Hanzo's gaze lingered on Nagato, the question hanging in the rain-heavy air. "Wouldn't you want that as well?"
Nagato didn't answer immediately. He drew a slow breath, forcing himself to think past impulse. "Hanzo-sama," he said carefully, "this isn't a decision that can be made lightly. If what you're saying is true, this doesn't involve Amegakure alone. It will inevitably draw in other villages."
Hanzo's mouth tightened, then he gave a short, humorless nod. "You're right." His eyes hardened. "Kumogakure is already involved. Konoha as well."
Yahiko stiffened at that.
Hanzo continued, his voice dropping into something far more honest. "Whether Akatsuki joins or not, my ANBU and I will move. I will claim the Blood Stone." He paused, then added, "But there is one outcome that must never be allowed."
Nagato felt it before Hanzo finished.
"If the vengeful souls of Uzushiogakure reach that stone first," Hanzo said, "then what we face won't be a weapon or a shinobi. It will be immortal ghosts—bound by hatred, unleashed upon the world."
Rain hissed against the stone around them.
Hanzo looked directly at Yahiko. "I'm asking you to lend your strength . For the shinobi world. Its fate is now at stake."
For a moment, no one moved.
Then Hanzo straightened. With a sharp gesture, he turned away. His ANBU vanished with him in unison, shunshin flashes popping through the rain until the space they occupied was empty once more.
The silence that followed felt heavier than the downpour.
Yahiko turned toward Nagato, unease written plainly across his face. "What should we do, Nagato?"
Konan glanced between them and let out a small, dry breath. "That's new," she said lightly. "You're usually the one making the decisions, Yahiko. What's with the sudden downgrade?"
Yahiko didn't rise to the joke. His gaze stayed distant. "I think… Hanzo-sama isn't the man I believed he was." He hesitated, then looked back at Nagato. "You saw it too, didn't you?"
Nagato said nothing at first.
Yahiko continued, voice steadier now. "Whatever happens in the next few days, we won't blame you for your decision. This time, it's yours."
Nagato's fingers tightened slightly at his side. He lifted his head, rain sliding off the fringe of red hair that hid his eyes. "Then here's what I think," he said calmly. "We should meet this man—Tiel."
Konan's expression sharpened.
Nagato went on. " I want to hear it directly from him. What he intends. From the beginning." His voice lowered. "Because from what Hanzo described… something is wrong."
"It sounds like everyone involved will tear each other apart," Nagato finished, "and in the end, no one will actually win."
The air twisted not far from them. Space folded inward with a familiar distortion, rain bending unnaturally as a vortex opened. A figure stepped out of the swirl—white mask, single eyehole, black flame pattern etched across its surface. Tobi.
Yahiko's expression hardened instantly. He stepped forward, voice sharp. "You again. Fake Uchiha Madara. Haven't you pestered Nagato enough with your—"
Something flashed through the air. Tobi flicked his wrist, and a small yellow crystal sailed forward. Nagato reacted on instinct, catching it in his palm. The fragment pulsed faintly, warm against his skin.
Tobi raised a hand, cutting off Yahiko before he could continue. "I didn't come for pleasantries or philosophy," he said calmly. "And if you don't want to call me Uchiha Madara… then call me Tobi."
Nagato lowered his gaze to the crystal, eyes narrowing.
Tobi's tone sharpened. "Use your Rinnegan. Look at it. See what's inside." He paused, a hint of tension creeping in. "Even my Sharingan can't tell what it's made of."
Nagato's breath caught the moment his Rinnegan focused.
The yellow fragment in his palm stopped looking like matter. Its surface peeled away under his perception, revealing something far deeper—an energy that predated chakra itself, layered and compressed into an unstable core. It carrying a pressure that made his skin prickle.
nagato fingers curled slightly as realization set in. This kind of force would tear an ordinary body apart. Even a shinobi would suffer severe complications just trying to contain it.
Nagato lifted his head, eyes sharp beneath his red hair. "Where did you get this, Tobi?" His voice stayed calm, but the warning was unmistakable. "This object is powerful. But the risk is real."
Tobi didn't hesitate. "It's called a stardust fragment." His Sharingan spun slowly as he spoke. "And it comes from the very thing everyone's been arguing about."
His gaze hardened. "From the traitor to this world—Tiel."
