A Sigh

"Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"

Looking at the enormous monster in the distance, which was as tall as a mountain, Yusuke felt a shock unlike anything he had experienced before.

He had seen gigantic Tailed Beasts and Summoning Beasts on the battlefield, but none of them could compare to the creature before him.

Though it was still some distance away, Yusuke could feel the immense pressure the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path exerted on him.

"So Danzo's been making moves lately to join forces with Hanzo and deal with the Akatsuki before it's fully formed?" Seeing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path appear, Yusuke understood what Danzo and Hanzo had been secretly preparing to do.

Without hesitation, Yusuke immediately picked up speed and headed toward the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

According to the original story, Yahiko was already dead by this point. But Yusuke still clung to a sliver of hope, wishing for a miracle.

Yusuke had always felt great sympathy for Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan. Their dream had been a simple one, but persecution by Hanzo and Danzo had led them down the wrong path. Of course, Yusuke knew that Obito had undoubtedly been fanning the flames from the shadows, too.

There was no time for Yusuke to dwell on it. Before long, he had reached the vicinity of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Standing on a rise, Yusuke saw nine pale blue, translucent dragon-shaped energy forms—or perhaps phantoms—darting back and forth through the valley, hunting the Rain Ninja and Root Organization shinobi there.

Yusuke's gaze quickly settled on Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko, who lay beside them. Yahiko's eyes were wide open, but his chest was still. He was clearly dead.

Yusuke sighed. There was no need for him to interfere in the battle now, so he hid nearby and silently watched the two sides fight in the valley.

The Rain Ninja and Root Organization shinobi on the battlefield attacked the dragon-shaped phantoms with every method at their disposal, but nothing worked. Ninjutsu and physical attacks alike passed straight through them, unable to block them or inflict even the slightest harm.

But when the dragon-shaped phantoms touched a Rain Ninja or a Root Organization shinobi, they pulled a human-shaped energy form, much like a soul, out of their body. Every shinobi struck died on the spot. Not one survived.

The Rain Ninja and Root Organization shinobi had no idea what these dragon-shaped phantoms were, but Yusuke knew. They were the ultimate Sealing Jutsu unleashed through the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path under the Rinnegan's control—Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals!

Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals could extract the soul of any living being they touched and seal it inside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. In the original story, Deva Path Pain had used this technique to extract Tailed Beasts from their Jinchuriki.

In Yusuke's view, this was an even more powerful Sealing Jutsu than Dead Demon Consuming Seal!

Perhaps my Zanpakuto could strike these dragon-shaped phantoms.

Nagato wore a twisted expression as he controlled the dragon-shaped phantoms, reaping the lives of the Rain Ninja and Root Organization shinobi while relentlessly cornering Hanzo and Danzo.

After realizing they were helpless against the dragon-shaped phantoms, Hanzo and Danzo tried to interrupt Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals by attacking Nagato. But every attack was blocked by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path guarding him from behind. They couldn't hurt Nagato at all.

At Danzo's instruction, his trusted subordinate Yamanaka Rei tried to control Nagato with the Mind Body Switch Technique. Unfortunately, the Rinnegan was highly resistant to genjutsu. Yamanaka Rei failed to control Nagato and was instead struck down by the Rinnegan's ability to repel genjutsu, bleeding from every orifice before dying on the spot.

The battlefield was in chaos, and the Rain Ninja and Root Organization had suffered heavy losses. In barely fifteen minutes, they had lost more than half their forces. Even Hanzo and Danzo, both Kage Level experts, had nearly been touched by the dragon-shaped phantoms several times.

Danzo and Hanzo exchanged a glance and decided to retreat at once.

Judging by the situation on the battlefield, they were no match for the Rinnegan. Staying any longer would be pointless, and sooner or later they would lose their own lives.

Nagato's legs were nearly crippled after he had fallen into Hanzo's trap of explosive tags. More than a dozen black metal rods extended from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's chest and pierced his back. The statue had drained so much Chakra from him that his cheeks were deeply sunken, making him look like a severely malnourished drug addict.

As he watched Danzo and Hanzo dodge the dragon-shaped phantoms chasing them, a crazed look spread across Nagato's face. He focused on controlling all nine spiritual dragons, surrounding the two men as they tried to escape.

Unfortunately, both Danzo and Hanzo were Kage Level experts, and they were extremely cunning. They couldn't beat Nagato in a direct fight, but escaping from someone who had lost the ability to move posed little difficulty.

Once the Root Organization and Rain Ninja had all retreated, Nagato severed his connection to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The black metal rods linking his back to the statue snapped, and the enormous statue vanished in a cloud of white smoke without Chakra to sustain it.

At last, this despicable battle of deception came to an end. The drizzle continued to patter from the sky. In the entire valley, nothing remained but the corpses of the fallen and two young people with hollow eyes and despairing expressions.

