"Hey, how is this possible? How could the members of the Light Organization still be alive after such an attack?" A ninja exclaimed in disbelief as he looked at Setsuna's disheveled yet still alive appearance.
It's no wonder, though. Anyone who has witnessed the power of Kōki's Sage Art: Wood Release technique wouldn't believe that anyone could survive it.
The surrounding ninjas were unaware that Susanoo Complete Body alone was indeed insufficient to withstand Kōki's Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands. After all, in the original story, Madara Uchiha had to unite with Nine-Tails ) to withstand this powerful Wood Release attack.
But the problem is that the two sides in this duel are on the same side.
Kōki's Sage Art Wood Release was powerful, but only a small portion of it actually hit the Susanoo Complete Body; most of the attacks struck the ground.
Therefore, in the eyes of unsuspecting ninjas, Setsuna had withstood the Wood Release's powerful attack solely through his own strength.
"This is terrifying. I never imagined the Light Organization could be this scary. Now I'm starting to believe the secrets circulating in the Shinobi World about the Light Organization are true. Maybe they really do have secrets about the Sage of Six Paths."
Setsuna's current performance made the ninjas believe that the recent news about the Light Organization was true.
After all, aside from the secrets of the Six Paths, they really didn't believe that an ordinary person could possess such strength.
"It's truly terrifying, but shouldn't we be even more surprised by Konoha's Wood Release user? That kind of power, practically godlike, he's really become someone like Hashirama Senju. More importantly, he's from Konoha. We should be more worried about our own safety. If Konoha has designs on us, we won't have much room to resist." A member of Sunagakure, having witnessed Kōki's strength, couldn't help but express his concern.
No matter how strong the members of the Light Organization are, they are ultimately just a small organization, hidden in the Shinobi World. Even though they are powerful, they have not shown much ambition.
But Konoha is different. As a major power on the same level as them, Konoha also has a history of enmity with them.
Now that Kōki possesses strength comparable to Hashirama Senju, it's inevitable that Konoha will develop malicious ambitions due to his inflated power.
Even though Konoha occupies the most fertile land in the Shinobi World, they don't really care about their territory.
But when it's possible to expand territory without paying much of a price, they might not refuse.
At least the Sunagakure wouldn't refuse.
After the Sunagakure leader voiced his concerns, the surrounding ninjas immediately realized what was going on and instinctively distanced themselves from Kakashi and the others. Their gazes towards Kakashi and his group also became wary.
They all understood that once the balance of power between nations became unbalanced, changes were bound to occur. Even if both sides remained peaceful at the beginning, as time went on and the balance was not restored, war would inevitably break out.
Weak nations are likely to be swallowed up by the strong; this is a universal truth that cannot be changed.
Kakashi and the others looked at the ninjas who were distancing themselves from them, a look of helplessness flashing in their eyes. This problem between nations was beyond their ability to solve, and they could not give up the opportunity to make the village stronger. They could only wait until the battle was over and return to the village to let the Lord Hokage make the decision.
Kōki, who was confronting Setsuna on the battlefield, never expected that the power he displayed to test Setsuna's strength would make other ninja villages so wary.
If Kōki knew, well, he probably wouldn't care.
After all, Kōki's personality wouldn't allow him to care about the opinions of other ninja villages.
But that's all for the future. Right now, Kōki isn't thinking that far ahead. What he's considering right now is how to bring this duel to a natural end.
Just as Kōki was pondering how to make the Light Organization exit the scene in a reasonable way, suddenly, a missile with a dazzling tail flame appeared silently in front of Setsuna.
"Boom!"
A violent explosion occurred in front of Setsuna, and the dazzling, scorching Kakkō engulfed Setsuna, who was partially protected by Susanoo.
This sudden turn of events startled Kōki, who then quickly used his Sensory Technique to search for the source of the attack.
Clearly, this unique attack indicates the emergence of a third force on the battlefield that does not belong to the major ninja villages or the Light Organization.
"There!" Kōki raised an eyebrow, stood atop the Wood Golem, and turned to look down into the forest to his right.
He could clearly sense that there were several powerful and abundant Chakra within that forest.
Moreover, he felt that these Chakra were somewhat familiar, as if... as if they belonged to Nagato?
