Dawn's Rebirth (Part 1)

"Tomorrow, Yahiko and Nagato will go to meet Salamander Hanzo."

"Are you sure, Big Brother? We should go with you..."

Jusuke and the other members of Akatsuki were worried. It was hard to guarantee the safety of Yahiko and Nagato if only the two of them went to meet Salamander Hanzo, but Yahiko flatly rejected everyone's "request to follow."

He believed that Akatsuki needed to show sincerity and not frighten their dear Salamander Hanzo.

"By the way, where is Konan?"

Scanning the surroundings, he saw only the familiar faces of his companions, but Konan was nowhere to be seen. Yahiko asked in confusion.

"She rushed to patrol the Seventh District. It's said that someone recently spotted ninjas from other villages wearing black clothes in that area. She won't be back until tomorrow morning."

"Is that so... It's rare to encounter such a good thing today..."

"Anyway, Akatsuki has taken an important step today. Everyone, forget everything and have a good rest!"

Seventh District--

In the ruins filled with smoke, Konan was patrolling the surroundings as usual. She had been quite cautious and careful until... she saw corpses lying in the puddles.

Konan immediately stepped forward and checked the pulses of the bodies with her fingers. After confirming that the fallen had no signs of life, she muttered to herself, "Who did this..."

Just as she was puzzled, the corpses behind her suddenly began to swell and expand. Immediately after, the one in front of her burst, and a large amount of purple smoke erupted with a cracking sound.

"Oh no!"

Although Konan jumped back to dodge at the first moment, she still inevitably inhaled some of the gas. She immediately felt her limbs go weak and her vision blur, and finally, her eyelids grew heavy as she collapsed.

"We've caught a hostage..."

Before her consciousness blurred and dissipated completely, Konan struggled to lift her head and saw the faces of the newcomers. They were... two Rain Ninja wearing gas masks...

--Splash!

Ninja shoes stepped into a puddle, splashing muddy water. In a valley on the outskirts of Amegakure, Yahiko and Nagato arrived full of anticipation, yet what greeted them was betrayal...

"Salamander Hanzo! Didn't you claim you would lead us toward peace?! Why! Why are you doing this?!"

Standing on the high ground holding Konan hostage was none other than the leader of Amegakure, who had reached a cooperative relationship with Akatsuki just yesterday—"Salamander Hanzo."

Yahiko questioned him with all his might; he truly could not understand why Salamander Hanzo was doing this.

Salamander Hanzo lowered his head to look at the few people who were as weak as insects in his eyes but already had the momentum to affect his rule, and said coldly, "To me, you are all too much of a nuisance."

"Yahiko, as the leader, you should just die here."

"If you dare to resist, this woman will lose her life!"

Gripping Konan's hands tightly until they left marks, Salamander Hanzo threw a Kunai down, which pierced deep into the ground. There was no mercy in his eyes: "You red-haired guy over there, use this to kill Yahiko. If you do, I will let you and this woman go."

Facing the sudden betrayal, Nagato slowly raised his head. His red hair was soaked by the rain and stuck to his face. His Rinnegan trembled slightly as he stared straight at Salamander Hanzo and Konan. A strong sense of helplessness and immense pressure made him feel suffocated. He gripped the Kunai and gasped for air, not knowing what to do.

"Stop! Nagato! Forget about me! Both of you, run!"

Konan's gentle voice sounded like noisy tinnitus at this moment, stinging Nagato's nerves. It was only under Yahiko's shouting that he managed to regain his senses with difficulty.

"Nagato, kill me..."

Yahiko spoke in a calm tone that made Nagato's heart tremble incessantly. Recalling his own vow to protect Yahiko and Konan, his hand trembled involuntarily.

"Konan..."

"Yahiko..."

Rain washed over his long hair, and Nagato's vision gradually blurred. Just as he didn't know how to choose, a warm sensation came from the hand holding the Kunai.

It wasn't rain... but Yahiko's blood. Even before he fell completely, he still had a smile on his face. The whisper, "You and Konan... must live no matter what," pierced into Nagato's ears, and immediately after, Yahiko's body fell to the ground.

"Yahiko!!!"

Witnessing the death of his best friend, Konan's heart shattered completely at this moment. It was not just the pain of losing her best friend, but also the despair of seeing their ideal of peace destroyed. Her gentle voice was no longer the same; her heart-wrenching scream shattered Nagato's "dream of protecting them both."

Konan's legs went limp involuntarily, and she knelt on the ground. Salamander Hanzo's cold voice sounded again: "Do it!"

Thousands of Kunai, Senbon, and Shuriken poured down like rain, attacking Nagato.

From the very beginning, Salamander Hanzo had decided to root out Akatsuki. It wasn't just Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan present; after they died, Salamander Hanzo would also use fabricated reasons to frame Akatsuki with "treason" and "sedition." He wanted to completely strangle Akatsuki and make them objects of scorn for everyone in the Land of Rain!

"Ahhhhhhh!!!"

Nagato only felt that he was in hell, and the whole world was spinning. Yahiko lay in a pool of blood at his feet, and Konan was covering her eyes and crying, trying to escape reality.

The Rinnegan erupted with unprecedented purple light amidst his roar. The red hair that had covered his eyes and forehead for years was blown back, followed by a powerful blast of air.

The invisible air wave spread forward, knocking down all the incoming ninja tools. While the Rain Ninja exclaimed, "How did he do that?!", Nagato had already jumped to a high place, looking at Salamander Hanzo at eye level, the pressure of the Rinnegan focused in his eyes.

"Water Flicker Technique!" Without any hesitation, Salamander Hanzo formed seals with one hand and dissipated into a pool of water vapor, hiding completely in the rain, and then slapped the ground to trigger all the pre-arranged Explosive Tag traps simultaneously.

Nagato picked up Konan, who had cried until she was exhausted. He had no intention of dodging, only looking silently at the Explosive Tags that had attached to his legs and ignited sparks.

"Fire Style: Explosive Flame Formation!"

The Explosive Tags that were about to burn out and trigger an explosion did not explode according to Salamander Hanzo's intentions. Instead, after a "whoosh" sound of breaking air, they scattered in all directions, causing a series of useless explosions.

"Is that! The power of the Rinnegan?!"

As the dust from the Explosive Flame Formation settled, that immense repulsive force instantly leveled the surrounding peaks to the ground. Operating on the principle that "if you've already offended them, you must see it through to the end," Hanzo raised his Kusarigama and issued the order:

"Attack, all of you!"

At Hanzo's command, the Rain Ninja lying in ambush around the valley and the Root members brought by Danzo swarmed forward, swinging their long blades toward Nagato.

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

With its nine eyes covered by white cloth, its body gargantuan, its skin textured like withered wood, and ten pillar-like protrusions jutting from its back, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path tore through the earth, bursting from the ground to let out a roar toward the sky.

With a mere swing of its arm, its massive palm swatted the ninjas in mid-air away as if they were nothing more than mosquitoes.

Yet it was not over; several thick, long black rods extended from the abdomen of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, branching out like tree limbs before finally plunging into Nagato's body.

"Nagato! You can't use that!"

Nagato was already blinded by rage. Ignoring Konan's desperate attempts to stop him, he allowed the black rods extending from the abdomen of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to drain his chakra and life force.

"AAAAAHHH!!!"