"He escaped..." Uchiha Yue whispered into the void, looking indifferently at the deep crater in the distance. "Kamui. It was always a troublesome technique."
He wasn't surprised. Obito's spatial ninjutsu, linked to the pocket dimension, left no chance of pursuit. Taking Nagato with him was a trifle for him.
"However, that didn't matter anymore. The future of this world is predetermined."
Yue closed his eyes, reliving the moment he'd created the new technique. The principle was ridiculously simple: release all the accumulated energy in a single, extremely compressed point. An improvisation born last night.
Nagato could have deflected it. If his arrogance hadn't driven him to send the puppet to certain death, if he hadn't been so confident in his own strength... but he'd underestimated his opponent, for whom time flowed differently.
"Nagato, how are you?! No... no!"
A scream of horror caught in Konan's throat. She rushed toward Nagato, lying on the ground, hugging what was left of him.
The air smelled of scorched flesh. Nagato's body lay limp in her arms. Below the waist, there was nothing. The edges of the terrible wound were scorched by the heat, preventing his insides from spilling out. The skin was blistered, emitting a sickeningly sweet smell.
Only the incredible resilience of the Uzumaki clan kept the spark of life alive.
"Nagato, this is bad! Madara, hurry!" Black Zetsu hissed in panic. Nagato could die, but not now.
"White Zetsu, come here!"
Obito reacted instantly. Summoning one of his clones, he severed its upper torso and, taking the lower half, began the operation without delay. Fortunately, White Zetsu's flesh was a pliable and durable material. This flesh had saved him—and it would also save Nagato, who had Uzumaki blood in his veins.
The transplant stabilized Nagato's condition. He was unconscious, but at least alive.
Later, Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu stood nearby, immersed in a heavy silence.
The plan failed with a deafening crash. They didn't expect that a monster that had existed for only a day would nearly kill a powerful Rinnegan wielder. If Obito hadn't reacted with lightning speed, transporting Nagato to Kamui's dimension an instant before the strike, not a trace of him would have remained. And the Rinnegan would have been beyond saving.
According to their calculations, Nagato should have appeared with invincible might and obliterated this upstart from the Uchiha clan. Instead, he himself, like a whipped dog, found himself on the brink of death.
It seemed unthinkable, contrary to all the laws of the shinobi world. The creature they themselves had created had spun out of control with monstrous speed.
Meanwhile, the Konoha ninja and the surviving villagers had already fled the ruined village. Suddenly, many of them looked up.
"This..."
Far behind them, a gigantic pillar of light shot into the sky, momentarily eclipsing the sun.
"What kind of monster is this... and who is it fighting?"
"I don't know. But whoever forced it to use such a technique..."
The shinobi exchanged terrified expressions, but no one spoke of turning back. Approaching the source of this power was tantamount to suicide. A power no human could possess.
Now all they needed was a new leader, one capable of piecing together the fragments of Konoha.
Land of Fire, casino.
A deafening ringing, a scattering of coins, cries of "Jackpot!"—the slot machine never stopped.
Tsunade stood before him, but instead of excitement, her expression betrayed anxiety. Not a single loss since morning. An icy premonition gripped her heart, though she didn't know its cause. Grimly, she grabbed Shizune's hand and left the gambling house.
"I hope nothing terrible has happened," she thought, but the ominous sign was all too obvious.
The news of Konoha's destruction hadn't yet spread around the world, but it was only a matter of time.
Mount Myoboku.
Deep within the sacred grounds, in an ancient temple, a giant toad slumbered. Suddenly, its eyes snapped open.
"Whoa... Fate has changed! A calamity is coming that will engulf the world! Whoa! Call Jiraiya! Immediately!" It's all over, the world is on the brink of destruction! Find the child of the prophecy, quah-aah!!!
The Great Toad Sage's voice, full of primal terror, echoed across the mountain.
Some time later, Jiraiya, who had been "gathering material" for a new book in one of the towns, was rushed to Myōboku.
"Quah, Jiraiya, have you found the child of the prophecy?" The Great Sage looked at him unseeingly. "I witnessed destruction. I saw the entire world plunged into eternal, deadly cold. All existence turned to ice, to nothingness. Even our sacred lands... everything was frozen and destroyed."
"Wha... what? Great Sage, what are you talking about? The world will be destroyed?" Jiraiya's face was filled with disbelief. "The end of the world? He must be joking... or has he lost his mind?"
He didn't utter those words, of course. Shima and Fukasaku, standing nearby, did it for him.
"Old man, have you gone completely insane?" Shima croaked. "Why is the world suddenly ending?"
"Yes, your prophecies used to sound different," Fukasaku chimed in.
"You're just playing a prank on us out of boredom, right?" Two toad sages hopped up to him, waving their legs. "Admit it, old man."