Nagato Appears: The Choice of Samsara of Heavenly Life

The smoke and dust from the Six Paths of Pain's defeat had yet to clear when a suffocating surge of chakra swept in from the distance. Amid the Gedo Statue's roars, a gaunt red-haired man slowly approached in a specially made mechanical wheelchair.

Black chakra rods covered his back, and his pale skin clung tight to his bones. Only those Rinnegan still shone with a heart-stopping light.

"Nagato..." Jiraiya's voice carried pain he could not hide. "How did you become like this..."

Nagato's gaze swept over the devastated Hidden Leaf Village before finally stopping on Jiraiya. "Teacher, it has been a long time."

His voice was weak yet firm, every word seeming to drain all the strength from his body. "This world, so full of pain, has reached the time for change."

Ling watched Nagato warily as the system's analysis data raced through his mind:

[Target: Nagato (Uzumaki Clan)]

[Status: life force severely overdrawn, relying on the Gedo Statue to sustain life]

[Abilities: full capabilities of the Rinnegan, proficient in all mainstream ninjutsu]

[Weakness: true body is extremely fragile]

"Change means destroying the entire Hidden Leaf Village?" Tsunade glared at Nagato. "Do you know how many innocent people died in this disaster?"

Nagato began coughing violently, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. "Only after experiencing the same pain can people understand one another... This is the only path to peace."

"Absurd!" Jiraiya stepped forward. "What about Yahiko and Konan? Would they agree with what you're doing?"

At those two names, a ripple flashed through Nagato's eyes, but they soon returned to a deathly stillness. "Yahiko is already dead... He died in a so-called 'peace negotiation.' This hypocritical world is not worth treating gently."

Just then, the system alarm suddenly rang out:

[Gedo Statue rampage detected]

[Ten-Tails revival countdown: 10 minutes]

The Gedo Statue let out an earth-shaking roar and began frantically absorbing natural energy. A massive vortex cloud appeared in the sky, and even the rubble across the battlefield trembled faintly.

"No time to argue!" Ling shouted, already throwing his Flying Thunder God kunai. "We have to stop the Ten-Tails from reviving!"

But his figure was blocked in midair by an invisible force. Nagato raised his withered arm. "It's useless... This is the destined outcome."

"Rinnegan: Planetary Devastation!"

A black sphere appeared in the sky, and a powerful gravitational pull began dragging everything on the ground upward. Building wreckage, trees, even the bodies of fallen ninja were sucked into the air.

"Everyone, get out of the way!" Kakashi hurriedly directed the others to take cover.

Ling struggled to keep his balance within the gravitational field, his Sharingan fixed on the black sphere in the air. "We have to destroy that core..."

"Leave it to me!"

Naruto had awakened at some point, and under Tsunade's treatment, he had barely regained the ability to move. He brought his hands together, sage chakra surging around him. "Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"

The enormous shuriken howled toward the core of Planetary Devastation, but when it was still several meters from the black sphere, the gravity tore it apart.

"Ordinary ninjutsu is useless," Nagato said flatly. "Before the power of the Rinnegan, all your efforts are in vain."

A thought suddenly flashed through Ling's mind. He turned to Naruto. "Lend me your chakra!"

Under everyone's astonished gazes, Ling pressed his hand to Naruto's back. The Nine-Tails' chakra resonated strangely with his Lightning Release, and under the system's precise control, the two forces fused perfectly.

"This is..." Naruto's eyes widened as he felt unprecedented power surging through his body.

Brilliant light burst from Ling's Sharingan, and the double-tomoe pattern began evolving toward three tomoe. At the brink of life and death, he had finally broken through the last bottleneck.

"Flying Thunder God: Triple Step Modified!"

This teleportation left a golden trail behind. Ling's figure moved through the gravitational field as nimbly as a swimming fish. Three specially made Flying Thunder God kunai shot toward Planetary Devastation in a triangular formation, each kunai condensed with the Nine-Tails' chakra.

"Now!"

The instant the three kunai struck the core at the same time, Ling finished forming seals. "Sealing Jutsu: Four Symbols Reincarnation!"

This was a technique he had created himself by combining the Four Symbols Seal with the principles of the Rinnegan. Four enormous sealing arrays unfolded in the air, temporarily suppressing Planetary Devastation's gravity.

"How is that possible..." For the first time, Nagato showed a shocked expression. "You can actually interfere with the Rinnegan's ability..."

But Ling's condition was far from good. Forcibly using an incomplete technique had nearly exhausted his chakra, and his Sharingan was bleeding nonstop from overuse.

"Ling!" Tsunade hurried forward to treat him, the chakra of the Strength of a Hundred Technique pouring continuously into his body.

Just then, an unexpected figure appeared behind Nagato.

"Stop, Nagato."

Konan slowly descended like a sheet of paper, holding an old, worn book in her hands. It was The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, which Jiraiya had left them years ago.

"Yahiko's dream wasn't to create even more pain..." Konan's voice was choked with sobs. "What he wanted was to create a world where children would no longer cry..."

Nagato took the book with trembling hands, his withered fingers stroking its pages. Memories flooded his mind like a tide: that little house in the Hidden Rain Village where rain never stopped falling, three children depending on one another for survival, and that dream of believing people could understand one another...

"What... What have I done..." Nagato's tears finally spilled from his eyes.

He raised his head, a resolute light flickering in his Rinnegan. "Perhaps... there is still a chance to make things right..."

Under everyone's shocked gazes, Nagato began forming seals. It was the Rinnegan's ultimate forbidden technique—

"Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique!"

Dazzling white light enveloped the entire battlefield, and a miracle occurred. The Hidden Leaf Village ninja who had died in battle actually woke up one after another. Collapsed buildings began restoring themselves, and the cracks in the earth slowly healed...

But Nagato's life was also draining away at a speed visible to the naked eye. When the last dead person was revived, his breath was already as faint as a thread.

"I'm sorry... Yahiko... Konan..." Nagato used the last of his strength to smile. "I finally... did the right thing..."

As Nagato passed away, the Gedo Statue's roars gradually subsided. The Ten-Tails' revival process was forcibly interrupted, and the vortex clouds in the sky also began to disperse.

Konan held Nagato's body, tears sliding down in silence. Jiraiya walked forward silently and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Ling looked at this tragic and heroic scene, a storm of emotions churning in his heart. The system prompt sounded beside his ear:

[Main quest updated: stop the Ten-Tails' revival (completed)]

[Reward: Rinnegan analysis data (incomplete)]

[New quest: face the approaching final crisis]

Just as everyone let out a breath of relief over this bitter victory, Ling's Sharingan suddenly caught a familiar spatial fluctuation in the distance.

Obito, wearing a spiral mask, was standing atop the statue in the Valley of the End, coldly watching it all.

The true mastermind behind the scenes was finally about to appear.

(The end of chapter forty-seven)