Chapter 193: Rainy Epilogue - The Death of Nagato

From an aerial view, the majority of the Leaf Village lay in ruins, with fires and thick smoke everywhere. The streets were littered with corpses, and the blood painted the Leaf River that flowed through the village.

War, akin to a meat grinder running at full power, mercilessly devoured the flesh and souls of its participants.

This was the epitome of a brutal battlefield.

If the conflict continued, the Allied Shinobi Forces would likely pay a steep price to annihilate nearly twenty thousand defenders of the Leaf.

To the relief of many ordinary ninjas on both sides,

The fighting had ceased.

With the emergence of the Fifth Hokage, Danzo, this siege on the Leaf Village had been paused.

Both factions "calmly" sat down, entering into negotiations.

In this Shinobi World War, the Leaf Village's situation was dire.

Had anyone else—like the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, or any other—been in Danzo's position, they probably wouldn't have had the capability to turn the tide for the Leaf.

The Third Hokage's indecisiveness would have led the Leaf to its doom.

Only Danzo could conceive such a ruthless strategy: tying the fate of the Leaf ninjas to the Allied Forces, making it a "we all die, or none of us do" scenario.

This made the enemies think twice before making a move.

Thus, in Danzo's eyes, he had saved the lives of tens of thousands of Leaf ninjas and villagers. Just for this reason, he considered himself the greatest Hokage in history.

This was Danzo's self-reflection.

He genuinely believed he was the Leaf's savior.

Shortly after, following the orders of the high-ranking officials from both sides, the ninjas from the Leaf and the Allied Forces ceased combat. Tens of thousands gathered in the center of the village.

The Hokage building was completely destroyed, and not a single structure in the Leaf was left intact. Therefore, a makeshift tent was erected in the center of the battlefield.

This would serve as the negotiation venue.

Representing the Allied Shinobi Forces were Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage; A, the Raikage; Yagura, the Mizukage; and Chiyo, the temporary Kazekage.

From the Leaf, the heads of each clan, many injured, arrived at the frontline: Hiashi Hyuga, Chōza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, and Shibi Aburame. With mixed feelings, they watched Danzo, the new Hokage, enter the tent with several ANBU guards.

The peace talks had officially begun.

"Hmm, it's starting to rain."

Outside the tent, the Leaf's jonin, Might Guy, extended a hand, feeling the raindrops.

He looked up to see the overcast sky, with rain pouring down heavily.

The rain extinguished the flames and washed away the blood on the village streets. It seemed—

To be putting an end to this cruel war.

On a hill outside the Leaf Village,

Obito Uchiha stood in the rain, gazing at the devastated village. His expression was calm, his thoughts inscrutable.

Behind him, Kisame Hoshigaki, with his Samehada sword, stood silently with his dead-fish eyes, equally silent.

Both had witnessed the entire siege on the Leaf.

Suddenly, Zetsu emerged from the ground, updating Obito on the battlefield situation. The main points were the deaths of Pain and Uchiha Dan, and the ongoing peace talks between the two sides.

After listening, Obito shook his head, "The Six Paths of Pain are just puppets created from corpses. Even if destroyed, Nagato can easily recreate them. And as for Uchiha Dan, he's definitely not dead!"

Obito's conviction was unwavering. In a way, being Dan's enemy, Itachi understood and believed in Dan more than anyone in this world.

He had a hunch that after escaping the battlefield, Dan might be nearby.

Thinking this, Obito grew suspicious and looked around cautiously.

"We need to leave, now." Feeling unsafe, he decided not to linger and quickly left with Kisame and Zetsu.

The trio vanished into the rainy mist.

At the Uchiha clan's grounds, atop a small hill,

"Heh...heh..."

Dan was kneeling, breathing heavily. His skin sizzled like red-hot iron, emitting wisps of white smoke.

The rain cooled his body slightly.

Five kilometers.

Dan had never attempted to use his Kamui to teleport such a long distance before.

Not only did it drain a significant amount of his chakra, but the rapid movement and friction with the air also strained his body.

Getting up, he wiped the blood from his face, resting for a moment.

For a while, he shouldn't forcibly use Kamui.

Glancing back at the Leaf, he noticed the silence and cessation of combat.

Probably Danzo's doing.

Dan smirked, curious about what move Danzo would pull next.

The Leaf wouldn't overcome this crisis easily.

But for now, Dan redirected his gaze northwest, intending to find Nagato and see what he was up to.

In a flash, he disappeared from the hilltop.

...

Around the Hidden Leaf Village, vast primordial forests stretched out.

In a clearing within the forest, a semi-transparent shape began to form. Gradually, the shape became clearer and revealed itself as a massive chameleon with deep green skin. The eyes of this chameleon strikingly bore the Rinnegan, reminiscent of tree rings.

Whirring sounds filled the air as countless pieces of paper, unaffected by the rain, gathered to form the silhouette of a woman wearing the Akatsuki cloak and adorned with a flower in her hair.

It was Konan.

Swiftly, as Konan appeared, the chameleon opened its wide mouth and spit out Naruto Uzumaki, covered in a thick layer of mucus.

