〖Year Sixteen〗
Under the instigation of the Akatsuki, war swept across the entire shinobi world.
Nagato was determined to end war through war itself—forcing all shinobi to fully comprehend pain through unbearable loss.
He wanted the cruelty of war burned into the mind of every last person in the world.
Even though the conflict had become so brutal that it reached the nobility and daimyo—and even the Kage of each village suffered casualties—many forces began seeking peace.
But the Akatsuki dispatched elite assassins to eliminate those trying to negotiate, disguising themselves as rival factions to spark even more bloodshed.
In the process, even some of Akatsuki's top-tier shinobi began to fall.
But Nagato didn't care. He saw himself as a god among mortals.
For peace...
For the sake of etching pain into every soul, he didn't bother with the lives of missing-nin. All he hoped was that, before they died, they could further fan the flames of war—
Until they engulfed the entire world.
...
After heavy sacrifices, Konoha's New Generation succeeded in destroying multiple Akatsuki strongholds.
Still, Nagato remained unmoved.
None of this had anything to do with you.
You had long ceased to view yourself as human.
For you, the most important task was to feel life constantly evolving—
To savor the pleasure of spirit and body in harmonious motion.
Your heart was clear.
You were a pure seeker of the path.
The injuries caused by your failed attempt to merge the power of rules and create a divine technique had long since healed.
You took the massive amount of chakra metal you had collected and absorbed it through your Shikotsumyaku and Magnet Release, compressing it into material for the growth of your bones.
At the same time, you cultivated yourself like a sword, using Sword-Nurturing Arts, treating your own body as a blade to be refined—
Activating the Ultimate Meaning of Swordsmanship and the Art of Sword Control, and with the aid of natural energy, fruit, seaweed, pearls, and special medicine,
You polished your sword aura within your very skeleton…
You were transforming yourself from the inside out—into an indestructible sword!
...
〖Year Seventeen〗
Led by Sasuke, Enra, and Naruto, the Konoha New Generation Squad darted through the chaos of war.
Though all three had achieved Kage-level strength, their companions fell one after another.
The cruelty of war didn't spare anyone just because they were "special."
It continued ruthlessly, narrating the harsh truth.
The now-matured trio clashed violently with the Akatsuki, nearly wiping out all its Kage-level fighters.
At that moment, Hiruko completed the development of a doomsday weapon built using Tailed Beasts.
Though he never fully grasped the proper way to use the nine Tailed Beasts and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path,
He used them as materials, compressing and fusing their chakra through an explosion to create an ultimate weapon rivaling a nuclear bomb.
The cannon barrel itself was forged from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
The trio was hit directly by an attack powerful enough to wipe out beings beyond Kage level, pushed to the brink of death.
Only Enra, using his indestructible body, managed to drag the other two underground just in time—saving their lives.
...
However—
After obtaining the doomsday weapon, Nagato completely lost his mind.
He became convinced that ninjutsu itself was the root of all evil, and began indiscriminately slaughtering shinobi.
Only when all supernatural power—ninjutsu—was eradicated, would peace truly come.
...
Long-term use of Sword-Nurturing Arts caused your bones to fuse with the Ultimate Meaning of Swordsmanship.
Sword intent coursed through your entire body—
Even the bones you casually launched could match indestructible blades, and you could control them at will.
During this process, the power of rules bathed your body a second time, further enhancing your endurance.
With the support of your breathing techniques and the Sage Mode, your spirit strength also increased!
After transforming your body into a sword and mastering control through Sword-Nurturing Arts,
You, who had already unlocked your potential perfectly, reached even greater heights—entering a realm of true perfection!
Your Ultimate Meaning of Swordsmanship broke through once more, triggering a further development in your bodily potential.
Your strength soared to new levels.
Even without activating the Sword Ultimate Meaning, you could now clearly perceive the shackles binding each part of your body, preventing you from unleashing your full power.
And you had a hunch—
If you broke even one of those shackles, your power would skyrocket in an instant.
It was just like the gap between demigod and true god—determined by whether or not one had condensed Authority.
...
But remembering how your previous reckless attempt had backfired and injured you, you decided to wait—
Until you grew stronger, and then make another attempt at shattering those shackles.
...
You couldn't force the breakthrough for now, but merging divine techniques became noticeably easier.
So, once again, you began cultivating your Sword Ultimate Meaning, allowing the power of rules to flow within it.
And you discovered—after turning your body into a sword—your sensitivity to the rules had greatly increased.
...
〖Year Eighteen〗
The now-insane Nagato finally walked toward destruction in his killing spree.
Though no one in the shinobi world could rival him and his doomsday weapon,
He had sworn to eliminate ninjutsu completely.
And after defeating the trio from Konoha's New Generation Squad, he finally—under Naruto's persuasion—realized the pain he had inflicted upon the world was more than enough.
Nagato decided it was time to stop.
Most of the powerful, destructive ninjutsu had already been wiped out in endless war.
Even the remaining ones would likely be sealed away forever, buried under the world's growing exhaustion with battle.
And if one day they did resurface…
Then let it be a problem for the wisdom of future generations to solve.
Nagato, the unrivaled force of the shinobi world, ended his life—
Along with the doomsday weapon forged from Tailed Beasts.
...
Finally, after nearly a decade of warfare that had touched every corner of the world—
The fires of war went out, leaving behind only the wailing of civilians and scars in every soul that could never truly heal.
You were stirred by something, and decided to head out.
While practicing your sword techniques, you wandered the ravaged lands.
The lives and deaths of the people of the shinobi world held little meaning to you.
Perhaps it was because you had grown too detached from them…
Or perhaps it was because you had long regarded yourself as a summoning beast rather than a shinobi.
To you, all of this—the war, the peace—was nothing more than the end of a game.
...
As you wandered the shinobi world, you saw the remaining trio from Konoha's New Generation Squad helping the displaced civilians rebuild their homes amidst the ruins.
You also saw nobles and merchants living in luxury in far-off resort villages—
Even as the war had swept through the world and left a deep scar in most hearts,
There were always those few who could evade it.
And yet, they held the reins of the world's future in their hands…
You thought about yourself.
After attaining a power that transcended worldly limits—were you not just like them?
To the common people of the shinobi world, even to the shinobi themselves—
You were no different from a true sage…
Or even a god.
...
As you sank deeper into thought, your swordplay grew more refined and intricate.
The powers of life and death intertwined—rule and rule, fusing into one.
A faint light began to shine.
Then—
In a sudden, accidental moment, you swung your blade.
The sword light struck the scorched ground, but instead of burning, it transformed the barren land into lush greenery.
Another arc of sword light followed.
It severed a vulture feasting on a corpse and the decaying body itself—both turning into nothing but dry, lifeless bones.
Your chakra and natural energy surged violently within your body.
Authority was about to condense!
You had no desire for Authority.
So, without hesitation, you stepped forward—
Instantly returning to the Dragon Vein beneath the Water Curtain Cave, and sank your spirit deep into your inner world...
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