Nagato knelt in the rain, holding Yahiko's lifeless body tightly in his arms.
Tears mixed with blood slowly streamed from his eyes.
The battlefield soon witnessed a terrifying phenomenon.
The torrential rain above Nagato suddenly froze in midair.
Countless raindrops hung motionless around him like suspended crystals, while the rain several meters away continued falling violently toward the earth.
The unnatural scene lasted only a moment.
A dark figure burst out from beneath the ground without warning, a short blade flashing toward Nagato's neck.
Yahiko was dead.
But Nagato was still alive.
Danzō had never cared about Yahiko. From the beginning, his true target had always been the Rinnegan.
A killing blow delivered when the enemy's emotions were at their weakest was one of the methods Danzō inherited from the Second Hokage, and Root shinobi executed such orders flawlessly.
Yet Nagato did not move.
Only when the blade was inches away from his skull did his hands suddenly shoot upward.
He grabbed the attacker by both arms.
The Root shinobi froze.
Then his muscular arms rapidly shriveled like dying branches.
His chakra was forcibly drained from his body in an instant.
Skin clung tightly to bone as life disappeared from his eyes.
Nagato casually flung the corpse aside into the rain.
The dead shinobi crashed heavily against the muddy ground.
Without another glance, Nagato gently lowered Yahiko's body onto the earth.
Then he stood.
His blood soaked cloak clung tightly to his body as he began walking forward step by step.
Dozens of shinobi moved to surround him again, but Nagato's eyes never left Hanzō in the distance.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
"Fire Release: Great Fire Flames Technique!"
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Wave!"
More than a dozen ninjutsu attacks roared across the battlefield simultaneously.
Flames, lightning, wind blades, and shattered earth surged toward Nagato from every direction.
Nagato merely raised one arm.
Transparent ripples spread around his body.
The incoming ninjutsu vanished the moment they touched the barrier, absorbed completely as if swallowed by an endless abyss.
Danzō's expression darkened immediately.
"He can absorb chakra," he barked sharply. "Do not use ninjutsu!"
The Root shinobi instantly changed tactics.
Since ninjutsu was ineffective, they would kill him through close combat.
A massive taijutsu specialist rushed forward carrying a giant blade nearly twice his height.
The moment he entered striking range, he swung downward with monstrous force.
Nagato tilted his head slightly.
He stepped onto the giant blade itself, using it as footing before leaping upward.
Then he gently placed his palm against the attacker's face.
The man's soul was ripped directly from his body.
The translucent figure struggled violently in Nagato's grasp.
Nagato clenched his fingers.
The soul shattered like torn paper.
A wave of fear spread through the battlefield.
Even Root shinobi hesitated after witnessing such a horrifying technique.
Danzō's face became increasingly grim.
He raised one hand sharply.
The Root operatives instantly reorganized into layered formations, spreading outward in a fan shaped assault pattern.
"Fire!"
Thousands of kunai shot toward Nagato like a black storm.
Nagato slowly raised his hand.
"Shinra Tensei."
A violent repulsive force exploded outward.
The incoming kunai instantly reversed direction at even greater speed.
Screams echoed across the battlefield as dozens of shinobi were pierced by their own weapons.
Watching from the rear, Danzō clenched his teeth.
"Do not give him time to recover!"
He refused to believe such terrifying abilities could be used endlessly without limitation.
The Root forces charged again.
Nagato remained expressionless.
The power of the Rinnegan flowed naturally through his body.
For the first time, he wielded its abilities without hesitation or instability.
In the past, his control had always faltered.
But now, grief and rage had shattered every restraint inside him.
Even Danzō gradually felt numb watching the slaughter unfold before his eyes.
"Surround him," Danzō ordered coldly. "Wear him down until he dies."
The Rinnegan's power was beyond imagination.
No matter the cost, he had to obtain it.
But Nagato no longer cared about the shinobi surrounding him.
His figure suddenly swept backward, dodging an incoming strike from behind before violently kicking another shinobi aside.
With a light step, he burst free from the encirclement.
Then he charged directly toward Hanzō.
Hanzō had remained silent for most of the battle, carefully observing everything from afar.
Even after surviving countless wars, he had never witnessed such bizarre and terrifying abilities.
At this moment, he finally understood how badly he had underestimated the Akatsuki.
"It seems," Hanzō muttered quietly, "you were the true leader all along."
From what he had seen, Nagato's strength far surpassed Yahiko's.
Anyone would naturally assume someone like him stood at the center of Akatsuki.
A distorted laugh escaped Nagato's throat.
It barely sounded human.
Blood covered his body completely, and his pale face twisted with unbearable hatred.
Then Nagato slammed both hands onto the ground.
The earth behind him instantly collapsed inward.
A monstrous presence emerged from beneath the battlefield.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
An enormous creature rose slowly into the rain filled sky.
Its terrifying body resembled a decayed giant.
Nine shut eyes stretched across its face while jagged protrusions extended from its back like dead branches.
Fear spread instantly through the battlefield.
"What is that thing?!"
Shock filled Danzō's face.
Even experienced shinobi stared at the massive creature in horror.
"Do not panic!" Hanzō shouted immediately.
But before he could finish speaking, the Demonic Statue released a deafening roar.
Its massive arm swung downward.
Boom!
The cracked battlefield shattered completely beneath the strike.
More than a dozen Root shinobi were crushed into bloody paste before they could escape.
Black chakra receivers suddenly extended from the statue's body and pierced directly into Nagato's back.
Nagato's body trembled violently.
The Demonic Statue greedily drained his chakra.
Blood flowed from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
The pain was unbearable.
Since becoming a shinobi, Nagato had suffered through countless battles and injuries.
But none of that pain came close to the agony tearing through his chest now.
Because Yahiko was gone.
"ROOOOAR!"
A transparent dragon suddenly burst from the Demonic Statue's mouth.
The instant Danzō sensed its chakra, his expression changed completely.
"Retreat!"
Without hesitation, he turned and fled under the protection of two Root guards.
At that moment, survival mattered more than pride.
The soul dragon swept across the battlefield.
Terrified shinobi scattered desperately in every direction.
But escape was impossible.
Anyone touched by the dragon immediately had their soul ripped from their body.
White light burst across the battlefield as countless souls were dragged screaming into the dragon's jaws.
Hundreds died within moments.
The dragon soared high into the clouds before locking onto Hanzō below.
Then it descended.
Hanzō's eyes narrowed instantly.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
The dragon crashed violently into the battlefield.
The entire ground exploded apart, forming an enormous crater.
But Hanzō had already vanished from sight.
Moments later, the Demonic Statue released the black receivers connected to Nagato's body.
Then the enormous summon disappeared into smoke.
Nagato staggered weakly.
Blood poured from between his fingers as he covered his mouth.
Finally, his exhausted body collapsed heavily onto the ruined battlefield.
Silence returned to Iron Mirror Mountain.
Only the sound of endless rain remained.