Chapter 571: Nagato’s Despair

The terrifying Tailed Beast Ball continued closing in on Killer B and the Fourth Raikage.

At this moment, the Fourth Raikage no longer had his peak super-fast speed. He had no way to take Killer B with him and dodge the rapidly approaching Tailed Beast Ball.

He could still fight, but he was merely forcing himself to fight.

Death was nothing unusual for Shinobi. Shinobi had always been a short-lived profession. Living to sixty was already considered a long life.

Even being a Kage was no different. The Third Raikage, the Fourth Raikage’s father, had died on the battlefield.

But at this moment, the Fourth Raikage was extremely unwilling to accept this. He did not want to die.

It was not that he was afraid of death, but that he was worried Kumogakure would decline after he and Killer B died.

When the Third Raikage died, he had already more or less grown up, but Kumogakure had not even begun cultivating the next generation of Raikage.

If he and Killer B died in battle, it would be a tremendous blow to Kumogakure. Not only would they lose a Raikage, but they would also lose a powerful perfect Jinchuriki.

Just then, something unexpected happened. Suddenly, the space in front of the Fourth Raikage and Killer B twisted, swallowing the incoming Tailed Beast Ball.

Seeing this familiar technique, Nagato frowned.

This familiar space-time Ninjutsu could only belong to that traitorous "Uchiha Madara."

However, because his strength had greatly increased, Nagato was not too worried. Two years ago, he had been able to win. Now that his strength had increased tremendously, winning should be even easier.

Nagato activated his powerful sensory abilities and quickly discovered Obito’s location.

But when Nagato looked over, he was surprised to find that this time, "Uchiha Madara" had not put on his mask to disguise himself. Instead, he had revealed his true face, a face that looked even younger than Nagato’s.

Nagato was slightly surprised. He had not expected the "Uchiha Madara" he had once been highly wary of to actually be even younger than him, looking around eighteen or nineteen years old.

But what puzzled Nagato even more was the person standing beside Obito. Even though he was clearly standing there, Nagato had not sensed him at all, as if there were no one there.

Nagato recalled for a moment and suddenly remembered the name of the person beside Obito: Fujiwara Nagasawa.

Although he had never personally seen Fujiwara Nagasawa, portraits, photographs, and the like of Fujiwara Nagasawa had long since spread throughout the Shinobi World. Nagato had never seen him in person, but he had seen his photographs.

Immediately afterward, Nagato became wary. Why had Fujiwara Nagasawa appeared here? He had not sent any Shinobi village to declare war on Konoha.

And why was Fujiwara Nagasawa together with "Uchiha Madara"?

There were too many questions in Nagato’s mind.

Nagato was puzzled, while the Fourth Raikage and Killer B were pleasantly surprised. Having escaped death and returned to life, the joy was so great that the Fourth Raikage even decided that he would absolutely never secretly oppose Konoha or cause trouble again in the future.

The Fourth Raikage and Killer B quickly reached Obito and Nagasawa’s side.

"Thank you!" This time, the Fourth Raikage did not stubbornly refuse to admit anything. Instead, he cleanly thanked Nagasawa.

"We’re allies. Helping each other is only natural." Nagasawa smiled and said.

To be honest, the Fourth Raikage had heard words about allies helping each other too many times.

But the fact was that there were no eternal allies, only eternal interests.

For example, Sunagakure, which was often the first to form an alliance with Konoha, always liked to stab Konoha in the back.

But at this moment, the Fourth Raikage actually took those words to heart.

Because he had been saved. He had not requested assistance from Konoha, yet Nagasawa had saved him on the battlefield.

No matter how dissatisfied the Fourth Raikage had previously been with Nagasawa, at this moment, he had a completely different opinion of him.

Nagasawa was someone you could count on. When something happened, he really stepped up.

Musashi and Biwa Juzo, who had transformed into spectators watching the battle, were thoroughly enjoying themselves. There had been so many reversals in just a few minutes.

"Is that Fujiwara Nagasawa, the strongest person in the current Shinobi World according to legend? As expected, he’s unfathomable. I can’t sense his existence at all." Musashi sighed.

"A monster that suddenly appeared out of nowhere." Biwa Juzo described Nagasawa this way.

Normally, the path to becoming a famous Shinobi was first to become known as a genius within one’s own Shinobi village, then accumulate fame in the Shinobi World through missions, and finally prove one’s strength by killing enemies during a war.

Most famous experts in the Shinobi World had risen step by step like this.

Nagasawa was different. The moment he became famous, he was already a super powerhouse. No one had even heard of him before, despite the fact that the Third Shinobi World War had been so recent.

"Does Konoha also want to join the war?" Floating in the sky, Nagato stared at Nagasawa with three Rinnegan and slowly spoke, his words carrying a hint of threat.

