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

Chapter 351 The Second Half of the Fourth Shinobi World War (Part 2)

"Nagato, this is our third meeting, but I never imagined you were already dead."

Xia Zuo sighed to Nagato, "I was hoping to fight you again when you were healthy, but I missed the chance."

.

Then he looked at Obito Uchiha: "I didn't expect that even you would be killed this time. And judging from your appearance, have you already tried the Six Paths form by using the bloodline of the Uchiha clan?"

Obito Uchiha's eyes widened, and he ripped off his mask: "Fifth Hokage, Sasuke!"

"What exactly do you know?"

Xia Zuo: "Heh, I know a lot, but I don't need to tell this enemy."

He turned to Orochimaru and said, "Help me deal with this Uchiha for a while."

Orochimaru glanced at Obito Uchiha, who was enraged and had displayed his Six Paths form, and stuck out his tongue, saying, "Fifth Hokage, this monster is way too difficult to deal with!"

Xia Zuo, however, said dismissively, "Don't be fooled by appearances, Orochimaru."

"Obito Uchiha's Six Paths Obito form is a combination of the fully mature Rinnegan, the Uchiha bloodline, and the White Zetsu body. The power originally belonged to Madara Uchiha, not him."

"Moreover, how could such an excessively powerful force be contained by the mere [Impure World Reincarnation]?"

"Furthermore, Obito Uchiha's Kamui, which originally belonged to him, has been replaced. How much power do you think he can still unleash?"

Orochimaru remained reluctant: "My Fifth Hokage, no matter how much Obito Uchiha is weakened, is still a Six Paths level being. To me, a Kage-level ninja, it's like a child looking at an adult; even if I jump up, I can't hit his vital points."

Xia Zuo laughed and said, "Orochimaru, why do you think I arranged for you to come with me to ambush and kill these two? Of course, it's because I believe you have enough power to crush Uchiha Obito without Kamui."

"You think I don't know you've cultivated to the Dragon Cave Immortal Mode?"

"You think I don't know you devoured the White Phosphorus Serpent?"

"Orochimaru, I am a qualified Fifth Hokage of Konoha. Within the territory of Konoha, I know everything."

Orochimaru sighed deeply: "Oh dear, you, the Hokage, are indeed more powerful than my teacher. Nothing can be hidden from you."

"You're right, my strength is indeed enough to crush Obito Uchiha without Kamui. He's a complete loser."

He raised his head, his snake-like eyes locking onto Obito as if he were looking at a plump rodent: "I'll handle this guy."

How Obito Uchiha flew into a rage, swearing to kill Orochimaru, and even saying he would resurrect him with Edo Tensei and torture him repeatedly for a hundred years.

Orochimaru simply responded with "Useless trash, come and hit me then," easily luring Obito Uchiha into a fight.

Xia Zuo looked at the silent Nagato and asked, "Do you know how you died?"

Nagato replied dejectedly, "It's absolute, the black absolute."

"He controlled me and used the [Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique] to revive Uchiha Madara, and then I died."

"Then he resurrected me using the Impure World Reincarnation technique, and controlled me to deceive everyone in the Akatsuki organization, including Konan, in order to attack Konoha Village."

"I...I have no way to resist—"

Xia Zuo nodded and said, "Yes, your Rinnegan belongs to Uchiha Madara. He had already planted various methods to control you within it. Since you were betrayed by your strongest power, you naturally couldn't break free from Black Zetsu's control."

Nagato lowered his head: "Yahiko is dead, so many people in Akatsuki are dead, and my use of the Rinnegan to avenge him and fulfill Yahiko's dream was all part of someone else's conspiracy—what am I, in the end?"

Xia Zuo began to move his body, and he had already noticed that Nagato's consciousness was gradually fading.

Nagato is actually a kind-hearted person with a gentle nature, but he was forced into a corner by death and despair, and for the sake of his comrades, he could only desperately pretend to be a strong and evil mastermind behind the scenes.

If he were really as bad as he pretended to be, he wouldn't be in so much pain.

Xia Zuo said to Nagato, "Don't worry, I've arranged for two sealing masters to deal with Konan. She definitely won't die."

Upon hearing this, Nagato, who had been feeling groggy, suddenly became much more alert and managed a weak smile, saying, "Thank you, but I can't hold on any longer."

Xia Zuo said, "You're welcome. I will seal you away as soon as possible."

Nagato seemed to relax; the light that had been in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a fierce killing intent.

He immediately spread his arms, his Rinnegan shining brightly, and his surging eye power and chakra surged out like waves.

【Heavenly Path: Divine Expedition】

In an instant, the earth shook violently, and the force swept across everything, scraping the ground clean and turning the entire battlefield into a white wasteland.