Yes, it's Nagato.
While deep in thought Kōki suddenly had a flash of inspiration and remembered the identity of the attacker.
At the same time, this Sensory Ninjutsu also allowed him to discover that the people in the forest were not only Nagato and his group.
He also discovered that Jiraiya had appeared to the right of Nagato and the others.
No, it wasn't just Jiraiya. Kōki also detected Orochimaru's Chakra fluctuations; he had somehow infiltrated the dense forest behind him as well.
It seems the news from the Light Organization has really attracted a lot of people; he originally thought the visitors were just ninjas from the ninja villages.
In fact, Kōki didn't know that there were quite a few people interested in the Light Organization, but they didn't have the advanced and accurate intelligence of the ninja villages, which is why they were a few steps behind them.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that their delay in appearing immediately was partly due to their intention to use the ninja village to test the strength of the Light Organization.
Therefore, the Light Organization is not going to withdraw so easily for the time being; they still face considerable challenges.
Upon noticing that Kōki was looking in their direction, Nagato and the others in the dense forest realized that their whereabouts had been exposed. So they stopped hiding in the forest and openly led the Akatsuki members, namely Konan and Yahiko, out of the forest and into the open area of the battlefield.
"Who are you?" Kōki asked, feigning confusion, upon seeing Nagato and the others emerge from the dense forest.
Although Kōki already knew Nagato and the others' identities, he didn't actually know them on the Nagato, so he still needed to maintain a secrecy.
"We are Akatsuki, the leaders of peace!" Nagato replied indifferently to Kōki's question, his words revealing a hint of arrogance, showing no embarrassment at being discovered while hiding in the shadows.
Kōki looked at Nagato without saying a word.
But he was somewhat surprised; Nagato's current state was something he hadn't expected.
He originally thought that with Aizen's intervention, the Akatsuki would not undergo the changes seen in the original story. After all, Yahiko had not died, so the opportunity for Nagato to turn to the dark side was gone.
However, given the current situation, the Akatsuki from the original work has still appeared. Does this mean that Aizen's betrayal has replaced the plot of Yahiko's death, causing Nagato to still turn evil in the same way as in the original work?
It has to be said that Kōki's guess was quite accurate; Nagato's current state is indeed influenced by Aizen.
The only difference is that, unlike in the original work where he was injured in the legs due to Hanzō's scheme, Nagato's legs are now intact, and he does not need to rely on corpses to compensate for his lack of mobility.
In other words, Nagato is now a super strong ninja who possesses all the abilities of the Rinnegan.
Before Kōki could speak, Jiraiya, who had been hiding, was Jiraiya surprised to see Nagato appear. He hadn't expected his former disciple to be here, which made him jump out with delight, his face beaming with a smile of joy at their long-awaited reunion. He said with a smile, " Nagato, Konan, Yahiko, it's been so long! I'm relieved to see that you're all safe and sound."
After receiving the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, Jiraiya became very worried about Nagato's safety and searched the Shinobi World for clues about the Light Organization.
Upon hearing about clues about the Light Organization in the Shinobi World, they immediately rushed over.
Upon arriving here, he witnessed the battle between Setsuna and Kōki. The scene of the battle, with the earth collapsing and rocks falling, shocked him immensely.
Due to his lack of strength, he could only hide in the dense forest, waiting for an opportunity to eliminate the members of the Light Organization.
Seeing that Nagato and the others hadn't joined the Light Organization and were all alive and well, his worries instantly subsided.
What puzzled him was how the Rinnegan from the Great Toad Sage appeared if Nagato hadn't joined the Light Organization.
However, Jiraiya did not show these doubts, because rather than being puzzled, he was quite happy, as he was very gratified that his disciple had not gone astray.
" Yahiko, how are you all doing? Are you alright?"
Strangely, compared to Jiraiya's enthusiasm, Yahiko and the others seemed rather indifferent, merely nodding slightly without uttering a single word.
Jiraiya was Jiraiya puzzled by this attitude, as he didn't think Yahiko and the others were like that.
Just as Jiraiya was about to ask a question, the situation on the battlefield suddenly changed.
