Hope for the future filled Yahiko's heart. And then he watched it die.
Comrades from his own organization—friends he'd fought alongside—were being slaughtered. By other Rain Village shinobi. Comrades he'd also trusted.
Yahiko froze. The suddenness. The sheer shock. It short-circuited his brain.
"Why?" His voice was a whisper lost in the screams. "Why are they attacking us?"
"Yahiko! Move!"
Konan shoved him aside. A kunai whistled past his ear.
A blur. A Rain ninja appeared behind Konan. A hand clamped over her mouth. He vanished, dragging her back.
"Konan! Wind Style: Gale Palm!"
Nagato slammed his hands together. Compressed air erupted into a raging gale, tearing toward the kidnapper.
Too slow. Konan was gone.
"Yahiko, snap out of it! They have Konan!"
Nagato grabbed his shoulders, shaking him hard. Yahiko's eyes finally focused. Behind them, their friends lay still. Slaughtered.
"We have to go!" Nagato yelled, and they pursued.
They chased the trail into a valley. The designated site for the three-nation talks.
What they saw made their blood run cold.
On the ridge above, Danzō stood. Qianyu stood. A line of Root agents. And beside them—Hanzō of the Salamander and his elite guard. All looking down. Cold. Indifferent.
Qianyu's gaze settled on Nagato.
The Rinnegan.
Impressive eyes. Pity about the wielder.
"WHY?!" Yahiko's voice cracked with anguish. "Lord Hanzō! We were working together for peace! Why betray us?!"
Hanzō stepped forward, shoving Konan ahead of him. A blade at her throat.
"Your organization has become an inconvenience," Hanzō stated, his voice like gravel. "As its leader, you die here, Yahiko. Resist, and the girl joins you."
A single kunai clattered at Yahiko and Nagato's feet.
Hanzō's eyes shifted to Nagato. "You. Red-hair. Use that. Kill Yahiko. Do it, and I grant you and the girl your miserable lives."
"Don't!" Konan screamed, struggling against her captor. "Nagato! Ignore me! Both of you, RUN!"
Nagato stared at the kunai. His whole body began to tremble.
Yahiko took a deep, shuddering breath. "Nagato," he said, calm. Steady. "Do it. Kill me."
The air left Nagato's lungs. A vise tightened around his throat.
"Nagato!" Yahiko barked.
"Stop it!" Konan pleaded.
"Your time is up," Hanzō growled, pressing the blade closer. "Does her life mean nothing?"
Mechanically, Nagato bent. Picked up the kunai. The cold metal bit into his palm. His vision tunneled. Two people. The only two people left in his world. Choose one.
His eyes flicked to Konan. "Konan…"
Then to Yahiko. "Ya-"
Yahiko moved.
Not away. Toward him.
A sickening thud. The kunai plunged deep into Yahiko's abdomen. He fell forward, his weight collapsing against Nagato, chin resting on his friend's shoulder.
A warm, wet breath whispered in Nagato's ear. "Live. You and Konan… live. No matter what." A weak, pained smile. "You are this world's savior. It was always… you…"
The strength left him. Yahiko slid to the ground.
"YAHIKO!!!" Konan's scream tore the sky.
Nagato stood, unmoving. The bloody kunai clutched in his white-knuckled fist. His Rinnegan stared, wide and uncomprehending.
Qianyu narrowed his eyes.
Stomach wound. Severe, yes. But not instantly fatal.
Hanzō had no intention of letting anyone walk away. "Finish them," he ordered, cold.
A rain of kunai descended toward the stunned Nagato.
A memory surfaced. Yahiko's voice, years ago, fierce with determination.
'If this world knows only endless war… then I will become its god!'
Something inside Nagato shifted.
His right hand shot up.
WHOOSH.
Every single kunai reversed course, flung away as if hitting an invisible wall.
The Rain ninjas gaped. "They… bounced off?"
"How?"
Nagato moved. A blur of red hair and fury, launching himself straight at Hanzō and Konan.
Hanzō smirked. He released Konan, leaping back. One hand slapped the ground.
As Nagato caught Konan, the earth beneath him erupted. Paper tags—explosive tags—snaked up, wrapping around his legs like fiery serpents.
"Fire Style: Exploding Flame Formation!"
BOOM.
The world turned to fire and shattered rock. Dust and smoke billowed.
"Did we get him?" Hanzō muttered.
The smoke cleared. Nagato stood beside Yahiko's body, gently laying Konan down. Flames still licked at his legs. They died, revealing charred, blackened flesh.
"Nagato…" Konan whispered, horror in her eyes.
"Stay with Yahiko," Nagato said, his voice hollow. "Don't move."
Hanzō sneered. "Not bad, brat. Surviving my technique."
Nagato lifted his head. The Rinnegan fixed on Hanzō.
The sneer vanished. A chill ran down Hanzō's spine. Those eyes…
Danzō gave a slight nod.
Root agents surged forward, a wave of silent killers.
Nagato's rage broke its banks. He slammed a palm onto the blood-soaked earth.
"Summoning Technique: Gedo Statue!"
The ground heaved. A colossal, wooden hand burst forth, swatting three Root agents aside like insects. Then more—a monstrous, emaciated torso, a face of pure torment. It threw back its head and roared, a sound of primordial hunger.
Hanzō stumbled back. "What in hell is that?!"
Danzō's single eye widened. He had no answer.
Qianyu's pulse kicked up a notch.
The husk of the Ten-Tails.
Even empty, devoid of even a single tailed beast's chakra… the sheer, oppressive weight of its presence was terrifying.
"Nagato, you mustn't!" Konan cried. "Not that!"
Nagato didn't hear her. Rage was the only conductor. With a primal shout, he raised his arms.
From the Gedo Statue's body, black rods of concentrated chakra shot out. They pierced Nagato's back, his shoulders, anchoring him to the monster.
His connection to the statue flared. Nagato's body withered visibly, life force draining. The Gedo Statue's jaw unhinged.
A spectral, purple dragon of chakra poured from its mouth.
It flowed over the attacking Root agents. Where it touched, life extinguished. Bodies crumpled, drained dry.
Danzō's voice cut through the chaos. "Qianyu. Go. Play with him."
A flicker of a smile touched Qianyu's lips. He pushed off from the cliff edge, elbow resting casually on his sword's hilt, and landed lightly in front of the chakra-drained, Rinnegan-wielding Nagato.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (100+ ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/GoldenLong
Happy reading, everyone!