Chapter 22: The Eye of God Rejected by the "Arrow"
"Did it succeed?"
Although he couldn't see the Stand, Nagato's Mind's Eye of the Kagura sensed a heart-palpitating fluctuation. That feeling was even more eerie and overbearing than Maeda's "Money for Nothing" just now.
"More than just success..."
Yahiko stared at the humanoid phantom behind Konan, who wore a transparent top hat and a white trench coat; the fanaticism in his eyes was almost impossible to hide.
If Maeda had drawn an R card, then the one Konan got was a game-winning SSR!
From JoJo Part 4, it was the Stand of the popular manga artist Rohan Kishibe—[Heavens Door]!
"Konan, practice on Nagato." Yahiko's lips curled upward. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Konan nodded. The Stand seemed to be an extension of her limbs. With a single thought, a white stream of light instantly pounced toward Nagato in his wheelchair.
"What?"
Nagato's pupils constricted. He was about to activate Shinra Tensei when Yahiko's shout exploded in his ear: "Don't resist! Trust her!"
In that moment of hesitation, the outcome was decided.
The small white Stand hovered in front of Nagato, lightly tapping his face with a brush.
Flip!
There was no pain, and no Chakra collision.
Nagato's entire face was actually "flipped open" like an old book!
His original skin turned into pages filled with dense text, floating in mid-air. Nagato was frozen in his wheelchair, his eyes full of terror, yet he couldn't even move a finger—the moment the "pages" were opened, control over his body was stripped away.
"This..."
Konan leaned in to look, her beautiful eyes widening.
On the pages, Nagato's experiences from childhood to adulthood, his likes, and even his most secret inner thoughts were all laid bare in bold text.
"I can... read his life?" Konan covered her mouth. This feeling of prying into privacy left her both ashamed and shocked.
"It's more than just reading."
Yahiko stepped forward and pointed to a blank space on the page, a demonic light flashing in his eyes. "Try writing something on it. For example—add a'setting' for him."
Konan took a deep breath and controlled [Heavens Door] to wave its Quill.
[Setting: Whenever he hears Yahiko snap his fingers, he will use all his strength to shout, "Long live the Akatsuki."]
She finished writing and closed the book.
With a rustle, Nagato's face returned to its original state.
"Huff... huff..." Nagato gasped for breath, touching his intact cheek with a look of bewilderment. "What... happened just now? It felt like a dream."
"Is it over?" Nagato looked at Yahiko in confusion.
Yahiko didn't explain. He simply raised his right hand with a mischievous smirk.
Snap!
The crisp sound of the finger snap echoed through the basement.
In the next second, Nagato's eyes instantly lost focus.
He suddenly straightened his back like a fanatical believer and let out a voice-cracking roar at the top of his lungs:
"Long live the Akatsuki!!!"
The sound was so loud that dust rustled down from the basement ceiling.
Dead silence.
The air seemed to freeze for three seconds.
After roaring that out, Nagato slumped into his wheelchair as if he'd been electrocuted, his entire face instantly turning the color of pig liver. Those Rinnegan eyes that intimidated the Ninja World were now filled with horror and shame.
"What... what did I do?!"
Nagato's voice was trembling. In that moment just now, his mind had been perfectly clear, but his body had acted as if possessed by a ghost, executing that shameful command completely against his will.
This sense of powerlessness was even more despair-inducing than when he faced Hanzou.
"This is the terror of a Rule-based Stand."
Yahiko looked at the cold-sweat-drenched Nagato and said calmly, "As long as they are touched by [Heavens Door], no matter how strong a Ninja is, they will become a'storybook' for Konan to write in. She is the ultimate intelligence officer and an absolute controller."
"Heavens Door..."
Konan chewed on the name, the weakness in her eyes completely fading away. With this power, no one would ever be able to harm the three of them again.
"In the future, all new members joining the Akatsuki must pass through you first," Yahiko ordered. "I want you to carve loyalty into their minds."
"Leave it to me." Konan nodded, her tone firmer than ever before.
Yahiko turned around in a great mood. Since Konan could succeed in one go, then Nagato, who possessed the Immortal's Eye, would definitely be able to awaken an even more world-destroying power.
"Now, for the grand finale."
Yahiko looked at his best friend, who hadn't yet recovered from his "social death," his eyes full of expectation.
"Nagato, it's your turn. Let me see what kind of monster the Rinnegan can produce."
Nagato took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart. He pushed his wheelchair forward slowly, a flash of determination in his purple Rinnegan eyes.
Since everyone else had succeeded, as the Child of Prophecy, he absolutely could not fall behind!
Watching Nagato stretch out his arm, Yahiko did not let down his guard.
"King Crimson!"
The crimson emperor phantom emerged behind him, and the tiny compound eye on its forehead snapped open.
[Epitaph]—Activate!
The mists of time cleared, and Yahiko saw a future that was destined to happen in a dozen seconds.
In the vision: The Golden Arrow pierced Nagato's skin. There was no golden light, no Stand. Only countless black curse markings spread frantically from the wound. Nagato let out a shrill scream as black blood-tears flowed from his Rinnegan, before his entire body collapsed stiffly, his life force extinguished.
What?!
Yahiko's pupils shook, and his heart skipped a beat.
It failed?
How was this possible! The Uzumaki Clan, with the most tenacious life force, and the Rinnegan, which possessed the Six Paths Power, were actually rejected by this arrow?!
In reality, Nagato's finger was only three centimeters away from the golden arrowhead.
"Come on!" Nagato's eyes were determined as he was about to make contact.
"Nagato! Use a Water Clone immediately! Quick!!"
Yahiko's roar exploded like a thunderclap, filled with unprecedented horror and urgency.
This shout was so abrupt that it made Konan tremble all over.
Although Nagato didn't know why, the absolute trust he had built on the battlefield made him react instinctively.
A Ninja's muscle memory is faster than the brain.
Water Release: Water Clone Technique!
In a flash, Nagato on the wheelchair turned into a stream of water, while his original body used the Body Flicker Technique to hazardously blink three meters away, where he was caught by the quick-handed Konan.
Puchi!
At the position where Nagato had been, a Water Clone had just formed when it was pierced by the broken arrow in Yahiko's hand.
There was no Awakening.
Only destruction.
"Sizzle—!!"
A tooth-gritting sound of corrosion instantly erupted.
Under the horrified gazes of the three, that Stand-surrogate Water Clone couldn't even maintain itself for a second. Black markings crawled over the water like lethal poison, and then—
Bang!
The Water Clone exploded.
That wasn't water at all, but a foul-smelling black pus!
This pus splashed onto the hard rock floor, instantly corroding dense pits and sending up clouds of stinking white smoke.
"This..."
Nagato stared fixedly at that puddle of still-bubbling "corpse water," cold sweat instantly soaking his back.
If he hadn't dodged just now, the one turned into this pile of rotten meat... would have been his real body!