Chapter 324: The Rinnegan Secured
The collision of two overwhelming forces caused the mountain to crumble from within. Sensing the danger, Uchiha Ukyo rushed forward and caught Saori's falling body just in time.
A quick inspection revealed that Saori had been knocked unconscious by the blast, and blood was still flowing freely from the gaping wound in her body.
"Trouble..." Ukyo muttered with a low sigh. He carried her back to where Fugaku and the others were waiting.
Uchiha Genbo, proficient in medical ninjutsu, wasted no time and began treating Saori immediately. This was the primary reason Kyosuke had sent him along.
A few minutes later, seeing Saori's breathing stabilize, Ukyo finally relaxed. He turned to look toward the enemy's position.
But Obito was already gone. Or rather, the moment he saw Dark Owl beginning to lose, he had prepared to retreat.
At the same moment Ukyo had moved to catch Saori, Obito had slipped into the crumbling mountain and used Kamui to whisk away the heavily injured and unconscious Dark Owl.
With that, Obito had completely withdrawn from the battle for the Rinnegan. All that remained were Nagato and his companions.
"Phew... thank goodness, Nagato. The enemy has finally been driven off," Yahiko said, forcing a smile despite the pain in his heart as he looked at the devastation around them.
"Yeah," Nagato agreed with a weak smile. They prepared to check on Konan and then thank the Uchiha for rescuing them.
However, a cold voice unexpectedly stopped them in their tracks.
"Halt."
It was Uchiha Ukyo. He lifted the unconscious Konan by the collar, held a kunai to her throat, and stared silently at the panicked duo.
"Stop! Aren't you here to help us...?" Yahiko began to ask anxiously, but then he froze. A bitter realization dawned on him. "So, you are also here for Nagato's eyes."
"At least you're not completely stupid," Ukyo sneered. He turned his gaze to Nagato, who looked ready to attack. "You'd better stay still. Otherwise, the consequences will be more than you can bear."
As he spoke, he pressed the kunai slightly against Konan's neck, drawing a trickle of blood.
"Don't! Stop!!!" Nagato screamed in terror. He looked at the cold-faced Ukyo and asked, "What do you want?!"
"It's simple. Choose one."
"Do you want these eyes, or do you want this beautiful girl's life? I'll give you three seconds to decide."
Looking at the red-haired boy's struggling expression, Ukyo, who had done this kind of dirty work many times on the battlefield, gave them no time to think. He immediately began the countdown.
"Three..."
"Two..."
"Stop! I'll do it!"
"One..."
Seeing that Ukyo had no intention of stopping, Nagato steeled his heart. He raised his hands and gouged out his own eyes.
Blood streamed from the empty sockets. Clutching the Rinnegan in his hands, Nagato didn't hesitate to throw them far across the distance.
"Take them. Let her go," Nagato said, his voice trembling.
"A pleasure doing business." Ukyo caught the Rinnegan and carefully placed them into a small porcelain vial. True to his word, he tossed Konan back to them.
"Bastard!" Yahiko cursed as he rushed forward to catch his companion. He checked her condition and sighed in relief upon finding she was merely asleep.
"Thank goodness... you're both safe," Yahiko said, looking up at Nagato, who was forcing a smile despite his blindness. Tears streamed down Yahiko's face.
"Why... why did this happen? We were all just talking together... how did it come to this?" Yahiko looked around at the hellish landscape, feeling as though something inside him had shattered, never to be repaired.
Seeing the desolate state of the two youths, Uchiha Ukyo, having achieved his goal, hesitated for a moment before offering a piece of advice.
"This world is far more complex than you imagine. Having dreams is not wrong, but your mistake was stepping into the vortex before you truly understood the world."
"Give up on those meaningless dreams. Otherwise, what happened today will not be the last tragedy you face."
With that, the Uchiha group slowly departed.
Holding Konan's unconscious body, Yahiko looked at the gruesome, bloody hollows on his friend's face. He spoke with a vacant expression. "If... if I don't want to continue... will you..."
"It's okay. No matter where you go, we won't leave you," Nagato said with a smile.
Hearing these words, the idealistic Yahiko finally understood. Changing the ninja world was his dream. He had foolishly, selfishly believed that Nagato and Konan shared that exact same ambition.
It turned out he was the culprit who had brought this harm upon his friends. He realized just how selfish he had been.
After a long silence, Yahiko stood up, holding Konan. Without a word, he began to walk toward an unknown destination. Behind him, Nagato followed as he always had.
"Hey... shall we go back to that straw hut? The one where Jiraiya-sensei taught us."
"Yeah. If you think that's best, Yahiko. I'm sure Konan will be happy to go back there too."
"Thank you..."
Konoha Village, Hyuga Clan Compound.
"Captain, this is the Hyuga residence," a figure cloaked entirely in black whispered to another. They were Cloud ninja.
"Good. We'll go over the wall on the other side," the captain whispered back. He led his companion over the wall and into the courtyard of the Hyuga estate.
Their objective was, of course, to obtain a transplantable Byakugan from the Hyuga clan. Considering the need for a quick retreat, their target was once again the toddler, Hinata Hyuga, who was not yet two years old.
Ever since Hyuga Saori had seized power, Hiashi had been completely sidelined. Although Saori had promised Hizashi she wouldn't take Hiashi's life, she certainly wasn't going to give him a chance to make a comeback.
Depressed and stripped of authority, Hiashi spent his days drinking heavily, using alcohol to escape the cruel reality of his situation.
Because of this, the two Cloud ninja were able to easily snatch Hinata without alerting anyone.
"I didn't expect it to be this easy. The Hyuga clan isn't much after all."
"Stop talking. We need to rendezvous with the extraction team."
Just as the two Cloud ninja vaulted the wall, preparing to escape into the night, a loud shout shattered the silence of the Hyuga compound.
"Who goes there?!!"
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