Chapter 465: Where’s Yama?

Chapter 465: Chapter 465: Where’s Yama?

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

Listening to the continuous explosions coming from the distant Konohagakure, the corner of Obito’s mouth curled upward.

"Heh. Kusagakure turned out to be surprisingly capable!"

Nagato, who stood silently beside him, merely watched with a cold gaze.

Ever since he had transplanted Hashirama’s cells and fused the Uzumaki clan’s Sage Body with the Senju clan’s Sage Body, Nagato had completely bid farewell to his wooden cart. He could now walk freely on his own two legs.

At that moment, Konan, who had been observing the situation from the air, slowly descended to the ground and said to Nagato, "The monster that came out of the Box of Ultimate Bliss destroyed a large section of Konoha’s outer wall. It’s already broken into the village."

Nagato said indifferently, "That monster carries an aura that disgusts me."

Obito shrugged. "Isn’t seeing Konoha trampled exactly what you wanted?"

Nagato fell silent.

Suddenly, Zetsu emerged from beneath the ground. White Zetsu’s half complained, "Come on, why am I always the one who has to do these dangerous jobs? That monster that came out of the box is no ordinary creature!"

By using the Mayfly Technique, Zetsu could not only move freely underground, but could even completely conceal every trace of his presence. He was practically the perfect candidate for reconnaissance.

That was why he had been tailing Satori all this time, secretly observing its assault on Konoha from close range.

"No ordinary creature? Just how extraordinary can it be?" Obito curled his lip disdainfully before casually asking, "How is Konoha dealing with it?"

White Zetsu replied, "Konoha first sent out Jiraiya, one of the Three Legendary Sannin, but Jiraiya was no match for that monster at all. Even after summoning the giant toad, he still couldn’t defeat it."

Hearing this, Nagato turned his head and glanced at Zetsu with a hint of surprise.

As Jiraiya’s former disciple, he knew his Sensei’s strength better than almost anyone. Together with Gamabunta of Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya was undoubtedly a Kage-level powerhouse, capable of confronting even a Tailed Beast head-on.

Yet such a powerful shinobi was actually unable to defeat the monster that had emerged from the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

That alone was enough to make Nagato reevaluate the creature.

Obito smiled as well. "It was originally just a probe I casually arranged. I didn’t expect it to work this well. Looks like we all underestimated Kusagakure’s foundations."

By now, Obito had also realized that the monster released from the Box of Ultimate Bliss was indeed anything but ordinary.

White Zetsu continued, "After that, Tsunade, another one of Konoha’s Three Legendary Sannin, joined the battle. But something seemed strange about her. She looked like she was injured, or maybe there was some other reason. Either way, she wasn’t in the right condition and barely contributed to the battle. And then... Kamigami made their move!"

The moment they heard the name Kamigami, both the indifferent Nagato and the previously amused Obito immediately turned solemn.

Nagato said, "As expected, Kamigami has joined forces with Konoha!"

During the previous joint assault on Amegakure by the three Great Shinobi Villages, Kamigami’s sudden intervention had already made Nagato vaguely suspect that the organization had secretly formed some sort of connection with Konoha.

One of the reasons he had arranged for Kusagakure to launch this surprise attack on Konoha was precisely to test that suspicion.

And just as he had expected, Kamigami had indeed revealed themselves.

The smile vanished from Obito’s face as he asked in a deep voice, "Which member of Kamigami made a move?"

White Zetsu replied casually, "The guy with the gale pattern on his mask—the one who uses Magnet Release."

Konan, who was responsible for intelligence analysis, picked up the explanation.

"The codename of that Magnet Release user from Kamigami is currently unknown, and there are very few records of his battles. The only confirmed battle record we have is when he teamed up with Kamigami’s Homura and fought Kumogakure’s A–B Combo. Kamigami was forced to retreat in that battle."

"He’s probably the weakest member of Kamigami." After a brief pause, Obito suppressed the urge to personally test him and said, "Sending someone like that out could very well be bait deliberately placed by Kamigami. We shouldn’t act rashly!"

Nagato nodded cautiously.

Seeing Nagato nod, Konan turned to Zetsu and instructed, "Keep a close watch on the battlefield. The moment there’s any sign of Kamigami’s leader, Yama, report back to us immediately!"

Obito added, "If Homura appears, notify us immediately as well!"

Among Kamigami’s members, the ones Akatsuki feared the most were its leader, Yama, and Homura, who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan.

By comparison, even Kawa, who was capable of matching the Third Hokage, wasn’t someone Nagato or Obito paid much attention to.

As for the little-known Magnet Release shinobi, they regarded him even less seriously.

...

Konohagakure, Hokage Building.

Watching the clouds of dust and smoke rising in the distance and listening to the endless clamor echoing through the village, the Third Hokage’s expression was exceedingly grim.

Ryuran, the elite jonin of Kusagakure standing beside him, looked visibly uneasy.

No one had expected the monster that emerged from the Box of Ultimate Bliss to be so powerful. Even Jiraiya, one of the Three Legendary Sannin, had been unable to deal with it. And even after Tsunade was dispatched, they still hadn’t managed to suppress the creature.

After all, Jiraiya and Tsunade were already two of the strongest cards the Third Hokage had at his disposal.

According to the Third Hokage’s original plan, Jiraiya and Tsunade weren’t merely supposed to repel the probing attack Akatsuki had launched through Kusagakure’s radical faction.

They were also supposed to fiercely counter Akatsuki’s subsequent offensive, drawing out Akatsuki’s leader, Nagato, and thereby creating an opportunity for the Five Kage to launch a surprise attack on him.

That’s right.

The Third Hokage was willing to use Konoha itself as the battlefield because he intended to settle the threat of Akatsuki once and for all—by killing Nagato outright and either recovering or destroying the Rinnegan in his eye sockets, those eyes containing the power of the Sage of Six Paths!

But from the very beginning, events had already deviated from the Third Hokage’s expectations.

That so-called Box of Ultimate Bliss, supposedly capable of restoring Kusagakure to its former glory, actually contained such a terrifying monster!

Even with Jiraiya and Tsunade fighting together, they were still at a disadvantage.

And yet, not a single member of Akatsuki had even officially appeared on the battlefield!

At this point, Ryuran could no longer remain still. He stepped forward and said, "Lord Hokage, we of Kusagakure are willing to assist Konoha in dealing with that monster!"

The Third Hokage shook his head. "You still can’t reveal yourself."

As one of Kusagakure’s higher-ups, if Ryuran suddenly appeared in Konoha, Akatsuki would very likely realize that their attack plan had already been leaked to Konoha by Kusagakure.

They would inevitably become wary.

And if that happened, the effectiveness of the Five Kage’s surprise attack would undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

Ryuran understood the Third Hokage’s concerns as well, so he could only sigh.

At this moment, he felt incredibly fortunate that Kusagakure had failed to open the Box of Ultimate Bliss over the past several decades.

Otherwise, the entirety of Kusagakure might have been reduced to a bloody hell overnight!

Meanwhile, the Third Hokage gazed into the distance and thought, "We can only place our hopes on Kamigami now. But why did they send that Magnet Release shinobi? Where is their leader, Yama!?"