The Land of Rain.
Under the endless downpour, in a desolate wilderness where few people ever set foot, atop a raised platform—
Two distinctly strange groups stood facing each other from opposite sides. On one side were the Rain ninjas. On the other stood masked members of Konoha.
At the forefront of both groups stood Hanzo and Shimura Danzo.
At this moment, Hanzo held the life of a blue-haired woman in his grasp—Konan, one of the three core members of the Akatsuki.
Standing high above, Hanzo looked down coldly at the two remaining members of the Akatsuki below—Nagato and Yahiko.
That's right. At the agreed meeting location, the Akatsuki had been ambushed. Konan had been captured alive by Hanzo, while Nagato and Yahiko had barely survived.
The weaker members, however, had not been so fortunate.
"To me, your organization is nothing but an eyesore!" Hanzo declared coldly, staring down at the gritting Nagato and Yahiko. "Yahiko, as the leader, you must die here!"
As he spoke, he pulled out a kunai and tossed it to the ground in front of them.
"If you resist, this woman dies!"
Nagato and Yahiko stared at the kunai embedded in the ground, their teeth clenched as they struggled internally.
"You there—the red-haired one. Use that kunai and kill Yahiko! Do that, and I'll spare you and the woman!" Hanzo added, his voice icy.
"Stop! Nagato, don't worry about me—run! Both of you, just run!" Konan shouted desperately from Hanzo's grasp.
"Nagato."
Yahiko suddenly called out. He turned to look at Nagato, his expression eerily calm. Under Nagato's stunned gaze, he spoke quietly.
"Kill me."
Nagato's eyes widened. He stared at Yahiko, his breath ragged. Though he wasn't physically exhausted, his body felt unbearably heavy.
"Nagato!" Yahiko shouted.
"Stop!" Konan cried out.
"Hurry up! Does that woman's life mean nothing to you?!" Hanzo urged again.
Under the mounting pressure, Nagato staggered forward. Each step felt as though he might collapse, but he still reached the kunai and picked it up. Holding it tightly, he looked up at Konan, who was weeping atop the platform.
"Konan…"
Then, just as he turned to look at Yahiko—
A figure rushed into his arms before he could react. At the same time, the sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed in his ears.
"Yahi…ko?"
Nagato stared in disbelief at Yahiko, who had thrown himself onto the kunai, piercing his own heart.
Blood spilled from Yahiko's mouth, yet he smiled.
"Live on… no matter what… with Konan. You are the savior of this world… you definitely can…"
Before he could finish, Yahiko collapsed to the ground, his life gone.
"Yahiko!!" Konan screamed in agony. The restraints binding her vanished, and she dropped to her knees, sobbing over his body.
Behind his gas mask, a faint smile appeared on Hanzo's face.
He had never intended to spare Nagato or Konan. His earlier words were nothing more than a precaution against Yahiko making a desperate escape.
If Yahiko had fled, his strength would have posed a massive threat to both the Rain Village and Hanzo's rule.
But now, Yahiko was dead. Konan, in his eyes, was insignificant—someone he could kill at will. Releasing her posed no problem.
Now, it was time to finish things.
"Attack!"
At Hanzo's command, the Rain ninjas unleashed a barrage of weapons toward Nagato.
In an instant, countless projectiles filled the sky above him. For any ordinary ninja, survival under such a dense assault would be impossible.
But Nagato was no ordinary ninja.
He possessed the Rinnegan.
His eyes snapped open, and he raised a hand. In an instant, all the incoming weapons seemed to strike an invisible barrier and were violently repelled.
Danzo narrowed his eyes at the sight. He was merely present as Konoha's representative for this so-called "peace talk." There was no need for him to get involved.
With that thought, he turned and retreated with his Root forces.
Unfortunately, he had not seen Nagato's eyes. Had he truly witnessed the Rinnegan, he might not have left so easily.
After repelling the attack, Nagato gathered immense chakra into his feet and launched himself toward Hanzo, intent on rescuing Konan.
Hanzo had released Konan, and he had already broken his word. Whether Nagato advanced or not, Konan would not be spared. This was his only chance.
Seeing Nagato charge forward, Hanzo retreated. It wasn't that he lacked the time to kill Konan before Nagato arrived—
As Nagato moved, Hanzo formed hand seals.
In an instant, the ground around Konan came alive. Hidden explosive tags, camouflaged to match the earth, activated and surged toward Nagato, wrapping tightly around his legs.
Hanzo smiled.
He had anticipated this.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion erupted. The sheer number of explosive tags blasted away a massive portion of the platform.
At such close range, even a Kage-level ninja could be killed by an explosion of that magnitude.
After all, most ninjas—even powerful ones—had high offensive power but relatively low defense.
But Hanzo had underestimated Nagato.
He had underestimated the Rinnegan.
Though Nagato's legs were destroyed in the blast, he had protected both himself and Konan.
As the smoke cleared, Konan stood unharmed, while Nagato—his legs ruined—remained alive.
"To survive even after being hit by my fire release… impressive…" Hanzo muttered in surprise. Then he saw it—Nagato's fully revealed eyes.
"Those eyes!"
Nagato had lost control.
His mind and emotions spiraled into chaos. Techniques he once hesitated to use now surged forth without restraint.
Even Konan's desperate attempts to stop him were futile.
"Summoning Technique—Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
In an instant, a colossal statue dozens of meters tall burst from the ground behind Nagato. Its massive arm swept forward, sending the approaching Rain ninjas flying like ragdolls.
"What is that?!" Both Hanzo and Konan were stunned. Konan seemed to realize something and tried to stop Nagato.
But Nagato, consumed by madness, roared as several black rods emerged from the statue and pierced into his back.
Ignoring the pain, he used those rods to channel his immense chakra into the statue.
The monstrous chakra finally activated it.
From its mouth, a dragon formed entirely of chakra surged forth, charging toward the Rain ninjas.
The dragon was unstoppable. Anything it touched was annihilated.
After wiping out the Rain forces, it turned and charged straight at Hanzo.
"So you're the true leader behind the scenes," Hanzo said calmly. "To possess the Rinnegan… truly astonishing."
He formed hand seals and vanished using the Body Flicker Technique. Even the so-called "Demigod" had no intention of clashing head-on with the Rinnegan.
With the Rain ninjas slaughtered and Hanzo gone, Nagato should have stopped channeling chakra.
Every moment the dragon remained active drained his body further.
But he didn't stop.
Instead, he directed the dragon toward another direction.
And there—
Stood someone who had been hiding all along.
It was none other than Kurogane Ren.