"Ah! It's Sasuke! You…"
Seeing Sasuke, Naruto was instantly thrilled and shouted.
But Sasuke wasn't holding back. He piloted his massive Susano'o, landing on and straddling Naruto and the Kyuubi, then swung Susano'o's fists, brutally pummeling the Kyuubi.
A perfect Susano'o would surely outmatch a complete Kyuubi, but a full-body Susano'o in its fourth form was far inferior to the Kyuubi's half-body state.
Simply put, without weapons, a full-body Susano'o couldn't breach the Kyuubi's defenses; its punches on the Kyuubi were barely stronger than tickling.
In another setting, Naruto might've lain on the ground, enjoying Sasuke's high-class SPA massage service.
However, while Susano'o's attacks weren't lethal to the Kyuubi, they were highly dangerous to those nearby.
Each punch on the Kyuubi created massive sonic booms and shockwaves, blowing away surrounding wooden houses and other Konoha ninja.
And every movement of the Kyuubi caused significant damage to the village.
Naruto knew he and Sasuke couldn't fight in the village anymore; otherwise, before a winner was decided, they'd destroy all of Konoha.
So, Naruto channeled the Kyuubi's chakra and leaped high.
Carrying Sasuke and his Susano'o on his back, he jumped thousands of meters outside the village, ready to settle the fight there.
"Naruto, don't try to escape!"
Sasuke controlled Susano'o, tightly gripping the Kyuubi's body, sprouting two more arms to condense a katana and other weapons, preparing to slaughter the Kyuubi!
Unfortunately, after leaving Konoha, Naruto's Kyuubi form, now free to move, had no more worries.
He swung his tails, yanking Susano'o off his back and slamming it hard into the ground.
Before Sasuke could recover, Naruto and the Kyuubi charged at Sasuke and Susano'o.
The situation reversed instantly—Susano'o was pinned to the ground by the Kyuubi, straddled beneath it.
Its body was locked by several tails, completely unable to resist.
"Sasuke, calm down!"
"Naruto, you bastard!"
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Elsewhere.
While Naruto and Sasuke fought fiercely, in the high skies, the other Akatsuki vanguard members launched their assault.
One by one, they leaped from the clay birds, beginning an all-out attack on Konoha.
Only Pain Tendo and two other Pain bodies remained on the birds to oversee the battlefield. After all, Pain Chikushodo only needed to summon Kuchiyose animals to attack, and Pain Jigokudo was used to revive puppets, unsuitable for direct combat.
This time, Konoha's disaster truly arrived.
Even excluding Sasuke and the three Pain bodies, twelve Kage-level forces remained—an almost insurmountable advantage for Konoha.
"Hatake Kakashi is mine; you handle the others."
Before landing, Itachi had locked onto his target, addressing the other Akatsuki members.
The others had no objections; with hundreds of Konoha ninja in the village, there were plenty for the rest to slaughter.
"A Sharingan duel?"
"Fine, Itachi can't possibly lose…"
"Then who's my opponent? I'm not interested in killing Konoha ninja who are too weak."
Kisame, shouldering Samehada, landed on the roof of Ichiraku Ramen's temporary shack. Watching Itachi charge at Kakashi, he searched for a suitable opponent.
But before he finished speaking—
"Sixth Gate: Morning Peacock!"
A blazing figure suddenly charged from the distance, unleashing a barrage of fiery punches at him, hitting Kisame hard, forcing him to struggle to block with Samehada.
Clearly, Kisame had met a perfectly matched opponent.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Simultaneously, other Akatsuki members began a massive assault, cutting through like a knife through vegetables.
Deidara unleashed clay bombs everywhere.
Sasori controlled the Fourth Raikage and Danzo puppets, attacking relentlessly.
Kakuzu was intercepted by the Ino-Shika-Cho clan heads.
The remaining Edo Fourth Raikage, Edo Fifth Mizukage, Edo Hanzo the Salamander, Edo Kinkaku, and Edo Ginkaku were unstoppable.
Like tigers among sheep, they rampaged unchecked, with no one able to halt them.
Facing such ferocious enemies with so many experts, Konoha was nearly powerless to resist.
Tsunade was anxious, eager to help others and stop the powerful foes, but she was held back by Edo Jiraiya, controlled by Nagato.
"Damn it! Jiraiya, do you want to kill all of Konoha's ninja? Stop this!"
Tsunade scolded Jiraiya, itching to crush him, but an Edo body couldn't be killed no matter what.
"I can't stop; I have no control over myself!"
Jiraiya was helpless, his heart aching. Forced to attack Tsunade, he could only watch Konoha be overrun.
At that moment, he finally understood a fraction of the helplessness and pain Nagato and others felt watching Amegakure trampled by great nations.
After enduring such a "sack of rice," it was impressive Nagato hadn't gone mad.
Just then, Edo Jiraiya saw Edo Itachi rushing toward them.
He thought a savior had arrived!
If Itachi could use Kotoamatsukami to free him from Edo Tensei's control, he wouldn't have to attack Tsunade and could help Konoha fight the enemy.
So Jiraiya shouted urgently:
"Itachi, Uchiha Itachi! Quick, help me break this control!"
Itachi glanced at Jiraiya and Tsunade, hearing Jiraiya's plea, but firmly ignored it, not stopping or hesitating for a second, passing them by.
He wasn't foolish. He hadn't betrayed Akatsuki despite numerous prior chances—why would he act recklessly now?
The cost of betraying Nagato now could be Konoha's complete destruction tonight, possibly even implicating the evacuated villagers.
That would be truly stupid!
Besides, even if Jiraiya's control was lifted, could they, even with Itachi, defeat Akatsuki's forces? Could they defeat Nagato and the Juubi?
Laughable.
After bypassing Jiraiya and Tsunade, Itachi charged at the nearest Hatake Kakashi.
He threw several kunai, shooting toward Kakashi, blocking his path.
*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*
Kakashi parried the kunai, staring at Itachi, his face grave.
"Uchiha Itachi! You! Who's controlling you now?"
"No one controls me. I am myself."
"Still the same as before? A traitor's lies can't be trusted. Last time you deceived us—Kabuto wasn't the mastermind!"
"Oh? So you've figured it out? Good, that's one less doubt you'll have when you die."
Itachi gazed coldly at Kakashi, his killing intent blazing, making Kakashi shudder and tense.
"Kill me? You're after the Sharingan, aren't you? I'll never let a traitor like you have this Sharingan!"
Kamui!