"Nagato! Yahiko!"
Konan's scream split the air, raw and trembling with fear, as she watched her two closest friends drop like puppets with their strings cut.
"I'm… I'm okay, Konan…" Yahiko forced out, clutching his swollen jaw. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes flickered with dizziness. "Just… a scratch…"
Nagato, however, lay facedown in the dust, limbs twisted awkwardly, his body embedded into the ground as if struck by a meteor.
"Ah… maybe I hit a little too hard," Uchiha Miyuki muttered, scratching her cheek with an awkward grin. She turned back toward Konan, reached out, and gently took the girl's hand.
"You saw it, right? Your friend threw the first punch," she said lightly — teasing, but not wrong.
"I… I'm sorry."
Konan bowed her head. "On his behalf, I apologize. Yahiko was too impulsive."
She didn't dare provoke Miyuki. Not after what she'd witnessed. These weren't shinobi — they were calamities in human form. And Yahiko, reckless as always, had almost dragged them into an early grave.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Miyuki waved her hand with a grin. "There's an old saying — sometimes a good friendship starts with a punch to the face. Guess that means we're friends now, right?"
Her fingers casually drifted down, sneaking toward Konan's waist.
"H-Hey, what are you doing…?" Konan tensed.
"Let her go!!"
Nagato's roar thundered across the battlefield.
Everyone turned.
He was trembling, barely standing, blood running down his temple… but his eyes were locked on Miyuki's hand around Konan.
He didn't think.
Didn't care that Miyuki was a woman.
Didn't consider Konan wasn't in danger.
He just snapped.
"You bastard…! I'll kill you!!"
His hands slammed into a seal. "Demonic Statue of the Outer Path — arise!"
"Nagato, wait—!" Konan lunged forward, but it was too late.
A guttural, ancient roar erupted from beneath the earth. The ground split open like the jaws of a great beast, and a massive skeletal hand clawed free. Then another.
A towering, grotesque figure dragged itself up through the cracked battlefield.
Monstrous.
A relic of forgotten power.
Even the wind stopped moving.
"…What is that thing?" Esdeath whispered, excitement gleaming in her eyes.
"That," Miyuki replied coolly, stepping back beside Jaeger, "is the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The husk of the Ten-Tails. No chakra… but overflowing with life force."
She smiled wryly.
"It's the origin of all chakra in this world. In short? Nagato just yanked out the world's root system because he got mad."
Facing one of the late-game bosses of Naruto canon, Miyuki didn't show a flicker of fear.
Well—no. Inside she was panicking like a sane person.
But she had overpowered monsters all around her. Like hell she'd admit fear now.
Still, this was only an empty shell. Even if the actual Otsutsuki descended from space right this second, they'd still leave limping after dealing with His Highness Jaeger.
And over in the chat group—
Yamamoto Mei was giving a detailed lecture on why the thing in front of them was basically a walking fossil.
"What a pointless creature. Is this kid Nagato always this emotional?"
Staring at the raging statue, Jaeger sighed.
What's with the drama?
They hadn't even done anything serious yet.
"Stand aside. I'll test its strength."
Just as Jaeger stepped forward, Luo Hao surged past him, her aura blazing with fighting spirit.
She leapt into the air.
"Fight in the south, fall in the north.
If I die on open plains, let the beasts claim my bones. Call me black-hearted if you wish—
I'll still take my seat among kings."
A brilliant chant.
Power exploded around her.
Behind her, a colossal Vajra Avatar manifested — over a hundred meters tall, burning with divine radiance. The embodiment of the two Buddhist Kings Luo Hao once defeated and conquered: Vajrapani and Narayana.
The heretic demon bellowed as it swung a mountain-shattering fist toward her.
"Excellent!" Luo Hao's smile widened. "I've been waiting for this!"
She raised her hand.
"Flying Phoenix — Twelve Divine Palms: Heaven-Devouring Gale!"
The Vajra Warrior's palm ignited into a phoenix of pure flame, descending like a divine hammer.
BOOOOM—!!
The shockwave split the air. The heretic demon buckled, crashing to the ground with a violent quake that tore the earth apart.
"Hahahaha! Wonderful!" Luo Hao laughed, golden fire surging around the Avatar. "It's been far too long since I faced a challenge worth my time!"
"Flying Phoenix — Twelve Divine Palms: The Crimson Rising Sun!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Strike after strike slammed down — each one capable of wiping out a city district.
The enormous demon statue was smashed again and again, buried deeper into the shattering ground.
