Three figures in a triangular formation appeared in the Byakugan's field of view. Their chakra surged brightly. The one on the left shone brilliantly, while the one on the right was somewhat dimmer. Behind them was the silhouette of a woman. More than ten fainter figures followed behind, keeping close with the distinctive, loping run favored by shinobi.
Uchiha Kin focused his Byakugan, trying to sharpen his vision as much as possible. As they drew closer, he could make out the three figures.
Nagato stood out in particular. The quantity and quality of his chakra far surpassed Yahiko's and Konan's, so in the Byakugan's vision, his whole body seemed white and brilliant, like the last silvery glow in the eastern sky at dawn.
The light was almost blinding.
But that also made his features easy to see through the Byakugan. Especially the countless nerves, all converging on his eyes in a strange pattern.
Yahiko, and the two behind him, Konan and Nagato, had noticeably dimmer chakra, though the latter two were about equal in strength.
The shinobi following behind them were much weaker. Beside the three, they were like faint stars hidden beneath a bright moon—easy to overlook if you weren't paying attention.
"Yahiko, Nagato, Konan... The Akatsuki are here?" Uchiha Kin turned to look in the direction they were coming from.
In his field of view, more than ten black specks rapidly grew larger as they approached. The newcomers gradually came into focus.
Danzo looked toward them as well. He knew the Akatsuki's "Big Three"; he'd seen them at Hiruzen Sarutobi's place.
But Danzo wasn't worried they'd recognize him. The entire Root was dressed just like the Rain shinobi.
They wore raincoats and gas masks, and stood among the other Rain shinobi without the slightest difference.
Hanzo watched Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan approach, his heart heavy with conflicting emotions...
Today, he would kill Yahiko with his own hands.
"I never wanted this, but the Demigod of the shinobi world is old now. I can't hold on for much longer. It's all for the Land of Rain. I have no choice but to kill your naive ideals—after all, the future belongs to you. But this necessary sacrifice..."
His expression was dark and uncertain, but his resolve had been honed like a blade on a whetstone, ready to be drawn.
As soon as the three drew near, they dropped to one knee and bowed. "Lord Hanzo!"
Hanzo asked, "Do you know why I asked to meet you here?" As he spoke, he seized the moment when they were completely off guard, flickering forward with a Taijutsu Body Flicker and grabbing Konan before returning to his side.
Hanzo's large hand clamped around the back of Konan's neck, leaving her whole body limp and unable to move.
"Konan!"
Yahiko and Nagato were both stunned.
"We're outside the Land of Rain. I don't want to bring any fighting or conflict into the Land of Rain. Peace is precious here... Peace...
"Do you know how hard it is to achieve? I've devoted all my strength and wisdom, and worked myself to the bone, all for peace in the Land of Rain. So why are you doing this? Why must you let war burn across the land of Rain again?
"Have you forgotten? Forgotten why your parents died? Forgotten that this country has been crying all along?"
"I haven't!" Yahiko cried. "It's precisely because we remember that we're working for peace. We've always been striving for peace!"
Hanzo took out a kunai with his other hand and pressed it against Konan's neck. "Yahiko, make your choice. Cut your own throat, and I'll let her go."
Hanzo had intended to have one last talk with Yahiko, but after hearing what he said, he knew there was no point.
Yahiko looked at Konan, then at Hanzo. Konan wanted to shake her head and tell him not to do it, but she couldn't move even a single muscle.
Hanzo was the greatest martial artist alive. His mastery of the martial arts had reached its peak, and even Mifune was no match for him.
His understanding of the body's muscles and kinetic chains had reached an almost unfathomable level. By grabbing Konan by the neck, he had taken control of the muscles throughout her body, leaving her unable to perform any ninjutsu.
Even the mysterious Paper Ninjutsu was useless now.
Nagato drew his kunai and pointed it at Hanzo. "Let Konan go."
"Not bad..." Few people in the shinobi world dared to draw a weapon on him, and Nagato's courage earned his admiration. But Hanzo's kunai suddenly pierced the skin on Konan's neck, and blood ran down her pale throat. "Yahiko, hurry up, or she'll die."
Yahiko was bewildered and helpless. When Hanzo suddenly looked ready to act, he stopped thinking and threw himself forward, crashing into Nagato's kunai.
"Gah!"
The kunai pierced his chest. He turned his head and used the last of his strength to tell Hanzo, "Let Konan go!"
Nagato's mind exploded, leaving him completely blank. He stared numbly at the kunai in his hand.
The eyes in their sockets twitched instinctively, and an unsettling presence spread. Thick black rods suddenly shot out of the void, like steel bars, piercing Nagato's body. A monster resembling a bare, human-shaped tree stump appeared behind him.
"Roar!"
The monster, about as tall as a four-story building, had nine tightly shut eyes and a hideous appearance. It let out a roar.
Black chains covered its body, connecting to the black rods in Nagato.
"Ah!" Nagato cried out too, his voice filled with pain and anguish. His eyes were full of malice. "Kill... ah!"
Hanzo sensed the danger and flickered away, but the monster's arm suddenly shot out, faster than he could react, and grabbed one of his arms. Hanzo cut off his own arm with a sickle, then flickered away again.
Some Rain shinobi charged forward without fear, but the monster grabbed them one by one and swallowed them whole, leaving not even a bone behind.
"Retreat!"
The Root members had already been given orders. Though the attack was sudden, they immediately pulled back when they saw how dangerous things had become.
Uchiha Kin stayed close to Danzo, desperately squeezing every last bit of chakra from his body.
Flicker!
Flicker!
He flickered again and again!
In this life-or-death moment, he wished he'd been practicing the Body Flicker Technique since he was in the womb. But it was too late to cram, and he was still a little too slow.
But when he looked back, Danzo was following with a grim expression, nearly a hundred meters behind. The other Root members were even worse.
Uchiha Kin understood: his Body Flicker Technique wasn't bad after all. He'd just been running too urgently.
"Uchiha Kin!" Danzo gritted his teeth. How was this kid running so fast? "Have you forgotten your mission?"
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