Chapter 37: Beware the Spectator (Part 4)
Something's Terribly Wrong
Why did things turn out like this?
Cold sweat dripped down Yahiko's forehead as his mind raced with warnings, an ominous feeling flooding his thoughts.
Of the three founding members of Akatsuki, he was the one with the clearest perspective—able to notice details that Konan and Nagato often missed. That's why he led their organization. His natural charisma and vision had drawn so many followers to their cause.
But right now, Yahiko felt everything spiraling completely out of control.
"Yahiko, stop being naive! Just look at Hanzō—he's completely lost his mind!" Nagato dropped into a combat stance, his hands flying through seals before slamming onto the ground. "Konan, work with me!"
Though normally quiet and reserved, Nagato was actually the most impulsive of their trio. Once he determined that someone threatened Konan or Yahiko, he would eliminate that danger at any cost.
And now, even the usually level-headed Konan had been consumed by her prophetic nightmare, convinced that Hanzō was the source of all their future suffering.
BOOM!
The next instant, Nagato and Hanzō collided.
Kunai clashed against kusarigama, throwing sparks as the sharp ring of metal echoed through the rain-soaked battleground.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Jutsu!"
Their clash of ninjutsu instantly expanded the battlefield into chaos.
One was a legendary master of Water Release techniques, the other a wielder of the Rinnegan with access to all six chakra natures. Their battle shook the very earth beneath them.
Nagato executed technique after technique with flawless precision, as if he'd been born for this—each jutsu flowing seamlessly into the next.
Hanzō, on the other hand, was already exhausted from his earlier fight with Uchiha Kazuki. Now facing the power of the Rinnegan, he was clearly being pushed to his limits.
"Ninja Art: Poison Fog!"
He exhaled a massive cloud of purple toxic mist that spread rapidly on the wind.
"Konan, fall back!" Nagato immediately retreated while forming hand seals. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
WHOOOOSH!
A howling gale erupted, whipping sand and debris into the air.
The poisonous fog was blown back and dispersed by the violent windstorm, its advance completely halted.
But in that moment, Hanzō burst from the opposite direction, targeting Konan as she hovered in mid-air. "I'll start by killing you!"
CRACK!
His chain shot out like a striking viper.
Caught off guard, Konan was ensnared by the metal links wrapping around her body.
Hanzō yanked downward with tremendous force, dragging her from the sky and slamming her into the ground.
CRASH!
The brutal impact forced a cry of pain from Konan's lips as she felt her bones rattle from the collision.
"Got you!"
Hanzō leaped high into the air, his scythe descending like falling moonlight toward her exposed throat.
"KONAN!!!" Yahiko's eyes went bloodshot. Without thinking, he threw himself forward.
CLANG!
His kunai intercepted the scythe blade.
Struggling to hold back Hanzō's full-powered strike from above, Yahiko's arms trembled violently under the pressure.
Even so, in his desperate panic, he was quickly overpowered. His knees buckled and slammed into the ground as the scythe blade pierced through his shoulder, blood gushing from the wound.
"Nagato!" Yahiko screamed through blood-flecked lips.
"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"
Nagato's furious roar was accompanied by a razor-sharp wind blade.
SLASH!
The compressed air severed Hanzō's arm cleanly at the elbow.
Blood sprayed as Hanzō's face contorted in agony—but the murderous intent in his eyes only intensified. "You took my arm? I'll make all of you pay with your lives!"
He had already prepared a deadly trap for exactly this moment.
"Fire Release: Exploding Flame Formation!"
Suddenly, countless explosive tags materialized on the ground surrounding Yahiko and Konan!
Under Hanzō's control, the paper bombs—like sharks drawn to blood—swarmed toward the two injured shinobi.
The situation became instantly critical!
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Without time to think, Yahiko instinctively made his choice.
He abandoned his attempt to defend against the scythe overhead and instead grabbed Konan with his good arm.
"Nagato—!"
Using every ounce of strength he had left, ignoring the screaming pain from his mangled shoulder, he hurled Konan toward the charging Nagato.
