Meanwhile, far away at the Amegakure Tower...
Ning Feng was looking solemnly at the well-preserved corpse before him.
The corpse belonged to Nagato, red-haired and dressed in Amegakure clothing, but his eyes were now nothing but deep, dark hollows.
"Nagato... he couldn't rest in peace even in death."
Seeing his old friend's corpse so broken, Yahiko was deeply pained as well.
If only he had noticed sooner, or been more decisive when stopping Madara Uchiha...
Perhaps Nagato wouldn't have had to die.
"It's already happened. There's no point talking about that now."
Ning Feng stepped forward and sighed softly. "I bear some responsibility for this too."
His failure to protect his subordinate had, in truth, also been an oversight on Ning Feng's part.
He hadn't expected Madara Uchiha to take such a desperate gamble, using Nagato to revive himself before taking his Rinnegan.
It had all happened so quickly that by the time Ning Feng reacted, it was already too late.
All that remained for him was Nagato's ice-cold corpse.
"Lord Feng, you must still have some way, don't you?"
Konan, who had been staring at Nagato's corpse with tears beginning to streak her face, happened to catch sight of Ning Feng's calm expression and hurriedly asked in a trembling voice.
"A way? There is one, but now... isn't the time to use it yet."
Looking at a ninjutsu displayed in his system's prompt, Ning Feng gave a troubled smile.
Having supported one another as they grew up in the Land of Rain, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan had long shared a bond that went beyond close friendship.
Even though Konan had now secretly given her heart to Ning Feng, that did nothing to stop her worrying about Nagato, her dearest companion.
The state in which Nagato had died also filled