Orochimaru and Obito, who were locked in a battle in the distance, were caught in the crossfire and were blown far away by the repulsive storm, like two leaves in a gale.

But Nagato was horrified to discover that Xia Zuo in front of him had not been blown away; he had simply raised his hand to protect his eyes and blocked the direct attack of Shinra Tensei.

Because Xia Zuo blocked the repulsive force's attack, the ground behind him was not directly hit by the repulsive force and instead rose above the surrounding fresh ground, forming a ridge.

"Nagato, you are much weaker in your Edo Tensei state than when you were alive."

Xia Zuo said disappointedly, "It's even weaker than when I fought you in the Land of Rain many years ago. It seems that Black Zetsu is worried about Nagato and deliberately shut down all his thinking abilities."

"It's really boring."

"Forget it, we should get rid of these mindless puppets as soon as possible. I'm still looking forward to the battle with Uchiha Madara."

"Hey, I wonder if I can beat him."

As Xia Zuo muttered to himself, Nagato calmed down from the boiling of chakra and once again accumulated enough chakra.

He raised his hands again, preparing to unleash the next ninjutsu.

But this time, Xia Zuo didn't give Nagato a chance. He appeared beside him instantly, and the black sphere that appeared between his hands was pressed onto Nagato's body.

【Netherworld Escape - Netherworld Prison】

The black hole simulated by Dark Release chakra tore at Nagato's Edo Tensei body. Although it did not devour his chakra and eye power, it was able to tear apart the jutsu structure within the Edo Tensei body.

Nagato, who was completely indifferent, was almost completely devoured by [Nether Release: Nether Prison], which swallowed half of his body.

This level of damage would be fatal to an ordinary person, but it would be insignificant to an Edo Tensei (reanimation) user. Even someone like the Second Hokage, who was shattered by Madara Uchiha, could piece himself back together.

However, the tearing action of [Netherworld Release: Netherworld Prison] reached a deeper level, actually disrupting [Impure World Reincarnation].

The structure of the techniques.

In an instant, Nagato's body exploded into a shower of filthy debris.

The offerings that had been moved to the Pure Land had committed suicide, but were instead moved back and placed in the center of the filthy mound.

Xia Zuo scratched his head and sighed, "Oh dear, the power of this technique is a bit too much. It directly sent Nagato back to the Pure Land, and I didn't even have a chance to seal him away."

He shrugged and flew up.

Seeing that Orochimaru's battle was going very smoothly, he had already revealed the form of the Eight-Headed Serpent, encircling Obito and having his eight heads attack in turn.

Just as Xia Zuo said, the resurrected Obito was so weak that he questioned his own existence, and Orochimaru naturally took advantage of his misfortune, beating him until he was completely stunned.

Now, Obito can only barely resist using the repulsive force of his Rinnegan, and it's clear he can't hold out for long.

Xia Zuo smiled and said, "Orochimaru, I'm leaving Obito to you. I'm going to support the other battlefields."

The Yamata no Orochi raised one of its heads, nodded silently to indicate that it understood, and then continued to focus on attacking Uchiha Obito.

Xia Zuo's support came from Hatake Sakumo and Kaguya Kimimaro.

Their opponent, the Third Raikage, truly deserves the title of "the strongest Third Kage of all time."

Even with his reanimated body, the Third Raikage was still able to use his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to leave Konoha's Sakumo Hatake and Kimimaro in a sorry state.

When Xia Zuo arrived at the battlefield, he found it littered with Kimimaro's broken bones. Kimimaro's chakra was nearly depleted, and he was panting heavily.

The short sword in Konoha's White Fang's hand had been replaced by Kimimaro's bone sword, and his body showed signs of slowly detaching from the Edo Tensei, clearly indicating that he had reached his limit.

Xia Zuo asked, "Senior Hatake, is the Third Raikage really that strong?"

Sakumo Hatake replied earnestly, "Fifth Hokage, the Third Raikage is indeed very strong. I am no match for him now."

Xia Zuo asked curiously, "You're no match for him now, do you mean you could have fought him when he was alive?"

Sakumo Hatake nodded confidently: "My speed, reaction, coordination, and chakra are all a bit lacking right now. When combined, the lack is too great, and I can't fully utilize my strengths."

The Third Raikage suddenly spoke up, scoffing, "The mighty White Fang of Konoha, you're going to shirk responsibility?"

"Your condition is worse than when you were alive, but does that mean I'm stronger?"

Sakumo Hatake blushed, gritting his teeth but unable to refute.

He was never a ninja who was good with words, otherwise he wouldn't have been driven to suicide by mere rumors.

