Chapter 208 : Alive, but not fully alive...#
It's a new episode, and intense, urgent background music starts right from the opening scene.
After Hanzo of the Salamander's plan succeeded, he decisively went back on his word, deciding to eliminate Nagato and Konan, ordering Amegakure and Konoha Anbu to act.
Countless hidden weapons rained down, but a furious Nagato merely raised his hand, generating an invisible force field that blocked them all.
He then jumped onto the cliff top, forcing Hanzo of the Salamander to retreat, and withstood the opponent's exploding tag array, returning with Konan to Yahiko's side to settle him.
He ignored his severely burned legs; his mind held only one thought: to kill everyone present to avenge Yahiko.
The Gedo Statue burst through the ground, soaring skyward, roaring as it sent the attacking Anbu flying. Black rods from its chest extended into Nagato's spine. After gaining energy, it spewed a long dragon of Chakra, wreaking havoc; wherever it passed, only corpses littered the wasteland.
Only when every single Anbu was dead and Hanzo of the Salamander fled in panic did Nagato release the summoning jutsu. He returned to Yahiko, still with the black rods in his back, and together with Konan, they embraced Yahiko's body, weeping silently.
[I knew Hanzo of the Salamander's words were like farts!]
[Damn you, Hanzo of the Salamander, you've done nothing but evil! Shameless!]
[What is Konoha even involved in here?! What about Jiraiya?!]
[If Jiraiya knew all this, he'd only regret not taking the opportunity to squash those old geezers that night.]
[What kind of ocular jutsu is this?! A protective field or a Barrier?!]
[If it's an all-encompassing defense, wouldn't it be invincible?]
[Oh my god, Nagato's legs are like this... Can he even be healed?]
[Holy crap, what kind of summoned beast is this?!]
[The Gedo Statue, is it an exclusive contract for Rinnegan wielder?]
[Oh my dear mother, a dozen or so rods are stuck in his flesh, it looks so painful.]
[Even Nagato, as a member of the Uzumaki Clan with such vast Chakra, can't handle it. This move is too life-draining.]
[Revenge, no matter what, can't bring back old friends; only emptiness remains in life.]
[The trio will forever be missing one.]
[Alas, Yahiko... Akatsuki's ideal is shattered.]
The camera pulled high and wide; compared to the torrential rain like dense silver bamboo, the three bodies huddled together were so insignificant, almost swallowed by the vast heavens and earth.
The scene returned to the ground, focusing on a puddle. The rain-beaten surface of the water was like an inverted piece of hazy, broken glass, then reflected a shadow.
Konan was still crying when an untimely voice sounded in her ears.
"Oh, am I late?"
The camera simulated Konan's perspective, looking in the direction of the newcomer. Jin's slender figure stood in the rain, blurred by the rain curtain into a tall, straight pine tree.
The scene switched to a close-up, and the audience could see that Jin's clothes were drenched, and streams of water ran down his mask, but he didn't care that he looked a bit disheveled. Instead, he tilted his head, observing Yahiko as Konan and Nagato pleaded helplessly.
"I don't like using Medical Ninjutsu~"
"But for Nagato's sake, alright."
Although Jin complained that Yahiko had long since shown no vital signs and was very likely beyond saving, Nagato, Konan, and the audience outside the screen undoubtedly held great hope for him.
[Like a mayfly on earth, a grain of millet in the vast ocean.]
[Humans are but a speck of dust in the universe; love is tiny, and hate is tiny.]
[What else is there to ask? Isn't the situation obvious? It's already over!]
[The child is dead, and you're finally here to heal...]
[At a time like this, you're still acting cute! Do you even understand the situation, big shot?!]
[Jin gives me a feeling from head to toe: innocent madness.]
[Don't like it? So that means you can do it, right?!]
[If you know Medical Ninjutsu, why aren't you saving him quickly! Faster, faster, faster!]
[Holy crap! Bro, you really can do it!]
[Please, please, save Yahiko!]
