"Annoying!"
The instant the word left his lips, Mizuki's left eye flew open. His dōjutsu — Takamitamanomikoto — flared to life, and the sinister power of that Heavenly Restriction washed over Pain.
Yet Pain showed no reaction whatsoever, still suspended in the air by the Deva Path's repulsive force.
He regarded Mizuki coolly, "So you possess the Sharingan as well — another Kakashi, is that it? But your Sharingan is meaningless before me. The Rinnegan is the Sage's eye. How could a mere mortal hope to rival it? You're stubborn… so from this moment on, you will experience pain. Only pain will make you recognize reality."
Mizuki didn't respond. It had only been a probe — and the result was exactly as he'd expected. The Sharingan, in the end, was inferior to the Rinnegan. Even an Eternal Mangekyō looked at a disadvantage in front of it.
Only Itachi's Amaterasu could truly wound a Rinnegan wielder.
'Sunagakure is launching a full-scale assault. Naruto and the others should be fine… but the Fushigakure we built with such effort will take enormous losses.'
There were simply too few shinobi in the village to defend it properly. That was why he had to return at once. Every minute he saved meant more buildings spared, more lives preserved.
He lifted his head and met Pain's gaze, "Since you enjoy blocking the road so much, I'll give you a little surprise. As for this 'pain' you keep preaching… ridiculous. It's nothing but your own self-indulgent fantasy."
In the next moment, his right eye opened — revealing a Rinnegan.
Pain's composure cracked. For the first time, shock broke through his calm mask.
"How… do you have it too?"
Mizuki didn't answer. He only growled, voice low and sharp:
Gedō — Rinne Tensei no Jutsu ▻ Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique
A green radiance enveloped the Deva Path.
After unleashing an Ultra Shinra Tensei on Konoha, the Rinnegan's ocular power had been nearly drained dry. After all, he possessed only one Rinnegan — half the power, half the reserves.
Over the course of this flight, that power had recovered somewhat. He still couldn't use anything on the scale of another Ultra Shinra Tensei… but reviving a single person was still within reach.
❊❊❊❊❊
Far away in Amegakure, Nagato — seated in his wheelchair — suddenly jerked upright, eyes wide, voice hoarse with disbelief.
"Why… why is this happening? He has the Rinnegan too — and he's actually doing it? Doesn't he understand that if he uses that technique, he will die as well?"
Nagato knew better than anyone: the price of Rinne Rebirth was the caster's life.
That was why he had never used it to bring Yahiko back. If Yahiko lived, Nagato would die. Trading one life for another was meaningless.
Behind him, Konan's expression tightened, "Nagato, what happened? Is the Deva Path not a match for Mizuki?"
Nagato didn't explain. He spoke at a frantic speed instead, "Konan — notify Deidara immediately. He must catch Yahiko!"
Seeing his urgency, Konan didn't hesitate. She activated the ring's transmission and contacted Deidara at once.
The Akatsuki rings could relay messages across great distances. Even with members scattered across the shinobi world, sharing intelligence was easy.
"I've told him, Nagato. What exactly is going on?"
Nagato's voice trembled, "Mizuki has awakened the Rinnegan… and he is using Rinne Rebirth to revive Yahiko."
"What?" Konan's face went bloodless.
She spun toward the door, paper peeling from her body, forming wings behind her.
"Wait." Nagato called, teeth clenched, "Take me with you!"
❊❊❊❊❊
Back on Mizuki's side.
Sensing life force surging within the green light, Mizuki snorted coldly and flew west. Only a few seconds after he left, the radiance around the Deva Path faded away.
"Huh? Where am I? Why am I in the sky? Help! I can't fly — Aaah!"
The newly revived Yahiko screamed as he fell.
Worse still, the black chakra rods were still embedded in his body, leaving him unable to move. Like a puppet with its strings cut, he dropped straight down.
But after yelling for a bit, he suddenly went quiet.
"Wait… I was already dead. And I even screamed for help… this is way too embarrassing."
So he shut his mouth and simply free-fell.
It was night; he couldn't see anything clearly. Yahiko still hadn't realized this wasn't the Pure Land at all.
Just as he was about to smash into the ground and become a meat pancake, Deidara finally arrived on his clay bird and managed to catch him.
"Hey — who are you?" Yahiko demanded, still dazed.
Deidara frowned, "Leader, you don't recognize me? That's not right… why is your Rinnegan gone, hmm?"
He was completely baffled. This "leader" felt wrong in every way.
Yahiko studied him and clicked his tongue, "What's your name? You died so young — what a pity."
Deidara stared, "What nonsense are you spouting? Who died? I'm alive and kicking — studying explosive art every day. How could I die that easily, hmm?"
"Already in the Pure Land and still denying it… your bones are rotten, but your mouth is still tough."
Deidara's short fuse detonated instantly, "Daring to curse me to death — I'll let you taste the charm of art, hmm!"
He was just about to unleash his clay when a clear voice rang out from afar.
"Deidara — stop!"
Deidara grudgingly lowered his hand, but Yahiko's expression changed.
"That voice… why does it sound like Konan?"
Konan descended on white paper wings, drifting down like an angel.
Yahiko stared, stunned, "Konan, you…"
Konan smiled softly, "Yahiko — welcome back."
"Konan… what is going on?"
"No rush." she said gently, "We'll talk after we meet Nagato."
Then she turned to Deidara, her gaze sharp, "Deidara, where is Mizuki's corpse?"
Deidara blinked, "C-cor… corpse? He isn't dead. What corpse are you talking about?"
