Chapter – 544 Helpless, Uneasy, Anxious, & Guilty

Listening to the reasoning of Konan and 'Madara', the cold and indifferent Nagato fell into a deep thoughtful look…

On Yama's side, as he saw 'Madara' and Konan trying to stop Nagato with sensible reasoning, reasoning that sounded plausible enough, he can't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and really hoped that 'Madara' and Konan can persuade Nagato to retreat this time so that Yama doesn't really have to fight it out with Nagato to the end.

But it's a pity that even if what 'Madara' and Konan said was perfectly reasonable, they still failed to persuade Nagato…

After 'Madara' told Nagato the intelligence about the abilities of Homusubi present in front of them, as well as the possibility of the other members of Amatsukami, including, the second Homusubi, Fujin, as well as, Suijin who might still be hiding nearby and waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a sneak attack on them, although a solemn and vigilant expression appeared on Nagato's face, as he looked at Yama, and Homusubi, however, there were still no signs or intentions of backing down from this fight.

It can clearly be said that even the persuasion of 'Madara' and Konan did not shake Nagato's confidence in being able to win against Yama.

In fact, 'Madara', himself, really couldn't figure out why exactly was Nagato so eager to fight Yama despite their passive situation considering the current circumstances and looked at him with a thoughtful expression, 'Is it possible that Nagato has awakened 'something' that would give him unrivalled confidence?'

Looking at eager Nagato, 'Madara' felt that perhaps his guess is indeed correct… and thought to himself with a resolute expression, 'If it is as I guessed, then I need to at least know what exactly has Nagato awakened so as to be able to prepare corresponding countermeasures against that 'something' too.'

And while 'Madara' was trying to figure out what that 'Something' is and thinking up countermeasures against that 'Something', the unaware Nagato looked at Yama with war intentions.

If it was Nagato from before, he might have really agreed with 'Madara' and Konan and immediately retreated just after capturing Sanbi and Hachibi's Jinchuriki.

This is because, even if has the Rinnegan, reputed to be the most exalted eye amongst the Three-Great Dojutsu, the eyes of Rikudo Sennin himself, not only helped him in learning the basics of the Yin-Yang Release but also allowed him to blur the boundary of life and death to a certain extent… Nagato never truly forgot that Rinnegan is not only his greatest weapon that can crush all his enemies; it is also his greatest restriction that can crush him too.

Although he has had the Rinnegan ever since the death of his parents and awakened it following his friend Yahiko's sacrifice, however, because his Yang Chakra has never been strong enough, Nagato was never able to display the true potential of these eyes of the Gods.

And perhaps it was because of the psychological resistance of power that is too strong, or maybe fear of losing himself to this exhilarating rush of power, Nagato, himself, never dared to explore the true potential of these eyes of the Gods.

But this all changed after the War of the Best at Amegakure.

Because of his serious injuries, Nagato had no choice but to follow 'Madara' and Zetsu's advice and transplanted Hashirama Cells.

After the successful transplantation of Hashirama Cells, the Yang Characteristic in Nagato's body underwent both qualitative and quantitative improvement, because of which, the Yin-Yang balance in his body stabilized, and entered a harmonized state.

Overall, it not only strengthened his basic strength, giving him a better and stronger Sage physique quite similar to Senju Hashirama, himself but also presented him with the opportunity to explore and bring out the true potential of these eyes of the Gods.

At the same time, because of the existence of Yama that threatened him and his goals, Nagato neither had any more psychological resistance to power that is too strong; nor did he care about losing himself to power. In fact, he needed to be so strong that all his enemies became helpless in front of him. So, Nagato actively decided to use this presented opportunity and started to explore the true potential of these eyes of the Gods.

As a result, not only did his mastery over Yin-Yang Release improve, but his understanding of the Rinnegan and its various techniques also reached a whole new realm.

Among these, the best thing that happened is that he was able to master several new Rinnegan Jutsu, new Jutsu, and powerful Rinnegan Jutsu that have always been present there, but he was neither aware of them nor was he able to master them up until some time ago…

And now that he has mastered these new Rinnegan Jutsus, Nagato is confident to be able to defeat Yama, while still remaining unscathed.

Therefore, Nagato looked eager to fight against Yama, his intentions were clearly perceivable from the faint yet heart-palpating Chakra fluctuations that covered the entire battlefield.

Perceiving Nagato's intentions, Yama's expression shrank, and he can't help but scream inwardly, 'Damn it Nagato, just retreat already, will you? Why do you want to fight against me so much?! What good will come from our fight?'

Of course, these thoughts of Yama were only known to him and nobody else on the battlefield.