Konan's eyes narrowed. She stepped closer to Nagato's side, skepticism clear in her tone. "You exaggerate," she said flatly. "First you called Nagato the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths. Now you're calling this Tiel something similar?" Her eyes flicked to Tobi. "What is he to you—some animal? A 'traitor of the world'? You sound like you have a personal grudge."
Tobi's voice dropped, stripped of mockery. "Tiel is an outsider," he said. "He didn't grow up in this world. He didn't inherit its pain. He came here uninvited."
Tobi's single eye stayed locked on Nagato. "Unlike you—who will save this world—he seeks to destroy it."
Yahiko scoffed, stepping forward. "Then why don't you put him down yourself?" His voice sharpened. "You call yourself Uchiha Madara. Even if Hashirama wounded you, someone like Tiel shouldn't be a problem now." He narrowed his eyes. "You just want to use Nagato."
Tobi didn't deny it. He shifted his stance instead, voice lowering. "I've already met Tiel. I fought him." His eye flicked to Nagato. "He uses space-time ninjutsu without hand seals . Much like what you could do if you fully awaken the Rinnegan."
His tone hardened. "But unlike Nagato, who was born into this world—Tiel—"
"He came from outside it," Konan cut in calmly. "Enough. We already understand what you want, Tobi."
Tobi inclined his head slightly. "I want Nagato to speak with him. To see him with his own eyes. understand what he really is… and where his weaknesses lie."
Yahiko shook his head immediately. "You want us to spy for you." His jaw set. "We're not your footmen. And from what Hanzo told us, Tiel isn't someone you can just observe without consequences." He glanced at Nagato, then Konan. "He's unstable. He'll sense us the moment we get close."
Tobi didn't argue. He flicked his wrist instead. A small object arced through the rain.
Nagato caught it on instinct. A blue pill , energy swirling inside it like a contained tide.
"It's called a stardust pill," Tobi said evenly. "It came from Tiel too. Harmless. And it may help you."
Nagato didn't hesitate. His eyes flared as the Rinnegan scanned it—layers of structure beyond normal chakra, precise, controlled, dangerous only in scale. Then he swallowed it.
"Nagato!" Yahiko snapped. "What if that thing's poison?"
The answer came immediately. Chakra surged through Nagato's body, clean and overwhelming. His output spiked—threefold, at least—and the constant strain behind his eyes eased. The Rinnegan felt lighter. Obedient. Easier to breathe with.
Nagato exhaled slowly. "This… it came from the same person." His brow furrowed. "Then why create something that can heal the world—and another thing, like that yellow crystal, which destroys its user?" He looked up. "They contradict each other."
Tobi's eye narrowed. "I don't know." His gaze shifted toward the rain-soaked distance. "But if you want to find him, he's in Amegakure. Blue high-collared jacket. White hair. Golden eyes." A pause. "Though I doubt those eyes belong to any dōjutsu ever recorded. They feel… external. Like a power that doesn't originate from this world."
Space began to twist around him.
As Kamui swallowed his form, Tobi's voice lingered, sharp and deliberate. "This is not an exchange, Nagato. It is proof. If you truly are the one destined to end this world's suffering… the Rinnegan will evolve when you confront what threatens it."
Nagato lowered his hand slowly and looked to Yahiko and Konan. The faint blue glow around his chakra hadn't faded yet.
Yahiko broke the tension first, rubbing the back of his neck. " it's not the worst outcome." He glanced toward the spot where Tobi had vanished. "As annoying as that fake Uchiha Madara is, he helped you this time. We can return the favor—for now." His eyes sharpened with resolve. "Besides, I want to see this Tiel for myself."
From behind a cracked pillar, Kyūsuke peeked out, clearly holding back excitement. "Yahiko-aniki… should we gather everyone? If this Tiel's that dangerous, we could just jump him with the whole Akatsuki."
Nagato's face drained of color as the suggestion landed. He shook his head immediately. "No." His voice was firm, almost strained. "Only the three of us go. If he can create something like this…" He lifted his hand slightly, feeling the pill's lingering effect. "…then his real power is far beyond what we've seen."
Konan stepped closer, studying him. "You look pale, Nagato. Did that masked man poison you?"
Nagato exhaled slowly. "No. The pill works. Perfectly." His brow furrowed, eyes unfocused for a moment. "But just now… I felt something else. A connection." He looked up, unsettled. "Its source. Tiel himself. It's faint, but it's there."
The rain seemed louder as he continued.
"His chakra… it's enormous. Not wild like a rampaging force. Dense. Pressurized." His fingers curled. "Like standing near a huge beast ."
