Iron Mirror Mountain was completely surrounded by Amegakure shinobi, turning the battlefield into a sealed death trap with no path of escape.
Two hundred shinobi against six hundred, the outcome should have been obvious from the beginning.
The Amegakure forces were not especially powerful, but the Akatsuki members were not elite warriors either. Their clash lacked the overwhelming scale and terrifying pressure of the wars fought between the Five Great Nations. Instead, it resembled a brutal struggle between desperate survivors.
Yet the number of deaths was no less horrifying than a real Shinobi World War.
Because the Akatsuki refused to surrender.
At some point, Konan had already escaped the Salamander's pursuit. White paper wings spread from her back as she soared into the enemy formation alone, trying to tear open a path for the remaining Akatsuki members.
Holding a massive paper spear, she deflected an incoming blade with a sharp twist of her wrist. Before the opposing jōnin could react, the spear pierced straight through his chest.
Without slowing down, Konan swept her arm outward.
Her paper wings suddenly scattered apart, transforming into countless razor sharp paper shuriken that stormed across the battlefield like a white hurricane.
Blood splattered through the rain.
More than a dozen Amegakure shinobi collapsed almost instantly.
Konan carved through the enemy line like a blade through flesh. Every second she advanced, the gap in the encirclement widened further.
But the offensive did not last long.
A black tongue suddenly burst from beneath the ground and wrapped tightly around her ankle. With a violent tug, Konan was dragged downward.
The enormous Salamander exploded from underground with a furious roar. Its massive body crashed through the earth as it lunged to devour her whole.
Yet the moment its jaws snapped shut, space twisted strangely.
Konan's body dissolved into paper.
Her real body appeared high above the Salamander. She landed lightly on top of its head and immediately leaped backward into the air.
"Paper Person of God Technique!"
The fake body swallowed by the Salamander instantly transformed into layers upon layers of explosive tags.
Konan formed a hand seal.
A deafening explosion erupted from inside the Salamander's mouth.
Flesh and blood burst outward in every direction.
The summoned beast that Hanzō had just called forth was destroyed once again.
The Akatsuki members nearby let out desperate cheers as their morale rose slightly.
But the effect was limited.
Both Hanzō and Danzō had prepared carefully for this ambush.
As soon as the Akatsuki forces were fully trapped, Danzō finally ordered Root to enter the battlefield.
The difference in strength became obvious immediately.
The Akatsuki's rear line was shattered almost instantly. Their formation collapsed under Root's coordinated assault, splitting the battlefield apart into isolated pockets.
Nagato and Yahiko were separated.
Hanzō and Danzō did not share the same objective.
Hanzō wanted Yahiko dead.
Danzō wanted Nagato and the power of the Rinnegan.
Dozens of Root shinobi surrounded Nagato, cutting off every possible route toward Yahiko.
At the same time, Yahiko found himself completely unable to reach Nagato.
Covered in blood, Yahiko gripped a damaged tachi he had picked up from a fallen shinobi.
With a furious slash, he pierced the chest of an Amegakure jōnin beside him.
Without stopping, he drove the corpse forward and rammed the blood soaked blade into another enemy waiting ahead.
His advance was unstoppable.
Although Yahiko lacked experience in large scale warfare, he still understood the importance of conserving chakra in a battle like this.
He was not Nagato.
He could not afford to waste chakra recklessly.
Hanzō silently watched the young man cutting through the battlefield.
After casually slitting the throat of an Akatsuki member nearby, the leader of Amegakure let out a quiet sigh.
Their earlier exchange had already proven Yahiko's talent.
If Yahiko had been raised in Amegakure as his disciple, he might have eventually become a worthy successor.
But today, one of them had to die.
And it could only be Yahiko.
Meanwhile, Nagato struggled desperately against the Root shinobi surrounding him.
Heavy breathing escaped his mouth as rainwater mixed with the blood running down his face.
He quickly realized something was wrong.
These masked shinobi were far stronger than ordinary Amegakure forces.
They were disciplined, precise, and completely emotionless.
They were not Hanzō's men.
Nagato's heart sank.
Had one of the Great Nations interfered as well?
As more Akatsuki members fell around him, despair slowly consumed his chest.
Then suddenly, Nagato's eyes widened.
In the distance, one shinobi broke through the Amegakure encirclement and charged directly toward Hanzō.
"Yahiko!"
Nagato shouted desperately.
But Yahiko either did not hear him, or simply chose to ignore him.
He continued forward without hesitation.
Yahiko understood clearly.
Only by killing Hanzō could they escape this hopeless situation.
But after enduring wave after wave of attacks, his body was already reaching its limit.
The hand gripping the tachi trembled violently.
Blood poured from countless wounds across his body.
Against the man known as the Demigod of the Shinobi World, Yahiko had almost no chance of victory.
Even so, he kept moving.
Rain mixed with sweat and blood as determination filled his exhausted face.
The result was inevitable.
Hanzō stepped forward and drove a brutal kick into Yahiko's chest.
Yahiko's body flew backward across the muddy ground for over ten meters.
His clothes tore apart from the impact, exposing deep wounds beneath.
Blood continuously spilled from his mouth.
Hanzō slowly descended beside him and picked up the shattered remains of Yahiko's tachi.
Only one third of the blade remained intact.
"Yahiko," Hanzō said quietly, "before you die, I will tell you one thing. This operation was approved by Konoha."
Yahiko's breathing became increasingly unstable.
Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth as his chest rose and fell violently.
He could no longer speak.
Still, his fingers dug into the mud as he struggled to force himself back onto his feet.
Hanzō raised the broken tachi.
Then he drove it down mercilessly into Yahiko's chest.
"YAHIKO!"
Nagato's scream echoed across the battlefield.
His entire body trembled violently.
Rain soaked his red hair as strands fell over his face, partially hiding the Rinnegan beneath.
Flames from nearby explosions reflected within those ripple patterned eyes.
Pure killing intent spread outward.
For a brief moment, even the Root shinobi hesitated under that terrifying gaze.
But hesitation lasted only an instant.
The Root operatives charged again without fear.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A powerful invisible force exploded outward from Nagato's body.
The surrounding shinobi were blasted away instantly.
Nagato ignored everyone around him and rushed straight toward Yahiko.
"Stop him," Danzō ordered coldly.
But nobody could stop him anymore.
Not the Root shinobi.
Not the Amegakure forces.
Anyone standing in his path was violently thrown aside.
Nagato tore across the battlefield alone like a monster driven beyond reason.
In the distance, greed flashed through Danzō's eyes.
"So this is the power of the Rinnegan..."
Moments later, Nagato finally reached Yahiko's side.
Yahiko's vision had already begun fading.
His lips moved weakly, but no sound came out. More blood spilled from his mouth instead.
Nagato dropped beside him.
His trembling hands pressed desperately against the ruined wound in Yahiko's chest.
The blood soaking Yahiko's clothes was still warm.
With the last strength remaining in his body, Yahiko suddenly grabbed Nagato's arm tightly.
"Nagato... Konan... Live..."
Nagato barely understood the words through Yahiko's fading lips.
Live.
But Yahiko was dying.
A world without Yahiko was never the future Nagato wanted.
Slowly, Nagato lifted his head toward the dark sky above.
The endless rain crashed down against his face.
The rain felt painfully cold.
===
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