Brook could clearly feel the terrifying power flowing from the Rinnegan.
It was one of the divine powers once belonging to Hirasaka, the God of Northern Underworld.
At last, he had gotten his hands on a real bargain.
Of course, the Rinnegan was still covered in all kinds of seals and messy restrictions. Those were likely the shackles and backup measures Uchiha Madara had left behind.
But that was not a serious problem.
Brook could undo them slowly.
By the time he finished, even if Uchiha Madara came back to life, he would never be able to take these eyes back.
Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and the other Akatsuki members quickly moved behind Brook and stared at Hanzo with vigilance.
After all, Hanzo was still known as the demigod of the ninja world, and he still had so many Rain ninja with him.
No one knew whether this mysterious strong man could really stop Hanzo, the ruler of Amegakure.
"Me?" Brook grinned. "You can call me Lord Death."
"The disciple I just accepted said he wants to kill you and take your eyes."
"So tell me, are you ready to die?"
Brook had only just obtained the Rinnegan, and he was already eager to test its abilities.
To be honest, Hanzo's corpse seemed like it would make a very fitting body for one of the Six Paths of Pain. After all, he was still a famous demigod of the ninja world.
Once that body was brought out in the future, it would be enough to scare an entire generation of ninja.
"You want to stand against Amegakure?" Hanzo shouted angrily. "Even if you are Kage level, you cannot stop so many of our ninja!"
Hanzo still had not forgotten the kick Brook had just used on him, but he refused to believe that a single man could crush the full force of Amegakure.
No matter how much pressure this so called Lord Death gave him, Hanzo was not willing to sit there and wait for death.
Off to the side, Obito saw Hanzo preparing to clash with the mysterious man who had stolen the Rinnegan, so he immediately retreated into Kamui space and vanished again.
He was clearly preparing to reap the benefits later.
"Hahaha!!"
"Numbers mean nothing in front of me!"
Brook threw his arms wide and laughed toward the sky.
Then his Conqueror's Haki erupted.
Red lightning burst from him in all directions. His cloak and black hair whipped violently in the wind. The ground trembled. The air screamed. Even space itself seemed to shudder under that pressure.
Black Zetsu, hidden in the dark, was so frightened that it immediately burrowed underground.
Even Obito, already inside Kamui space, was shocked rigid.
Was that really just pure presence?
Not some special ninjutsu?
The Rain ninja all looked at the terrifying "Lord Death" in horror.
The genin and chunin rolled their eyes and collapsed one after another. Even the jonin could barely endure it, as if endless pressure were crushing down on their minds and bodies.
At that moment, even Hanzo of the Salamander, the so called demigod of the ninja world, looked pale, as if he had finally met a real god.
Even his summoned beast, the giant salamander Ibuse beneath him, began trembling violently. Its eyes slowly rolled back, and in the end it was forced to disperse into a cloud of white smoke before it could do anything at all.
Nagato, Yahiko, Konan, and the others standing behind Brook could only watch in stunned silence.
They felt no pressure themselves.
But seeing the Rain ninja collapse one after another made them understand just how terrifying the Death God before them truly was.
Even Hanzo, the demigod of the ninja world, could only endure that aura with difficulty.
And Ibuse, Hanzo's most troublesome poisonous summon, had been forced out of existence before it even had the chance to act.
What kind of power was this?
Nagato stared at this "cheap teacher" who felt like a true god, and for the first time he felt that he had truly found an overwhelming pillar to rely on.
At that moment, he completely accepted this teacher in his heart.
This man was a hundred times stronger than Jiraiya.
He lowered his head and touched the eyes Brook had temporarily transplanted into him, and a sudden thought flashed through him.
Weren't his teacher's eyes far better than Hanzo's?
He no longer wanted Hanzo's eyes.
He wanted the Death God's eyes.
Konan, meanwhile, now had stars in her eyes as she looked at Brook.
He was too powerful.
Too overwhelming.
Standing behind him felt unbelievably safe.
Yahiko also stared at "Lord Death" with longing.
If someone like this wanted to, he really could create peace.
Especially now that he had obtained the Rinnegan, he seemed like a true god of the new era.
Perhaps Lord Death was already comparable to the legendary Sage of Six Paths.
If he were willing to help Akatsuki, then wouldn't world peace truly be within reach?
··
The Conqueror's Haki gradually faded, leaving behind a battlefield covered in fallen Rain ninja.
"Well, Hanzo?" Brook chuckled. "How many men do you still have left?"
Then he slowly raised one hand and looked at the frightened Hanzo.
[Universal Pull]!!
A huge gravitational force burst out instantly.
