The glow of the setting sun had yet to completely fade from the white jade steps.
Alex leaned against his dark gold throne. His fingers stopped tapping the armrest as he turned his head to look at Konan beside him.
Their eyes met. No words were needed; a perfect understanding had already flowed between them.
"Begin," Alex said evenly.
Konan gave a slight nod.
She took a step forward. The six expansive paper wings behind her gently folded inward, the sacred white light withdrawing into her body.
At the center of her forehead, her skin parted silently. The crimson Rinne Sharingan snapped open, its nine tomoe spinning slowly.
She raised her right hand and spread her fingers slightly.
Riiiip—
The void ahead tore open like a sheet of fragile paper, violently ripped apart by an invisible force.
A deep, dark rift spanning dozens of feet hung suspended in midair. An icy, ancient, decaying aura instantly poured out of it, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet.
The Pure Land had long since been entirely extracted by her and merged into the Core Space of her Amenominaka. Right now, she was the sole, absolute master over the boundary of life and death.
Down in the viewing platform, the upper brass of the old era, who had only just calmed their pounding hearts, froze rigidly once more.
Orochimaru violently stepped forward, half his body leaning over the railing as his golden snake eyes locked dead onto the rift in the sky.
His breathing grew heavy, his chest heaving violently.
"This is... truly crossing the boundary of life and death..." His hoarse voice leaked a sickly, fanatical zeal. "No sacrifices. No Edo Tensei. She is pulling them out of thin air!"
Tsunade's face was completely drained of blood. Her hands hung limply at her sides.
Resurrecting the dead.
In the ninja world, those words represented an absolute taboo and a horrific price. Whether it was Elder Chiyo's One's Own Life Reincarnation or the Rinnegan's Rinne Tensei, every single method required the caster to pay with their own life.
But now, Konan was simply raising her hand with casual ease.
Under the awestruck gaze of a million people, two clusters of softly glowing souls were forcefully dragged out from the depths of the rift, suspended high in the sky.
Konan's gaze softened. Her red lips parted slightly. "Reconstruct."
The world-creating, miraculous power of the Kekkai Mora erupted.
Yang Release represented life; Yin Release represented form. A boundless surge of life force crashed down like a reversed waterfall, tightly wrapping around the two souls.
White bones materialized out of thin air. Meridians and veins frantically knit together and spread like tree roots, as bright red blood surged through the newly formed vessels.
In just a few short breaths, flesh grew full, and muscle fibers knit together perfectly.
Even the black cloaks with red clouds—the symbol of their past—were perfectly replicated through the interlacing of chakra.
There was no lightning. There was no thunder. There was only a suffocating, dead silence.
The blinding light faded.
Supported by an invisible force, two bodies—possessing warm, beating hearts and steady breaths—slowly descended. Their feet landed firmly on the white jade steps just below the throne. It was the orange-haired youth, Yahiko, and the red-haired youth, Nagato.
The plaza below was utterly silent.
Every single ninja who recognized the identities of these two men felt their scalps go numb and a deep chill run down their spines.
Especially Tsunade and Orochimaru. They had personally witnessed the complete and utter collapse of the old rules of reality.
In this new Empire, death was no longer the end. It was merely a setting that God could edit with a single thought.
Who would dare rebel now? The price of treason would be the eternal enslavement of their very souls across countless lifetimes.
A gentle breeze swept across the high platform.
The abyssal rift in the void slowly sealed shut, and the residual light on the white jade steps gradually faded.
Yahiko and Nagato stood shoulder to shoulder, their chests heaving violently.
In the exact instant they were resurrected, Konan hadn't just rebuilt their flesh; she had directly injected a massive surge of mental energy straight into their minds.
It contained the turbulent history of the ninja world over the past two decades, the rise and fall of the Akatsuki, and finally, the memories of Alex's arrival. It showed how he and Konan had swept across the Five Great Nations with crushing, unstoppable momentum, ultimately putting an end to the chaotic era.
The long span of memories flashed rapidly through their consciousness, feeling as though they had lived through a long dream crossing life and death in a fraction of a second.
When the final memory locked into place—the Holy City rising from the ground and a million people kneeling to welcome their God—Yahiko and Nagato opened their eyes simultaneously.
"...So that's how it is."
Yahiko was the first to speak. His voice was still clear and bright, but it carried an indescribable, profound shock.
