Reality was ultimately so cruel, forcing an idealist to witness his own failure, seeing the ideals he had risked his life to uphold all this time now being trampled upon so casually.
Even though he offered Hanzou such a degree of sincerity, he received not an ounce of genuine trust in return.
Disheartened, he exchanged a glance with Nagato, and the two prepared to cooperate in their retreat, but Hanzou brought out a hostage.
A family member whom Yahiko and Nagato had lived with for nearly a decade and were willing to sacrifice their lives for.
[Hanzou clearly knew what kind of hopes the Akatsuki harbored; these people were incredibly naive, so why couldn't he tolerate them?]
[There's no why; the very existence of the Akatsuki was a threat to him.]
[Why is Konoha Anbu here too???]
[Which Konoha old fart made a shady deal with Hanzou?!]
[Run, you two fools, it's too late if you don't go now!]
[Konan! Damn you, Hanzou, you old scumbag, you're taking hostages!]
[Shameless and despicable! Where's the integrity of the Ninja World Demigod who once stood firm against the three great nations?!]
Hanzou demanded that Nagato kill Yahiko with his own hands; only then would he spare Nagato and Konan.
The heavy rain poured down, and Yahiko smiled bitterly and with a sense of relief, the dull thud of his shattered beliefs echoing in his mind.
Amidst the sound of his ideals collapsing, he remembered that both Master Jiraiya and Naraku had said the Rinnegan was the savior, and infinite hope sprouted in his barren heart.
His path had already reached its end, but Nagato's destiny was just beginning.
To protect Konan and the Akatsuki, and for the Ninja World to still have a future, Nagato had to live.
Even if it meant sacrificing his own life, he would not hesitate.
[Fool! Don't believe him!]
[Yahiko originally wanted to hand over the burden to Nagato, and upon hearing that he could exchange his life for Nagato and Konan, he couldn't possibly hesitate.]
[Hanzou has no credibility now! If Yahiko dies, Nagato and Konan will definitely not survive!]
[No, no, no, no, no!]
[Yahiko, you big fool, what are you doing?!]
[I can't bear to watch, Woo woo woo]
From the moment he heard Hanzou's demand, Nagato froze in place, until he heard Yahiko's terrifyingly calm voice in the rain.
"Nagato, kill me."
In a close-up of his eyes, Nagato's pupils suddenly trembled.
Rapid string and drum beats erupted, accompanied by a deep, heavy hum, intensifying the tense atmosphere to the extreme.
The leaden clouds were suddenly torn open by a pale crack, and the world was vast and desolate, followed by thunder, like the roar of some ancient giant beast echoing in Nagato's chest, causing his heart and lungs to ache.
His vision blurred, his ears rang, and he seemed to sink to the bottom of the sea, separated from the outside world by a transparent wall of water. The shouts of Yahiko, Konan, and Hanzou intertwined, becoming distorted and blurry.
He dazedly picked up the Kunai on the ground, confused about what he was doing, and helplessly turned to look at Yahiko.
What he met was his close friend's determination to die.
When Yahiko impaled himself on the Kunai, the background of the scene became a void of white light, the music abruptly stopped, leaving only the figures of the two embracing, standing silently in the center.
The bullet screen completely exploded.
[No, no, no, no!!!]
[Hanzou won't keep his promise, don't be so foolish!]
[Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah Yahiko —!!! (TAT)]
[Foolish Yahiko ah ah ah —]
[Yahiko, who would tremble when killing, showed no hesitation when committing suicide.]
[It's so not worth it, Woo woo woo... How could Hanzou keep his promise?!]
[Hanzou, you * * *!!!]
[Konoha is also an accomplice! It's probably those old farts again! The Third Hokage must be well aware of it!]
[Damn Third Hokage, how will Jiraiya face his disciples now?!]
As the white light dispersed, Nagato's pupils contracted violently in shock, while Yahiko, on the other side, spat blood but revealed a heartfelt smile.
He spoke his last words disjointedly until he lost consciousness and his body fell to the ground.
Amidst Konan's heartbreaking wails, the camera cruelly adjusted its angle, focusing on Yahiko, who lay on the ground with his eyes slightly closed. Rain streamed down his face, hands, and clothes, but it couldn't awaken the person who had just been alive.
Nagato awoke from his trance, finally realizing that Yahiko had died in his arms. His collapsing, maddened inner voice intertwined with Naraku's earlier "prophecy," piling up an even deeper and boundless despair.
Just as Nagato's Dōjutsu Power erupted, the camera shifted to Naraku, who was staring blankly at the sky somewhere. He seemed to sense something, glanced in a certain direction, and vanished from the spot.
[I can't hold back the tears, Woo woo woo... Yahiko, you died so tragically.]
[The last words left by the dead will become a lifelong shackles for the living.]
[Don't die, please don't die, Woo woo woo]
[Yahiko, you are so cruel... How will Nagato live after this, T-T]
[Someone, please save Yahiko, ah ah ah ah ah!]
[From love comes sorrow, from love comes fear. Love and hate are one, inseparable, inescapable.]
[Are they tears or raindrops? What does it matter? It's just a person crying or the sky crying.]
[Naraku's words back then seemed more like a prophecy of the Akatsuki's end.]
[Is this? Can Naraku sense Nagato's condition?]
—
Naraku: There was no sensing. Naraku was present the whole time, he didn't just show up at the last minute.
This is another montage commonly used by animators, placing an earlier clip here to make it seem like he was aware of the Rinnegan's awakening.
—
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