Nagato spoke while laughing, his shoulders trembling. His hands were bound by chakra receivers; if he wanted to control the Six Paths of Pain, he could not casually leave the frame bristling with those black rods.
Shigeo snorted coldly. He formed seals and activated Mokuton (Wood Release). The ground trembled as countless trees burst up from beneath the earth, spearheading straight toward Nagato.
"You've killed so many people. You have to pay the price!"
Since Naruto hadn't been able to persuade him, Shigeo could only resort to force.
Countless wooden spikes lunged toward Nagato. Konan's Shikigami no Mai (Dance of the Shikigami) unfolded, paper swirling around to shield him. But Shigeo's chakra was immense. Even after splitting it among six wooden clones, his power was still overwhelming, and that chakra was all channeled into Mokuton (Wood Release). Konan's defense strained under the pressure.
Wood surged in from all four directions—above, below, left, and right. The Six Paths of Pain tried to step forward to stop it, but they were blocked by Jiraiya, Naruto, and Shigeo's six clones. On top of that, the Human Path and Animal Path had already been destroyed earlier by Shigeo's wooden clones.
At this moment, aside from Konan, there was no one left who could save Nagato—and Konan could only hold out for a short while. Very soon, she was bound up by Shigeo's Mokuton (Wood Release), her hands unable to form seals. The tree-cave was blasted apart; Nagato was exposed to the sunlight.
Outside, all the bodies of Pain had been captured. Naruto had already yanked out every black receiver from them; they now lay like corpses.
"Don't kill him, I'm begging you, don't kill him!"
Konan, tied to the tree, looked down at Shigeo and burst into tears.
"Don't cry. Don't beg him!"
Nagato glared angrily up at Konan hanging from the branches.
Jiraiya and Naruto both understood: if not for Shigeo, they would have lost today without question. Their victory over the Six Paths of Pain earlier had been entirely thanks to Shigeo's wooden clones.
And now, all the power over what happened next was in Shigeo's hands.
A mountain breeze swept through. Shigeo stared at Nagato and said, "You should answer for the sins you've committed. So many people in Konoha died because of you. Did you really think killing you alone would be enough to settle this?"
"Do whatever you want—kill me, torture me, it's up to you."
Nagato's nature was originally gentle, but in this world, even the gentlest temper got ground away, turning radical and volatile.
"Nagato, I can save you—but you have to save everyone in Konoha that you killed. You were deceived. Infinite Tsukuyomi is just a dream. Have you thought about what happens to people's bodies after their minds enter a dream world? Without food from the outside, their bodies will die. Then the human world becomes hell. And Infinite Tsukuyomi is only a piece of it. There are things hidden behind it that you don't even know yet…"
Nagato stared at Shigeo, unmoved. He closed his eyes, his attitude saying he would accept whatever happened.
"I've said this much and you're still not moved. In that case, I don't need you to save anyone. I'll have the lives of everyone in Amegakure pay for what you did to Konoha."
With that, Shigeo gestured. The six wooden clones around him vanished in an instant.
"Rain ninja of Amegakure—no mercy!"
That was the order he gave them.
Sure enough, the moment those words left his mouth, Nagato's eyes snapped open. He stared at Shigeo in fury, then finally let out a faint sigh. In the end, Amegakure was still the most important thing in his heart.
"All right. I'll save them."
"Nagato! If you use that method, you'll die…"
Konan sobbed so hard it was as if her tears would never end. She stared at Nagato, shaking her head over and over.
"I've always wondered if the world Naruto spoke of would really come. At first, I only wanted to believe in myself. But now… I've failed. Since I've failed, I no longer have a chance. So I'm willing to believe in them once… Maybe that world really will come."
When he finished, Nagato activated Rinne Tensei no Jutsu (Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique). The King of Hell was summoned, its maw opening and releasing all the souls it held. Everyone in Konoha who had been killed by Pain was revived.
Shigeo also possessed the Rinnegan, but he had never signed a summoning contract with the King of Hell. And signing that contract required staking one's life as the price. Because of that, only Nagato could use this technique.
In Konoha, the shinobi who had fallen on the battlefield came back to life one after another. Kakashi and Shizune also opened their eyes…
Meanwhile, Nagato's signs of life faded away bit by bit.
Seeing this, Shigeo reached out and pulled both the King of Hell and Nagato into his personal dimension. Then he loosened Konan's bindings and said to Jiraiya and Naruto, "I won't go to Konoha. The rest is up to you. I'm taking these two with me."
The moment he finished speaking, he turned around and disappeared.
He returned straight to Amegakure. There, Shigeo laid Nagato's body out and began a ritual with the Soul-Summoning Bell. Back in the mind of the priestess of the Orchid Sect, he had obtained the method for using this bell. As long as his chakra was sufficient, he could forcibly compel the King of Hell to release any soul that had made a deal with it.
What he did not expect was that, after all his effort, even though the King of Hell finally released Nagato's soul, Nagato himself had already let go. If a person's soul has not given up—if they still desire to return to their physical body—then there is hope for life.
But Nagato was the opposite. Even when Shigeo pulled his soul out from the King of Hell using the Soul-Summoning Bell, Nagato refused to leave the bell and return to his body.
Maybe… that was his choice.
"I understand him. And I respect him."
Konan stared at Nagato's corpse, tears falling like rain.
"This is Nagato's decision. But I hope it won't be yours, Konan. Don't forget what you promised me. Your life belongs to me—so I want you to live."
With that, Shigeo reached out and grabbed Konan.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm taking you back to the Ink Village. There's no saving Nagato now."
Uchiha Obito would definitely do everything he could to take the Rinnegan from Nagato's eyes. And even if it wasn't Obito, Black Zetsu would move. Black Zetsu could slip in and out of hiding; no one could stop him. Besides, Shigeo had no intention of preventing Otsutsuki Kaguya from appearing. Because of that, he didn't want Konan to die for nothing.
"You know what I'm planning to do?"
"Yes."
Shigeo spoke, and the air around him began to twist. "I won't let you fight a duel to the death with Obito."
"No, I can't leave. I have to protect Nagato…"
Before she could finish, Shigeo chopped her lightly on the neck, knocking her out. Then he took her and Nagato's body and left Amegakure.
Since Nagato had let Shizune-neechan and the others go, Shigeo had to keep his word as well—he would move the danger away from Amegakure as much as possible.
Right now, the greatest danger was the Rinnegan. As long as Nagato's body remained, Obito's attention would stay fixed on Amegakure.
In a remote valley, Shigeo buried Nagato's remains, then left. Hidden in the forested valley, a White Zetsu clone had been tailing them all along. It passed every bit of information back to the main body, and the main body, in turn, relayed it to Obito beside him.
(End of Chapter)
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