From the night of genocide, marching towards the strongest.

"Oh?"

Obito Uchiha feigned surprise and asked, "Pain, did you decide to change the plan at the last minute because you received the information through the Human Path?"

"Not bad!"

Pain calmly said, "The Grell Stone possesses powerful life energy, and I need it to restore my original form."

Nagato stated directly what he had learned and his purpose.

Because he knew that even if he didn't say anything, it would be difficult to hide the matter of the Grell Stone from him, who possessed the ability to manipulate time and space, and from his subordinates who could infiltrate the earth.

If he deliberately conceals the truth, it will only create further cracks and rifts in their already fragile alliance.

"I see. I didn't expect the Grell Stone to have this effect."

Upon hearing this, Obito Uchiha nodded, his tone completely unchanged. After a pause, he continued:

"It's certainly a good thing that the Grell Stone can heal your body, but, Payne, setting up the ambush underground is to limit..."

Before Obito Uchiha could finish speaking, Pain interrupted him calmly, saying, "The ambush location remains the same; it is still underground."

"constant?"

Obito Uchiha's tone turned somewhat serious: "In that case, your physical body might be in danger, Nagato!"

"It's alright. The underground ruins of the ancient empire cover a vast area, and the Grell mine is located at the deepest part of the palace, quite a distance away. We can ambush Uchiha Sasuke at the entrance of the ruins. Even if Uchiha Sasuke manages to break through the blockade and reach the Grell mine to see my true form..."

At this point, a dark glint flashed in Pain's Rinnegan, and he said calmly, "Then he will surely be the one to die!"

Although Pain's tone was calm, anyone could hear the arrogant and disdainful attitude in his voice.

The strength demonstrated by Uchiha Sasuke during the battle in the Land of Swamp.

Nagato then realized that Sasuke Uchiha had now gained the upper hand, and if he were to face Sasuke alone, even if all six Paths of Pain were to come out together, they would not be a match for him.

Only his true form can defeat it.

Nagato's true form is not without combat power; on the contrary, as the controller of the Six Paths of Pain, he can use all of the Six Paths of Pain's abilities, yet his power is stronger than that of the Six Paths of Pain.

However, his physical body was extremely inconvenient to move around, while Uchiha Sasuke was a highly mobile opponent. Even if Nagato was absolutely confident that he could defeat and annihilate him with the power of his physical body.

But if Uchiha Sasuke doesn't confront him head-on, but instead engages him in guerrilla warfare and outflanking maneuvers...

Therefore, he himself would inevitably be defeated and die, and even someone as proud as Nagato, who considered himself a god, had to admit this.

Even if Sasuke Uchiha were to fight him head-on, Nagato was confident that even if he could defeat and annihilate him, he would still be injured.

And it's very likely he's seriously injured!

For Nagato's current body, a minor injury is a serious injury, and a serious injury means death!

Nagato would never risk serious injury or death to confront Sasuke head-on, and Sasuke would never honestly confront him directly.

Therefore, given that Pain was no match for Sasuke Uchiha and Nagato's main body was unable to intervene, the situation became clear.

Even the proud Nagato had to join forces with others when it came to assassinating Uchiha Sasuke.

"Although my physical body is immobile, my application of the Rinnegan's power is far superior to that of the Six Paths of Pain. During this period, I am healing my body in the Grell Mine. Once the battle reaches a stalemate or Uchiha Sasuke breaks through our ambush and arrives at the Grell Mine, he will certainly be greatly exhausted, and at that time he will face an even stronger version of me!"

"With their strength waning and ours waning, Sasuke Uchiha is doomed!"

"........"

Upon hearing this, Obito Uchiha fell silent for a moment.

He certainly knew that what Nagato said made a lot of sense and was very beneficial to their plan.

only.....

A Nagato who is partially disabled and has difficulty moving is easier for him to control, while a healthy and intact Nagato is somewhat beyond his control.

This will bring unexpected changes to his plans.

Although Obito Uchiha wanted to stop Nagato, he couldn't find a reason to do so.

After all, the two are now allies on the same side, and as an ally, if he deliberately prevents Nagato from treating his body...

It's possible that they'd start fighting amongst themselves even before Uchiha Sasuke arrived.

However, Obito was still very unwilling to just watch Nagato use the Grell mine to heal his body.

“I think Pain is right. Since the Grell Stone can heal your body, then as you said, we and your Six Paths of Pain will ambush Uchiha Sasuke at the entrance of the Grell Ruins, while your main body can recover at the Grell Mine.”

Just as Obito Uchiha was caught in a dilemma, unsure of what to do, Black Zetsu, who had appeared at some point, spoke first.

"After all, as the leader of the organization, the better Nagato's body recovers and the stronger he becomes, the more advantageous it will be for us in assassinating Uchiha Sasuke and collecting the tailed beasts in the future, won't it?"

Upon hearing this, Obito Uchiha glanced at Black Zetsu, frowned slightly, but didn't say anything more, only nodding.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to Mr. Ban."

After saying this, the six Pain brothers left together.

"Ze, why did you agree to him? You should know that if Nagato regains his health, he might become beyond our control."

After Pain left, Obito Uchiha asked in a somewhat gloomy tone.

"No one can escape Madara's grasp, Obito."

Faced with Obito's harsh questioning, Black Zetsu simply smiled and said something that made Obito's expression even uglier.

"Everything Nagato has now was given to him by Madara. If Madara wanted to give it to him, it was his; if he didn't want to give it to him, it wasn't his."

