The Fourth Raikage wasn't afraid of battle. In fact, he was a battle maniac who enjoyed fighting.

But he hoped to be dealt with head-on, not suddenly taken away by some unknown bastard when he was completely unprepared.

Or having to be careful every moment. In such a situation, he'd rather die in battle.

At least he could maintain his dignity!

"You're really not leaving?"

On the way back to Konoha, Jiraiya confirmed again, but the Fourth Raikage didn't buy it.

"If you want to kill me, come at me directly. I'm willing to fight you to the death, but don't play those deceptive tricks!"

"Crazy!"

Tsunade cursed, her gaze also sweeping towards Takemi.

But seeing Takemi's 'I'm innocent' expression, she immediately felt troubled.

This kid, if you're going to be like this, be completely like this!

She said, "Forget it, Jiraiya, you go tell the old man yourself."

"I understand, this is a big problem."

Jiraiya also had a massive headache. He even suspected that the Fourth Raikage might have overheard when Takemi was bullshitting them.

Or perhaps the Fourth Raikage saw something he shouldn't have during the fight with Yahiko?

"Speaking of which, what exactly happened with Yahiko?" With that doubt in mind, Jiraiya asked after leaving Takigakure.

"You didn't explain clearly yesterday, he—"

"The person I fought was a puppet."

Takemi didn't hide anything. He glanced at Jiraiya, then pulled out a fragment of the black rod and handed it over.

"I could feel that the main body was far away, controlling it through something like this to make that guy fight me."

"It's just that they noticed me searching for their location, so they temporarily exposed a weakness, and I seized the opportunity. Unfortunately, the main body escaped, they seem to be able to fly."

"Remote control, and they can fly?"

Jiraiya took the fragment and examined it carefully. Soon, his expression grew even more solemn.

"This Chakra..."

He naturally sensed the uniqueness of this Chakra. He understood that this might be something created by the power of the Rinnegan.

And hearing Takemi's news also made him feel incredibly heavy-hearted.

Because he understood that Yahiko was probably dead, and Nagato...

"You've worked hard, Takemi."

Jiraiya carefully put away the fragment, then spoke in a low voice, "Also, don't get arrogant. Although I don't know what happened, they are definitely not so easy to deal with, after all, that is..."

"Don't worry, I know."

Takemi looked at Jiraiya, who seemed to be hesitating to speak, and simply nodded.

He knew what Jiraiya found difficult to say, it was nothing more than the Rinnegan.

As an 'information source', he knew too much and was also very clear about Jiraiya's complicated emotions.

"However, Nagato must hate me to the point of wanting to kill me by now, right?"

Thinking of the Deva Path whose body he had shattered, especially since the body belonged to Yahiko, Nagato might have already lost it.

"Not just Nagato, Obito also wants to strangle me now..."

Thinking of Obito, he felt a rare sense of awkwardness. He hadn't expected that the first time he disguised himself to cause trouble, he'd be caught red-handed by the victim.

In addition, he had said and done many things that broke Obito's spirit.

However, Obito also 'left behind' some things for him. Although it wasn't voluntary, it wasn't very useful to him right now...

"But he's a good person, I guess." Takemi secretly nodded.

Just then, Kakashi suddenly came to his side and asked in a low voice, "Takemi, I want to ask you something."

"Hmm? Kakashi-sensei, please speak."

"Last night, Obito seemed to have lost control of his emotions. This seems a bit abnormal. Do you know what happened?"

"This..."

"If I can figure out the reason, maybe I can try it in the future, which would also help me deal with him better!"

"..."

"So, tell me in detail about what happened last night."

"..."

— — —

"Bastard!"

While Kakashi was curious about what Takemi had done to Obito, in the Land of Rain, Obito let out an angry roar.

The failure of this operation was nothing to him. Their goal was to divert Konoha's attention, so they wouldn't come to the Land of Rain.

But...

"Kakashi! Your well-taught disciple!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Obito truly couldn't understand how someone could be so shameless.

"Obito, don't be angry anymore. The battle is over." Black Zetsu, who was beside him, couldn't bear it anymore and softly tried to console him.

"The battle is over, try to look on the bright side. That brat is too bizarre, we must deal with him seriously."

"What do you know?!"

Obito glared at Black Zetsu resentfully, and that sentence actually choked Black Zetsu.

Because he hadn't followed along at the time, he really wasn't clear about what had happened. He only knew that Obito seemed to have been taught a harsh lesson.

His peripheral vision caught sight of White Zetsu, and he knew that he probably knew something.

But there was too much going on yesterday, especially Takemi defeating the Deva Path, which made his mind chaotic, so he didn't pay too much attention to these matters.

"Thinking about these things now is meaningless. Nagato also lost, and he lost badly."

In desperation, Black Zetsu could only say this, but Obito snorted coldly.

"Nagato was overconfident, only using a clone to deal with him. While that clone was indeed good, Takemi can use Flying Thunder God. How could he think he could win?"

Obito had not been optimistic about Nagato's approach from the beginning. He himself mastered a space-time jutsu, but he still suffered continuous losses against Flying Thunder God.

"Moreover, that little bastard trained by the useless Kakashi has a sinister mind and ruthless methods. He won't let go of any opportunity, hmph!"

"..."

Black Zetsu looked at Obito in silence. How much loss did he suffer?

"Alright, let's not talk about these things."

As if remembering the 'Earth Style Wall' from last night, that painful memory made him switch the topic without hesitation.

"That Pain's body, did you retrieve it?"

"It has been retrieved." Black Zetsu nodded.

"That Pain's body belonged to Nagato's friend, so I retrieved it immediately after the battle ended, but the damage is quite extensive."

"Return it to him, and see if you can help him repair it."

Obito thought for a moment, then said resentfully, "This time, Nagato's hatred towards that brat has probably increased exponentially. Helping him out will also ensure he forever remembers this humiliation!"

"..."

Black Zetsu suddenly realized that Obito's mind seemed quite sharp this time?

Could it be that he was greatly stimulated?

Did he suddenly become smarter?

"Eh? Obito, I remember you used to say that kid was insignificant?"

Black Zetsu was still thinking, and Obito was also pondering subsequent matters. But White Zetsu, who couldn't hold back when no one was paying attention, suddenly spoke.

"Now you finally take him seriously? I told you long ago that kid was unusual, much stronger than you were back then, and he even avoided..."

"Do you want to die?!"

Before White Zetsu could finish speaking, Obito was already staring at him intently, as if he intended to strangle him to death.

(End of Chapter)

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