"What? Mizuki didn't die? That's impossible!"
The cost of Rinne Rebirth was the caster's life. Mizuki used Rinne Rebirth to revive Yahiko — so he should have died. How hadn't he?
"Yeah, he didn't die." Deidara said matter-of-factly, "He flew away."
Konan's brows knit together.
Could it be Mizuki feared his corpse would fall into Akatsuki's hands, so he forced himself to keep breathing — then fled far away to hide?
Something still felt off. She asked again, "When he left… did anything change? His hair turning white, wrinkles appearing, his body aging — anything like that?"
Deidara answered bluntly, "How would I know? It was the middle of the night, and I was far away — I couldn't see clearly, okay?"
Konan nodded, realizing she wouldn't get more out of him. She sent him off, then brought Yahiko to see Nagato.
When the three finally met, Nagato and Konan explained everything. Little by little, Yahiko understood.
"Nagato…" Yahiko's voice was heavy, "Why would you do this? When we founded Akatsuki, this wasn't the path we chose."
Yahiko had never agreed with Nagato's later "peace through pain." His belief had always been to prevent war through dialogue. That had been Akatsuki's original approach, too.
After Yahiko's death, Nagato took control and twisted Akatsuki's ideals completely. He wanted the world to feel pain, to fear war, and then to cherish the hard-won peace that followed — thus achieving "world peace."
But now… Yahiko was alive.
Nagato's gaze sharpened, "Yahiko — why did you die? Have you forgotten?"
Yahiko fell silent.
"Our original idea was peace through dialogue." Nagato continued, voice steady, almost merciless, "But we were wrong — terribly wrong. You paid for it with your life. Hanzō feared us and tried to erase us. With dialogue alone, we couldn't bring peace to the shinobi world… we couldn't even bring peace to Amegakure. This country is still crying. The people still live in pain."
His eyes were unwavering, "Yahiko, abandon those childish dreams. Only pain can bring peace."
Yahiko stayed silent. He couldn't refute it.
After a long pause, he asked, "But by your logic, to make the entire shinobi world feel pain requires overwhelming force. Does Akatsuki truly have that kind of power?"
Nagato said, "That is why Akatsuki's plan is to collect the tailed beasts — gather all nine, revive the Ten-Tails, and then I will become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki. My power will reach the level of the Sage of Six Paths. At that point… peace will be within reach."
Yahiko frowned, "Collecting all nine tailed beasts will be difficult. They're held by the Five Great Nations. They'll never hand them over."
"It wouldn't have been so difficult." Nagato said, "if Mizuki hadn't appeared out of nowhere… and awakened the Rinnegan as well. That has raised the difficulty. But I have a method."
Konan asked quietly, "Nagato… what method?"
Nagato explained, "Right now, the One-Tail, Seven-Tails, and Nine-Tails have all fallen into Mizuki's hands. That means he also intends to collect the tailed beasts. So let him do it first."
"When Fushigakure accumulates more and more tailed beasts, the Five Great Nations won't be able to sit still. When the time comes, a Five-Nation Allied Army will march into the Land of Birds and launch a war to seize them."
"Fushigakure will face the five great villages alone. Mizuki is strong, but he will not necessarily win. When both sides are badly wounded… we will profit from the chaos and take all nine tailed beasts — without lifting a finger."
Yahiko's frown deepened.
He'd once been a sunny youth — straightforward in dealing with people, optimistic by nature. He despised this sort of cold plotting.
"Nagato… based on what I know of you, this kind of scheme isn't your specialty." His eyes narrowed, "Someone put this plan in your head. That masked man — wasn't it? The one who calls himself Madara Uchiha… the one whose chakra feels evil."
"Nagato, stay away from him."
❊❊❊❊❊
Land of Birds — Fushigakure.
Sunagakure shinobi surged in from every direction, like a flood breaking through a dam.
Wind Release jutsu flew one after another. Poisoned puppets scuttled through the streets. And more than anything else — there were simply too many of them.
Fushigakure had only fifteen shinobi in total, and Mizuki wasn't present. The disadvantage in manpower was overwhelming.
On Fushigakure's side, Tsunade's hemophobia still hadn't been cured — she couldn't fight.
Nawaki had been revived by Mizuki, but he still didn't feel any sense of belonging to Fushigakure. He and Shizune didn't intend to take the initiative; instead, they focused on protecting Tsunade.
Daisuke hadn't even mastered the basic three jutsu yet. He had no combat strength at all.
Those who could fight were: Naruto and Kushina, Sasuke, Gaara, Sai and Shin (the brothers), Neji and Hizashi, Zabuza and Haku.
The most dazzling among them was Naruto.
With the help of the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, special kunai were planted everywhere. Using the Flying Thunder God, Naruto became a yellow flash — appearing and vanishing through the enemy ranks. Paired with the lethal Rasengan, it was nothing short of reckless domination.
By himself, he nearly crushed Sunagakure's offensive momentum.
To deal with him, the Suna shinobi began unleashing large-area techniques indiscriminately, and the collateral damage was brutal — Fushigakure's buildings were torn apart in swathes.
When Mizuki returned and saw rows of collapsed structures, his rage surged so hard his nostrils practically smoked.
"Damn Suna shinobi… you're courting death!"
❊❊❊❊❊
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want 20 chapters ahead of this novel for just $2 or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
Take a look at the new books I'm translating on my profile, Cyberpunk 2077: A God-Level Skill Every Day and Infinite Worlds: Building the Strongest Harem! They are also on my website for $5 and $1.5, respectively!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)