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"What's the situation now?"
Shin glanced over at White Zetsu, calmly asking about the status. He knew Danzō and Hanzō had already moved, but he wasn't sure exactly how far things had gone.
"Shin-sama, Hanzō already tricked Yahiko and Nagato into a trap under the guise of cooperation. He's about to make his move."
White Zetsu answered swiftly, clearly anxious.
Hanzō had suggested joining forces to negotiate peace with the Land of Fire, Wind, and Earth. Given the ongoing Third Great Ninja War, his reason seemed believable enough—especially with the Land of Rain caught in the middle.
Yahiko had naively thought Hanzō truly acknowledged their efforts. Unsuspecting, he gladly went to the meeting without a shred of caution.
"Since it's come to this, let's go have a look."
Shin figured Hanzō had probably already started. No one objected to Shin's suggestion—not White Zetsu, not Black Zetsu, and certainly not Obito Uchiha.
Yet Obito was silently fuming. Ever since Shin arrived, everything revolved around him. Obito felt like little more than a bystander in his own plans. But what could he do? Without enough strength, all he could do was swallow his frustration and bide his time.
Following White Zetsu's guidance, they quickly reached the location where Yahiko and Hanzō had agreed to meet. Their timing was perfect: Yahiko, Nagato, and Hanzō hadn't started fighting yet—but tensions were already dangerously high.
"Hanzō, you betrayed us!"
Yahiko clenched his teeth, glaring angrily at Hanzō. Hanzō's men had already captured Yahiko's comrades—the loyal members of the Akatsuki.
To Yahiko, these weren't mere subordinates; they were his friends, his equals.
"You kids were far too naive. It's your own fault for trusting me so easily."
Hanzō sneered contemptuously. For a brief moment, he wondered if he'd been overly cautious. How could such naive fools ever threaten his authority?
"Release my comrades immediately!" Yahiko shouted, anger boiling over. He cursed himself for believing Hanzō's lies.
"Release them? It's not impossible. If you—the Akatsuki's leader—kill yourself right here, I'll let them all go."
Hanzō casually tossed a kunai to Yahiko's feet, speaking coldly.
"Leader, Save us! We don't want to die!"
The captured Akatsuki members immediately cried out, begging Yahiko to save their lives.
Taking a deep breath, Yahiko picked up the kunai.
"If I die, will you truly spare them?" Yahiko stared firmly into Hanzō's eyes.
"With you dead, the Akatsuki will naturally crumble. I'll have no further need to kill them," Hanzō answered indifferently.
His main worry was the Akatsuki eventually overtaking his rule. If Yahiko died, there'd be nothing left to threaten him.
"Fine. I hope you're true to your word this time, Hanzō."
Nagato desperately lunged forward, grabbing Yahiko's hand to stop him from plunging the kunai into his chest.
"Nagato, Jiraiya-sensei said you'd bring change to this world. I believe you'll fulfill our dream."
Yahiko smiled gently at Nagato, then decisively thrust himself forward, impaling his heart on the kunai.
Nagato's eyes widened in shock. He caught Yahiko's collapsing body, sinking to his knees in despair.
Watching from afar, Mei Terumī shook her head in disbelief.
"Not to disrespect the dead, but that Yahiko guy was way too naive. Did he really believe Hanzō would spare his friends just because he sacrificed himself?"
Yahiko might have been naive, but he was kind. In the original story, he had sacrificed himself to save Konan, his most important comrade. But Konan was with Shin now, so Hanzō had captured his other subordinates to threaten him.
Yahiko was willing to sacrifice his life for his subordinates. He didn't see them as subordinates, but as true comrades.
But sometimes, it was precisely the most compassionate people who suffered the cruelest fate.
With Yahiko's death, Nagato sank into absolute despair. Hanzō stared coldly, his eyes flickering briefly before giving the ruthless order to kill all remaining Akatsuki members.
Root out the weeds completely. Hanzō had learned this lesson long ago.
Not only the captured members—even Nagato himself had to be killed.
"Hanzō, Danzō-sama instructed that we take the redhead's eyes."
A ninja dressed distinctively from the others stepped forward—clearly from Danzō's Root organization.
On the surface, they came to assist; their true goal was Nagato's Rinnegan.
"Since I've promised Danzō, I won't go back on my word," Hanzō replied calmly.
"I'll kill you all! I'll avenge Yahiko!"
Nagato screamed madly, consumed by grief and rage. Ignoring everything else, he unleashed the full power of his Rinnegan.
<"Fire Release: Exploding Flame Formation!">
Hanzō smirked. He had planted explosive tags here beforehand.
Explosive tags hidden earlier detonated violently, engulfing Nagato's legs in flames. His legs were severely burned and blasted apart.
Shielding Yahiko's corpse, Nagato summoned a massive, grotesque creature.
Mei shivered visibly at the sight.
"What the heck is that thing?"
Shin calmly explained, "It's the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—the empty husk of the Ten-Tails. It makes sense you've never seen it before."
"The Ten-Tails?" Mei looked at Shin, puzzled. She'd only heard of Tailed Beasts numbered one through nine.
"We don't have time right now. I'll explain it later," Shin responded casually.
"Okay." Mei sighed, curiosity piqued but knowing she'd have to wait.
The summoned statue roared violently, spewing out dragon-shaped chakra that absorbed the chakra of anyone it touched.
Chakra itself originated from the God Tree—and the statue was simply reclaiming that energy. It was essentially recycling.
Hanzō saw death looming as the chakra dragons raced toward him. Witnessing other ninja collapsing lifeless, he promptly chose survival and vanished using Body Flicker Technique.
Only Hanzō, with his formidable strength, could flee safely. The remaining Ame and Root Shinobi weren't so fortunate.
Nagato slaughtered them all, vengeance burning in his eyes.
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