"No way… how is this happening?!"
Nagato lay on the ground, horrified.
But then — he sensed it.
Despite being beaten senseless, the heretic statue wasn't hurt.
"The Outer Path isn't just powerful… it's indestructible!"
He clung to that hope desperately.
The demon roared, bursting free from the rubble — not a single scratch on it.
"Incredible defense…" Luo Hao murmured, her smile fading as she prepared another technique.
But Jaeger's calm voice cut in:
"God Avoid."
Zzzt—
A blade of golden light tore through the sky, transcending distance, matter, even the idea of defense itself.
Guided by Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, it traced the absolute line of "death."
The heretic statue split cleanly in half.
BOOOOOOM—!!
The corpse of the Ten-Tails' husk collapsed with a thunderous crash.
"You're kidding… the Ten-Tails' body actually died?!" Miyuki cried, stunned.
Yamamoto Mei: "Why are you surprised? This is normal now."
Live Broadcast: Chat Group
Yamamoto Mei: "Tailed beasts resurrect eventually. The Ten-Tails is just their fusion. Even a universe isn't eternal. Why would a glorified Otsutsuki pet be immortal?"
Uchiha Miyuki: "The anime lied to me! I thought it got sealed — not straight-up deleted!"
Luo Hao: "With Jaeger's Mystic Eyes, unless you're truly immortal, you won't survive."
Jibril: "Yes. Even my defenses failed. If he couldn't kill a crippled golem, I'd be disappointed."
Jaeger killing something was… expected.
Back on the battlefield—
Nagato shook violently.
"The Gedo Statue… destroyed? No… no, this has to be a dream!"
He tried to summon it again.
Nothing answered.
There was only one Gedo Statue in the world — sealed on the moon.
Now? Gone forever.
"Nagato!!"
Konan crawled toward him, panic shaking her voice.
But her eyes widened as Jaeger raised his sword again.
"Stop!!"
He didn't look at her.
He was testing something.
Would killing a Rinnegan wielder give him a Noble Phantasm equal to Madara's?
"God Avoid."
A flash of gold.
Nagato's head separated from his shoulders, eyes frozen in disbelief.
Jaeger glanced at the new Noble Phantasm.
"Hmph. Mediocre. Not the true owner of the Rinnegan, so the result is inferior."
"Nagato—!!" Konan screamed.
She barely had time to breathe before Yahiko, bloodshot eyes blazing, charged at Jaeger.
"You monster—!!"
Crack—
Luo Hao casually intercepted him with a single palm. Every bone in his body shattered.
"Yahiko!?" Konan choked. Tears streaked down her face. Dust clung to her hair. Her voice cracked.
If only none of this happened…
If only she hadn't brought them…
If only that stranger hadn't joined Akatsuki…
Uchiha Miyuki's fists tightened.
Her petty slap — something she lashed out with because Yahiko bullied her — now weighed heavily on her conscience.
She never wanted this outcome.
"A dog attacking a lion doesn't earn mercy just because it's weak," Jaeger said coldly, raising his blade again.
"Stop!! Please!!"
Konan lunged forward and clung to his leg, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Please… spare him! I'll do anything! Anything at all — just don't kill Yahiko!"
Yahiko coughed blood and whispered hoarsely:
"Ko…nan…"
Her tears fell on Jaeger's armor.
"If Yahiko dies too… I have nothing left…"
Even Miyuki stepped forward.
"Your Highness," she said softly. "Nagato attacked. Yahiko acted out of desperation. Couldn't we… spare him?"
Jaeger looked at her, mildly amused.
Miyuki didn't look at him.
Her gaze was on Konan.
"Konan," she said gently. "You don't want Yahiko to die… but you also don't want him to live as a cripple, right?"
Konan trembled.
Then… she slowly released Jaeger's leg.
She lowered herself onto her knees.
"…I understand."
The kunoichi of the Akatsuki knelt in the dirt, voice shaking.
"I'll accept Yahiko's punishment.
Just… please spare him.
I'll take responsibility."
Jaeger opened his mouth—
[System Notification]
Aizen Sōsuke has joined the chat group.
Eriri Sawamura has joined the chat group.
Uchiha Madara (Soul) has joined the chat group.
Uchiha Madara (Soul): "Hah! So this is the chat group they never let me into? What is this place supposed to be?"
Uchiha Madara (Soul): "Wait… are those kids from Akatsuki? Didn't I just die? Why do they look like they got hit by a falling meteor?"
•••
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