He turned his head and looked at Konan first.
In the last moment of his memory, Konan was still the young girl bandaging his wounds in the freezing rain. But now, she was the "Angel God" standing high above all living things.
Then, Yahiko's gaze fell upon Alex.
His eyes were complicated. There was awe, curiosity, and above all, a deeply relieved sense of gratification.
As an idealist who died in the darkest hour just before the dawn, all Yahiko had pursued in his life was to stop the Land of Rain from crying.
But now, through Konan's memories, he saw it: it wasn't just the Land of Rain. The cries of the entire ninja world had been silenced.
"Alex... an Empire. This kind of scale... I didn't even dare to dream this big back then." Yahiko broke into a wide grin. It was a bit goofy, yet carried the exact same uninhibited, free-spirited nature he always had.
"Even though the methods were a bit brutal... Konan, Lord Alex, thank you. There truly is no more war on this land. This air without the stench of gunpowder... it smells so sweet."
Compared to Yahiko's pure joy, Nagato's reaction was much heavier.
He stood rooted to the spot, the eyes beneath his red bangs carrying a hard-to-hide trace of melancholy.
He was digesting the memories regarding "Naruto".
He remembered betting everything on that orange-haired, resolute-eyed boy right before he died. He had truly believed Naruto was the Child of Prophecy who would bring peace through "mutual understanding".
But now, reality had given him a cold, yet utterly perfect answer.
Peace had indeed arrived. But it didn't come from Naruto's preaching. It came from the absolute, overwhelming martial power and ironclad order of the man sitting on the throne.
"Naruto... the Child of Prophecy..." Nagato muttered softly, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I entrusted my dream to him, hoping he would find the answer I couldn't. I never expected that the final answer would look like this... achieved by Konan and this man."
Nagato looked at Alex.
As someone who once possessed the Rinnegan and called himself a "God," he understood better than anyone exactly what the aura radiating from Alex meant.
That wasn't the level of a ninja. That was the crushing pressure of the true origin of chakra.
"But... this is fine too." Nagato closed his eyes and opened them again. The gloomy shadows in his gaze slowly dissipated, replaced by an unprecedented clarity.
"The dream I inherited from Yahiko, the 'peace' I pursued for half my life... at this very moment, it has truly been realized. Even if this peace no longer requires 'mutual understanding' as a prerequisite, as long as it ensures no one else has to suffer the heartbreak I did... then this is the best possible outcome."
The two friends exchanged a look before turning to face Konan.
Konan was currently standing quietly beside Alex, her hand resting naturally on the back of his.
Yahiko and Nagato were far too familiar with that posture. It was the absolute manifestation of surrendering one's total trust and soul.
"Konan," Yahiko scratched his head, looking a little out of place as he broke the solemn atmosphere. "Even though we got all the memories, we've been asleep for way too long. With all these massive skyscrapers outside, and all those new rules you established... we're probably going to need some time to learn how to be human again before we can adapt."
Nagato nodded in agreement, his voice steady. "We need a little time to observe this new world. I think the three of us should find a time to talk in private later."
He gave Alex a pointed look. His tone carried the necessary respect for the Emperor of the Empire, while still maintaining the blunt honesty of a close, old friend.
Alex leaned back in his throne, his expression calm and unbothered.
"You are Konan's close friends and companions," Alex said with a slight smile. "The Holy City is vast. Take the next few days to wander around as you please. Hinata, issue them two highest-clearance access passes."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Hinata stepped forward, respectfully presenting two access cards glowing with chakra.
Konan looked at the two companions she had regained, her eyes filled with gentle warmth. "I will host a welcome banquet for you tonight. For now, let Kameda show you to your quarters."
Yahiko cheerfully snatched the access cards. He waved at Alex and Konan, then turned to look at the magnificent Holy City sprawling below them, his eyes gleaming with eager excitement.
"Let's go, Nagato! Let's go see the Amegakure where it doesn't rain anymore... No, let's go see the Holy City!"
Led by Kameda, the two slowly walked down the white jade steps, blending seamlessly into the brightly lit, bustling world of the living.
On the viewing platform, Tsunade watched their retreating figures, her eyes churning with a storm of emotions.
If people who have been dead for over a decade can be perfectly resurrected... then Nawaki...
----
Support this fanfict by leaving Positive Review, Comments, and Power Stones.
For Advance Chapters:
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations