If one were to classify the various kinds of protagonists, and do so with a critical eye, they could roughly be divided into all sorts of categories: sanctimonious saints, neurotics, face-slapping maniacs, murderers, chūnibyō patients…
But no matter what, it was hard to say that anyone acted chūnibyō purely for the sake of being chūnibyō. Every chūnibyō patient had a wounded heart… Although his aftereffects occasionally relapsed, Hagoromo considered himself to have long since graduated from that phase. Yet from the perspective of a "senior," he firmly believed that the person standing opposite him was a high-level chūnibyō patient.
Because their positions were different, their judgments of certain facts would also be completely opposite. From Nagato's position, or after learning everything about him from past to present, one might inevitably feel that he was a pitiful person. If one dug even deeper, they would realize that he had merely been a puppet manipulated by others from birth.
But Hagoromo would never think that way. In the end, people had to take responsibility for their own actions.
Anyone who had lived to a certain age had a tragic past of some sort, didn't they? What Hagoromo wanted was not repentance, nor salvation, nor forgiveness. The past that had already happened was an unchangeable reality.
So…
He only wanted him dead.
That was all.
"Overall… I'd say it's fairly creative."
Should this be called unexpected, or within expectations? In short, Hagoromo's attitude at this moment was extremely calm. Now that he had come here, he was neither impatient nor anxious anymore. He even had the leisure to praise Nagato in his current state.
No one was an idiot. Knowing that a powerful enemy would sooner or later come knocking, after so many years had passed, Nagato naturally would not have simply "sat around waiting for death." If he had made appropriate preparations, that was the more reasonable outcome.
Although Nagato's body was covered with black receivers, turning himself into an existence similar to Pain, he was naturally not a corpse. Even now, he was still very much alive.
Long ago, Nagato had suffered severe injuries. From that time onward, he had lost the ability to move on his own.
Back then, when faced with the joint encirclement of Hanzō and Danzō, and with Konan—one member of their intimate and friendly trio—captured, Nagato was first forced to personally kill Yahiko. Afterward, in order to save Konan, his legs were wounded by exploding tags. When he was pushed to the brink, Nagato finally fully awakened the power of the Rinnegan and forcibly summoned the Ten-Tails' husk, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, from its seal on the Moon.
He then used the power of the statue and the Rinnegan to drive back his enemies in one move…
But the price of forcibly using that power was that a connection was forcibly established between the Demonic Statue and Nagato. Black receivers originating from the statue pierced into Nagato's body. From then on, he bore a cross of sin upon his back, and his body completely lost the ability to move freely.
That was why Nagato created Pain, using those six corpse-puppets to act in his place during battle.
Because each of them possessed a portion of the Rinnegan's power, Pain was almost unstoppable. However, his battle with Hagoromo many years ago made Nagato understand one thing: when dealing with an enemy like him, dispersing the Rinnegan's power and then coordinating between separate bodies would not lead to victory.
In addition, after Yahiko was gone, Pain had lost a large part of its meaning to Nagato. Thus, in the end, he performed a Pain-like modification on himself. By using black receivers to accept chakra control in place of neural reflexes, he regained the ability to move freely.
At this point, calling him a puppet would not be wrong. The only difference was that he himself could use the full power of the Rinnegan.
Even so, the physical condition of the Nagato standing before Hagoromo could hardly be called good.
"Looks like even if I don't act, your body won't last much longer," Hagoromo said.
Leaving aside physical condition for the moment, the chakra level and state of a member of the Uzumaki clan could be judged quite easily from one particular external feature—their hair color.
For example, Uzumaki Mirai had long, vivid red hair. That meant her condition was excellent, and as she grew older, her chakra level would continue to grow along with her. But Nagato?
His red hair seemed to be in the process of fading.
"Until I complete my ideal, I won't die. If you're worried about that, you might as well worry about the condition of your three young companions instead."
Nagato's tone was filled with cold indifference. Those peculiar eyes of his were equally calm.
Or perhaps it should be called confidence.
Confidence that he could defeat Hagoromo.
A chakra giant of XXXXXX-large size had invaded the village. Naturally, Nagato could not possibly have failed to notice it. But apart from Hagoromo, the others were not worth worrying about. Konan had already gone to deal with them.
As though in response to Nagato's words, an even more intense series of explosions suddenly came from the distance. Those explosions carried a special rhythm, and seemed as though they could continue endlessly.
Konan's attack had begun.
But Hagoromo was not worried. From the very beginning, the three members of Team Six had been standing in an unbeatable position.
"Before we begin, I have one final question. Why are you so fixated on the tailed beasts? And what did you do to the Seven-Tails, which can no longer revive?"
A verbal clash seemed to hold no meaning, but at the very last moment, Nagato still asked his questions.
"First of all, that's two questions. Second, as for their answers…"
Hagoromo had absolutely no obligation to answer either of them.
"Guess?"
At first, the reason he had moved against the tailed beasts was merely to force Akatsuki step by step into a dead end. The tailed beasts were the key to their goal. Precisely because of that, when they watched the tailed beasts die one after another, the psychological pressure they endured was easy to imagine. That sense of despair and terror could probably give Hagoromo a small measure of satisfaction.
But in the end, Hagoromo had still underestimated this group. After the Seven-Tails, Akatsuki showed no signs of collapsing at all. They remained fixated on their plan, and even accelerated its progress. Without a doubt, that determination caused Hagoromo's original plan to fall apart. This was also one of the reasons he had chosen to "strike straight at the dragon's lair" this time.
"As expected, between people whose goals are opposed, there won't be even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of understanding or mutual comprehension…"
Before Nagato asked that question, he had probably already imagined Hagoromo's answer.
Hagoromo's right hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his back, while Nagato extended one arm toward him.
The knight raised his lance.
The wizard gripped his wand.
The soldier loaded his crossbow.
The samurai polished his katana.
Upon whose neck had the chains of the God of Death been placed?
"Shinra—"
Nagato instinctively began to use the move he had long since grown accustomed to, and instinctively started to say those four syllables.
However, the long blade flashing with lightning was like a lightning arrow launched from a giant crossbow. It directly pierced through the palm he had placed in front of him. The tremendous impact and inertia flung that entire arm from in front of his body to behind him, and the force even spun his body halfway around.
By the time he turned his body back around, Hagoromo had already rushed right up to him.
At that speed, Hagoromo himself carried tremendous impact. He planted one foot on the ground, and his entire body flipped upside down, head below and feet above. In the instant he swept over Nagato's head like lightning, he reached out and grabbed Nagato's shoulder. Then, using inertia and a reverse spin, his feet landed on the ground again.
By then, his body had already gathered immense force. With one arm, he exerted his strength.
This was a shoulder throw.
Or perhaps it should be called…
An explosive throw?
Boom!
In an instant, dust and smoke rose in every direction. Nagato's body was like a cannonball that had been fired, smashing straight into the middle section of a tall tower.
"Shinra" my ass. What god? More like a psycho. Again with this?
Hagoromo had long since had enough of that move.
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