Yahiko's Death, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!

Land of Rain.

In the rain, atop a high platform in a desolate wilderness devoid of people.

A rather strange group stood divided into two sides. On one side were Amegakure Ninja; on the other stood masked Konoha Members.

At the front of both groups stood Hanzo and Shimura Danzō.

Hanzo held the life of a blue-haired woman in his hands. She was Konan, one of the Akatsuki Organization's three core members!

Hanzo held Konan hostage as he looked down at Nagato and Yahiko, the only remaining Akatsuki Organization members below.

That was right. The Akatsuki Organization had been ambushed at the location where they had agreed to hold talks. Konan had been captured alive by Hanzo, while Nagato and Yahiko had survived.

But the other, weaker members had not been so fortunate.

"To me, your organization is far too much of an eyesore!" Hanzo looked down coldly at the gritting Nagato and Yahiko. "Yahiko, as the Leader, you must die here!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a kunai and tossed it before Yahiko and Nagato.

"If you dare resist, this woman dies!"

Yahiko and Nagato stared at the kunai embedded in the ground, gritting their teeth as they struggled.

"You there, red-haired guy. Use this kunai to kill Yahiko! Then I'll spare you and this woman!" Hanzo said coldly again when neither of them moved.

"Stop! Nagato, don't worry about me! You two, run!" Konan roared under Hanzo's control.

"Nagato."

Yahiko suddenly called out. Then he turned to Nagato, his face becoming strangely calm as he spoke beneath Nagato's disbelieving gaze.

"Kill me."

Nagato's eyes widened as he stared at Yahiko, gasping for breath. Though he was not tired, he felt as though a thousand pounds weighed upon him.

"Nagato!" Yahiko shouted.

"Stop!" Konan cried.

"Hurry up! Does it not matter if this woman dies?!" Hanzo urged again.

Under pressure from every side, Nagato trembled as he stepped forward. Each step seemed as though he might collapse, yet he eventually picked up the kunai and held it as he looked at the weeping Konan atop the platform.

"Konan..."

Then, the moment he turned to look at Yahiko, he saw only a figure rush into his arms before he could react. At the same time, the sound of a kunai piercing flesh reached his ears.

"Yah... iko?"

Nagato stared in disbelief at Yahiko, who had rushed into his arms and been pierced through the heart by the kunai.

Blood continuously spilled from Yahiko's mouth, yet he smiled. "Live, no matter what, together with Konan! You are this world's Savior. You can definitely..."

Before he could finish, Yahiko finally fell to the ground and never moved again.

"Yahiko!!" Konan cried out in unbearable grief. Hanzo's restraint over her finally vanished, and she dropped to her knees, weeping for Yahiko.

A smile quietly appeared beneath Hanzo's gas mask. But he had never intended to spare Konan and Nagato. He had only done this because he feared that Yahiko, as the Akatsuki Organization's Leader, would fight desperately when cornered.

If Yahiko escaped, his strength would pose far too great a threat to the Amegakure Ninja and Hanzo's rule!

But now Yahiko was finally dead. Hanzo did not care about Konan; she was merely a woman he could kill at will. Even if her restraints had been released, it made no difference. Now, what he needed to do was...

"Attack!"

At Hanzo's command, the Amegakure Ninja atop the platform began hurling ninja tools at Nagato.

In an instant, a sky-filling barrage of ninja tools blanketed the space above Nagato. An ordinary ninja would have almost no chance of surviving such an airtight assault.

But this was Nagato, wielder of the Rinnegan!

As if he had finally let go of everything, Nagato's eyes widened. He raised a hand, and in an instant, all the ninja tools seemed to strike an invisible obstacle and were blasted away.

Shimura Danzō narrowed his eyes at the sight. He had only come as Konoha's representative for the "reconciliation" talks; there was no need for him to involve himself in this matter.

With that thought, Shimura Danzō withdrew with Root.

Unfortunately, even now, he had not clearly seen Nagato's eyes. If he had truly seen those Rinnegan, perhaps he would not have chosen to leave at this moment.

After deflecting the ninja tools, Nagato gathered an enormous amount of chakra in his feet and launched himself toward Hanzo, intending to save Konan.

Naturally, he did so because Hanzo had released Konan, and because Hanzo had already broken their agreement. Even if Nagato did not charge forward, Hanzo would never spare Konan. He might as well try.

Seeing Nagato rush over, Hanzo retreated. It was not that he lacked the time to kill Konan before Nagato reached him, but rather...

The instant Nagato charged forward, Hanzo formed hand seals.

In an instant, the Explosive Tags around Konan—hidden in the ground and colored the same as the earth—activated. They surged toward Konan and Nagato, quickly wrapping around Nagato's legs.

Hanzo smiled as he watched. Naturally, he had anticipated this possibility, so he had prepared a countermeasure beforehand.

Boom!

It was the sound of Explosive Tags detonating. There were so many that more than half the platform was blown away.

Hit directly by such an explosion at close range, even a Kage-level ninja might perish.

After all, ninja—even Kage-level ninja—were mostly high in offense and low in defense. Their defenses were insufficient against explosions of excessive power.

However, Hanzo had underestimated Nagato—and even more so, the Rinnegan.

Nagato could not stop his wrapped legs from being destroyed by the explosion, but he protected both himself and Konan from everything else.

When the smoke cleared, Konan was completely unharmed, while Nagato's legs had been ruined.

"To survive after being struck by my Fire Style..." Hanzo was utterly astonished. Then he saw Nagato's eyes, no longer concealed and opened wide.

"Those eyes!"

Nagato had gone mad. His mind and thoughts were spiraling out of control, and the ninjutsu he had once been unable to use no longer gave him any hesitation.

Even Konan, who stood beside him and did not want him to use it, could not stop him!

Summoning Technique—Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!

In an instant, a colossal demonic statue dozens of meters tall emerged from the ground behind Nagato. Its enormous palm, over ten meters wide, sent every approaching Amegakure Ninja flying!

"That is..." Both Hanzo and Konan were shocked. Konan had evidently thought of something and wanted to stop Nagato from continuing.

But the mad Nagato ignored everything and roared. Several pitch-black Black Receivers surged from the statue and pierced into Nagato's body through his back.

Nagato paid them no heed. Through the Black Receivers embedded in his body, the terrifying volume of chakra within him flowed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

That immense chakra finally activated the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. From its mouth, it spat out a chakra dragon that charged toward the Amegakure Ninja.

The dragon was unstoppable. Whoever it touched died. After slaughtering every Amegakure Ninja, it charged toward Hanzo once more!

"So you are the true Leader hiding in the shadows. To possess the Rinnegan—how surprising!"

Hanzo spoke calmly, formed hand seals, and escaped with the Body Flicker Technique. Even as the Demigod, he had no desire to clash head-on with the Rinnegan.

Having slaughtered the Amegakure Ninja and driven Hanzo away, Nagato should have cut off his chakra transmission. After all, every moment that dragon remained was draining his body dry.

However, he did not choose to dismiss it. Instead, he controlled the dragon and sent it charging in one direction.

There stood someone who had long been hiding there.

It was none other than Minamoto Takuya!