In his heart, Hagoromo's goal had naturally been to leave not even a single hair of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path behind. That was also what he had done.
However, things went against his wishes. For various reasons, the final result was that, without his knowledge, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had left behind one complete, extremely mocking body part.
It was so mocking that it looked as though Hagoromo had deliberately done it himself… and with his personality, he absolutely could have done such a thing.
But even if there was still one finger left, what use could it possibly have?
Seal the tailed beasts? Impossible.
Still, this was no excuse for Hagoromo's mistake. When he left that place, he had been rather hurried, almost "rash." His usual caution was not reflected at all this time.
This was mainly because he was worried about Mirai and the other two outside. Although he hoped the young shinobi could stand on their own, and although Team Six should have been in an undefeated position when they were allowed to use Kotoamatsukami, rational understanding was rational understanding, while feelings were feelings.
Worry could not be controlled.
It was hard to say whether Hagoromo was an emotional person or a rational person. In this respect, he was no different from ordinary people. When looking at matters involving a third party, he was quite rational. But once they involved himself, his starting point became emotional.
To put it plainly, this was simply a matter of personal stakes. Cold detachment? Objective rationality? Those things depended on closeness and distance. Human beings were like this, and Hagoromo was no exception.
Thus, after killing the super-large vegetative patient, he quickly left that charred underground space. Then, within the chaotic and disorderly Amegakure, he soon found Mirai's three-person group.
"Kotoamatsukami… as expected, the burden was still too heavy?"
Seeing Mirai with her eyes closed while being carried on Haku's back, Hagoromo quickly figured out the reason.
Fortunately, nothing serious had happened. This let Hagoromo breathe a sigh of relief.
Only when the dōjutsu power of both the left and right eyes was used at the same time could Kotoamatsukami display its true power. Its terrifying aspect lay in the fact that it could directly alter the will of even a shinobi on Konan's level.
At that time, she had not known at all that she had been "ordered" to commit suicide. The truth was that one moment, she had still wanted to drag all her enemies down with her as a funeral offering for Nagato. The next moment, that had been changed into a state where grief and despair made her feel there was nothing left to live for.
She wanted to die, and she could not wait even a single moment.
After Yahiko, even Nagato had been lost. What meaning was there in living? What difference would spending one more second to kill the enemy make? It would be better to go one second earlier to the side of those two people in the other world.
And so, she died just like that.
This kind of deep-level alteration of consciousness could probably only be accomplished by releasing Kotoamatsukami from both eyes at the same time. This was also the important reason why, after Danzo stole one of his eyes, Shisui believed that the plan to "change Fugaku's consciousness" could no longer be realized.
"Lord Hagoromo, we are deeply sorry. Mirai, she…" Kimimaro opened his mouth, but for a moment, he could not explain. His face did indeed carry shame.
Hagoromo waved his hand and stopped him from continuing. Although their mission from beginning to end had been to protect this girl, even by guessing, Hagoromo could understand that the two of them bore no responsibility here.
"This has nothing to do with you. As expected… using the Mangekyō Sharingan at this age is still too much of a stretch."
Hagoromo took Mirai from Haku and carried her on his own back instead. After being switched to another person, the child's expression seemed to soften slightly.
Fine. Since childhood, this was the back she was most familiar with. Perhaps in her subconscious, she had felt a sense of psychological safety.
"Explain what exactly happened to me in detail afterward. For now, we need to leave this place quickly." After achieving his objective, Hagoromo decided to leave as soon as possible.
He had come to trouble Akatsuki, not to deal with all of Amegakure. And from the current look of things, there were no other Akatsuki members left in this village.
"Lord Hagoromo… Amegakure…" Haku looked back at the village burning with war and seemed to hesitate.
"Mm. The chaos will probably continue for a while… until a new leader emerges."
In reality, with neither Hanzo nor Nagato remaining, Amegakure was already not much of a concern.
After realizing that their main base had been exposed and that Nagato, the organization's leader, had died, Uchiha Obito would definitely step onto the stage. After this, Akatsuki would no longer be able to remain in Amegakure.
In that sense, Hagoromo's invasion was not entirely without benefit to this village that had been controlled all along. Perhaps they had now received an opportunity to become their own masters… though the price they paid was somewhat heavy.
On the way out of the village, Haku and Kimimaro explained to Hagoromo what had happened just now.
In terms of order and relationship, Hagoromo's influence over Mirai was immense, to the point that it even felt somewhat "absolute." Therefore, an enemy that Hagoromo absolutely had to erase was, to her, also the same.
Naturally, Hagoromo would never say something like "eliminate the enemy at all costs" to her. But influence happened subtly and imperceptibly. That was why she had made such a forced move earlier.
