfire outside could not be heard at all. It was like two worlds.
Rinto was standing at the door of the laboratory, wearing a clean lab coat and disposable gloves on his hands. There were traces of reagents on his fingertips. He was obviously doing an experiment and was interrupted by them. There was no expression on his face, neither nervousness about the war nor concern about the tragedy of Konoha, only impatience at being disturbed.
"Mr. Rinto, I'm sorry to disturb your experiment." Tsunade spoke first, with a very low tone, completely letting go of Hokage, "Akatsuki's Six Paths of Pain invaded Konoha, and the other party has Rinnegan, his ability is extremely weird, our defense line can no longer hold, ninja casualties are heavy, and even civilians are being brutally killed. I beg you, can you help Konoha, as long as you can defend the village, no matter what you want, forbidden magic manuscripts, research materials, permissions, as long as Konoha has it, you can mention it, I will agree to it all."
She spoke extremely sincerely and even showed her bottom line. She knew that Rinto didn't care about Hokage's position or reputation. The only thing that could impress him was research related things. As long as he was willing to take action, she would be willing to give him all the top secret information of Konoha.
Shikamaru added next to him, "Mr. Rinto, the core of the opponent is Rinnegan, Deva Path can control gravity and repulsion, and large-scale attacks cannot be blocked at all, Preta Path can devour any Ninjutsu, and our conventional attacks are completely ineffective. Your understanding of the rules of Chakra is unmatched by anyone in the entire Shinobi World. Only you have the ability to crack them."
Both of them looked at Rinto with expectation in their eyes. They all knew that Rinto had a cold temperament, but now that Konoha was at a critical moment of life and death, they could only place their hopes on this unfathomable researcher.
But there was no emotion on Rinto's face, and he didn't even move his eyes. After listening to what the two said, he just spoke calmly, with a cold tone, leaving no room for negotiation. "I will not participate in the war. As I said before, I have designed the barrier to protect the village. If it cannot be defended, it is your business and has nothing to do with me."
"Mr. Rinto!" Tsunade's tone was a little more urgent, "The opponent's ability can penetrate the barrier, and several secondary defenses in the core area have been destroyed. If this continues, the entire Konoha will be razed to the ground, and many people will die, including civilians, children, and seriously injured people in the hospital."
"That's your business." Rinto interrupted her, there was no sympathy in her tone, not even a trace of ripples, "Konoha's survival, the life and death of the villagers, have nothing to do with me. I designed the barrier in exchange for the research materials I need, and the transaction has been completed. The subsequent war is not within the scope of my transaction, and I have no interest in taking care of it."
His words were like a piece of ice, hitting the hearts of Tsunade and Shikamaru. They had long expected that Rinto would refuse, but they didn't expect that he would refuse so simply, without even a trace of hesitation. Even when it came to the lives and deaths of civilians and children, he didn't care.
Tsunade's fists were clenched and loosened. She wanted to get angry and ask him, wasn't he even the slightest bit moved when he watched Konoha being destroyed? But she couldn't. She knew very well that Rinto had no obligation to abide by anything. Protecting Konoha, he has never been a ninja of Konoha, he is just a researcher living in Konoha. All his efforts are based on equal exchange, and he has never had any responsibility to protect the village.
Shikamaru looked at Tsunade's tense profile, quickly stepped forward, changed his angle, and spoke very softly, "Mr. Rinto, we know you don't want to join the war, and you don't want to be disturbed. But now the village is full of people. It's all explosions and battles. Even if your laboratory's defense is strong, the movement outside will inevitably affect you. Moreover, if Konoha is really defeated, the supply of medical cases, barrier operation data, and various research materials you need will be cut off."
He understands Rinto so well that it is useless to talk to him about human life, responsibility, and feelings. Only things related to his research can make him care at all.
Sure enough, Rinto's eyebrows moved.
It's not that he cares about whether Konoha will be defeated, but what Shikamaru said is right. If Konoha is completely messed up, the hospital is destroyed, and the ninjas who can provide him with clinical data die, his subsequent research will indeed have fewer sources of material. Moreover, the explosion outside is too noisy. If the other party really blows up the entire village, even if his laboratory is fine, there will be all kinds of trouble in the future.
He was silent for two seconds. Under the nervous gazes of Tsunade and Shikamaru, he turned and walked into the laboratory. He quickly walked out with a thick stack of sealing charms and threw them to them casually.
"This is a simplified version of the group defense talisman." Rinto's tone was still flat, without any warmth. "Each talisman has a solidified range defense configuration, which can be activated by crushing it. It can block regular Ninjutsu, explosion impact, and toxin spread. When attached to the walls of shelters and hospitals, it can cover the entire building and can withstand a single Shinra Tensei impact from Deva Path."
Tsunade quickly caught the stack of sealing talismans and took it heavily. The patterns on each talisman were extremely delicate. Even if she couldn't understand the underlying logic, she could still feel the stability contained in it Chakra. She felt happy, and just as she was about to say something else, she was blocked by Rinto's next words.
"Don't knock on my door again." Rinto's eyes turned cold, with a clear warning in his tone, "I gave you the talisman not to help you defend the village, but just so that you can control the war. Don't let those messy explosions and noises affect my laboratory, and don't Tenten disturb my experiments."
"I reiterate, I will not participate in the war. No matter how you fight, even if Konoha is completely destroyed, as long as it doesn't affect me, I won't care. But if there are any attacks or any noise that affects my experiments, I don't mind erasing everything that affects this place."
The warning in these words is obvious. He will not help Konoha fight Pain, but if anyone dares to disturb his experiment, whether it is Pain or Konoha, he will not be polite.
Tsunade held the sealing talisman in her hand, with mixed feelings in her heart. Her idea of asking Rinto to join the battle was completely in vain, but getting this stack of defensive talismans was an unexpected surprise. At least, these talismans could protect the people in the hospital. The wounded and protecting the civilians in the shelter would save Konoha a lot of deaths. She knew that it would be useless to persuade Rinto anymore. If Rinto was pressed, she might even take back the stack of talismans, or even drive them out directly.
"Okay, I understand." Tsunade took a deep breath and bowed slightly to Rinto, "Thank you for the defense talisman. We will never disturb your experiments again, and we will do our best to control the front and prevent the war from spreading to you."
Shikamaru also breathed a sigh of relief. Being able to get these defense talismans was beyond expectations. He bowed slightly to Rinto and didn't say any more nonsense, for fear of making him impatient.
The two of them did not dare to stay any longer, so they turned and walked towards the gate of the hospital. They wanted to distribute these defensive charms quickly. The hospital, shelter, Hokage building, and all the trapped ninja teams were all in urgent need of these things.
The courtyard door closed silently behind them, and immediately, the entire courtyard disappeared into the fold of space again, turning back into an inconspicuous open space of rubble, completely hidden from the perception of the outside world.
In the laboratory, Rinto had walked back to the sterile operating room, took off the dusty gloves, put on a new pair, and picked up the Rinnegan Black Receiver again.