Thud.
Yahiko collapsed to the ground.
Nagato stood frozen in shock, unable to react.
In the distance, Konan felt a chill pierce through her heart, as if she had been drenched in ice water. The cold radiated from the soles of her feet. She collapsed limply to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
Yahiko's death brought Konan's emotions to the brink of collapse.
"Attack!" Hanzo of the Salamander shouted.
The Amegakure shinobi and Root members simultaneously launched a volley of kunai.
Nagato's Rinnegan pupils constricted slightly as he repelled all the kunai with Shinra Tensei.
High above, Shimizu Uchiha watched the scene unfold with keen interest.
Just as it had played out in the original story, in his extreme rage, Nagato summoned the Gedo Statue. Numerous chakra receivers pierced Nagato's back, frantically draining his life force.
The Gedo Statue was the empty husk of the Ten-Tails.
Or rather, the husk of Kaguya Otsutsuki, as she had attempted to become the Ten-Tails itself.
It was the shell that the Sage of Six Paths had severed from Kaguya's body.
With a roar from Nagato below, he utilized the Genryu Kyu Fujin (Phantom Dragon Nine Consuming Seals). The Gedo Statue spewed forth a sphere of purple light, forming a massive chakra dragon.
The purple chakra dragon frantically attacked the enemies; every pass it made drained all chakra from those it touched, killing the ninja instantly upon contact.
"It seems you are the mastermind behind this. To think you possess the Rinnegan."
An immense aura enveloped Hanzo of the Salamander.
Even he had to admit this was a terrifyingly powerful force.
Seeing those deep purple Rinnegan eyes made even his heart palpitate.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
Hanzo decisively chose to retreat.
His ally, Danzo Shimura, seeing the situation turn unfavorable the moment the Gedo Statue appeared, had already fled.
Yahiko was dead, and most of the Akatsuki were gone; they could no longer stir up any significant trouble.
Seeing Nagato's body rapidly withering to skin and bones, Hanzo knew the side effects were severe and that Nagato would likely self-destruct soon.
There was no reason for Hanzo to stay.
Boom!
The purple chakra dragon slammed into the ground, kicking up thick dust and smoke.
As the smoke cleared, only a deep crater remained.
Poof.
The summoning of the Gedo Statue was released.
Nagato gasped for air, his legs giving way.
His body had withered rapidly from the prolonged use of the Gedo Statue's power. He was reduced to almost skin and bones; his shoulder blades protruded, and his ribs were clearly visible, looking as if they might pierce his paper-thin skin at any moment.
His once-full cheeks were sunken, his cheekbones high and prominent, and the skin on his face clung tightly to his skull, revealing a sickly pallor.
His eyes were deeply set, the Rinnegan flickering with an eerie light in the shadows.
Konan supported Yahiko, sobbing incessantly.
Then, she remembered the note Shimizu had given her.
"Nagato! Yahiko can still be saved. He hasn't stopped breathing yet!"
Nagato stood in a daze for a moment before snapping out of his trance.
In that previous state, it felt as if he had been controlled by the power of the Rinnegan rather than wielding it.
This power is too astonishing. I can't control it perfectly yet.
Nagato suppressed this thought and helped Konan support Yahiko.
Yahiko's wound had been bandaged with strips of cloth, but excessive blood loss had left him pale and his breathing shallow. It looked as if he would pass away at any moment.
"Where should we take Yahiko?"
Hanzo had attacked them, and the rest of the Akatsuki were likely being hunted down as well.
Furthermore, there were no medical ninja in the Akatsuki capable of treating such severe injuries.
Medical advancement was tied to the technological level of great nations; Amegakure's medical ninja could only treat minor injuries due to a lack of advanced medical ninjutsu.
"There is one person."
Konan took out the note Shimizu had given her.
It was a desperate gamble, but she couldn't just watch Yahiko die.
"Okay."
Nagato dragged his exhausted body, and together with Konan, they quickly carried Yahiko away.
"They're leaving, you know," White Zetsu said from atop the cliff in a voice that begged for a beating.
This plan was completely different from what Obito had described.
Obito had said that after Yahiko's death, he would tell Konan and Nagato that they could meet Yahiko in a dream world.
But now, Yahiko wasn't dead yet.
"Hmph, they will come back sooner or later."
Obito did not go down to interfere.
Only by letting them understand pain and giving them a target for vengeance could the Akatsuki gain a soul and begin gathering the Tailed Beasts.
Hiss...
Ripples appeared in space, and Obito spiraled into the dimension, taking White Zetsu with him and vanishing from the spot.
Shimizu, having watched from the sky for a while, pondered briefly.
He now had a clear understanding of the Rinnegan's power.
That immense visual prowess had practically swept across the battlefield below, proving the depth of its power.
Throughout thousands of years of ninja history, very few had awakened the Rinnegan.
After all, it was a privilege reserved for reincarnates.