For Yama who has the Tenseigan, perceiving that the opponent's strength is higher than his is not that difficult of a task, in fact, he can do so without even the need to rely on the Tenseigan, and because he knows the difference in their strength, so he also knows that winning this battle is not possible for him… this is exactly why he doesn't want to fight against Nagato at this time…

After all, even their last battle at Amegakure wasn't a definitive win for Yama and resulted in somewhat of a draw, or perhaps in mutual defeat; where Yama wounded the enemy by 1000 points and suffered 800 points of injury, himself.

If it weren't for his excellent bluffing skills that not only fooled Nagato, 'Madara', and Zetsu but also the other people present on the battlefield at that time, the end result of the War of the Best at Amegakure might have been something completely different, in fact, it might even be hard to say which side would be the first one to retreat from the battlefield.

Of course, Yama also understands that even if he has excellent acting skills, he can't always bluff his way out, but Yama had still hoped to delay this at a later date.

But it appears that that's not a possibility anymore, as Nagato is really determined to fight this time.

Although a little doubtful, Yama also considered the possibility that one of the reasons for such an ardent determination of Nagato is that Nagato who has the Rinnegan might have also seen through the difference in their respective strength, otherwise, he wouldn't be so ardent.

'Damn it, damn it, damn it… if only I had managed to combine my Sennin Mode with my Tenseigan Chakra Mode… If I had managed to do that, then I would have had the strength to defeat Nagato…!

But unfortunately, I am unable to do so at this stage…!' – thought Yama with a regrettable expression.

But there is no medicine for regret in this world, so although, helpless, Yama can only sigh and think of some other method that he can use to defeat Nagato.

And while Yama started to ponder over all his options, Itachi, who was disguised as Homusubi felt something wrong with the situation, and immediately a worried expression appeared on his face.

Although Homusubi has very high confidence in Yama, he can't help but get worried because of the 'what if' possibility.

After all, the chakra fluctuations emitting from the leader of the Akatsuki Organization are really heart-palpating and even made him, an extremely calm-hearted individual feel frightened to the core.

Homusubi never thought that a Shinobi could be so strong… such a level of unfathomable strength reminds him of the legendary tales of the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama.

And Homusubi is not certain whether Yama can defeat such an enemy, therefore, he can't help but feel uneasy.

Shisui's forehead and back were also covered with cold sweat because he too realizes the danger of Nagato.

Shisui is different from the others in regards to the fact that his Nekomata Sennin Mode gives him unusually high perception, therefore, he has a better understanding of the depths of Nagato's strength.

At the same time, because of being able to sense Natural Energy, Shisui is also able to sense and feel the life energy exuded from the Gedo Statue standing behind Nagato. Such a thing being in the hands of someone like Nagato is really synonymous with destruction for the entire Shinobi world, so he can't help but feel uneasy too.

And while Homusubi and Shisui were feeling uneasy, the gaze of everyone else jumped back and forth between Yama and Nagato.

Influenced by the oppressive and gloomy atmosphere, others started to lose their judgment and slowly started to get anxious.

Of course, unlike others, Sandaime Hokage was not so confused, after all, he is different from everyone else, as he has personally experienced all kinds of events in the Shinobi World. Sarutobi Hiruzen has not only presided over the situation of the Shinobi World over several decades but has also witnessed the peak strength of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

Those Jutsus that could travel all the way to the other shore, and those cloud-towering and earth-splitting moves are not something he can ever forget in his life…

Standing here, Sarutobi Hiruzen saw that the leader of the Akatsuki Organization, although, has a solemn and vigilant expression, is determined to fight it out with Yama, while the leader of the Amatsukami Organization, although appears to be calm and confident, however, is hesitant, and does not seem to want to confront Nagato for some reason.

This observation of his made him understand that the situation might be even more passive for their side than he had initially judged, which only increased his worry and guilt.

At the same time, Jiraiya also stared at the opposite Nagato with a dazed expression. Although the appearance of Nagato standing on the other side is similar to the Nagato in his impression, however, Nagato in his impression was a confused and troubled child who wanted to protect Yahiko and Konan, sought peace more than anything, wanted to find a way to get rid of the cycle of hatred and also had the power to believe in that possibility… But, the Nagato currently standing in front of him is completely indifferent towards such things…

And Jiraiya has no one but himself to blame for such a change in Nagato… Had Jiraiya stayed in Amegakure and not left the three young kids to their own devices, perhaps the result might have been something different…

And the worst thing about all this is that he doesn't even have the power to stop Nagato's actions, so there is another round of guilt and self-blame.

But there is no crying over the spilt milk, so blame himself all he can, it would change nothing.

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