The Akatsuki's Rebirth

Yahiko looked at Nagato, who was trembling while clutching a Kunai opposite him, and a bitter smile appeared on his face. Only at this moment did he realize how naive his ideals had been.

Jiraiya-sensei, can mutual understanding between people truly bring about peace... At this moment, Yahiko's heart was filled with confusion.

Forget it. Since things have reached this point, nothing is more important than letting Nagato and Konan survive...

Thinking this, Yahiko looked at Nagato and said in a deep voice, "Nagato, kill me!"

"Yahiko..." The red-haired Nagato revealed only one purple Rinnegan. His hand holding the Kunai trembled incessantly, his face a mask of struggle.

The next moment, with a soft thud, Yahiko used a Body Flicker technique to appear right beside Nagato, and the Kunai in Nagato's hand pierced directly into Yahiko's heart.

Watching Nagato's pupils dilate as his entire body shook uncontrollably, Yahiko managed to pull off a faint smile and whispered, "Nagato, you must live on well with Konan. You are the savior of this world; perhaps you really..."

"Yahiko..." Looking at Yahiko lying on the ground, Nagato's eyes went blank.

Seeing Nagato frozen in place, Hanzo suddenly roared, "Do it!"

As his voice fell, the Amegakure ninjas around him immediately hurled Kunai, Shuriken, and other weapons toward Nagato below.

Accompanied by the sound of air being torn, the cold-glinting Kunai reached Nagato in the blink of an eye.

Subconsciously, Nagato raised his right hand.

An invisible barrier appeared. With the metallic sound of clashing, the thrown weapons shattered and fell to the ground as if they had struck an iron wall.

"That is the Rinnegan..." Hanzo's eyes narrowed slightly as he finally saw the patterns in Nagato's eyes. "As expected, he is no ordinary brat..."

The next moment, Nagato vanished from where he stood and appeared beside Hanzo via Body Flicker.

Hanzo seemed to have anticipated this and immediately used a Body Flicker to retreat.

As Hanzo moved away, the ground where he had been standing rippled, and yellow Explosive Tags surged rapidly toward Nagato, sticking directly to his lower legs.

BOOM!

Following a violent roar and a cloud of smoke, Nagato's lower legs were left a bloody mess, raw flesh exposed.

Seeing this, Hanzo and Danzo waved their hands, and the ninjas around them swarmed toward Nagato like raindrops.

"Summoning Jutsu: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"

Nagato let out a low growl, and the massive humanoid statue tore through the earth. Its giant palms swung out, swatting at the surrounding ninjas like flies.

As the Black Receivers from the statue's body pierced into Nagato, a pale purple Chakra Dragon manifested.

Wherever the Chakra Dragon passed, the soul and chakra of everyone it touched were ripped away, killing them instantly.

Sensing the situation turning dire, Danzo immediately fled the scene with his Root ninjas the moment the statue appeared.

With the manifestation of the Chakra Dragon, the Amegakure ninjas were wiped out on the spot, leaving only the swift-moving Hanzo.

In a corner unnoticed by anyone, Uchiha Obito, wrapped in Tobi, and Black Zetsu were watching everything unfolding below.

"Oh, Nagato has summoned the husk of the Ten-Tails," White Zetsu's slightly comical voice drifted over.

"Madara, Nagato's life force is being drained by the statue. Won't this affect the capture of the Tailed Beast?" Black Zetsu's raspy voice emerged.

"It matters not." Beneath the white spiral mask, Uchiha Obito's lips curled upward. "This is even better. Nagato in this state is easier for me to control."

"But this will surely impact the Tailed Beast capture, won't it? His legs were crippled by Hanzo's Explosive Flame Formation just now," Black Zetsu noted.

"It's fine," Uchiha Obito said indifferently. "I will teach him the Six Paths Technique. When the time comes, he can simply use puppets created by the Six Paths Technique to move about."

Black Zetsu reminded him, "Puppets created by the Six Paths Technique are not the person himself after all. Once the Rinnegan's power is divided, it might not be enough to deal with the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails!"

"No matter." Uchiha Obito's voice was cold and dismissive. "If it comes to it, I will step in myself. Mere Tailed Beast are nothing but livestock in the face of the Mangekyō Sharingan and Wood Release."

"Enough, let's go. Having experienced this, Nagato should finally understand how naive Yahiko's idea of peace through mutual understanding truly was."

Uchiha Obito watched the backs of Nagato and Konan as they departed and said confidently:

"This time, he will not refuse me. I can feel it—the moment Yahiko died, his ideology underwent a fundamental change."

On the other side, Danzo led his Root ninjas on a frantic run for over twenty kilometers.

Seeing that Nagato had not pursued them, he finally ordered his subordinates to stand guard.

Danzo wore his jonin vest, his exposed left eye narrowed with a flash of greed as he spoke: "To think the power of the Rinnegan is this immense, even surpassing the Sharingan and Byakugan. It is truly worthy of being the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths."

Danzo's lieutenant, Aburame Torune, stepped forward wearing dark sunglasses and asked in a low voice, "Danzo-sama, what should we do next?"

Danzo said in a deep voice, "We cannot stay in the Land of Rain any longer. Our goal has been achieved, and this place will surely become even more chaotic. Let Hanzo and Akatsuki tear each other apart."

"Danzo-sama, will Hanzo be defeated by the leader of Akatsuki, who possesses the Rinnegan..." Aburame Torune hinted.

Danzo pondered, "Although Hanzo is old, he is still a figure who stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world, once known as a Demigod. The Sannin title for those three disciples of Tobirama was bestowed by him; he should not be defeated so easily."

"However, the situation in the Land of Rain can be exploited." A cold light flashed in Danzo's left eye as he said coldly, "There are too many geniuses emerging in the Uchiha Clan lately, which makes me feel deeply uneasy."

Aburame Torune realized, "Danzo-sama intends to drive the wolf to devour the tiger?"

"Correct." Danzo nodded. "Tobirama-sensei once said that the Uchiha Clan is a naturally evil clan. They have never been content, and with the emergence of these geniuses, they likely harbor thoughts they shouldn't."

Aburame Torune mused, "But how can we get the experts of the Uchiha Clan to enter the Land of Rain and clash with Hanzo or even Akatsuki?"

"That is easy." Danzo's lips curled up. "As long as the Third is still Hokage, this matter is simple to resolve."

Seeing that Danzo had no intention of explaining further, Aburame Torune did not press the issue.

As Danzo's lieutenant, he knew his master's character well.

There were some things that even he, as a lieutenant, was not qualified to know.

If Danzo did not explain, it meant the matter involved certain secrets, most likely related to the Third Hokage.