Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 151 It's not that I don't want to, but that I dare not (Continuing the update, 1/3)

How did Xia Zuo find Nagato?

Of course, it's simulated using Magnet Release, and it's the [Magnetic Control] ability shared by Misaka Natsusa.

Nagato used the "Rain Tiger Free Technique" to infuse his chakra into the clouds, attaching himself to the water vapor and raindrops to conduct reconnaissance over the entire Amegakure village.

Xia Zuo was able to follow suit and use [Magnetic Control] to ionize the humid air and mark the flight paths of the entire Rain Village.

There are two known conditions.

First, the paper angel Xiao Nan can fly and is very good at it.

Secondly, Nagato's body is nearly paralyzed, and Konan takes care of all his daily life and mobility.

That's why he suggested shifting the battlefield to lure Nagato away from the heavily protected Amegakure, and his movement would inevitably involve Konan carrying him, flying at high speed.

Just as he expected, Xiao Nan flew over to the new battlefield, leaving a clear flight path in the humid air.

Xia Zuo dispatched his wooden clone to track the ionization trajectory in reverse.

Before the battle began, he naturally found the place where Konan took off for the last time, which was also where Nagato was hiding.

After a period of searching, Xia Zuo's wooden clones found the hidden chamber and the long door inside.

Logically, since Xia Zuo found Nagato's true form and even stood behind him, he should have taken advantage of Nagato's distraction while he was controlling the Six Paths of Pain to slit his throat, gouge out his eyes, and completely destroy the root of the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Yes, the one who triggered the Fourth Shinobi World War was not Nagato, not Obito Uchiha, not even Madara Uchiha, and certainly not Kabuto Yakushi, but these two Rinnegan.

Without those eyes, there's no Six Paths level combat power; the battle will still come down to the military strength of the ninja village.

On the battlefield, it comes down to who has a larger product of the number and weight of ninjas; in logistics, it comes down to who has more abundant supplies; and in endurance, it comes down to who has more efficient ninja training.

Ultimately, the Fourth Shinobi World War will still be a war that lasts for many years, is extremely unpleasant to fight, and will only end when everyone is exhausted.

Instead of a game where a few Six Paths level ninjas could take on everything, while 100,000 White Zetsu and 80,000 ninjas served as background figures, responsible for cheering and providing casualty statistics.

That wasn't a war at all; it was a family dispute between Kaguya Otsutsuki and her eldest son, Hagoromo Otsutsuki.

However, the two true gods did not engage in direct combat as they had last time, thus avoiding the worst-case scenario of turning the world into ruins again at the cost of the ninja world's pointless sacrifice.

Although only Xia Zuo's clones found Nagato, their thoughts were no different from Xia Zuo's.

So Xia Zuo's clones made a decision instantly, entered the secret room without hesitation, drew the ninja swords they had specially brought, and wanted to give Nagato a quick death.

Xia Zuo even considered that the Rinnegan's level was too high, and that it would suppress ninjutsu and even bloodline limits by a hierarchy, so he specially had his clone carry his equipment.

He had specially prepared equipment in the Hokage's office so that there wouldn't be any accidents when he attacked Nagato on such an occasion.

However, when Xia Zuo's wood clones actually got close to Nagato, a strong warning appeared in the minds of Xia Zuo and all his wood clones.

The book "The True Explanation of the Five Elements Battle" provides a clear description of this, stating that it is a talent developed after practicing the Five Elements Techniques and activating the Bloodline Limit Ring.

Whenever a practitioner faces mortal danger, their spiritual awareness perceives an inevitable death and thus issues a warning inspiration—a warning of certain death.

At another time, Xia Zuo would not hesitate for a moment and would immediately retreat to avoid any potential fatal danger.

But today he hesitated, and hesitated for a long time.

After all, the ninja sword in Natsuki's clone's hand was only a foot away from Nagato's back. If he just thrust it forward, he could kill this troublesome guy.

Moreover, his fingers would be only a foot away from the Rinnegan; once pried out, he would obtain the strongest item, far surpassing the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

With an overwhelming temptation looming in their faces and a deadly warning weighing on their hearts, only heaven knows how conflicted Xia Zuo's clones were at that moment.

In the end, Xia Zuo withdrew from the decision.

He also has a dream world, and he can become stronger on his own, even stronger than Madara Uchiha. There is no need for him to risk his life to seize the Rinnegan.

No need, you don't need it!

Ah, I really want the Rinnegan, but I'm also too scared to ask for it!

Xia Zuo carefully analyzed where the danger came from.