Realizing they were still in danger, Konan forced herself to pull it together. She used Paper Release to wrap Yahiko's corpse until it resembled a mummy, then helped Nagato, whose Chakra was already dangerously depleted, toward a hidden cave hideout.

Inside the cave, Konan gently set down Yahiko's body and slumped against the rocky wall, tears pouring from her eyes.

Only a day ago, everything had been so wonderful. Yahiko had been alive, standing right before her, full of spirit as he dreamed of the future. But reality had been cruel. Now, all that remained of Yahiko was a cold corpse. Their dream, their future—all of it was gone.

"I was wrong. Yahiko was wrong. The whole world was wrong!" Nagato slammed his fist into the ground. Blood immediately poured from it, but he didn't care.

"There's no such thing as peace. There's no such thing. There's no such thing..." Nagato first screamed hysterically, then his voice grew quieter and quieter, until he was almost whispering to himself.

Just then, faint footsteps suddenly echoed through the cave.

The footsteps drew closer and closer. Someone was clearly approaching them. To the two of them, anyone coming for them now could only mean trouble.

Nagato tried to stand, but his legs were badly injured, and his stamina and Chakra were utterly spent. He fell back down at once, panting and coughing uncontrollably. He had clearly lost the ability to fight.

Konan, who had not been nearly as drained in the battle, immediately stood and positioned herself in front of Nagato, warily watching the cave entrance.

A blurry figure drew nearer, becoming clearer with each step. At last, the person slowly emerged from the shadows at the entrance, and Nagato and Konan saw who had been making the footsteps.

The newcomer appeared to be a boy of fourteen or fifteen, with black hair and handsome features. He wore a standard Konoha shinobi uniform, though his right shoulder was clearly injured, and blood had stained the fabric red.

Yusuke, who had secretly followed them to the cave, calmly looked at the two battered figures before him.

Nagato was bent over, coughing repeatedly, his eyes filled with madness. Yahiko's death had clearly driven him completely over the edge.

Konan watched Yusuke warily, grief in her eyes and resolve in her expression.

Yusuke knew that she was prepared to sacrifice herself to protect Nagato.

So these are the legendary Rinnegan eyes. In a fair fight, I'm still nowhere near his level, am I? Yusuke thought as he looked at Nagato's pale blue eyes, each marked with concentric rings.

When Konan saw Yusuke's gaze settle on Nagato, she immediately tensed. Half her life was already gone. She wouldn't let the other half die here.

"Paper Release: Paper Shuriken!" Konan swiftly formed Hand Seals, and more than a dozen paper shuriken flew toward Yusuke.

Yusuke released his Zanpakuto, Ryujin Jakka. A long blade wreathed in flames appeared in his hand.

He swung it lightly. A slash of flame flashed past, trailing a long tail of fire as it burned every paper shuriken in the air to ash.

Konan had loved origami since childhood and had always invented and practiced Paper Release techniques on her own. This alone showed that she had a real talent for ninjutsu.

Konan had never liked fighting. She had developed Paper Release purely out of interest, and so she had never paid attention to the many weaknesses of her techniques.

If Konan had mastered another type of ninjutsu, her abilities would have let her hold her own against Yusuke for a while. Unfortunately, Paper Release stood no chance against Yusuke, who specialized in fire-based powers.

Seeing how easily Yusuke had countered her technique, Konan looked despairing. She knew she was no match for the boy before her.

Yusuke extinguished the flames on his Zanpakuto and pointed it at Nagato, who looked utterly devastated.

Konan immediately stepped in front of the blade. Nagato struggled to stand and pull her behind him, but he no longer had even a shred of strength left.

"You're after me because I have the Rinnegan. Let her go, and you can do whatever you want with me," Nagato said between gasps.

Konan said nothing. She merely closed her eyes and stubbornly stood in front of Nagato, pressing her chest against the tip of Yusuke's blade.

Yusuke didn't speak, but inwardly he wavered, unsure whether to kill them or let them go.

If Yahiko were still alive and Nagato hadn't gone over the edge, Yusuke would never have harmed them.

But Nagato's state of mind had clearly become twisted. He could become a formidable enemy in the future, and letting him go would leave a grave threat to Yusuke and his village.

The three stood motionless, and no one spoke. The dim cave was utterly silent; even the occasional drops of water falling from the rock walls rang out clearly. It was as if time had stopped.

After a long while, Yusuke's sigh broke the silence. He had made up his mind.

Having reached his decision, Yusuke didn't hesitate. A murderous glint flashed in his eyes as his Zanpakuto swept through the air in a cold arc. A fine head flew into the air.

Nagato's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets at the sight. "No!!!"

Some readers are ruthless, while others are chivalrous and tenderhearted. Half of you are definitely going to be disappointed by the next chapter... (╥╯^╰╥)