"Hanzo!"
Yahiko forced himself to remain calm as he lifted his head and shouted toward the cliffs.
The Rain-nin parted to both sides—
and the man holding Konan slowly stepped forward.
The leader of Amegakure.
The one hailed across the ninja world as a demi-god.
Hanzō of the Salamander.
"Yahiko! Nagato! Run!"
Konan cried out desperately, her arms bound tightly by rope.
"Konan!"
Both Yahiko and Nagato called her name at once.
Then Yahiko glared up at Hanzō and shouted,
"Why? Hanzo—why did you deceive us?!"
Hanzō looked down on him from above, eyes cold and merciless.
"To me, your little organization is nothing but an eyesore.
Yahiko—you will die here.
If you resist… the girl dies first."
He brought a kunai to Konan's throat.
Yahiko and Nagato froze, powerless.
Konan was their weakness—leaving her behind was impossible.
"That red-haired boy over there,"
Hanzō said suddenly,
"Use this to kill Yahiko.
Do that, and you two get to live."
A kunai clattered onto the ground before them.
Konan's eyes widened.
"Stop! Nagato, don't listen to him! Run, both of you!"
Nagato stood trembling, paralyzed by panic.
"Nagato."
Yahiko called his name gently.
Nagato looked over—and Yahiko's expression was deadly serious.
"Kill me."
Nagato staggered back in horror.
"Y–Yahiko…?"
"Don't!" Konan cried.
"Stop!" Yahiko shouted.
Their voices tangled around him, tearing his mind apart.
Memories flooded Nagato's mind—
their shared childhood,
their dreams,
his desire to protect the two most precious people in his life.
The pain was unbearable.
Hundreds of meters away, atop a tall tree, Uchiha Yuan watched silently.
He merged his presence with the tree bark, unmoving despite the rain soaking through his clothes.
With a quiet sigh, he murmured:
"So it still happened…"
Once Konan was in Hanzō's hands, Yahiko's death became inevitable.
The bond among the three was too deep—
deep enough for Yahiko to step willingly into death.
Nagato finally moved.
Under crushing pressure, he bent down stiffly…
and picked up the kunai.
He whispered in a daze,
"Konan…"
Then he turned toward Yahiko.
"Yahi—"
He didn't get to finish.
Because Yahiko suddenly lunged forward—
—and impaled himself on the kunai in Nagato's hands.
Nagato's eyes went blank.
Everything inside him shattered.
Yahiko's final words spilled into Nagato's ears like a fading whisper:
"Protect Konan… no matter what…
Live on…
You are… the savior… of this world…
Maybe… you really can…"
Yahiko collapsed.
Blood spread swiftly across the rain-soaked earth.
"YAHIKO!!"
Konan's scream tore through the storm, raw and agonizing.
Even Hanzō flinched slightly—
even he was shaken by Yahiko's self-sacrifice.
But a moment later, his expression hardened.
"Kill them."
Instantly, a storm of kunai rained down toward Nagato.
Nagato didn't even move.
He was still lost in shock and despair.
But just as the kunai were about to tear him apart—
Nagato raised a hand unconsciously.
A ripple of invisible force burst outward—
and every kunai was knocked away.
Yahiko… I'll carry your dream.
I'll become the god who brings peace.
Rain-nin stared in disbelief.
The next instant—Nagato's form flickered—
—and he reappeared directly before Konan.
Hanzō's pupils shrank.
He jumped back instantly and slammed his palm onto the ground, activating the sealing formation he had prepared.
Nagato spotted the glowing paper talismans spreading under his feet—
Too late.
The seals wrapped around Nagato's body.
And then—
BOOM!!
Flames roared.
Black smoke swallowed everything.
Hanzō narrowed his eyes.
"Is it done?"
When the smoke thinned—
He saw Nagato.
Standing beside Yahiko's body.
Konan at his side.
Nagato's entire body was burning, charred skin peeling from his legs—
yet he stood unshaken.
He tore the ropes from Konan with one hand, flames still clinging to him.
"Nagato…"
Konan's voice trembled, her body weakened by the explosion.
Nagato whispered,
"Konan… take Yahiko. Don't move."
Hanzō stepped through the smoke, frowning.
"Impressive. Even hit by my Fire Release trap… you still survived."
Nagato lifted his head.
His eyes locked onto Hanzō's—
—and Hanzō stiffened.
"Those eyes… you're no ordinary brat. That's—"
Before he could finish, the masked Konoha Root operatives finally struck.
"Now! Kill him!"
At Danzo's command, the Root members charged from all directions.
Nagato slammed his hands on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu—
Gedo Mazo!!"
A massive hand tore out from beneath the earth—
—and swatted the Root operatives away like insects.
The ground convulsed.
A colossal figure rose from deep underground, casting a monstrous shadow across the battlefield.
Konan stared wide-eyed.
"This is…!"
Hanzō's face twisted with shock.
"What is that!?"
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path towered before them—
its eyes sealed shut,
its grotesque wooden body covered in deep cracks,
a monster carved from nightmares.
Nagato screamed, forcing his chakra into the statue.
A metal spike burst from the statue's back—
splitting into dozens of metallic tendrils that plunged into Nagato's spine.
Blue chakra ignited like ghostly fire.
The statue's maw opened—
and the same eerie chakra lit its throat.
With another roar—
A chakra dragon burst forth,
its spectral jaws wide.
"Don't touch it! You'll die!"
Rain-nin screamed.
But it was too late.
Everything the dragon touched—
Rain-nin, Root operatives—
had their souls ripped clean from their bodies.
In the blink of an eye,
Everyone was dead.
Except for Hanzō.
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/nani_kaito