The Return of the Dead

"Cough cough."

Konan now only feeling pain all over her body. The masked ninja's attack has left Konan with absolutely no strength to control her own body.

"Tap tap."

Konan heard footsteps beside her. She opened her eyes and looked in the direction the footsteps came from. She saw Masked Man walking towards her unhurriedly. Konan tried desperately to stand up, but her body's response made her despair.

Before long, the Masked Man was in front of Konan. He reached out and grabbed Konan by the neck, lifting her up.

Without uttering a single word, he launched a deadly attack, perfectly executing the mission given to him by the Masked Man.

Konan tried to pry open the clamps around his neck, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make any progress. As time passed, Konan's eyes began to turn white, and his struggles became weaker and weaker.

This caused Nagato great anxiety. Nagato couldn't accept Konan dying right before his eyes. If anything happened to Konan, how could he face Yahiko?

Ah~

You deserve to die.

"Nagato roared. At this moment, Nagato lost his mind. He no longer suppressed his injuries and attacked with all his might, trading injury for injury."

Now his opponents have a good idea of just how strong Nagato is when he goes all out.

"That's perverted!"

Kisame and Zabuza, the two tasked with holding Nagato back, were steadily losing ground against his strength. They both had several near-fatal wounds, which explained their grim expressions – because this situation could truly be fatal.

The Masked Man wasn't having an easy time either. Nagato's reckless fighting style put Masked Man on the defensive, as Masked Man didn't want to die either. He also couldn't prevent Masked Man Konan being saved, which was the most troublesome aspect for Masked Man.

"Boom."

"Boom."

The battle between Nagato and the Masked Man had reached a fever pitch. Nagato's eyes were fixed on Konan's figure; he could see that Konan wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

"Peng"

Madara plunged his sword into Nagato's body. Before Madara could even rejoice, Nagato didn't retreat but instead stepped forward, and Madara's katana pierced right through Nagato's body.

"Puff."

Nagato coughed up a mouthful of blood and reached out to grab Madara's hand.

"Um?"

"Oh no!"

Madara's expression changed drastically. He hadn't expected Nagato to go to such lengths for Konan; it was utterly reckless. Once Nagato caught her, her life would be in her own hands. The Masked Man was very clear about the Rinnegan's abilities.

"Brush."

Madara dodged Nagato's outstretched hand with a quick leap, simultaneously clearing the way for Nagato to rescue Konan.

Nagato moved with incredible speed, arriving at the scene of Konan's battle with the Masked Man in an instant. He drew his katana and, with a swift stroke, severed the Masked Man's grip on Konan's hand. Konan felt her neck loosen, and she fell into a warm embrace. Nagato retreated with Konan in a flash.

"Konan, are you feeling better?"

Nagato asked nervously, completely unlike the tough, ruthless man he had been moments before.

"Nagato, I'm alright."

As soon as Konan finished speaking, she saw the wound on Nagato's abdomen. Blood was flowing out as if it were free.

Konan quickly tore a piece of her own clothing to bandage Nagato's wound. At the same time, she inwardly hated her own lack of strength; otherwise, Nagato wouldn't have risked injury to save her.

"How so?"

Even with Nagato's vast experience, he saw that the Masked Man's severed arm had grown back. Konan, hearing Nagato's words, looked in the direction of Nagato voice and was equally astonished. Tobirama Senju Impure World Reincarnation had reappeared in the Ninja World; this was no small matter, as only a handful of people could master this technique.

Surprised?

The Masked Man seemed to sense Nagato's question and spoke up, also in a show of arrogance.

"I could have countless ninjas like that if I wanted them. Add the Rinnegan, and who in the entire Ninja World could be my match?"

The Masked Man spoke arrogantly, as if he could already see himself obtaining the Rinnegan and Jonin world.

The Masked Man's words sent a chill down the spines of Zabuza and Haku. They were Konoha's spies. Now that the enemy's strength had increased so much, did Konoha still have a chance of victory? This thought vanished from their minds in less than a second. Because as long as that man was there Zabuza and Haku believed they would never lose.

"Hand it over! Hand it over and I might let you go."

The Masked Man reached out and spoke to Nagato.

"Hahaha."

"Do you think I'm a fool to believe you? You'll kill us as soon as I hand over the Rinnegan."

Nagato sneered. Having worked with the Masked Man for so long, Nagato knew each other very well. The person who understands you best is often your opponent.

The Masked Man remained unfazed by Nagato's mockery. Success would be excellent, granting him the Rinnegan with ease. Failure would simply mean wasting more time. Just as Nagato had said, obtaining the Rinnegan would also mean the deaths of Nagato and Konan. Don't accuse the Masked Man of being heartless; he wouldn't allow a former owner of the Rinnegan to live—wouldn't that leave himself a potential threat?

"In that case, we have no choice but to ask you to die."

"Swish, swish, swish."

The Masked Man made a few quick hand seals and then pressed his hand to the ground.

"Bang, bang, bang."

As several wisps of white mist appeared, several coffins slowly emerged from the ground. These days, honest men like the Masked Man are rare; most people just clap their hands and get whatever they want, but he's still obediently Hand Seals.

"Bang!"

The coffin lid suddenly burst open, revealing the face of the ninja inside.

You deserve to die.

Nagato recognized one of the men as his friend Yahiko and was about to kill him. Fortunately, Konan stopped Nagato, who was blinded by rage. They were outnumbered and must not act rashly.

Seeing Nagato being stopped, the Masked Man couldn't help but blame Konan for meddling. "Why did you stop him from going to his death? You've ruined his chance to severely injure Nagato."

Why would you disturb the peace of a deceased person?

Nagato now finally understood why the Masked Man had said, "I could have countless ninjas like that."

"It is their honor to have the opportunity to serve me. I will lead them to create a glorious future."

The Masked Man didn't see anything wrong with this. As a man who wanted to dominate the ninja world, he was open to any kind of power. That's why he went to Konoha to obtain the forbidden Ninjutsu "Impure World Reincarnation" and learned it with Black Zetsu's help.