"That bastard really does lay eggs!"
"Explosive tags, seriously? And he calls himself an Uchiha? Tch!"
Kazuyama scowled as Muren vanished from view, stomping in frustration.
[Ding! The host has inflicted severe pain on Madara Uchiha (fake) using One Thousand Years of Death. The target now hates you even more. His desire to kill you could fill an entire lake. Special reward unlocked: Telescope Technique!]
Kazuyama snapped.
"Bastard system! You knew that guy wasn't really Madara Uchiha—why didn't you just tell me his real name?!"
[Ding! Host's resentment detected. However, this system's purpose is to help you experience life. It will not reveal what you want to know, so give up.]
"Damn it! What kind of system is this?! It's getting more and more ridiculous!"
And what the hell was this new jutsu? Telescope Technique?
Wasn't that the pervy jutsu Old Man Third invented? The one using a crystal ball to spy on people from afar?
Seriously, this was made for peeping!
Already in a foul mood, Kazuyama nearly exploded from anger.
Meanwhile, Chōmei widened his compound eyes, trying to spot any trace of the enemy. Kazuyama had mentioned the opponent's Dōjutsu was related to distance—if that was true, why couldn't his enhanced vision pick him up?
The idea was good, but the result? Embarrassing. Chōmei strained his vision to exhaustion and still didn't see a shadow.
"Damn it! Didn't you say it was a distance-based technique? Why can't I spot him?"
"My Hive Mind can scan for kilometers—don't tell me his vision range is even farther than mine!"
Kazuyama let out a helpless sigh as he listened to Chōmei's frustration.
"Forget seeing him—even I couldn't use Flying Thunder God."
"When he activates his Dōjutsu, I can't lock onto his coordinates—not even with a marked kunai on him."
"I didn't expect this. Even if the distance warps, I should still be able to teleport the moment he lands."
"But I couldn't even target him."
Hearing that not even Flying Thunder God could initiate a jump, Chōmei felt a bit better about his own failure. After all, one relied on vision, the other on direct spatial targeting—it was a huge difference.
Still, he was stunned. After all this time with Kazuyama, it was the first time he'd ever seen Flying Thunder God fail.
Spatial abilities were mysterious. If even space couldn't touch the enemy, then that technique was seriously dangerous.
"But did you see which direction he ran?"
"Nope. My Hive Mind couldn't track him at all."
Kazuyama felt something was wrong. Not wasting time, he rushed toward Yahiko's position.
Since the enemy had revealed himself, his target had to be Nagato. After all, those eyes belonged to Madara—and they were key to his resurrection.
"Chōmei, wings."
"I didn't leave any markings with my clones earlier, so flying's my only option."
Wings extended from Kazuyama's back as he soared toward Yahiko's location.
...
At the cliff's edge, Yahiko and the others had successfully driven off the enemy, thanks to Kazuyama's clones.
Even Zetsu had retreated.
"Tch, Kazuyama Gekkō? Even a clone of his is too much for these Ame ninja."
"This really was a misstep."
"But what's Muren doing? Why'd he let Kazuyama come over?"
Yahiko's face lit up at the sight of the five clones. He had witnessed firsthand the strength of Kazuyama—clone or not, his jutsu were overwhelmingly powerful.
Especially that Water Release technique. It completely blew his mind.
Now, their enemies were either down or fleeing. The battle was essentially over.
"Yahiko, are you all okay?"
"The others... damn, I got here too late..."
Kazuyama's clone scanned the battlefield. He quickly spotted familiar faces—but they were lifeless, lying silently on the ground.
Yahiko's eyes were red. So were Konan's, Nagato's, and Akaashi's.
Suddenly, all five clones turned their heads in the same direction—they sensed the original approaching.
The clone who had just spoken opened his mouth to tell the others, but before he could speak...
A figure in a black robe appeared in front of Nagato and placed a hand on him.
"Who?!"
"Let him go!"
"Water Release: Umbrella Canopy Technique!"
A massive umbrella descended from the sky. Blue ripples surged outward, engulfing the area—but they were a second too late.
Under everyone's gaze, the black-robed man grabbed Nagato and vanished.
A moment later, Kazuyama appeared at the spot where the two had just stood, kunai in hand.
But it was just one second too late.
"Damn it! He's fast!"
Kazuyama cursed, but no matter how loud he shouted, Muren and Nagato were gone.
Far off in hiding, Zetsu stared in shock.
"He just... took Nagato like that?"
"That wasn't part of the plan. What the hell is Muren thinking?"
Black Zetsu was nearly exploding with rage. He had no idea what Muren's intentions were. The original plan was to provoke Nagato through the death of his comrades, pushing his Rinnegan to further awaken.
But now the plan had failed—and Muren had taken Nagato away on his own. What the hell was going on?
"Sigh... Muren always pulls these surprise moves."
"Well, the whole plan's screwed now."
"Should we pull back?"
White Zetsu's voice was as breezy as ever, like nothing could faze him.
Black Zetsu let out a long sigh. What else could he do? He just had to accept it.
They slowly disappeared, following the direction Muren had taken.
...
"Damn it! Bastard!"
"He got away again!"
Kazuyama had been one step too slow—again—and the rage bubbling inside him was hard to describe.
First time, he missed. Second time, still missed.
But this time, something felt off.
Seeing Nagato being taken away triggered a strange feeling in his gut.
Madara's heir had taken Madara's Rinnegan...
Was he starting the plan early?
That shouldn't be possible. Nagato's Rinnegan hadn't matured enough to perform Samsara of Heavenly Life. The Nine Tailed Beasts weren't even collected yet.
Even if he took Nagato now—what could he do?
Kazuyama couldn't make sense of it. No matter how hard he tried, it just didn't add up.
His brain felt like it was going to short-circuit.