Upon hearing these words, which seemed to have a double meaning and a hidden agenda, Obito's expression beneath his mask turned extremely ugly.

Seemingly noticing Obito's expression, Black Zetsu glanced at him and changed the subject: "Moreover, instead of worrying that Nagato's strength will become even stronger after he recovers his health and exceeds our control, you should worry about Uchiha Sasuke. He is the factor that is beyond our control."

"His talent is simply too monstrous. He has grown to this level in just a few years. Even when Madara was his age, his strength was far inferior to his. Nobody knows how much he will grow if given more time. Will he reach Madara's level? Or even awaken his Rinnegan?"

Upon hearing this, Obito Uchiha fell silent. When he heard about awakening the Rinnegan, his expression changed drastically, and he retorted:

"He couldn't possibly awaken the Rinnegan. Didn't Madara say that the Rinnegan can only be obtained by simultaneously and perfectly fusing the Uchiha clan's..."

At this point, Obito Uchiha shut his mouth, because he remembered that Sasuke Uchiha was currently with Orochimaru.

Orochimaru possesses the First Hokage's cells!

"Hehe, it seems you've figured it all out."

Seeing this, Black Zetsu smiled and said, "In the end, we and Nagato are still partners. We are of one mind on collecting the nine tailed beasts and reviving the Ten-Tails. Whatever conflicts we have are internal conflicts, while Uchiha Sasuke is an external conflict. I think you understand who should be dealt with first and who should be dealt with later, right?"

For Black Zetsu, it was all about Obito Uchiha, Nagato, and even Madara Uchiha becoming stronger.

He wasn't worried at all; on the contrary, he was delighted.

As long as they collect the nine tailed beasts and revive the ten-tailed beast, it will be enough. Regardless of who among them becomes the ten-tailed beast's jinchūriki, they will all become the vessel for their mother Kaguya's descent.

Of course, Black Zetsu's favorite candidate for the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki was still Madara Uchiha, after all, he was the strongest.

Using Madara Uchiha as a physical body, he could gain more power after his mother Kaguya's arrival.

"Think it over carefully, Obito. But don't think about it for too long, after all, Sasuke Uchiha is on his way here."

After saying this, Black Zetsu's figure sank into the earth, leaving only Obito Uchiha with a complicated expression.

...........

A moment later, in a huge secret chamber deep within the underground palace, in the center of a clearly visible magic circle, the emaciated Nagato himself sat atop a specially made machine, with Konan beside him.

"This is the sealed location of the Grell mine!"

Nagato slowly scanned the exquisite murals around the secret chamber, then focused his gaze on the ceiling, which resembled a portal and was inscribed with some spells. He then slowly raised his right hand.

boom!

An explosion rang out as Nagato unleashed Shinra Tensei with his right hand, shattering the ceiling into a massive hole. As countless fragments fell, azure chakra light, as deep as the ocean, surged forth like water, continuously flowing into his body.

In an instant, Nagato once again felt the vibrant life force, like the warm morning sun shining on his body, and he could clearly feel his battered body being slowly nourished, repaired, and restored under the replenishment of this life energy.

Even Xiao Nan, standing to the side, showed an expression of enjoyment, as if her tired and heavy body had been soaking in a hot spring, and all the minor injuries and strains on her body seemed to be healed under the illumination of this energy.

Seeing this, Nagato smiled slightly, then composed himself and activated the Devouring Ability of the Preta Path, devouring Grell's life energy at a rate a hundred times faster than Konan's.

In a short period of time, Nagato's emaciated body visibly became fuller, and his dry white hair slowly began to glow with a reddish hue.

"Nagato, this energy is strange!"

Just as Nagato was about to intensify his devouring of the Grell mine, a sudden exclamation from Konan interrupted him.

Um! ?

Upon hearing this, Nagato looked toward Konan and saw that Konan's usually fair skin had become slightly darker, and her light orange eyes had turned into a deep amber red.

Its exposed hands were covered in long, thick hairs with black tips, and sharp claws!

"alienation!?"

Nagato muttered to himself, then subconsciously glanced at his body, only to find that some sharp black hairs had sprouted from his skin.

At the same time, a strange sense of irritation welled up in his heart for some reason, and he had an urge to vent his frustration by destroying his surroundings.

wrong!

It's the energy of the Grell Stone influencing my mind!

Nagato was slightly startled. At this moment, he couldn't help but think of the three female knights under Hyde's command when they were on the ground.

When he used the power of the Grell Stone, his body mutated, transforming into three forms: a bat-man, ape-man, and werewolf.

Moreover, his personality became much more irritable, and he had a strong tendency to kill and a destructive desire.

Even Hyde himself became a monster!

It seems that only Timothy, who has the bloodline of the Grell royal family, is unaffected by the Grell mutation; even someone like Nagato, who possesses the Rinnegan, cannot escape it.

"Xiao Nan, you can go out for now."

Having thought this through, Nagato spoke to Konan.

Although he used the Rinnegan's eye technique to absorb energy far more effectively than Konan, his body's mutation was actually less severe due to the unique absorption effect of the Rinnegan.

Moreover, Nagato had just discovered that these changes happening to the two of them were only temporary and would naturally disappear afterward.

However, if Nagato were to continue absorbing the energy of the Grell Stone with the same efficiency as before, this mutation would become permanent.

It will also turn into an extremely irritable monster with a strong desire for destruction!

To avoid becoming a monster, Nagato can only continue absorbing the energy of the Grell Stone in a slow and gradual manner.