Even Hanzo, a Kage level fighter, was dragged forward by that sudden attraction and could not break free.
"A ninjutsu with no hand seals! And this powerful!"
Yahiko and the others behind Brook spoke in amazement.
This Death God teacher could stun enemies with nothing but his aura, and now he could use techniques without even forming seals.
It was absurdly cool.
"He can wield the Rinnegan's power so easily, and his body can withstand its monstrous drain. Could he be from the Senju clan?"
Black Zetsu, buried beneath the ground, was shaken to the core.
Nagato had carried the Rinnegan for years and had still never been able to use much of its power.
Black Zetsu had originally planned to let Obito and Madara "educate" Nagato and shape him into the right tool.
But now, just after Madara's death, the Rinnegan had been stolen.
At this moment, Black Zetsu felt deeply frustrated.
He no longer knew how to approach this "Lord Death," let alone how to draw him into the Eye of the Moon Plan or take the Rinnegan back later.
Judging by the black hair of this "Lord Death," he was clearly not an Uzumaki.
He was most likely a descendant of Hashirama Senju's line, after all, the Senju had stronger life force and physical endurance than the Uzumaki.
Right now, Black Zetsu knew absolutely nothing about this man.
He had no idea how to deceive him, no idea how to lure him into the plan, and no idea how to reclaim the Rinnegan.
Back on the battlefield, Hanzo was being dragged helplessly through the air by Brook's gravity.
In desperation, he swung his chain sickle straight at him.
"You are strong!" Hanzo shouted. "I will acknowledge you as the new god of the ninja world!"
"I will never target Akatsuki again! Let's stop today!"
"A man as strong as you should go challenge the Five Great Nations, not bully a small village like ours!"
Seeing himself dragged closer and closer, Hanzo tried desperately to negotiate.
He was truly afraid now.
This "Lord Death" was the strongest person he had ever faced.
[Shinra Tensei]!!
Brook casually blasted Hanzo's chain sickle away, then seized Hanzo himself with one hand.
"Don't force me!" Hanzo roared in panic. "I carry a salamander poison sac inside my body! If it ruptures, we'll both die!"
He had already seen the naked killing intent in Brook's eyes.
"That's even better," Brook said with a grin. "I can turn you into one of my Asura Paths."
"And maybe I'll even fit you with poison gas weapons like Quinn or Caesar."
Then Brook struck.
[Human Path: Soul Extraction]!!
[Shiki Fuujin: Hell God Jin Form]!!
The moment he moved, he used both the Rinnegan's supreme soul technique and the terrifying power of his own original form together.
At that level, even the Kage of the Five Great Nations would have no choice but to kneel.
----------
Under the pull of the Rinnegan's gravitational force, Hanzo of the Salamander tried again and again to escape with his Water Body Flicker Technique.
But Brook had no intention of letting him slip away with the same trick twice.
The moment [Shiki Fuujin] appeared, Hanzo's soul was locked in place. From then on, escape became impossible.
Unless he was stronger than the Hell God Jin form itself.
Despair flashed across Hanzo's face, then twisted into madness.
He wanted to detonate the salamander poison sac within his body and drag this so called Death God down with him.
But before he could even send the command to his own body, the Human Path's Chakra Dragon and the Hell God Jin's soul hand had already torn his soul free.
Under the pull of [Universal Pull], Hanzo was dragged straight in front of Brook, already a soulless corpse before his body even finished moving.
His soul, screaming in panic, was swallowed whole into the stomach of the Hell God Jin.
"Nagato," Brook said as he lifted Hanzo's body and looked toward the stunned redhead, "do you want Hanzo's eyes now? If so, now's the time, while they're still fresh."
"No need, Teacher!" Nagato refused immediately. "Your eyes are much better!"
Only an idiot would switch now.
From this moment onward, in Nagato's mind, the teacher's eyes were his eyes.
Why would he ever trade them for Hanzo's?
"Fine."
Brook smiled faintly.
"Then from now on, you can go take charge of Amegakure."
As he spoke, the power of the Rinnegan surged again. Six black receivers appeared in his hands, and he inserted them into Hanzo's corpse one after another, through the ears, the nose, and key control points throughout the body.
Under the confused gaze of Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, Brook continued his work with calm precision.
After a string of manipulations, Hanzo's corpse suddenly opened its eyes.
All three of them instinctively stepped back in alarm.
"His eyes… they're Rinnegan too!"
Yahiko cried out at once, shock flooding his face.
"What is this…?"
Even Nagato was stunned.
Could Hanzo also possess these divine eyes now?
