"Yahiko..."
Looking at her childhood friend—the man who had always protected her and held her dear in his heart—lying lifelessly on the ground, Konan was overcome with pain. Helpless, she collapsed onto the floor, tears streaming endlessly from her eyes.
Nagato recalled the first time he'd met Yahiko—his youthful energy, his ever-optimistic spirit that had inspired him so much. Just thinking that those days were gone forever made his Rinnegan flash with a violent purple glow.
With Yahiko dead, Hanzo no longer held back. His eyes burned with killing intent as he coldly raised his hand and gave the order. "Attack."
Countless kunai flew through the air, launched by dozens of ninja—all aimed at one spot: Nagato, frozen in place like a lifeless statue.
Remembering Yahiko's final words and thinking about the dreams he once shared, the previously introverted and shy Nagato finally transformed.
His Rinnegan showed no trace of hesitation or uncertainty—only icy determination remained.
He simply raised his arm forward, and every single kunai stopped one meter in front of him, blocked by a strange energy, then fell to the ground.
"No way—he blocked them all!"
"He actually knocked them all away!"
"How did he do that?"
The many ninja were deeply puzzled by this scene. That red-haired boy hadn't even used any ninjutsu, nor was there any detectable chakra fluctuation. Yet he had easily survived.
Without giving them time to think, Nagato suddenly leapt forward, pushing off hard with his feet.
In an instant, he reached right in front of Hanzo, attempting to rescue Konan as quickly as possible.
Hmph, so predictable—a brat still playing hero, naive.
Hanzo's expression remained unchanged, but inside he smirked. He gave up holding Konan hostage and immediately retreated backward.
With Akatsuki's leader Yahiko dead, this red-haired boy wasn't worth worrying about anymore. Besides, thinking you could save others in this state? How laughably sentimental.
Jumping backward, Hanzo immediately formed hand seals as Nagato successfully reached Konan.
The earth beneath where the two stood turned into countless sheets of paper crawling up their bodies. Covered in densely packed papers marked with eerie black symbols—all explosive tags.
Sparks flashed—and in an instant, they all detonated.
The next moment...
Boom! Boom!
Thick smoke from the explosion surrounded the spot where the two had stood.
"It seems settled," Hanzo thought indifferently. Everything went according to plan. There was no way a mere teenager could survive his [Fire Release: Exploding Flame Formation].
Already freed from the paper bindings, Konan shouted loudly toward the smoke. Having already lost Yahiko, she couldn't bear losing another dear friend. As the smoke cleared, the explosion-wounded Nagato stood revealed, his legs covered in wounds, flesh torn and bloodied. But he showed no sign of pain—his icy calmness was terrifying, as if the explosion hadn't even touched him.
"Konan, hold Yahiko and stay here."
"Even with the wound on his foot, Nagato stared coldly at the group of ninja before him. Raindrops fell from the sky, extinguishing the flames that had burned his leg, yet a fire now blazed in Nagato's heart as he stood barefoot in the rain. Infinite killing intent radiated from his seemingly frail body, intensifying the bone-chilling cold of the downpour.
"He actually survived? Looks like you're no ordinary brat. Huh, those eyes... Could it be the Rinnegan?"
Hanzo remained unaffected by Nagato's killing intent. Instead, it was those violet spiral eyes that finally made him realize something significant.
"Attack."
Before either man could move, Root members rushed forward at Danzō's silent signal, brandishing their ninja blades. They were here specifically to assist Hanzo in eliminating the Akatsuki organization.
Watching swarms of shinobi charge toward him and thinking of Yahiko's fate, Nagato let out a deafening roar of fury.
"Don't! Don't use that technique!" Konan shouted desperately from the side.
Consumed by rage, Nagato couldn't hear her words. He extended his hand and performed hand seals onto the ground: [Summoning Technique: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!]
With a non-human roar, a massive brown palm erupted from underground, striking the Root members rushing toward Nagato. Unprepared for this sudden attack, they had no chance to resist and were instantly crippled, collapsing helplessly to the ground.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path supported itself with its palms on the ground. As the earth split apart with a thunderous roar, the tremendous tremor unleashed a monstrous beast long buried beneath centuries of seal.
"What is this...?"
Looking up at the giant dark shadow overhead, Konan trembled. Great power always comes at a great price.
For the first time, everyone witnessed the power of the Rinnegan. The Demonic Statue extended an iron rod-like metal bar toward Nagato. Mid-air, the metal bar continuously split into multiple branches which pierced Nagato's body simultaneously. Strangely, not a drop of blood flowed.
Connected to the Demonic Statue through these metal rods, Nagato temporarily obtained immense power while his own life force drained rapidly. Within mere seconds, he transformed from a healthy young man into a skeletal figure with sunken eyes—his youthful face now resembling an elderly old man's.
A purple dragon emerged from the mouth of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Facing it, groups of shinobi couldn't withstand even one attack before being devoured entirely. This place turned into a bloodbath...
Meanwhile back in Konoha, Anya had no knowledge whatsoever about the dramatic events occurring in the Rain Country. Every day she focused solely on nursing Terumi Mei back to health. With priceless medicinal ingredients poured in without concern for costs, Mei—who had once been critically injured near death—had nearly completely recovered.
But once healed, she couldn't stay put anymore. Full of energy each day, she constantly wanted to go outside, most frequently requesting to visit Anya's home.
Anya flat-out refused. Kurenai Yuhi knew of Anya's return to Konoha and visited frequently. Helpless, Anya could only tell Red Yuhi repeatedly through shadow clones that she was too busy taking care of patients at the hospital, hoping to keep things quiet.
If Mei visited Anya's home, it would turn into a warzone in no time—and might even end up leveling the whole house.
"Come on, you're hiding someone in your house. That's why you're afraid to let me come over."
No matter their age, all girls have that same gut feeling when it comes to this stuff, you know?
"Think about your position," Anya rolled their eyes. "Kiri just finished fighting against Konoha. If you show up openly at my place and Konoha Anbu members find out, do you even know what'll happen?"
Terumi Mei thought for a moment before playfully asking, "What if I actually got caught by Konoha Anbu? What would you do?"
Anya replied casually, "What else can I do? I'll just rescue you."
"Wouldn't you have to fight ninja from my own village? If you get caught, you'll become a missing-nin."
"You're more important than they are," Anya answered seriously. "For you, it's worth it."
"Oub, I see through it now—you're just saying sweet things to fool me." Terumi Mei's eyes slightly reddened as she emotionally threw herself toward him.
"Hey, kissing is fine, but don't bite... Hiss... Are you some kind of dog? I'll bite you back, you know!"
The lab started echoing with a bunch of inappropriate sounds...
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