Chapter 203: Kakuzu's Deal with Natsuo

Nagato frowned slightly and looked at the strange sealing mark. He couldn't recognize what it was, but he could vaguely feel a great power emanating from it.

'But whatever it is, it's no match for the Rinnegan!' Nagato thought, squeezing his hand tightly, increasing his attraction.

And the next second...

"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"

Kakuzu's fire element mask shoots a small fireball.

The small fireball immediately expanded, bursting into a giant firestorm, roaring forward as if it would consume everything.

Under the influence of Pain's Universal Pull, the flames were even more ferocious and terrifying.

But...

"It is useless. In the eyes of God, everything is in vain." Pain said coldly.

Pain stopped his attraction. And Pain's Petra Path moved forward, holding out his hands to face the flames. the Preta Path is able to absorb ninjutsu-based techniques that are pure chakra or chakra based, thereby nullifying their effect.

Yet he has just touched the flames... Nagato's expression changed slightly. The Petra Path began to turn into stone at a speed visible to the human eye from the moment it came into contact with the flames.

"What kind of ability is this?" Nagato frowned.

On the other hand, Kakuzu sighed in relief. "Indeed, as Natsuo said, senjutsu cannot be absorbed by the Six Paths of Pain..."

When Kakuzu informed Natsuo that he planned to betray Akatsuki and join him, Natsuo generously gave him various information about Pain.

And when Kakuzu expressed his intention to see if he could 'convince' Konan to join the Uchiha clan with him before leaving, Natsuo sent him all the information he knew about Konan, in addition to giving her 5 Sealing Marks with Senjutsu Chakra.

Although Natsuo had an immense chakra reserve, placing this type of sealing mark also required a lot of energy. He could only place one a day at most.

It was too valuable! After all, putting in more than that wouldn't leave Natsuo enough energy to 'revive' the Uchiha clan.

With a calculated sleight of hand, even a high-level expert like Konan was silently captured and taken away by Kakuzu using one of the marks.

"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"

"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"

"Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"

Kakuzu's fire element mask launched Fire Release madly, and under the influence of the Senjutsu Chakra of Natsuo's mark, it strengthened itself with natural energy and began to bombard Nagato indiscriminately.

Even the Six Paths of Pain were momentarily hit and ran for cover.

And taking advantage of this moment, Kakuzu quickly opened the distance and ran forward without hesitation.

It took a lot of effort for Nagato to overturn the masked monster.

But Kakuzu had already escaped.

Nagato gritted his teeth, not caring about the risk of his real body being exposed, abandoned the Giant Snake-Tailed Chameleon and summoned the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird, mounted the summoning beast and began chasing Kakuzu frantically.

There was no other option; With his legs severely damaged, his mobility was severely limited, and he could only rely on the summoning beast's speed to chase him.

But even if it was a flying summon beast, in reality, it was only slightly faster than a Kage-level shinobi…

After much effort, he finally caught up with Kakuzu.

And in that moment...

Before he could act, Kakuzu actively released another masked monster.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

Kakuzu's lightning-element mask emitted a spear-shaped lightning bolt from his mouth, which then immediately pierced the summoning beast, which groaned as it fell from the sky.

And the masked monster flew over directly and began to spray thunder.

"Damn it!" Nagato was furious but had to tangle with Kakuzu's lightning element mask.

He had no choice. The lightning element mask also had a sealing mark, which caused his strength to increase greatly.

And although his strength is not a threat to Nagato, it still takes a certain amount of time to defeat him.

Furthermore, Kakuzu's masks were not real humans, they did not fear death, while Nagato had to consider his chakra consumption and the upcoming fight...

Every time Nagato tried his best to solve a masked monster and caught up to Kakuzu, he would immediately release another masked monster.

With Natsuo's support, Kakuzu almost planned to have a confrontation with Nagato. Although one of the five marks was used to deal with Konan before, the remaining four were placed on each of his masks.