Xia Zuo ignored the Third Raikage and patted Hatake Sakumo on the shoulder reassuringly: "I believe in you, Hatake-senpai."

Although both Sakumo Hatake and the Third Raikage were close-combat ninjas, they were completely different types.

The Third Raikage was skilled in ninjutsu and taijutsu, possessing top-tier attack power, defense, and stamina. His fighting style was characterized by wide-ranging, aggressive attacks.

Sakumo Hatake is skilled in short sword techniques, and his attack power is also at its maximum, even capable of splitting the hardest puppets. However, his defense is the same as that of an ordinary ninja. His fighting style is to move around and engage in close combat, seizing the opportunity to defeat the enemy with a single strike.

Even in his Edo Tensei state, the Third Raikage can still gain powerful attack and defense capabilities through ninjutsu and taijutsu, and his stamina is even stronger than when he was alive.

In some ways, the Third Raikage was even more formidable than he was in life.

However, Sakumo Hatake, who relies on skill in combat, is not like that. His physical weakness makes his skills significantly weaker, and his attack power is even weaker.

However, Xia Zuo wouldn't try to prove something with words if it couldn't be proven with facts.

He looked at Kimimaro and asked with concern, "How are you feeling? Are you feeling unwell?"

Kimimaro shook his head gratefully and said, "My body is fine, it's just that the intensity of the battle was too high for me, and I'm very tired."

Xia Zuo breathed a sigh of relief: "Then you should get some rest. Leave the rest to me."

The Third Raikage stood with his arms crossed, calmly watching Natsumi. Apart from mocking Sakumo Hatake earlier, he did not interfere with Natsumi's conversation with his ninja.

It wasn't until Xia Zuo turned to look at him that the Third Raikage spoke, "You are now the leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces. For the sake of Kumogakure, I will show mercy."

Xia Zuo heard his thoughts through the [Mind Network] and couldn't help but laugh: "I never expected that the Third Raikage's heart would be so conflicted."

"You want to kill me and remove the mountain that's weighing down on Kumogakure, but you're also afraid that if I die, no one will be able to stop the brutal Akatsuki and Madara Uchiha, leading to the destruction of Kumogakure."

"If you ask me, you're just being delusional."

Xia Zuo's smile vanished, and he said coldly, "You really think that just because you can fight ten thousand Iwagakure ninjas for three days and three nights, you're the strongest ninja in the ninja world?"

"Give it your all, and I'll show you just how big the gap is between you and the real strongest."

The Third Raikage didn't speak, but instead circulated his chakra to its maximum speed, causing dense arcs of electricity to erupt from his entire body, like plates of ring armor concealing his bulging muscles.

[Lightning Release Chakra Mode - The Strongest Armor]

Xia Zuo raised his hand, and a Truth-Seeking Ball had somehow condensed in his palm. He had also activated his Byakugan, ready for battle.

The Third Raikage roared, "Lightning Slaughter Thousand Generations Dance!"

He leaped high into the air, transforming his lightning chakra into a high-intensity electric current, which gathered in his hand. Using the force of his descent, he unleashed a powerful chop at Xia Zuo.

However, Xia Zuo's [Mind Network] is most sensitive to lightning-attribute chakra, and he immediately realized that the old man did not have much chakra in his hands, and that the real concentration was in his elbows.

The Third Raikage didn't use the "Lightning Strike: Thousand-Year Dance," but rather the more powerful "Heavy Flow Storm."

As expected of the Third Raikage, the most cunning and best at disguising himself. He fought for so long and did whatever was told, but now he has to resort to tricks.

If Xia Zuo hadn't been able to see through it so easily, he might have actually been caught off guard by this unexpected move.

However, it doesn't matter if he was tricked by the Third Raikage. Xia Zuo, at the peak of the Six Paths level, has already transcended the scope of a ninja and is not someone that can be harmed by ninjutsu or taijutsu.

In the ninja world, the only taijutsu techniques that could pose a threat to him were probably Might Guy's Evening Elephant and Night Guy.

.

But that was only if Xia Zuo didn't use the Truth-Seeking Balls.

Xia Zuo had no intention of toying with the Third Raikage. He softened the Truth-Seeking Ball and, using Conqueror's Haki, attached it to his hand.

He countered the Third Raikage with the highest level of skill, using the Truth-Seeking Ball fist, which was as black as ink.

This punch shattered the strongest Lightning Release armor, destroyed the Third Raikage's arm, and also disrupted the Lightning Release chakra concentrated in his elbow.

The Third Raikage's Edo Tensei form was reduced to a sky full of Edo Tensei soil by Xia Zuo's punch.

Moreover, there is no trend of reunification.