For the sake of caution, Nagato had left Konoha until last to deal with, but that did not mean he, Nagato, was afraid of Konoha or Fujiwara Nagasawa.

They had never fought. It was still uncertain who would win and who would lose.

With three Rinnegan, Nagato had become exceptionally confident. He felt as though he was the Sage of Six Paths reborn and had already become invincible.

What Nagato did not know was that people who generally believed themselves to be invincible did not usually end well.

"Konoha not only wants to join this war, Konoha also wants to end this war." Nagasawa calmly replied.

"Nagato, stop playing those little tricks. Show your true appearance. Yahiko is already dead. No matter how much you turn yourself into his appearance, Yahiko will not come back to life."

Nagasawa’s words made anger rise in Nagato’s heart, yet he was also extremely confused. Why did Nagasawa seem to know so much about their affairs?

Combined with the information he had received previously, Yahiko’s death had been caused not only by Hanzo but also by Konoha’s Danzo. Nagato instantly made some connections.

Since his identity had been exposed, Nagato stopped pretending and directly returned to his original appearance.

Seeing that the leader of Light Shinobi Village actually had another disguise, the Fourth Raikage was also somewhat surprised. But he quickly realized that it had nothing to do with him, because regardless of which name was used, he did not know either of them.

"Were you also among those who cooperated with Hanzo back then?" Nagato’s three Rinnegan were all filled with killing intent as they stared at Nagasawa.

Nagasawa shook his head and said, "Of course not. Hanzo and Danzo weren’t worthy."

Nagato did not immediately believe Nagasawa’s words. He had long since passed the age where he would believe whatever someone told him.

"Nagato, I’ll give you a chance. Bring your Shinobi Alliance and negotiate with the Five Great Shinobi Villages. All the Shinobi villages will form a brand-new alliance." Nagasawa said.

Nagato currently did possess considerable prestige among the smaller Shinobi villages. If it were put to good use, it would save a lot of trouble.

"Do you want to completely control all the smaller Shinobi villages? You are the one who should surrender. You don’t know what you’re facing." Nagato said coldly, beginning to gather Chakra in preparation for attacking.

Facing him, who was the Sage of Six Paths reborn, what did it matter even if Nagasawa was at the pinnacle of mortal strength? Could he withstand the divine power of his Rinnegan?

Seeing Nagato’s appearance, Nagasawa knew they still had to fight. People who had gone dark during their chuuni phase simply could not talk properly until you beat some sense into them.

"Obito, control the battlefield for a while and make the war stop. I’ll finish this quickly." Nagasawa assigned Obito a task, then instantly activated Sun Breathing Sage Mode and disappeared from where he stood.

Obito nodded and directly used the power of the Gravity-Gravity Fruit to double the battlefield’s gravity.

"Stop this meaningless war. This is better for both sides." Obito appeared at the very center of the battlefield and spoke.

"Damn Five Great Nations Shinobi! Do you think we’ll surrender just because of this? Leader Yahiko will definitely lead us to victory and break the blockade of the Five Great Nations." A Shinobi from one of the smaller Shinobi villages had no intention of listening to Obito.

In the next moment, he was directly bound by a suddenly growing giant tree and could no longer move.

"If you want to fight, that’s fine. I’ll be your opponent. As for your demands, wait until after the war to discuss them." Obito’s attitude was extremely forceful.

He knew that in this situation, it was impossible to use words to make both sides stop fighting. The Kumogakure side was still manageable because the Raikage was in charge. If the Raikage gave an order, they would definitely stop.

But the Shinobi Alliance side was different.

Therefore, Obito directly displayed the most forceful attitude possible to end the war. If they wanted to keep fighting, then they could come and fight him.

Being defeated and restrained by him was better than dying on the battlefield, right?

There were always troublemakers. Quite a few people from the Shinobi Alliance still wanted to attack, but they were either crushed by gravity or restrained by Wood Release. No one could even reach Obito.

The Fourth Raikage also cooperated fully and ordered Kumogakure to stop fighting.

Just like that, the war actually came to a stop.

Musashi looked at Obito standing in the center of the battlefield, single-handedly pressing the pause button on the war, and held his two swords with an eager expression.

A powerhouse like this was worthy of being challenged.

But after looking at the injured Biwa Juzo beside him, Musashi ultimately did not attack.

He had no confidence that he could win. If he were defeated, he would not be able to escape with Biwa Juzo afterward.

Unable to challenge an expert, Musashi could only shift his gaze toward Nagato and Nagasawa, preparing to watch how these two powerful figures, who were almost too powerful to be called Shinobi, would fight.

Nagasawa flashed behind Nagato and gently pressed down on Nagato’s shoulder. Nagato instantly crashed into the ground at the speed of a falling meteor, creating a huge crater with a thunderous boom.