If it weren't for Natsuo's serious warning that he would be defeated, as well as the fact that Natsuo seemed to know many secrets, Kakuzu decided not to face Pain.

And so, before one could catch the other, they were both moving quickly.

Finally, they arrived at a quiet and lonely valley.

"Very good, you only have the last heart left now, Kakuzu." Nagato revealed his scrawny body, sitting on top of the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird, panting slightly: "Hand over Konan and I can let you go."

Kakuzu's last heart couldn't be wasted like the masks.

However, Kakuzu simply remained silent for a moment and then raised his head. "Leader, I didn't expect your true body to be like this... so pitiful. It's something I didn't imagine."

"But have you ever considered why I dared to take a gamble on taking away Konan, who has been inseparable from you since I joined Akatsuki?"

"Am I not afraid of your revenge on me?"

Hearing this, Nagato's pupils shrunk.

But Kakuzu sighed lightly and continued: "Of course it's because there is someone behind me!"

Just as he finished speaking, a young man slowly emerged from behind a tree.

"Oh, I was on time." The young man said.

"Natsuo!" Nagato's eyes were full of solemnity.

"You are here, Natsuo." Kakuzu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him.

"Of course, hadn't we agreed?" Natsuo smiled slightly. "I must also thank you for the information you gave me... although it's a little hard to imagine that you, Kakuzu, are giving away information for free."

Yes, the information about Akatsuki's attack on Kumogakure was leaked by Kakuzu to Natsuo.

Kakuzu smiled, of course he doesn't like giving away such things for free.

But this time, Natsuo's bounty was too big, 5 billion, even enough to trigger a certain degree of war between the Five Great Nations.

Even if Kakuzu had to face a Kage level, and risk being chased by an even more powerful boss, it was still a bit much...

Giving a little more stuff on his part might give him some peace of mind getting paid right now.

"Still the old rule, transfer the money to the account you opened at my Uchiha Bank?" Natsuo glanced at Kakuzu. "Although this time the figure is so large that it will probably take months to complete the transfer."

"Yes I know." Kakuzu nodded.

As for the reward, Kakuzu trusted Natsuo a lot. The reason why he dared to risk his life by kidnapping Konan from Amegakure was because of his trust in Natsuo.

Without this trust, how would Kakuzu dare risk being chased by Nagato after kidnapping Konan?

So, now...

Kakuzu threw Konan towards Natsuo.

And Natsuo received it without concern.

The transaction was complete.

"Natsuo!" Nagato was furious when he saw these two gangsters selling out his teammates in front of his face.

"Oh, it's our first time meeting each other, right?" Natsuo greeted with a smile on his face. "I'm Uchiha Natsuo, it's a pleasure to meet you, the leader of Akatsuki."

"Natsuo, return Konan to me." Nagato's voice was hoarse, or his voice was full of weakness.

"If you give me Konan back, I can pretend none of this ever happened." He suppressed his anger, his chakra dispersed slightly, emitting a powerful sense of oppression.

"How can I do that?" Natsuo shook his head. "I have paid a considerable price for her, 5 billion, even for someone like me, it is not a small amount."

"How can I let my money go to waste?"

"I can give you money." Nagato gritted his teeth. "Although Akatsuki doesn't have that much money now, I can slowly raise it... I can even pay you interest!"

He had extreme confidence in himself, even in the face of Natsuo, the most powerful shinobi in the world, he didn't believe he could lose. But even if he was sure of himself, he didn't think he could just take Konan away from Natsuo and guarantee that he wouldn't hurt her…

A flash of pain crossed Nagato's eyes. He had already lost Yahiko once; he didn't want to experience that again.

Even if he had to humiliate himself before the enemy, he wanted to get his companion back.

The powerful eye power erupted, pressing on Natsuo and Kakuzu, ready to attack at any moment. Kakuzu instantly felt his shoulders sink, as if a hill was pressing on him.

However, Natsuo was still smiling calmly. "I'm sorry, I don't intend to sell what's mine."