"It's only a projection of the Rinnegan," Brook said casually. "From now on, this Hanzo puppet will help you control Amegakure."
Then he continued modifying the body.
Using the Asura Path's principles, Brook began transforming Hanzo's corpse, altering the salamander poison sac into a poison gas bomb to increase the corpse puppet's lethality.
Inside Kamui space, Obito had gone completely numb.
It was over.
Hanzo, the demigod of the ninja world, had just been killed like that.
The countless ninja of Amegakure had all been crushed by this Death God's aura before they even had the chance to touch the corner of his cloak.
How exactly was Obito supposed to "reap the benefits" from a battlefield like this?
What would happen to Rin now?
Underground, Black Zetsu was graver than it had ever been.
This mysterious man was so powerful that, for the first time in a very long time, Black Zetsu felt he might rival the Sage of Six Paths in his prime.
When had such a monster appeared in the ninja world?
Why had Black Zetsu never heard anything about him before?
And how had this man found Nagato and the Rinnegan so precisely?
For the first time in a long while, Black Zetsu felt truly lost.
How was it supposed to deal with a monster like this?
There was no chance of winning in a frontal clash.
Did it have to wait for the next reincarnations of Indra and Ashura again?
"Really? That's great, Teacher!"
Yahiko shouted excitedly.
If they could use Amegakure as their base, then the Akatsuki's dream of bringing peace to the world could move forward by a huge step.
And with a powerhouse like Lord Death protecting them, they could act much more boldly from now on.
"But you still need to find a way to truly subdue the ninja of Amegakure," Brook said casually. "I don't have time to handle this kind of petty administration. I have more important things to do."
As he said that, he left both the Flying Thunder God formula and a summoning contract on Asura Path Hanzo, then pulled out several sealing techniques from the Uzumaki clan and handed them to Nagato to study.
As for Konan, there was not much Brook could teach directly about her Paper Release.
That path mostly depended on her own insight.
Still, he passed on several possible applications from memory, especially her rich woman move, [Paper Person of God], the six hundred billion paper bombs.
Finally, Brook passed some of Konoha Danzo's and Amegakure Hanzo's treasured ninjutsu to Yahiko and told the three of them to train together.
By then, the ninja of Amegakure were slowly waking up.
Even though many of them could see that something was deeply wrong with Hanzo, the pressure Brook had placed on them was too overwhelming.
One after another, they submitted to Asura Path Hanzo and Yahiko.
None of them dared go against the will of the Death God.
Once everything was arranged, Brook let Yahiko and the others return with Asura Path Hanzo to fully take control of Amegakure.
Then Brook began searching carefully for Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu.
He wanted Obito's other Kamui Sharingan.
With both Mangekyo in hand, he could become a true boss with his own private space.
He also wanted to use Black Zetsu's terrifying intelligence network to locate the hidden Jigen, find an opportunity to devour Otsutsuki Isshiki, and prevent Isshiki from sending a distress signal to the rest of the Otsutsuki clan.
"Zetsu," Brook said aloud after searching several times and still failing to find him, "I know you're nearby."
"Interested in working for me?"
"The pay is good. And I can help you accomplish something too."
At the same time, he sincerely admired Black Zetsu's hiding ability.
As expected of Kaguya's will, a thing even the Sage of Six Paths failed to detect.
That concealment was truly top class.
Underground, Black Zetsu was startled the moment it heard this so called Death God openly recruiting it.
Its first thought was simple.
Had it been exposed?
But for the sake of the Rinnegan, and for the sake of reviving its mother, it was absolutely willing to take risks.
Of course, it remained cautious.
It immediately controlled a White Zetsu clone and sent it up to test the waters, while the real Black Zetsu body continued hiding in the ground.
Inside Kamui space, Obito also felt a faint spark of hope.
With old fox Black Zetsu handling things, maybe there really was a way to lure this mysterious powerhouse into the Moon Eye Plan.
Then Rin… there might still be hope.
In both of their minds, this Death God was many times stronger than Nagato.
Maybe he could gather the tailed beasts ahead of schedule and speed up the final completion of the Moon Eye Plan.
The only condition was this:
They had to deceive him successfully.
If his goal was not world peace, then the Moon Eye Plan could simply be reframed as world domination.
Surely that would be enough to tempt him.
But first, they needed to understand his ambitions and desires, then create the right reason to draw him in.
A White Zetsu resembling a pitcher plant slowly rose from the ground.
"Lord Death," the White Zetsu clone asked in a flattering tone, "were you calling for me?"
Its expression showed three parts fear, three parts anticipation, and three parts helplessness.
Its acting was better than most stage performers by a few thousand miles.
.....
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