"So fast!" Nagato’s expression became extremely ugly. Just now, he had actually failed to clearly see Nagasawa’s attack.

Facing Nagato, who had somehow gained another Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, Nagasawa had no intention of holding back.

Sun Breathing Sage Mode went straight to full power. Golden flames ignited across his entire body. While in the air, he looked like a second sun rising, becoming the most dazzling person on the entire battlefield.

"What kind of technique is this?" Sensing Nagasawa’s terrifying strength, Nagato’s expression changed. Nagasawa’s strength had somewhat exceeded his expectations.

It seemed that even he, who possessed three Rinnegan, was not as strong as Nagasawa.

"Perhaps it’s just a burst-type Ninjutsu. As long as I endure it, everything will be fine." Nagato used mental victory to find a possibility of winning for himself.

Nagato used Bansho Ten’in on Nagasawa, only to discover that Nagasawa did not want to come over and instead sent a huge flaming slash toward him.

"Super Shinra Tensei!" Nagato unleashed a huge amount of Chakra. A terrifying aura erupted from his body, his Rinnegan trembled violently, and powerful repulsive force surged toward the huge flaming slash, attempting to repel it.

Before Nagato had used the Chimera Technique, Super Shinra Tensei was a major technique that required him to sacrifice his lifespan to use. Now that his strength had increased, it could only be considered an ordinary ultimate move, albeit one that consumed more Chakra.

However, visually, Super Shinra Tensei looked extremely terrifying. The moment it was released, it destroyed the surrounding ground, giving the appearance that it would destroy everything.

But although Super Shinra Tensei looked so terrifying, when it faced Nagasawa’s seemingly ordinary flaming slash that was more than thirty meters long, it seemed to have lost its supposed power. It failed to repel the flaming slash, only causing the flames to become slightly dimmer.

Nagato once again gathered a huge amount of Chakra and released it twice in succession. He even summoned a meteor before finally managing to block the flaming slash.

Nagato’s expression became even more solemn. Fujiwara Nagasawa was indeed difficult to deal with. He truly lived up to his reputation as the strongest person in the Shinobi World.

Nagato activated the power of the Asura Path, summoning two additional mechanical arms on his arms. The two mechanical arms then split open at the wrists, releasing multiple mechanical wires that shot toward Nagasawa. At the same time, another mechanical arm condensed Chakra before aiming at Nagasawa and firing a laser cannon.

Nagasawa casually waved his hand. The mechanical wires Nagato had fired instantly turned into black ash, while the laser cannon also failed to penetrate the flaming shield surrounding Nagasawa.

Nagato did not give up. This time, he used the Animal Path’s ability, using the Amplified Summoning Technique to summon a gigantic Cerberus and a Chameleon.

The Cerberus, which could withstand attacks and split apart, actually died directly after being burned by Nagasawa’s flames without splitting, while the Chameleon was instantly cut in half.

The Animal Path’s ability was useless. Nagato then used the Human Path, attempting to attack Nagasawa’s soul, but unfortunately, it still had no effect. Instead, more and more injuries appeared on Nagato’s body.

After using every Rinnegan ability without even making Nagasawa lose a single hair, Nagato became somewhat agitated.

The good news was that there really was a difference in strength between them.

The bad news was that he was the one on the weaker side.

However, Nagato still did not despair. He still had one final Rinnegan ability that he had not used.

His Shinra Tensei could absorb Ninjutsu and then release an enhanced version. Nagasawa was so powerful that whatever Nagato returned to him would only be even stronger.

Then Nagato discovered that this bastard Nagasawa did not use Ninjutsu at all! He simply kept swinging his sword and cutting.

Are you a Shinobi or a swordsman?

Nagato had not never considered absorbing the sword energy, but he discovered that he simply could not absorb it. He did not know whether it was because it did not count as Ninjutsu or because the attack was simply too powerful.

This was the first time Nagato had felt such despair since Yahiko’s death.

It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not defeat Nagasawa. Every single attack was completely useless.

After testing Nagato’s true strength, Nagasawa was not in a hurry to beat Nagato until he completely lost the ability to resist. Instead, he slowly wore him down while closely observing his surroundings.

’This is a Rinnegan that was so difficult to cultivate. Black Zetsu, could you really bear to let it go?’ Nagasawa thought while beating Nagato, looking forward to Black Zetsu’s appearance.

At his current level of strength, he was actually not too afraid of Black Zetsu causing trouble anymore.

Because even if Black Zetsu caused trouble, he had no way to conjure up a Six Paths-level opponent out of thin air to defeat him.

But Nagasawa felt that in Naruto, it would always feel somewhat wrong if Black Zetsu was not killed. After all, even Danzo was dead. What was the point of Black Zetsu staying alive?