Yahiko looked at Nagato, who stood opposite him, clutching a kunai and trembling. A bitter smile crossed his face. Only now did he realize how naïve his ideals had been.
"Teacher Jiraiya, can people really achieve peace by understanding one another...?" At that moment, Yahiko was filled with doubt.
Forget it. Now that things have come to this, nothing matters more than making sure Nagato and Konan survive...
With that thought, Yahiko looked at Nagato and said in a low voice, "Nagato, kill me!"
"Yahiko..." Nagato's red hair framed a face with only one visible purple Rinnegan. His hand shook around the kunai, his expression full of turmoil.
The next moment, a sharp thwack rang out. Yahiko used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Nagato, and the kunai in Nagato's hand plunged straight into Yahiko's heart.
Looking at Nagato, whose eyes had widened and whose whole body was trembling, Yahiko struggled to summon a faint smile. His voice was weak as he said, "Nagato, you and Konan have to live well. You're the savior of this world. Maybe you really can..."
"Yahiko..." Nagato stared blankly at Yahiko lying on the ground.
Seeing Nagato frozen in place, Hanzo roared, "Attack!"
At his command, the Amegakure ninja around him hurled kunai, shuriken, and other weapons at Nagato below.
With a sharp whistling sound, the glinting kunai reached Nagato in the blink of an eye.
Nagato instinctively raised his right hand.
An invisible barrier appeared. Metal rang out, and the thrown weapons shattered against it as if they had struck a steel wall.
"So those are the Rinnegan..." Hanzo narrowed his eyes, finally making out the markings in Nagato's eyes. "He's no ordinary brat..."
The next moment, Nagato vanished from where he stood and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Hanzo.
As if he had expected it, Hanzo immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to get away.
As Hanzo left, the ground where he had stood began to writhe. One yellow Explosive Tag after another shot toward Nagato, sticking to his lower legs.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion rang out. When the smoke cleared, Nagato's lower legs were bright red, with raw flesh exposed.
At the sight, Hanzo and Danzo immediately waved their hands, sending the ninja around them charging at Nagato like raindrops.
"Summoning Jutsu: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
Nagato gave a low shout. A gigantic humanoid statue burst through the earth, swinging its huge hands and swatting the surrounding ninja like flies.
Black Receivers pierced Nagato's body from the statue, and a pale purple Chakra Dragon appeared.
Wherever the Chakra Dragon passed, it ripped the soul and chakra from everyone it touched, killing them on the spot.
The moment the Demonic Statue appeared, Danzo realized the situation was dire and led his Root ninja away.
With the Chakra Dragon's arrival, the Amegakure ninja were almost entirely wiped out. Only Hanzo remained, thanks to his exceptional speed with the Body Flicker Technique.
In an unnoticed corner, Uchiha Obito, wrapped in Tobi, and Zetsu watched everything unfolding below.
"Wow, Nagato summoned the Ten-Tails' husk!" White Zetsu said in his comically exaggerated voice.
"Lord Madara, the Demonic Statue is draining Nagato's life force. Won't that interfere with capturing the Tailed Beasts?" Black Zetsu asked hoarsely.
"It's fine." Beneath the white spiral mask, Uchiha Obito's lips curved upward. "This is even better. Nagato will be easier to control in this state."
"But it'll still affect capturing the Tailed Beasts, won't it? Hanzo's Explosive Flame Formation just blew his legs to pieces," Black Zetsu said.
"It doesn't matter," Uchiha Obito replied coolly. "I'll teach him the Six Paths Technique. He can use the puppets it creates to get around."
Black Zetsu warned him, "The puppets created by the Six Paths Technique aren't the real person. Once the Rinnegan's abilities are divided among them, they may not be able to handle the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails!"
"It's fine." Uchiha Obito's voice was indifferent and contemptuous. "I can step in if I have to. The Tailed Beasts are mere animals before the Mangekyō Sharingan and Wood Release."
"All right, let's go. After what happened, Nagato should understand just how naïve Yahiko's idea was—that peace could be achieved simply by people understanding one another."
Uchiha Obito watched Nagato and Konan leave and spoke with confidence.
"This time, he won't refuse me again. I can feel it—Yahiko's death fundamentally changed Nagato's thinking."
Meanwhile, Danzo and his Root ninja ran all the way to a place more than twenty kilometers away.
Only after confirming that Nagato hadn't pursued them did he order his subordinates to stand guard.
Danzo wore a Jonin flak jacket. His exposed left eye narrowed, and a flash of greed crossed his face. "I never imagined the Rinnegan would be so powerful—stronger even than the Sharingan and Byakugan. As expected of the eyes of the legendary Sage of Six Paths."
Danzo's second-in-command, Aburame Ryoma, approached in dark sunglasses and asked quietly, "Lord Danzo, what should we do now?"
"We can't stay in the Land of Rain any longer. We've more or less achieved our goal, and things here are bound to get even more chaotic. Let Hanzo and the Akatsuki tear each other apart."
"Lord Danzo, could Hanzo be defeated by the Akatsuki leader, who possesses the Rinnegan...?" Aburame Ryoma said pointedly.
Danzo considered this before replying, "Hanzo may be old, but he was once a man who stood at the pinnacle of the ninja world. He was even called the Demigod. He was the one who gave Hiruzen's three students the title of Sannin. He won't be defeated easily."
"But the situation in the Land of Rain could still be useful to us." A cold glint flashed in Danzo's left eye. "Too many geniuses have emerged among the Uchiha Clan lately. It makes me uneasy."
Aburame Ryoma understood. "You want to use one enemy to deal with another, Lord Danzo?"
"Exactly." Danzo nodded. "Teacher Tobirama said that the Uchiha Clan is a naturally evil clan. They've always been troublesome, and now that so many of their geniuses are emerging, I suspect some of them have begun harboring dangerous ideas."
Aburame Ryoma thought it over. "But how can we get the Uchiha Clan's strong fighters to enter the Land of Rain and clash with Hanzo, or even the Akatsuki?"
"That's easy." Danzo's lips curved upward. "As long as Hiruzen is still Hokage, this will be easy to arrange."
Seeing that Danzo had no intention of explaining, Aburame Ryoma didn't press him.
As Danzo's second-in-command, he knew his personality well.
There were things even he had no right to know, despite being Danzo's right hand.
If Danzo didn't explain, it meant the matter involved some secret—and it was highly likely to have something to do with the Third Hokage.
Before you continue