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Rain washed the streets of Amegakure in dull silver as Naruto moved through the crowd in his apostle form, Tiel's face settled comfortably over his own. The dimness spell clung to him like a second shadow, bending attention away from his presence, nudging eyes to slide past him without registering. Civilians walked by, guards scanned rooftops, and no one noticed the white-haired man drifting between them.
Pseudo-invisibility., just distraction refined into art.
It wouldn't fool everyone.
Naruto clicked his tongue softly. "Here comes the cavalry. Twelve o'clock."
Two presences pressed against the edge of his awareness, closing from within two hundred meters. Controlled. Precise. Familiar in the worst way. Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui moved through the rain with purpose, eyes active, senses peeled wide. To them, the spell didn't erase Tiel. It only dulled him, rendering him as just another ordinary passerby. A man worth noting—but not alarming.
Naruto adjusted his pace, posture loosening, . Play it cool. Downgrade the presence.
Weirdmageddon flexed, subtle and silent, letting him eavesdrop without turning his head.
A few streets away, Itachi slowed first. "Shisui. We should shut down our Sharingan," he said quietly. "If we keep them active, we'll start spooking the locals."
Shisui shook his head, eyes still glowing faintly red. "Not yet. until We find him first. The yellow-cloaked boy with the eyepatch." His jaw tightened.
Naruto kept walking, hands buried in his pockets, rain sliding off the collar of his pale blue jacket. He looked like nothing—just another man passing through a city that never slept, footsteps lost beneath the constant hiss of falling water.
Then everything went wrong.
A surge of movement swept through the streets to the south, fast and deliberate, closing from nearly five hundred meters out. Naruto felt it instantly, the pressure of multiple presences converging with purpose. Weirdmageddon caught their voices before he even turned his head.
Yahiko's voice cut through the rain, breath steady but urgent. "Nagato, how are we supposed to find This 'Tiel'?"
Nagato answered without hesitation. "My Rinnegan will pick him up. His chakra will be unique. Once I see it—even once—I'll be able to track him."
Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closing for half a second. Fuck. Fucking hell. Of all the possible scenarios, this was the worst one.
Worst case, Naruto thought grimly, Nagato hears Shisui pushing too hard, insisting on a shinobi with a unique signature, a name that doesn't belong here. And then it clicks. that's Tiel's name… Naruto.
As if the universe itself wanted to press the knife deeper, another voice slipped through the distortion.
Shisui. "Remember—he can change his appearance. The one we're looking for is wearing the name Tiel right now."
Naruto exhaled slowly, the breath fogging faintly in front of him. He crushed the rising cloud of panic before it could spiral, forcing the thoughts back into order. No. I'm not letting these two groups collide. If Itachi and Shisui cross paths with Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan here, Amegakure would turn into a powder keg of information —and it wouldn't stop at the city..
His pace never changed, but his mind raced ahead, calculating angles, routes, misdirection. I need to split them. Blind one side. Delay the other. Anything but letting Nagato's eyes meet Itachi's.
Then the world clicked. Tick. Tick. Tick. Time dragged down to a crawl, ninety percent slower, every raindrop stretching into a glassy bead mid-fall.
A soft thump landed beside him. A plush figure blinked into existence at his side, ribbons bobbing as it laughed. "Upupupupuphaha," Lambdadelta chirped, voice sweet and sharp. "You look cornered. Outside help cut off, Naruto. Not trapped—no, you could dodge this with Weirdmageddon. Reality warping solves everything. But do that and you'll tip Tobi and the rest to what you really are."
The plush leaned closer, grin widening. "I'm feeling kind today. Lady Lambda will help. Certainty will favor you—"
Naruto's fist snapped out. The plush burst apart in a spray of fabric and sugar-light, the impact tearing a hairline breach that bled nightmare-dark across the air for a heartbeat. The world barrier shuddered, reality whining under the strain.
For an instant, Naruto wasn't Tiel at all—cane in hand, eyepatch set, yellow cloak and top hat flashing into place as his single eye burned blue-scleraed red.
"Guess I can't possess from outside my home world," he said calmly, the distortion collapsing back into rain. "So I'll find my next pawn on the inside."
Naruto eye shifted, becoming a turning Earth, and the scan rippled outward through the city—faces, threads, leverage—every mind weighed for pressure points as time crept forward again, rain resuming its fall as fate bent, just slightly, out of alignment.