As the dust settled, Setsuna, who had been hit head -Setsuna on by the missile, was revealed. Setsuna looked extremely disheveled, her white sun-dressed robe covered in dust and scorch marks.
However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that aside from looking even more disheveled, Setsuna had not suffered any real harm.
This is because, upon seeing the missile appear before him, he Setsuna controlled his remaining Susanoo protect his vitals, thus avoiding being killed by the attack.
However, the missiles from the Rinnegan Asura Path were indeed quite powerful, shattering his Susanoo's defenses and causing some unnecessary trouble.
"Click, click"
Suddenly, cracks appeared on Setsuna's demon mask, and the cracks grew larger and more numerous. As if knowing that his mask was about to come to an end, Setsuna reached out and gently removed it, revealing a fair, handsome, and dashing face to everyone.
Upon seeing this face, the people of Konoha were greatly surprised, especially Shisui, whose Sharingan was wide open, his eyes filled with disbelief and incomprehension.
"Brother Ryuko?!" Shisui couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Because he saw the true face under Setsuna's mask, it was actually Uchiha Ryuko, a famous genius ninja in his Uchiha Clan and his former savior.
In his memory, Ryuko should have died at the hands of members of the Light Organization. How come he's now a member of the Light Organization Light Organization? And if Ryuko is a member, what about his younger brother Seika? Wasn't he the one who loved his younger brother the most?
Setsuna didn't react at all to Shisui's exclamation. He turned to look at Nagato, who had just attacked him, and asked in an icy tone, "Why did you attack me?"
"Because your organization's existence hinders the attainment of peace in the Shinobi World. The Shinobi World does not need another organization that can rise above the Five Great Nations. Furthermore, I am also very interested in the secrets of your organization."
Nagato believed that there should only be one god in the Shinobi World. As for why he didn't attack the more powerful Kōki, it was because, in Nagato's view, now was not the best time to fight Konoha.
He knew the principle of taking things one step at a time. He would first resolve the issue of the Light Organization Light Organization and obtain its legacy to strengthen himself. After that, he would collect the Tailed Beast from the Shinobi World. Once he had collected a certain number of Tailed Beast, he would then wage war against Konoha.
Even if Konoha has a strong ninja like Kōki, he won't stand a chance against Akatsuki's Tailed Beast weapons and his own enhanced form after being enhanced by the Light Organization's legacy.
"Hmph," Setsuna snorted coldly upon hearing Nagato's arrogant words, casually tossing her cracked mask to the ground. Her eyes remained calm as she said, "Why? Why do you think you can defeat me?"
"Because I control the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths within my eye sockets, the power of the Rinnegan. A mortal like you simply doesn't understand the power of the Six Paths." Nagato wore a matter-of-fact expression, not even Setsuna Setsuna's display of strength, which had just been enough to rival Kōki's, seriously.
The power of the Rinnegan makes him fearless against any enemy.
Jiraiya was not far away, frowned because he realized that the current Nagato was completely different from the person he remembered.
In his memory, Nagato was a timid, insecure child who liked to hide behind Yahiko, but was also very gentle.
But upon seeing him this time, Nagato's previous timidity vanished, replaced by confidence and increased aggression.
He couldn't understand what had happened to cause such a drastic change in the disciple he remembered.
He was somewhat worried that Nagato might go astray due to his personality issues. He needed to have a serious talk with Nagato and Yahiko after this battle.
He hoped to guide Nagato others back to the right path. He didn't want the Child of Prophecy he had once favored to go astray, ultimately leading to a war between master and disciple.
Nagato was unaware of Jiraiya's thoughts, and even if he did, he wouldn't care.
Because he has come to understand the truth of the world: as long as you have power, the whole world will make way for you.
"Heh," as if he'd heard something amusing, scoffed in Setsuna, "You think you can take down the Light Organization with just your Rinnegan? You're dreaming. Looks like I'll have to show you the Light Organization's true strength."
As Setsuna as he finished speaking, a pale blue light emanated from his body. The patterns of the Eternal Eye in his eye sockets spun rapidly, gradually becoming more and more blurred, and then turning into wavy stripes. His originally blood-red pupils slowly turned purple.
"Furthermore, the Rinnegan isn't something you're the only one who possesses."
" Rinnegan, activate!!!"