Nagato caught her mid-leap—but the next moment, he witnessed a scene that would haunt him forever.
Hanzō kicked Yahiko backward, using the momentum to retreat to safety while simultaneously forming a hand seal.
"NO!!!"
"YAHIKO!"
"Detonate!"
BOOOOOM!!!
A massive fireball engulfed Yahiko completely.
Hundreds of explosive tags detonated simultaneously. The devastating force was so immense that the ground itself collapsed inward, creating a crater. Countless fragments of shattered rock were launched in all directions like deadly shrapnel.
"YAHIKO!" Nagato charged into the inferno, ignoring the flames still burning around the epicenter.
The sight that greeted him turned his blood to ice.
Lying in a blackened crater, Yahiko was completely burned. His legs had been blown off entirely. All traces of his former vibrant spirit were gone—he was barely clinging to life.
Konan stood frozen as if struck by lightning, her eyes empty and vacant, her mind unable to process what she was seeing.
"Cough... cough... ptoo."
Yahiko's labored coughing reached Nagato's ears, leaving his mind completely blank.
"Nagato..." He slumped forward weakly, leaning against Nagato's shoulder. His blood-covered hand slowly rose to touch the red-haired boy's face. "Take care of... Konan..."
"Yahiko... Yahiko? YAHIKO!"
Nagato froze, biting his pale lips as he clutched his dying friend helplessly. "Don't die... please don't die!"
But no matter how desperately he cried out, his friend's body grew colder and colder.
"Take care of Konan..."
The light in Yahiko's eyes faded bit by bit. "Our dream... I'm entrusting it... to you both..."
Thud.
Yahiko's arm fell limply to the ground.
His eyes closed for the final time.
Birth of a God
"NOOOOO!!!"
Nagato's anguished roar tore through the sky as infinite pain consumed his heart.
Watching his best friend die in his arms, his heart felt as if it had been carved out with a blade.
The indescribable agony, the suffocating despair—it felt like countless hands dragging him down into a dark, bottomless abyss. Every suppressed emotion, every buried trauma, erupted completely in that single moment.
"AAAAAAHHH—HANZŌ!!!"
Nagato roared like a wounded beast, two streams of blood tears flowing from his purple Rinnegan eyes. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
He bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood and slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
BOOM!
With an earth-shaking tremor, a nightmarish creature emerged.
A grotesque, humanoid statue rose from the ground—a horrifying effigy with multiple arms and a gaping maw lined with teeth.
Even the battle-hardened Hanzō felt primal fear as he stared at the abomination. "What... what in the hell is that thing?!"
The monstrous statue braced itself on the ground and released a soul-rending roar that seemed to echo from the depths of the underworld itself.
Black chakra receivers emerged from the statue's torso, shooting forward to pierce through Nagato's back and spine, causing him to scream in overwhelming agony.
"HANZŌ!!!"
But the physical pain—no matter how excruciating—couldn't diminish even a fraction of the torment in Nagato's heart.
He endured the torture, his hands forming seals to control the Demonic Statue behind him.
ROAAAAR!
The statue's mouth opened wide, and dozens of massive purple chakra dragons erupted forth.
Hanzō's pupils contracted sharply as his expression changed to one of absolute terror. His instincts screamed that those things meant certain death.
However, just as Hanzō prepared to flee, a sudden jolt struck deep within his brain—like being hit with a sledgehammer. He froze in place for less than a single second.
But that crucial second completely destroyed any chance of escape.
CRASH!!!
The chakra dragons—filled with Nagato's hatred and killing intent—descended upon him.
"AAAAHHH—!"
Enveloped within their grasp, Hanzō's eyes widened in absolute horror.
He could feel his life force and chakra being drained at a terrifying rate.
His already aged face became even more withered as his chakra was extracted. Within mere moments, Hanzō resembled a dried-up corpse—his skin like cracked tree bark stretched taut over brittle bones.
Completely drained, Hanzō lost all signs of life and fell from the air.
THUMP.
Aftermath
The battle was over.
Torrential rain continued to fall, as if the heavens themselves were mourning silently.
[End of Chapter 37]
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