"Besides, what's wrong with Konan joining the Uchiha clan? Peace, happiness, wealth... Isn't it better than the disorder and exile that Akatsuki offers?"

"Natsuo!" Nagato finally couldn't bear it.

Nagato coldly looked at Natsuo with a dense murderous aura and shouted furiously: "Do you think you are the strongest in the world just because you are called the strongest shinobi? The strongest shinobi in the world is just simply the strongest shinobi!"

"But you are no match for God!" He suddenly stretched out a hand and pointed it at Natsuo.

"Banshō Ten'in!"

"Haha." However, Natsuo chuckled and shook his head. "God?"

"You, who were almost absorbed by the Rinnegan, can still call yourself God?"

As he spoke the skeleton of the Susanoo emerged, rooting itself firmly in the earth to resist the invisible force of attraction. At the same time, he slashed fiercely with his sword.

Nagato's eyes narrowed slightly. "Shinra Tensei!"

[Clang!]

The Susanoo's sword was directly repelled. But the center of the collision caused a shock wave.

Kakuzu backed away repeatedly, a grave expression in his eyes.

One is recognized as the strongest in the shinobi world, and the other is the master of the mysterious Rinnegan.

The battle between these two was probably the most intense in the shinobi world right now.

The Mangekyo instantly appeared in Natsuo's eyes and began to spin rapidly.

"Amaterasu!"

A black flame appeared on Nagato's body. Nagato's expression changed slightly, showing pain.

But the next moment...

"Shinra Tensei!"

[Boom!]

The inextinguishable black fire was directly dispersed.

Meanwhile...

[Crack!]

Inside the Susanoo, the ground beneath Natsuo's feet suddenly shattered, and the Asura Path shot out.

As soon as he appeared, he threw a fierce punch. As he headed towards Natsuo, his fist separated from his wrist, like a missile fired ferociously.

"Flaming Arrow of Amazing Ability!"

Natsuo tilted his head slightly, dodging the attack.

But in the next second, the remaining arm turned into several rotating saws, making a shrill sound as they headed towards Natsuo.

The Asura Path is a powerful mechanized humanoid, even stronger than the puppet Sasori uses as his main body.

The high level of technology involved even made one question if this was possible in a feudal society like the one in the Naruto Series.

But in the next moment, Natsuo stomped his foot, brutally crushing the Asura Path that had not yet completely emerged from the ground.

Countless fragments of machinery, gears, and screws flew, and the rotating saws that were still moving stopped.

Defeated in one blow.

But Nagato did not change his face, because at this moment the Petra Path puppet was already close to Natsuo, he stretched out his hand, ignoring the Susanoo, and wanted to grab Konan who was on Natsuo's shoulder.

Susanoo grabbed the opponent straight away.

But in Nagato's eyes, a flash of excitement appeared.

Although the cooperation just now was good, how could he think that such a simple combination of punches could defeat the recognized strongest in the shinobi world?

Of course not! It was a trap!

"Blocking Technique Absorption Seal!"

A highly advanced sealing technique granted by the Preta Path, that conjures a see-through barrier around the user's body that is capable of absorbing any chakra, regardless of any shape or nature transformation.

Petra Path began to madly devour Natsuo's Chakra.

Even a tailed beast can be drained by the Petra Path to the point of collapse and then easily captured.

The Susanoo's arm disappeared, unable to maintain its grip on the Petra Path.

"As I thought, even Susanoo is ultimately a variation of chakra..." Nagato sighed in relief. "And no matter how powerful a shinobi is, without chakra, he has no power at all."

This is the rule of the shinobi world!

Depending on the absorption of the Petra Path, it could drain Natsuo's chakra. Of course, it was not to capture Natsuo, but simply to snatch Konan away in a relatively gentle manner.

But in the next second, Nagato's expression changed. Because the Petra Path had just stretched out his hand towards Konan, but in the next moment, he froze. His entire body turned into a statue at a speed visible to the naked eye.

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