When Nagato faced a life-threatening crisis, he unleashed his potential and summoned the Gedo Mazo.

Impossible. Even if the Gedo Mazo devoured all the tailed beasts and reverted to the Ten-Tails, it could only kill Xia Zuo's Wood Release clone, not Xia Zuo's main body which was nearly 10 kilometers away.

Hidden in the shadows, Black Zetsu used his miraculous attack, just like he killed Obito and Madara Uchiha.

Xia Zuo shook his head; that was impossible.

Strength is strength; it doesn't mean that the weak can defeat the strong just because the level of strength is high enough.

Black Zetsu was able to deal with Obito Uchiha and Madara Uchiha because he had tricked them into believing he was a tumor and had already tampered with their bodies.

Xia Zuo was not deceived into using external forces to change himself; he used only his own power.

Could it be Obito Uchiha?

He used the excuse of going to the Land of Water to hide in the Kamui Dimension, lurking nearby to try and steal the Rinnegan.

Xia Zuo sneered. Uchiha Obito is not Six Paths Obito. The difference between the two is like that between a dog and a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

If Obito Uchiha dares to show his face in front of Xia Zuo today, he can forget about living.

Three years ago, before Xia Zuo had solved the problem of power output in Swift Release mode, he was able to use the speed of Swift Release alone to prevent Obito from leaving the Kamui dimension.

Today, Xia Zuo was even faster. He rushed over and used his right index finger, modified with Steel Release, to shove it into Obito's forehead, turning his brains into slurry.

After much deliberation, Xia Zuo finally settled on one target—the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki.

Yes, it could only be him.

If the Fourth Shinobi World War, which Xia Zuo was familiar with, was designed and instigated by the Sage of Six Paths, then he is the only one who meets all the conditions.

Although the Sage of Six Paths is dead, he can still interfere in the ninja world at any time and is absolutely capable of killing Natsume on the spot.

If the Sage of Six Paths intends to let his mother out for a breath of fresh air before sealing her away even more tightly, then Sode must be fully prepared to face the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Therefore, they did not want Nagato to die young, did not want the Rinnegan to escape Madara Uchiha's control, and did not want Madara Uchiha to escape Black Zetsu's control.

Xia Zuo became more and more certain that if he dared to disrupt Black Zetsu's plan, the Six Paths might actually jump out of the Pure Land and kill him.

Xia Zuo didn't want to die, so he decided to trust his intuition and his deductions, and gave up his plan to kill Nagato and take the Rinnegan.

The moment the decision was made, the spiritual warning reflected by the Bloodline Limit Ring vanished without a trace.

Only one of Xia Zuo's clones remained standing behind Nagato; the rest of the wood clones retreated and disbanded to relay the information to the main body.

The remaining Wood Release clones created tiny, thorny thorns using Wood Release and placed them near Nagato's throat. Then, they used Ice Release to condense ice crystals, creating the illusion of kunai.

Xia Zuo took the initiative to remind Pain Tendou, which woke up Nagato. Then, using the repulsive force that Nagato was most familiar with and the thorny thorns, he cut Nagato's throat and made him bleed.

This action did not change Nagato's belief that he was a god, but it did change his perception of Shaza.

Nagato regarded Xia Zuo as a powerful figure who could rival him, so naturally he would not ignore Xia Zuo's interests and thoughts.

When Nagato heard Xia Zuo make his third request to take Jiraiya away, he seriously assessed the situation and was no longer angry because of Xia Zuo's threat to kill Konan.

Because Nagato knew that Xia Zuo was fully capable of carrying out his threat, it wouldn't be an insult to him, but a very serious demand.

Nagato's thoughts ended instantly, because Konan was his ultimate bottom line.

Konan's existence is not only more important than Nagato's own life, but also more important than Nagato's pursuit of the ideal of peace in the ninja world. She is the only existence that Nagato cannot give up.

Xia Zuo used two rounds of attacks to prove to Nagato that he could not protect Konan from Xia Zuo's attacks.

Without hesitation, Nagato bowed his head and accepted Xia Zuo's condition through Pain Deva: "Fifth Hokage, you can take Jiraiya-sensei away now."

Xia Zuo smiled slightly, raised his hand, and loudly commanded, "Konoha ninja! Ceasefire!"

As he shouted, the giant forest that occupied the entire battlefield rapidly decayed and disappeared completely in just over ten seconds, turning into rotting mud covering the ground.

The sudden disappearance of the forest revealed the situation of several battlefields.

The most eye-catching part is the battlefield of Susanoo.

