Karin smiled in relief when Jiraiya opened his eyes.
"Lord Jiraiya, you're finally awake."
Jiraiya looked around in confusion, still dazed.
The last thing he remembered was carving the coded message, seeing Nagi—and then everything went black.
"Oh… I'm—"
Bang!
Before he could finish, the hospital room door was slammed open. Tsunade strode in furiously.
She had waited outside for permission from the nurses—and from Nagi—before finally losing patience and barging in.
She was about to explode at Jiraiya.
But when she saw his missing left arm and the exhaustion in his eyes, the anger in her heart dissolved instantly.
Suppressing the ache inside, she forced an indifferent tone.
"Jiraiya… you're still the same—"
But Jiraiya cut her off, his expression suddenly grave.
"Where's the one who brought me back? Tell him I have critical intelligence!"
Nagi stepped forward.
"You mean information about Pain?"
Jiraiya nodded.
"They're all puppets—not Nagato's real body. And that large one can absorb ninjutsu. Pain also has a technique that can revive the dead. Inform your original body immediately. Don't let him be ambushed."
"I understand."
With that, the Water Release Shadow Clone dispelled itself.
Truthfully, it had already intended to disperse. The ultra-long-range Flying Thunder God Technique and emergency medical stabilization had drained most of its chakra.
Livestream Interface
Naruto Uzumaki:
"Whew… you scared me, Pervy Sage! I thought this version of you was going to disappear too!"
Tsunade:
"Thank goodness… Nagi's Flying Thunder God always arrives at the crucial moment."
Minato Namikaze:
"…"
Senior Tsunade… you don't need to repeat that part.
Jiraiya:
"Still, Nagi severely injured the Six Paths of Pain this time. I doubt there'll be any issues."
Minato:
"Even if something unexpected happens, he can retreat instantly with Flying Thunder God."
Killer B:
"Yo! Sounds like you two just raised a death flag, yeah!"
Battlefield — The Land of Rain
With the Deva Path heavily damaged, Nagato first sent the Preta Path to probe the enemy.
"Preta Path Assault!"
The Preta Path leapt down from above, hands clawed as it lunged toward Nagi.
Nagi calmly drew his blade.
"Iaijutsu."
Through shared vision, the Deva Path and Human Path watched closely. The moment the Preta Path moved—Nagi's sword flashed.
Nagato hurriedly tried to pull the Preta Path back—
But this was a case of the eyes keeping up, while the body could not.
Slash!
Crimson sprayed through the rain.
The Preta Path collapsed.
Nagi had ended it in a single stroke.
Seizing the moment, the Human Path lunged.
"Piercing Dust Strike!"
Fingers curled like claws, it struck toward Nagi.
Nagi sidestepped effortlessly.
The Human Path suddenly produced a black chakra receiver.
"Revolving Moon Wheel!"
Spinning its body, it swung the rod in a wide arc.
Nagi caught the rod mid-swing, snapped it, and kicked the Human Path into a wall, embedding it in stone.
Holding the severed black receiver, Nagi sensed the chakra flowing through it—
Then reversed the signal.
Instantly, he locked onto Nagato's hidden location.
Nagato's Hidden Chamber
Nagato stiffened.
"So… I've been reverse-traced."
He turned slightly.
"Konan. Prepare yourself."
"I understand."
Konan's expression darkened.
Meanwhile, the severely damaged Deva Path rose again. Nagato poured massive chakra into it, preparing to sacrifice life force to forcibly activate—
"Chibaku Tensei."
But before he could complete it—
"Watch your back!" Nagi shouted.
The Deva Path ignored him, forming a black sphere and hurling it skyward.
Nagi already knew its weakness.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
A high-pressure stream pierced the black sphere instantly.
Chibaku Tensei was disrupted mid-formation.
Suddenly, the Deva Path froze—then collapsed lifelessly.
Nagi didn't even glance at it.
He sprinted toward Nagato's true location.
Meanwhile…
"AAARGH!!"
"Nagato!!"
Black Zetsu stared at the pair of Rinnegan in his hand with satisfaction.
Konan, meanwhile, was locked in combat with Tobi and unable to break free.
Earlier, a White Zetsu clone had relayed news of Nagi's overwhelming strength.
Black Zetsu and Tobi had quickly reached a decision.
The fox-masked shinobi was too dangerous.
If he reached Nagato first, the Rinnegan might be lost.
The Tailed Beasts were already more than half captured.
Nagato had always distrusted them.
And saving him carried too many risks:
Nagato and Konan would never willingly abandon the Hidden Rain Village.
Negotiations would waste precious time.
Even if rescued, Nagato's failing health made him a liability.
So they chose betrayal.
They appeared instantly in Nagato's chamber.
Nagato was completely focused on controlling the Deva Path—unaware of Black Zetsu rising behind him.
Konan noticed first and tried to warn him—but Tobi attacked, preventing her.
Nagato reacted too late.
Black Zetsu's assassination was among the deadliest in the Shinobi World.
The infamous strike—
"Black Hand… Strike."
In one motion, he plunged his hand forward and tore out both of Nagato's Rinnegan.
Konan's heart filled with fury and terror. She tried to break free to save him—but exposed an opening.
Tobi seized it, producing a black receiver and thrusting it toward her.
She didn't have time to disperse into paper.
At that critical instant—
A gloved hand caught the black receiver mid-thrust.
"What?!" ×3
Black Zetsu and Tobi were stunned—the fox-masked shinobi had arrived impossibly fast.
Konan was stunned—why was he saving her?
Nagi snapped the rod in half and kicked toward Tobi.
Tobi immediately phased through the strike, retreating to create distance.
Nagi tilted his head slightly.
"Well now… isn't this Madara Uchiha? After all these years… do you still remember me?"
Tobi's voice trembled with fury.
"You—!! You imposter who dared call yourself Uchiha Tajima!"
After that infamous shout—"Uchiha Tajima, I, Madara Uchiha, will remember you!"—
Black Zetsu had later explained Madara's family lineage to Tobi.
Only then had Tobi realized his blunder.
And the world had seemed even more false to him since.
Surely it wasn't ignorance on his part—
No.
The world itself was wrong.
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