Another reason was that with Konan's explosive-tag tactics, it was hard to say whether Hagoromo would not be caught in the blast. This further pushed Mirai into using a "forced-kill" tactic. Fortunately, the consequences of forcibly using such enormous power remained within a controllable range. Otherwise, Hagoromo would have had nowhere to cry.
…
The tailed-beast capture team Akatsuki had sent to the Land of Water was mainly composed of four people: Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame, Hidan, and Kakuzu. In addition, there was Zetsu, who was responsible for intelligence work and whose recovery from the explosion in Konoha was still unknown.
At the same time, because of the importance of this operation, Uchiha Obito had also hidden in the shadows and accompanied their movements.
It could be said that Akatsuki had deployed half its strength and invaded the Land of Water.
Because of the guidance of the "missing-nin" Hoshigaki Kisame, and even more because a certain person had not interfered, the result of Akatsuki's operation this time was quite ideal. Both the Six-Tails' jinchūriki and the Three-Tails itself had been obtained.
Without someone like Hagoromo obstructing them, capturing tailed beasts could hardly be considered difficult for Akatsuki. In fact, Uchiha Itachi alone could have dealt with the Six-Tails' jinchūriki, Utakata.
However, when they returned to Amegakure again, something beyond their understanding happened.
Why was this village smoking?
Was it some fire-splashing festival? Did the Land of Rain have such a custom?
Just as the four were wondering what exactly had happened, Zetsu and Uchiha Obito, who was hidden in the shadows, entered Amegakure first to investigate.
Afterward, they discovered the corpses of Nagato and Konan. Then they saw the White Zetsu holding the middle finger and received a detailed explanation of the situation.
Thus, for Zetsu and Uchiha Obito, the good news was that the Rinnegan had been transferred into the Kamui dimension.
The bad news was…
First, Nagato and Konan were dead.
Second, judging by inference, Sasori and Deidara were also dead.
Third, their main base, Amegakure, had been exposed. From now on, Akatsuki would be homeless.
Finally…
One, two, three—where was my wooden man?
What use was one finger?? Obito almost roared.
But asking Zetsu this question was truly useless. After all, he had always reproduced asexually.
Under these circumstances, the "Masked Man" formally appeared before those four people for the first time.
To them, this "new face," who wore Akatsuki's uniform yet had appeared for the first time, carried an extremely oppressive aura for some unknown reason. He immediately suppressed the entire scene.
Although Itachi had met this mysterious man very early on, he did not understand him.
So… was he angry, or despairing? Or both?
Uchiha Obito had reason to be angry. This was like someone running ten kilometers away to scoop up a handful of clear water from a river, carefully returning with it, only to discover that their cup at home had been smashed.
Was there still justice under heaven? Was there still law in the world?
He had even more reason to despair. The plan Madara had left behind, plus his own considerations, contained no countermeasure for what to do after losing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
"I'll explain the current situation. The two-man team of Sasori, which acted as the 'bait,' has been completely wiped out. At the same time, Amegakure was attacked by the White Yaksha. Leader Pain and the 'Angel' Konan… have likewise fallen." Zetsu explained the current situation in extremely simple words.
But the information hidden within those words was explosive.
At this moment, Zetsu appeared calm. But if one were to ask who was the most frantic right now, who was the most despairing?
Of course it was Zetsu. His surname was Zetsu and his given name was Zetsu—if he did not despair, who would? All he wanted was to save his dear mama. Why was it so difficult?
This shocking news left Akatsuki's remaining members at a loss. In such a short time, the organization had lost four members, and among them was even the leader?
Then what should they do next? How should the plan continue?
"Follow me. Amegakure is no longer needed. The Three-Tails and Six-Tails must be transferred somewhere else safe." Perhaps because of his emotions, Obito's voice carried the pressure of dark clouds bearing down on a city.
Even the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was gone. Should they still cling to the tailed beasts? Obito did not know. But if he gave up on the tailed beasts, what else could he do?
After saying this, he turned directly and left in a direction far from Amegakure.
Just as the other Akatsuki members were wondering who this person was and why he was acting so arrogantly, fortunately, Zetsu introduced him.
"This is the organization's new leader after Pain… Uchiha Madara," White Zetsu said.
"Or, to be more accurate, the previous organization was merely being managed by Pain on his behalf. Akatsuki's power has always belonged to him," Black Zetsu added.
The four first fell silent, then followed.
Perhaps it was because of that extraordinary name. Perhaps it was because of Zetsu's guidance and recognition. Perhaps it was because they were too bewildered. In short, the four did not hesitate much. Carrying the "luggage" from the Land of Water, they followed the "Masked Man" as he requested.
This time, the road Akatsuki would walk led toward a completely unknown and bewildering future.
Could they find a new path, or would they move toward an even deeper despair?
A brand-new question, an unknown answer.
But no matter what, they had no path of retreat.
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