Uchiha Shisui's green Susanoo and Uchiha Itachi's red Susanoo, like two giants from a barbaric era, were frantically swinging their four arms, launching an attack on each other.

The green Susanoo was more clearly defined and stronger, but it did not gain the upper hand.

The red Susanoo wields a semi-phantom weapon burning with golden flames. It is not only incredibly sharp, capable of slicing through giant trees with ease, but its length can also be changed at will.

However, what Uchiha Shisui feared most was not the sharpness of the sword, but its characteristic of being a sure-kill weapon.

This sword is called the Totsuka Sword, and the Uchiha clan records clearly refer to it as a divine weapon.

The Totsuka Sword is a type of grass sword. Its blade is sharp and can extend and retract freely. The sword itself possesses the most powerful sealing technique. When it pierces an object, the object will be permanently sealed in its hilt, and the soul will be trapped in a dreamlike illusionary world from which it cannot extricate itself.

In other words, once stabbed, life ends.

Even with the Totsuka Blade being so dangerous, upon hearing Xia Zuo's order, Uchiha Shisui did not hesitate at all. Ignoring the danger of being struck by Uchiha Itachi's Totsuka Blade, he immediately took a step back.

Itachi Uchiha was actually powerless to pursue. Although he held his own with the Totsuka Blade, the pressure on his body was too great when he activated the fourth stage of Susanoo.

At this moment, Itachi Uchiha was weeping blood, his eyes were stinging, and his vision was blurred.

The two Susanoo then retreated, ending their battle.

The battle between Jiraiya and Konan was equally intense.

Konan is powerful and in full condition. Although the forest restricts her flight space, she still has an absolute advantage in mobility and initiative.

Jiraiya was stronger than Konan, but he had been badly beaten by Pain before, and his speed couldn't keep up with Konan's, so he could only passively defend.

However, he had already summoned Fukasaku and Shima, and with the support of the two toad masters, he entered Sage Mode, which allowed him to completely ignore Konan's normal attacks.

The battle between Kakashi Hatake and Kakuzu, however, turned out to be one-sided.

Kakashi, an elite Jonin, has destroyed Kakuzu's two hearts thanks to the accurate intelligence provided by Sasuke and his excellent tactical design.

Just as Xia Zuo called for a halt, Kakashi Hatake seized the opportunity once again, wielding [Lightning Release: Lightning Blade].

They charged toward Kakuzu, whose rhythm had been disrupted by the trap.

Just a hair's breadth away from losing his last heart and returning to dust.

Even Xia Zuo himself did not expect that his order would save Kakuzu.

But Kakuzu's life or death is not important, especially since Kakashi Hatake has verified the information that Sasuke knew. Even a special Jonin could kill him, so it doesn't matter if he is let go today.

After all, Kakuzu's strength and life were frozen 50 years ago after he was parasitized by the Earth Grudge.

He appears to be a hidden, powerful Kage-level ninja, but in reality, he is a spirit trapped in the old era, constantly decaying and awaiting death.

The battle between Akatsuki and Konoha has ceased.

Xia Zuo made a point of observing Jiraiya, as well as the toad sages on his two shoulders.

Xia Zuo discovered that Jiraiya's attitude towards him had changed drastically, from fear and keeping his distance to respect and admiration, and even a sense of trust.

The eyes of Shima and Fukasaku were filled with apprehension, and they tried their best to hide their fear.

The two toads possessed senses far surpassing Jiraiya's. After witnessing the battle between Pain Tendo and Shaza, they were terrified by the scene, which resembled a battle between gods.

They were so terrified that they were unable to provide timely and effective support to Jiraiya, which prevented him from successfully unleashing his powerful Sage Techniques, leading to a stalemate with Konan.

Otherwise, not to mention the ultimate move, [Sage Art: Illusion Art: Toad Song], even [Sage Art: Goemon] could defeat Konan, whose movement space is limited.

Of course, Jiraiya would probably be reluctant to kill Konan; he's more likely to use the [Barrier: Heavenly Canopy Formation].

Capture Konan to end the battle.

Unfortunately, Jiraiya's Sage Mode skills were too poor, and he could only perform them with the help of the toads.

When the two toad immortals lost their senses due to fear, he was unable to use any of his immortal techniques and could only passively take the beating.

It was precisely because of his poor performance, compared to Xia Zuo's astonishing combat power, that Jiraiya changed his attitude towards Xia Zuo.

At this point, both the Konoha ninja and Mount Myōboku realized the terror of the Akatsuki organization and the power of the Fifth Hokage.

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