"Yahiko… Yahiko…?"
Nagato finally realized what had happened.
His heart pounded violently, causing a sharp pain in his chest, and a series of high-pitched screams exploded in his ears. Even the dancing light specks on his retina twisted into a Uzumaki, tearing and gnawing at his last shred of sanity.
The air was as cold as ice shards; when he inhaled it, the sharp edges would cut his throat and alveoli, turning every breath into torture until the taste of blood filled his mouth.
He struggled to lower his head, to bend down and pick up Yahiko, but his body wouldn't obey—as if every muscle had been cast in bronze, frozen rigidly in place, unable to move.
--No… [Where there is light, there is shadow.]
--Yahiko… don't die… [As long as the concept of a victor exists, so too does the concept of a loser.]
--Why did this happen… if only people could understand each other… [Even to protect peace, people will wage war.]
--Why wouldn't Hanzou understand us…?!
[Because once you wish to protect love, hatred will be born.]
--Why not!!! Why, why, why—!!!
The string in Nagato's heart snapped completely. His Dōjutsu Power (Pupil Power) boiled, surging through his body, bringing a searing pain that fully jolted him out of his daze.
But even so, he still couldn't tell if the liquid streaming down his face was rain or tears.
"Yahiko—!"
Konan cried out in anguish. Her heavily poisoned body could no longer bear it. Her legs gave out, and she fell to her knees, weeping uncontrollably.
A smile of successful plotting flashed in Hanzou's eyes: "Act."
He had never intended for anyone from Akatsuki to leave alive from the start.
At Hanzou's command, nearly a hundred Anbu immediately threw Kunai and shuriken. Countless sharp weapons flew towards the stunned Nagato.
At the last moment, Nagato raised his left hand, deflecting all attacks with an invisible repulsive force.
The throwing weapons shattered into countless metal fragments the instant they hit the force field, scattering and splattering in the air, tracing silver arcs like a thousand startled birds exploding from their nest.
Under the force of gravity, the fragments fell like a sky full of stars into the mud, forming a large, arc-shaped fan around the pure ground at Nagato's feet, reflecting countless cold glints.
After dealing with this wave of attacks, Nagato flashed and leaped onto the cliff top. His speed forced Hanzou to abandon the hostage and retreat quickly.
He took the opportunity to pick up Konan, intending to take her away, but then saw over a hundred exploding tags emerge from the ground, slithering like venomous snakes towards him and Konan.
In his haste, he only managed to lift Konan's legs. He himself was wrapped by exploding tags from his feet all the way up to his knees.
The exploding tags sparked one after another, and then, the massive explosion of flames consumed half the sky.
Nagato narrowly used Shinra Tensei, barely deflecting most of the flames and impact, and brought Konan to the bottom of the valley, gently placing her beside Yahiko.
Konan propped up her upper body and saw Nagato's legs burning with fierce flames, which were gradually extinguished by the rain, revealing the little skin that remained and his charred, twisted muscles.
"Nagato…"
"It's nothing," Nagato said in a deep voice, seemingly feeling no pain at all. "Konan, hold Yahiko and don't move."
"Not bad, kid. To escape after taking my Fire Release."
Hanzou didn't stint on praise, even thinking it a bit of a waste to kill Nagato just like that, but his expression changed the moment he saw the latter's eyes.
"You're no ordinary person… your eyes—"
The Konoha Anbu leader, seeing the dire situation in Amegakure, ordered his side to join the battle to ensure the mission didn't go awry.
"Go, kill him!"
The Anbu leaped out one after another, but before they even landed, they saw Nagato summon a giant, blind monster several tens of meters tall from the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu: Gedo Statue!"
The Demonic Statue opened its enormous mouth and roared to the sky, its deafening roar shaking the ground. With a wave of its massive hand, it easily sent a dozen people flying.
Even more terrifying were the transparent long dragons it spat from its mouth. Wherever they passed, the Ninja were helpless, their only fate to have their souls sucked away, turning into lifeless husks.
Nagato also paid a price for this, with over a dozen black pillars used to control the Gedo Statue deeply impaled into his back, relentlessly absorbing his Chakra and life force.
In just ten short seconds, he went from healthy and robust to emaciated, his cheeks sunken, appearing as if a gust of wind could blow him over.
He ignored Konan's pleas and his own physical damage, unleashing a furious assault on all enemies on the battlefield until no one could stand in his sight.
Hanzou was astonished by the power of the Rinnegan and, at the last moment, used a Body Flicker to escape.
With that, the battle ended.
The black pillars in Nagato's back snapped one by one, and the Gedo Statue vanished into thin air like mist. A deathly silence fell over the surroundings, broken only by the incessant sound of falling rain.
He staggered to Yahiko's side and, together with Konan, embraced the cold body.
"Oh, am I late?"
A familiar voice sounded not far away. Konan, flustered and at a loss, looked up to see a tall figure standing in the heavy rain.
It was Eternal Day.
She remembered his name.
The mysterious and powerful leader of "Eternal Day," who took it upon himself to guide the Rinnegan.
As if grasping at a lifeline, Konan placed her last shred of hope on him, her voice hoarse as she struggled to plead: "Can… can you… save Yahiko…?"
Nagato's ashen, dim eyes flickered. His head, which had been hanging low, suddenly snapped up, and he looked at him with an equally pleading expression.
Eternal Day tilted his head, looking at Yahiko, who was blocked between their bodies, and said with a helpless tone: "I don't really like using Medical Ninjutsu~~ but for Nagato's sake, alright."
Before he finished speaking, he used a Body Flicker to appear beside Nagato and crouched down. His hands, emanating a green light, extended from his black robe and were placed on the wound on Yahiko's abdomen.
"This guy has no vital signs, huh? You really make things difficult for people… I can't guarantee I can save him, though."
Nagato and Konan's hearts pounded nervously. They nodded frantically, not daring to say another word, fearing they would disturb Eternal Day during the rescue.
Even if hope was slim, they had to try to be at peace.
Time passed minute by minute. The green light on Eternal Day's hands grew brighter and brighter, reaching a peak before gradually dimming.
Eternal Day stood up and pulled his hands back into his robe: "What a shame, his heart stopped beating for too long…"
The other two's hearts plummeted. Just as they were about to cry out in anguish, they heard Eternal Day's belated next sentence.
"…So he might never wake up again."
"Eh?"
Nagato's brain froze, still not understanding the meaning, but Konan was already overjoyed, falling to her knees, pressing her face against Yahiko's chest to listen for a heartbeat.
After feeling that faint but continuous tremor, Konan, with tears streaming down her face, hugged Nagato and shook his shoulders, explaining to him while uncontrollably sobbing loudly.
"He's alive… Yahiko, he… he's alive… waaaahhh…"
"Yahiko is… alive…?"
Nagato couldn't believe what he heard. His long-stagnant brain finally began to function.
Before joy could sprout in his heart, bitterness and sorrow surged to his nose, transforming into a torrent of tears that streamed down his face, mixing with the rain and splashing onto the ground in salty droplets.