Chapter 212

"Nagato!"

Konan's face changed, and she tried to say something.

But Nagato shook his head, not giving Konan the chance to persuade him. He forcefully placed his hands over his eye sockets. As two streams of blood flowed down, the pair of purple, swirling Rinnegan fell into his palms.

With empty eye sockets, Nagato showed no hesitation and tossed the Rinnegan to Gensou.

Gensou caught them, inspected them to ensure they were genuine, and nodded in satisfaction.

The Rinnegan, successfully retrieved.

Cough cough cough...

Without the Rinnegan's power to sustain him, Nagato's body grew even weaker, and his breathing became labored as he coughed violently.

As blood droplets began to stain the sheets more and more, Konan hurriedly moved forward to support him, pulling out a precious life-saving medicine, ready to administer it to him.

But Nagato, with his skin and bones hand, stopped her and shook his head.

"Don't waste it. My time is almost up."

He knew his condition better than anyone.

Back during the ambush led by Hanzo and the Rain ninja, if he hadn't recklessly summoned the Gedo Statue, ignoring the damage to his body, he would have already died there.

Since then, his legs had been burned by the explosive flame array, and using the Gedo Statue had drained too much of his life force and chakra, rendering him unable to walk. His body had continued to weaken, and he had relied on machinery to stay alive.

The fact that he had survived until now was largely thanks to the Rinnegan, the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.

But now, without the Rinnegan, Nagato knew he didn't have much time left.

Looking at Konan's sorrowful face, Nagato managed a rare smile before turning his head toward Gensou. He asked calmly,

"Do you really believe the world after the Infinite Tsukuyomi will be as good as you say?"

Gensou placed the Rinnegan into a prepared container, secured it, and answered casually,

"Who knows? We'll find out once we try."

"'Try'... such an arrogant word," Nagato replied with a self-deprecating smile.

Not long ago, he had shared a similar attitude.

But now, having been fully awakened to the truth behind the Eye of the Moon Plan, and no longer possessing the Rinnegan, Nagato had a clearer understanding of himself and the world.

He thought back to his teacher, Jiraiya, and the lessons he had taught him and his friends.

Cough cough... "The world shouldn't—and won't—be deceived by people like you and Uchiha Madara," Nagato said with newfound conviction.

Hearing this, Gensou raised an eyebrow and gave Nagato a surprised look. "Hearing that from you is unexpected. And by the way, the person you're talking about isn't Uchiha Madara."

To Nagato, whether it was really Uchiha Madara or not didn't matter anymore.

He continued, "This world... may be terrible. War, slaughter, pain, and despair exist everywhere. But there will always be people willing to stand up and change it. Not by blinding themselves to reality and living in a false world. Whether it's you, or the fake Uchiha Madara, no matter how powerful you are, there will still be thousands upon thousands of people who will rise up to stop you."

Gensou remained calm and even thanked him, saying, "Thanks for the warning. But if you think your talk-no-jutsu will convince me, you needn't bother. You'd be better off using that time to take one last look at this world."

"Talk-no-jutsu?"

Nagato quickly grasped the meaning of the term and smiled, shaking his head. "I don't have that kind of power. I've just come to understand a lot in a short time and wanted to express my feelings. One last thing."

Nagato patted Konan's hand, which was supporting him, and once again turned to Gensou.

"I want to make a deal with you."

"A deal?"

Gensou looked at the blind and paralyzed Nagato and glanced at the weakened Konan, both of whom were powerless to resist. He didn't see what they had left to offer in a trade.

Then Nagato spoke, "The Gedo Statue."

Gensou's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

The Gedo Statue?

He recalled that the Rinnegan could control the Gedo Statue.

Almost as if reading Gensou's thoughts, Nagato explained,

"The Rinnegan can indeed control the Gedo Statue. But after all these years of being under my command, the statue now bears my mark."

"With your ability and the Rinnegan, you could forcefully summon the Gedo Statue after some time. But don't forget about 'Uchiha Madara.' He knows where the statue is. As for the Eye of the Moon Plan... he's not going to let you have the final say."

Gensou immediately understood.

The Gedo Statue, which housed the power of the tailed beasts, was incredibly important. If Uchiha Obito got to it first, it would be a major problem.

Gensou asked directly, "What's your offer?"

Nagato took a deep breath, "The Gedo Statue... in exchange for Konan's safety."

Konan's face changed, "Nagato, you..."

Nagato used all his remaining strength to grip Konan's arm tightly.

"Konan, listen to me! I now realize that Yahiko, you, and everyone in the original Akatsuki were all manipulated by 'Uchiha Madara,' becoming something you never wanted to be. I can't fix that, but you can."

"Take me and Yahiko to a quiet place and live out the rest of your life peacefully. Just like the small cabin we stayed in when Jiraiya-sensei was still with us. Looking back, that was the happiest time of our lives!"

At this moment, Nagato's face was filled with nostalgia.

Tears began to fall from Konan's eyes.

Watching this scene, Gensou couldn't help but feel that if he interrupted or refused, he'd look just like those stereotypical villains in the movies.

But trading the Gedo Statue for Konan's safety wasn't a bad deal.

In his eyes, Konan was insignificant. Even if she sought revenge, it wouldn't pose any real threat to him.

Compared to that, securing the Gedo Statue, which already housed the Four-Tails and Seven-Tails, was far more important.

Gensou nodded, "Deal."

Seeing that Gensou had agreed, Nagato breathed a sigh of relief.

Knowing that someone like Gensou wouldn't go back on his word, Nagato clasped his hands together and barely managed to form a seal.

Boom!

A massive cloud of white smoke appeared.

Gensou looked over and saw, next to Nagato, a gigantic humanoid statue with a withered, tree-like body, ten pillar-like spikes protruding from its back, and nine eyes, two of which were fully open while a third was partially opened. The statue was bound in chains and sat cross-legged.

It was the Gedo Statue.

Gensou nodded in satisfaction, observing the statue before noting something strange.

"The Gedo Statue has opened two of its eyes, corresponding to the Four-Tails and Seven-Tails. That makes sense. But why is one of the eyes slightly opened?"

"This aura... the Nine-Tails?"

(End of Chapter)

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