A special thank you to my patrons:
—Shahzaam, Jacob Mooe, kevin Williams, Jose Sierra, Pasang Sherpa, Acedia, kurtis newman, Nhoxious, sediaz, Targaryen, King Scales.
This story is complete, you can read the rest of the chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
-------------------------------------------------------------
The colossal explosion had echoed across virtually the entire island. In the darkness, a man slowly lifted his weary eyelids. His gaze, which had been clouded and dim, sharpened with sudden, alert clarity. He knew, with grim certainty, that something inevitable had finally occurred.
After the roar of the detonation had faded, silence once again descended upon the surroundings. The man allowed his eyes to drift shut, surrendering to the quiet. But before long, the sound of hurried, urgent footsteps reached his ears.
"Who's there?" the man asked, his eyes snapping open.
"It's me..."
The man's vision swam, then sharpened. He struggled to raise his head and looked towards the entrance. A dark silhouette had materialized in the dim light. Though he could not make out the details of the figure's face, he recognized the overall outline immediately. Besides, he was intimately familiar with that voice. After all, this person was now the one closest to him in all the world...
"Konan... that explosion just now—was that you detonating the explosive tags?"
Konan nodded. "It didn't kill the Allied Shinobi Forces. But it did kill someone rather unexpected."
"Oh?"
"Madara."
"Him?" The man was momentarily stunned.
"That's right. The carefully prepared ambush that was meant to annihilate the Allied Forces instead killed Madara. Isn't that ironic?" The corner of Konan's mouth quirked upwards, and a flicker of bitter mockery surfaced in her eyes.
The man fell silent. After a long, contemplative pause, he struggled once more to lift his head. Konan quickly moved to his side and crouched down beside him. "Nagato, I know he helped us a great deal. But in the end, the only ones we can truly rely on are each other. Under the current circumstances, we cannot afford any distractions."
Nagato said nothing.
"What's the status of the battlefield?" Konan asked, attempting to draw Nagato's thoughts back to the present.
"Apart from the Deva Path, every member of the Akatsuki on the battlefield is dead... However, the Allied Shinobi Forces have also suffered catastrophic losses. Several of the Kage-level commanders have been effectively neutralized. Even Tsunade has likely lost her combat effectiveness for the time being."
'Mutual annihilation!' The phrase flashed through Konan's mind like a bolt of lightning.
"What do we do next?" Konan pressed.
Nagato shook his head slowly. "Our objective was to capture Asachi Midorima and secure the jinchuriki... Even if it's just the two of us left, there may still be a chance to seize control of this battle. But as things stand now..." Nagato drew a deep, shuddering breath and fixed his eyes on Konan. "Our options are running dangerously thin."
Konan looked at Nagato's exhausted, haggard face, and her heart ached with a sharp, piercing pain. It was plainly obvious that the battle against the Allied Forces had drained an immense amount of his chakra. Under these conditions, summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and performing the Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals was simply out of the question. Not to mention, that technique required extensive preparation time to even initiate. In other words, they would have no choice but to abandon the mission.
But now that the Allied Shinobi Forces had become fully aware of their presence and capabilities, did the Akatsuki truly have any hope of rising again in the future? The answer was painfully, brutally clear. No... There was no future. This had been their one and only chance!
In the span of mere heartbeats, Nagato had already made his decision deep within his heart.
"So what is our next move?" Konan asked.
Nagato was just about to respond when his expression abruptly shifted. His gaze snapped towards something behind Konan. Reading the shock in Nagato's eyes, Konan immediately whirled around—only to see the masked "Madara" stepping casually through the protective barrier she had erected around Nagato.
"So, this is where you two have been hiding all along... The location isn't particularly high. Just a modest peak relatively close to the Hidden Mist Village. Indeed, even I would never have imagined you'd choose a place like this," Obito remarked, a smug smile in his voice.
"You're alive?!" Konan's face twisted into an expression of pure, venomous fury.
Seven hundred billion explosive tags. That was enough to flatten not just one towering mountain, but to utterly obliterate its very foundation. For several kilometers in every direction, the sky had been blotted out by the sheer density of the paper. The continuous, unrelenting chain of explosions had lasted well over five minutes. Even a large, fully-fortified shinobi village could have been reduced to ash in the face of such apocalyptic destruction, let alone a single shinobi. Even if that shinobi was a monster like Uchiha Madara.
"Heh... You very nearly succeeded, I'll admit. But a small, unexpected variable intervened, and your plan fell apart," Obito stated.
If he had not recovered his other Sharingan, Konan might very well have succeeded in killing him. But now, with the complete, fully-realized power of his Kamui, the five-minute time limit that had once constrained him was no longer an issue. Relying on explosive tags alone—no matter how many—could never kill him now.
Konan glared at Obito with murderous intensity, positioning her body squarely between him and Nagato. "Just because I failed to kill you this time doesn't mean we're at your mercy! If you think killing us will be so easy, you're sorely mistaken!" she snarled.
Obito rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Shall we put that to the test?"
With the complete Kamui at his disposal, Obito was confident that even if he couldn't kill the two of them outright, his own safety was all but guaranteed. And as for Nagato, who was now utterly drained and exhausted, there was no way he could pose any meaningful threat.
"Konan, calm yourself..." Nagato's voice cut through the tension, halting the enraged Konan before she could throw herself into a suicidal assault. His gaze, however, remained locked unwaveringly on Obito. "Although I have never fully understood why you chose to help us, nor what your true objective might be, I cannot deny that your assistance over the years has been invaluable."
"Nagato, why are you still defending him?!" Konan demanded, baffled.
Nagato offered a weak, strained smile and raised a hand, once again signaling for Konan to hold her tongue.
"The Akatsuki... was an organization that we founded. Yahiko's death could never change the original purpose for which we created it. And we have remained true to that purpose ever since. So tell me—why have you chosen to betray the Akatsuki now?! We still had a chance to win this battle." Nagato fixed Obito with a cold, penetrating stare. His tone was less that of a man asking a question and more that of a judge delivering an indictment.
Obito scratched the back of his head lazily. "Every member of the Akatsuki has their own agenda, don't they? Take Kakuzu or Hidan, for example. They certainly didn't join the Akatsuki for the sake of 'world peace.' Since everyone joined for their own reasons, it's only natural that, when the right moment arrives, we go our separate ways."
"And 'now' is the 'right moment' you're referring to?" Konan sneered.
"What other choice is there? Should I simply wait around for Midorima to show up and slaughter you both? Honestly, do the two of you seriously believe you still have the strength to hold him off? Or are you planning to simply 'return' the tailed beasts you've collected?" Obito asked.
Konan glanced back at Nagato, who lowered his head in silence.
"What is it you want? And what exactly do you intend to do?" Nagato finally lifted his head once more.
"I merely wish to propose a transaction. I will kill Midorima for you. But in exchange... I will be taking your life. As you are now, you have no hope of standing against Midorima. This deal is quite favorable for you, is it not?" Obito said with a smile.
"Nagato..." Konan's brow furrowed sharply. She glared at Obito with undisguised hatred, her body remaining planted firmly in front of Nagato. She would not allow anyone to harm him. Even if Nagato himself agreed, she would never accept it.
"Trading this half-dead life of mine for Midorima's? It certainly sounds like an attractive bargain," Nagato admitted.
"Then you agree?" A flicker of relief passed through Obito's voice.
"No. My goal has always been to create a world without war. Not to kill Midorima. I'm afraid I must decline this transaction of yours," Nagato stated firmly.