Yahiko has fallen. Now Nagato was gone too. But his end was much scarier. At least Yahiko's body remained. Nagato's... just a severed head.
And even she smelled like burnt flesh.
Two figures stepped into the gloom of the cave— Obito and Black Zetsu. They were greeted by a picture of pure despair: Konan, hunched over the remains, clutching Nagato's head and sobbing uncontrollably.
Obito froze, and a barely audible sigh escaped through the slit of the mask. A wave of relief, which almost knocked the ground out from under his feet, replaced the chilling fear.
Head. She survived.
The stone pressing on his chest collapsed into the abyss. Nagato's life wasn't worth a thought. The only ones that mattered were the Rinnegans. Eyes that will open the way for him to a new world!
He was not afraid of his puppet's death, but of her complete disappearance. If Uchiha Yue had wiped Nagato to dust, his body would have been lost in that timeless hell where there is no light or energy. Looking for him there is like catching a grain of sand in an endless desert. Uselessly.
Even if there was a body, what would be the use? In the permafrost of that dimension, the divine eyes would surely have been extinguished, deprived of their power, and turned into dead glass.
In Madara Nagato's grand plan, there was only one role—to be the temporary guardian of Rinnegan. A mobile incubator. No more. His body was only supposed to protect his eyes and serve as a sacrifice for resurrection.
Fortunately, everything worked out. The head is in place, which means that the Rinnegan is safe.
"Rin... don't worry. I will create a world for you to live in."
This thought made him more determined. He had already stepped forward, ready to snatch Nagato's head from Konan's hands. Her feelings? An empty sound. He had a hand in the murder of his own teacher and the extermination of the clan — what does he care about the grief of some woman?
But before he could move, Black Zetsu stepped forward.
"Conan, hurry up!" Give me Nagato's head! He's still alive, he can be saved! Faster!
His hissing voice made Obito and Conan freeze at once.
What kind of nonsense is this? Obito stared at Zetsu. With one head and still alive? If he were the Sage of the Six Paths himself, such an outcome would be impossible. The Uzumaki's life force may be great, but there is a limit to everything.
He smelled like... fried meat. Obito suppressed a disgusted grin with difficulty. Zetsu's words sounded like he was assuring everyone that an incinerated log could still bloom.
Impossible.
—Zetsu..." Obito began, but stopped.
And then it dawned on him.
Sure. It's a trick. Even though he doesn't care about Conan, the precious head is in her hands right now. She's holding him, Obito, hostage, unknowingly. If he tried to take away the relic by force, who knows if the distraught woman would tear out Nagato's eyes in a last fit of despair? He couldn't take that risk. Nagato's head was more precious to him than his own.
So Zetsu is lying. He throws a fake lifeline to a drowning woman so that she herself gives him what he needs. Brilliant.
The corners of his lips curled into a satisfied grin under the mask. Zetsu is a genius.
"Alive?".. Are you saying Nagato is alive?
As expected, Konan's head snapped up. There was a glimmer of insane hope in her tear-stained eyes, which had been empty before. Yahiko is dead, but if Nagato can be saved... she won't lose everything.
Despair is fertile ground for the most absurd beliefs. When there is nothing left to lose, a person is ready to believe in any miracle, to grasp at any straw, even the most ghostly one.
"That's right, he's alive. I can feel his helmet continuing to feed his brain with energy, keeping it alive," Black Zetsu nodded confidently. —Conan, give me his head quickly." The energy in the helmet is running out! As soon as it runs out, Nagato will die completely!
He stepped closer and carefully, almost gently, took the head from Conan's weakened hands.
Hearing this, Obito, who was already ready to use Kamui to help Zetsu get his head, froze. What? Is this really true?
He looks... toasted. And still alive? You're not kidding, are you?
Obito was silent, inhaling the strange, burnt smell coming from the remains.
—Madara, don't delay! Black Zetsu hissed. — Quickly find the White Zetsu, Nagato needs a new body!
The rescue operation for Nagato began immediately. Obito found one of the clones of the White Zetsu, cut off his head and handed the headless body to the Black Zetsu.
He acted without hesitation. With sharp clumps of his cloth, he began to scrape the burnt flesh off Nagato's head, replacing it with a pliant white mass. At the same time, he began to connect Nagato's nerve endings and vessels to the new body, using extremely active cells for this purpose.…