Putting aside the Otsutsuki clan, the only recorded users were the Sage of Six Paths, Madara Uchiha, and Sasuke Uchiha.
In the long river of history, reincarnates who lived long lives weren't as imaginative as Madara Uchiha in fusing the two powers.
Those who were imaginative didn't live as long as Madara.
Madara had survived from his prime into decrepit old age, spending decades fusing the powers before finally awakening the Rinnegan.
"Indra's power..."
Asura's power was easy to get; he could just tear a piece of flesh off Naruto.
The key was how to obtain Indra's power.
The Uchiha's power was concentrated in the eyes, unlike the Uzumaki or Senju, where it focused on the physical body.
"Extracting cells should work the same way."
Shimizu prepared for the worst-case scenario.
It would be best if he could draw their reincarnated chakra from the simulator.
If not, he would have to do it himself and manually awaken the Rinnegan.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
Possessing the Flying Thunder God Technique, Shimizu had long since returned.
Aside from the laboratory base, Orochimaru had arranged a separate house for Shimizu.
Living in a space smelling of disinfectant every day wasn't as pleasant as the fresh air outside.
Orochimaru, who cared more about Shimizu's body than Shimizu himself did, had immediately arranged a two-hundred-square-meter house.
In the war-torn Land of Rain, real estate prices had already collapsed.
Creak.
Shimizu opened the door.
"We meet again, Miss Konan, and this must be... Nagato."
Shimizu took a deep look at the deep purple Rinnegan before opening the door fully.
The original work never explicitly stated the ranks of the Rinnegan.
This plot point was highly controversial.
When Sasuke first awakened the Rinnegan, one could see only half the pupil was visible, showing five tomoe. Following the ripple pattern, there must have been three more above, making it a nine-tomoe Rinnegan.
Later, it was immediately changed to six tomoe. In the colored manga before fighting Kaguya, it was a red Rinnegan, not deep purple.
But no matter how it was changed, the number of tomoe far exceeded Madara's Rinnegan.
In the Sharingan stage, every additional tomoe increased strength. The Rinnegan likely followed this rule.
Unfortunately, in Boruto, various Rinnegan appeared—Momoshiki's golden Rinnegan, Urashiki's blue Rinnegan.
Which was superior required Shimizu to experiment and verify one by one.
Because he didn't know what his own Rinnegan would look like.
A Rinnegan awakened by an ordinary Uchiha—not an Otsutsuki, not a reincarnate.
Would it be stronger? Or just an ordinary deep purple Rinnegan?
"Please treat Yahiko."
Nagato's voice was hoarse, and he trembled as he walked.
Shimizu glanced at his legs; the flesh was already festering.
During the battle with the Rain ninja, Nagato had accidentally been burned by Hanzo's pre-laid Exploding Flame Formation while saving Konan.
Nagato's immense visual prowess keenly perceived Shimizu's gaze. He said urgently:
"Don't worry about me. Save Yahiko first."
Konan also spoke solemnly:
"Please save Yahiko and Nagato. You are the best doctor we can find in the Land of Rain."
"However, my fees are very high. Have you thought this through?"
"We will pay any price."
Nagato and Konan said simultaneously.
After experiencing life and death, the three realized the preciousness of the companions by their side.
They couldn't imagine what the Akatsuki would become without Yahiko, their backbone.
"Good."
Seeing that they didn't even ask what the payment was and simply asked him to treat Yahiko, Shimizu readily agreed.
He had them lay Yahiko on the floor and began treatment right there.
The environment was limited and lacked equipment.
However, the more profound one's medical ninjutsu, the more one could break free from these limitations.
In the Fourth Great Ninja War, Tsunade had treated many people relying solely on medical ninjutsu.
Nagato and Konan felt a slight sense of relief seeing Shimizu begin treating Yahiko with a calm expression.
However, a heavy weight still pressed on their hearts.
Whether Yahiko could be cured remained an unknown.
Minutes later.
The pale green medical chakra in Shimizu's hands ceased, and Yahiko's external wounds had healed.
The rest was internal injury.
Even though a small pebble thrown by Shimizu from above had deflected Nagato's kunai slightly, the abdominal wound was very close to the heart.
A little closer, and it would have pierced the heart, causing fatal hemorrhage.
"Help him onto the sofa."
Shimizu pointed to the sofa in the living room.
"Is he okay now?"
"No major issues for the time being. Later, I'll need to operate to reconnect the meridian system inside."
"Um..."
Nagato and Konan didn't quite understand these technical terms.
They were self-taught, relying only on what Jiraiya had taught them for a few years.
The ninjutsu Jiraiya taught was just incidental; he mostly taught them principles about being human and how to live correctly.
After Konan and Nagato followed his instructions and moved Yahiko to the sofa, Shimizu performed a simple treatment on Nagato's legs.
The external injuries were handled.
However, the burns from the fire, combined with the Gedo Statue violently extracting life force from his meridian system, meant the meridian system within Nagato's legs was already a chaotic mess.
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