"Naruto: Ice God"Chapter 162: Ocular Jutsu—Ayakashikone
While Setsuna was raging helplessly, Jiraiya and his disciples were examining Hanzō's corpse.
Hanzō's body, that invisible slash—everything pointed to an extraordinary dark hand orchestrating events from behind the scenes.
Who was the mastermind, and what was their objective?
Jiraiya glanced at Nagato beside him, vaguely forming a suspicion.
Honestly, he'd only wanted to use the post-war lull to gather material and complete the final chapter of his Snow Woman series.
Coming to find Yahiko and the others was purely because he happened to pass through the Land of Rain and thought he'd check in.
But that casual visit had cost him dearly.
"Amegakure is no longer safe for you. Your casualties have been too heavy recently."
Looking at the few remaining Akatsuki members around them, Jiraiya spoke bluntly to Yahiko about their current situation.
Yahiko didn't object to Jiraiya's assessment, though his tone carried sadness: "But if we leave Amegakure, where can we go?"
The other members nodded in agreement. This was their homeland—if they left, where else could they find refuge?
Besides...
Their business dealings with Konoha were still ongoing.
"First, get beyond Hanzō's sphere of control and look for a new base near the Land of Rain. How does that sound?" Jiraiya knew these people wouldn't agree to join Konoha and had no intention of trying to persuade them.
"We'll have to do that for now."
Yahiko's expression was full of bitterness as he agreed to Jiraiya's proposal.
"Well then..." Tossing aside the ninja fragments from Hanzō, Jiraiya began forming hand seals.
The sensation underfoot changed, and the surrounding scenery shifted once more.
An Akatsuki member approached Nagato, thoughtfully supporting him as fatigue from prolonged battle set in.
"Thank you, you are..." Nagato looked up at the familiar face before him. Just as he was about to speak, his vision went black, followed by excruciating pain.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Powerful repulsive force erupted with Nagato at its center, drawing everyone's attention.
"Nagato, what's wrong?!"
Jiraiya spun around to see a trail of bloody tears streaming down Nagato's face.
The sudden turn of events shocked everyone. As Nagato half-knelt on the ground, covering his now-empty right eye socket, the figure previously blasted away by Nagato closed in again.
"Don't even think about it! Fire Release—"
Realizing the attacker had ambushed Nagato, Jiraiya was about to strike when his perspective suddenly shifted.
Nagato, who should have been kneeling on the ground, now appeared suspended in the air, while the figure he intended to attack became an elusive blur.
"Genjutsu? Obito, you—"
Jiraiya tried to have Obito act in his place, but Obito wasn't faring any better. With his vision inverted, he couldn't even maintain his balance, collapsing to the ground and dragging Yahiko down with him.
A vicious knee strike connected with Nagato's face. The figure grabbed Nagato's hair, forcing his head up, and with his free hand ruthlessly gouged out the second Rinnegan.
"Nagato!"
The remaining Akatsuki members watched in anguish, utterly helpless.
Everyone's vision was affected—they couldn't take proper action to stop the attacker.
"I'll be taking the Rinnegan."
Pocketing the Rinnegan in front of everyone, the figure spoke in a hoarse voice reminiscent of Naoya Uchida, left those words, and vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
Only after the attacker departed did everyone's vision return to normal, and they rushed toward Nagato.
"Damn it!"
After seeing Nagato's injuries clearly, Jiraiya clenched his fist and slammed it into the ground.
His disciple had his eyes gouged out right before him, and he was powerless to stop it. This humiliation caused even the most easygoing Jiraiya to lose his composure—a rare occurrence.
"Who was the attacker? Why would they do such a thing?!"
Konan lifted Nagato's head, letting him rest on her lap, her face filled with sorrow.
"Nagato..."
Yahiko also struggled up from the ground, fighting to reach Nagato.
...
Confirming no pursuers were following, Uchiha Yowan finally deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Ocular Jutsu—Ayakashikone.
His left eye's ability was to alter others' perception of himself; his right eye could invert others' vision.
Using this technique, Uchiha Yowan had successfully infiltrated Akatsuki's ranks—even Setsuna hadn't detected him.
"Foolish. If you can't reverse Nagato's thinking, it's better to abandon him decisively."
Taking out a glass vial, Uchiha Yowan gazed at the pair of purple-glowing Rinnegan inside, showing a hint of fascination.
The Rinnegan—the power of the Six Paths, capable of commanding all phenomena.
However, he couldn't use these eyes himself for the time being.
No matter—he'd already selected a new host. Compared to the resolute Nagato, the former would be much easier to control.
"Hey, boss!"
A boisterous voice rang out as a shirtless man with a massive triple-bladed scythe slung over his shoulder and slicked-back gray hair appeared before Yowan.
"Finished with the sacrifice?" Glancing at the blood on him, Yowan, long accustomed to his subordinate's methods, immediately guessed what he'd been up to.
"Absolutely refreshing." Hidan chuckled, then asked, "Where to next?"
"The Land of Fire."
Looking at this subordinate he'd worked so hard to subdue, Yowan pursed his lips.
Though the process of recruiting him had been arduous, his abilities were definitely worth the effort.
Immortality—he never imagined the shinobi world would harbor such a troublesome ability.
The Jashin cult, huh? He'd definitely have to investigate that when the opportunity arose.
As the two advanced side by side, Yowan calculated in his mind.
Land of Fire, Konohagakure.
Kushina's mood was thoroughly sour.
Ever since Minato became the ANBU commander, the daily surveillance had finally decreased significantly.
But this hadn't changed the fundamental problem—she and Minato were still spending little time together.
Aside from the sweet week right after their wedding, Minato had been buried in work affairs every day since, with no time to accompany Kushina.
Fortunately, as Kushina matured, her chakra was now sufficient to suppress the Nine-Tails. Otherwise, Kurama would have long since tried to create negative emotions and corrupt Kushina's mind.
At this moment, Kurama was once again experiencing the "five-flower binding" treatment from Mito's era, tightly bound by Kushina's Adamantine Sealing Chains in her mental space, serving as an outlet for her frustration with Minato.
Kurama: So now you all understand where my hatred for humans comes from, right?
Isobu: I think living inside a jinchūriki is quite comfortable. I can sleep all day and just need to provide some chakra occasionally.
Kurama: Get lost.
Sakumo Hatake: Sorry, Kushina. It's just that Minato is too damn useful...
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