[I admit I spoke a bit loudly just now.]
[As long as Yahiko lives, I'll instantly become a Jin fan, okay?!]
The green light in Jin's hand was like a flickering candle flame, stubbornly burning for a long time, but ultimately extinguished in the wind and rain.
He said, "It's a pity, his heart stopped for too long..."
Then, just as Nagato and Konan's hopes shattered, and they were about to burst into tears, he leisurely added the latter half of the sentence.
"...So he might never wake up again."
The half-finished cries of the two were caught in their throats, and the audience probably felt the same. This roller coaster of emotions was enough to make anyone's heart struggle.
In the scene, Konan and Nagato embraced, weeping, while the audience outside the screen expressed their bittersweet feelings of being 'tricked' through bullet comments.
[Good heavens, it looks like a rather advanced healing jutsu.]
[It's precarious; Yahiko's heart probably stopped a long time ago.]
[Ah ah ah ah, how can he not be saved! No, no!]
[If you came and can't save him, then why did you come, kid?]
[...Hmm?]
[Does that mean he's alive but can't wake up? Like Sakumo?]
[Yahiko isn't dead! Yahiko isn't dead!]
[Alive, but not completely alive... forty percent.]
[As long as he's alive, it's enough! There's hope as long as he's alive, boo hoo hoo hoo hoo.]
[To be able to save him like this, Jin's Medical Ninjutsu skill is quite profound.]
[Jin, I admit I had some misunderstandings about you before. It turns out you're actually a great person.]
[My reaction was exactly the same as Konan's; I almost choked to death on my own breath.]
[This guy deliberately paused to scare people, he's so bad, hahahahahahaha.]
When Nagato and Konan brought Yahiko back to the Akatsuki Organization's base, it was naturally another period of chaos.
With their leader hurt so badly, everyone held their breath. Most people did not reject Nagato's new ideas; instead, they felt it was exactly what was needed.
To establish order in this chaotic world, powerful, transcendent military force is absolutely essential!
[Good people are bullied, and kind horses are ridden. The Akatsuki Organization used to be too kind.]
[Dignity exists only on the sword's edge! Truth exists only within the range of a cannon!]
[If you truly don't understand reason, then I also know a thing or two about fisticuffs.]
[Just do it! All for it!]
Meanwhile, a heavily damaged Hanzo of the Salamander returned to his office building and immediately summoned a Ninja without a forehead protector.
Judging by this Ninja's attire, he seemed to have a Sunagakure style.
"I've done what I promised you, and even all those Konoha Anbu are dead."
Hanzo of the Salamander leaned forward, his gas mask making his voice even deeper and fiercer: "My side suffered heavy losses; you must pay the reward early!"
"Lord Hanzo of the Salamander, on behalf of Sunagakure, I express my sorrow for your losses." The Sand Ninja bowed his head, his tone calm and composed: "We will naturally honor our promise; a few days early is no problem."
"Hmm, let's do that." Hanzo of the Salamander's throat rumbled; he was quite satisfied with Sunagakure's understanding and gestured for the man to leave.
Several Anbu squads were lost, and Sunagakure's reward would take at least two days to arrive. And the abilities of that red-haired brat's Rinnegan were still unclear... Before that, he could only temporarily suspend the Akatsuki Organization's annihilation operation, surrounding them without killing.
[I smell a conspiracy!]
[Why do I not quite understand? What exactly is going on?]
[Why is Sunagakure involved? Aren't they fighting Konoha?]
[Is Hanzo of the Salamander trying to play both sides?]
[I don't understand, I'll go to the forums to find a master's post.]
[It's a good thing Hanzo of the Salamander isn't very smart; if he had immediately surrounded and killed the Akatsuki Organization upon his return, Nagato and the others would have been in danger.]
[The excellent matching mechanism of the Ninja World region — weaklings pecking at each other.]
The ending theme had been playing for a long time, and the bullet comments were still discussing what big deal Sunagakure and Hanzo of the Salamander were conspiring about...