"So this is the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails," Konan observed, eyeing the young boy drenched in sticky fluid. Naruto, despite his young age, was riddled with shocking scars, remnants of burns caused by the Nine-Tails' chakra.

"Poor kid. Used as a tool at such a young age," she mused. "Given his condition, it's surprising he survived two rampages from the Nine-Tails."

Konan reached out, and immediately, numerous paper sheets emerged from her fingertips, forming a small cocoon that enveloped Naruto.

With its task accomplished, the chameleon vanished in a puff of smoke.

Minutes later, Konan, with Naruto in tow, ventured deeper into the forest. There stood towering trees, each so vast that they would require several people to encircle them. As Konan approached one particular tree, its bark, like fluttering sheets of paper, peeled away to reveal a doorway. This entire tree, crafted through Konan's paper ninjutsu, was indistinguishable from the others.

Inside, Nagato, with his distinctive red hair, sat. His upper body was gaunt, each rib visible. Black rods protruded from his back. Instead of legs, a wheelchair supported him, attached to spider-like mechanical limbs.

Upon seeing Konan, Nagato, panting heavily and drenched in sweat, simply said, "The Six Paths of Pain were destroyed. I was defeated."

Even the Deva Path? Konan inquired, recalling that it was made from the body of Yahiko, Nagato's dear friend.

Nagato nodded, detailing the events on the battlefield. Hearing of Uchiha Dan's involvement, Konan mused, "So it was Uchiha Dan who pushed you this far."

She remembered Dan from when he first struck down Rain village spies in the Hidden Leaf. She had warned Nagato about Dan multiple times, but it seemed they both underestimated him.

Thankfully, they managed to capture the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, fulfilling their mission. Moreover, Nagato had wisely summoned the Gedo Statue back to the moon, keeping it out of enemy hands.

As they continued to discuss, Konan unwrapped the paper cocoon, revealing Naruto. "Another Uzumaki, like me," Nagato mused. "No wonder he's so resilient. But shouldn't Uzumakis have red hair? He's blonde."

"Perhaps the genes of his father, the famed Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, were dominant," Nagato replied with a rare smile, which faded as he sighed, "Such a waste."

Konan sensed Nagato's emotional turmoil. She knew the fate that awaited Naruto: extraction of the Nine-Tails and an inevitable death.

Noticing Nagato's distress, Konan decided, "It's time to leave this place."

Their priority was to return to the Hidden Rain Village, their true base and a place of absolute safety.

Understood."

Nagato nodded, immediately using his chakra to activate the wheel mechanism of his chair, preparing to leave the paper tree with Konan.

But at that moment, his eyes widened in shock, sensing something approaching at great speed.

"What is it?" Konan asked, alarmed.

"Someone is rapidly approaching our location," Nagato responded, closing his eyes to focus. After the rain started, he had mixed his chakra with the rainwater and activated his Rain Tiger Isolation Technique to monitor the surroundings.

The approaching chakra was familiar to Nagato. It was... Uchiha Dan!

He opened his eyes in disbelief. Dan had not only survived their encounter but had also managed to track him down. Had Dan used the black rods within the Deva Path to reverse-trace his chakra?

Realizing the implications, Nagato sighed. They had underestimated Uchiha Dan.

"Uchiha Dan?!" Konan exclaimed in surprise upon hearing the name. "We need to leave immediately!"

However, Nagato shook his head, "From the beginning, Dan's target was me. His ultimate goal is... my Rinnegan. With him on my trail, I cannot escape."

Given his restricted mobility due to the wheelchair, Nagato understood the disadvantage he was at, especially against someone as formidable as Dan.

Seeing Nagato's resolve, Konan's eyes sharpened, "Then we have no choice but to fight to the death."

She believed that together, they might stand a chance against Dan.

But Nagato, after a few moments of contemplation, suddenly and swiftly pierced his own eyes, removing them.

"Nagato, what are you doing?!" Konan cried out in horror.

With blood streaming down his face from the empty sockets, Nagato urgently spoke, "Take my eyes and Naruto, and leave immediately. I'll hold Dan off."

Konan's eyes welled up, "No, we fight together, or we die together."

But Nagato, with a rare show of anger, shouted, "Do you want all our efforts to be in vain?!"

As tears streamed down her face, Konan finally relented. She sprouted large white paper wings, taking to the skies and speeding away.

Inside the paper tree, Nagato felt Konan's chakra signature recede until it disappeared. He then slumped in his wheelchair, blood dripping from where his eyes once were.

After what felt like an eternity, footsteps approached, stopping a few meters away from Nagato. Despite his lack of vision, Nagato knew who it was.

Dan stood before him, surprised by Nagato's state. "You sensed me through the rain, didn't you?" He inquired.

Nagato, with a hint of self-mockery, responded, "You found out. Uchiha Dan, you truly are a formidable adversary. Now I understand why Obito always lost to you."

Dan chuckled, "Obito was merely a pawn in my game."

After a brief pause, Nagato asked, "Dan, who are you truly fighting for? It doesn't seem to be for the Hidden Leaf or the Uchiha Clan. Let me guess, everything you do, including confronting me, is to obtain the Rinnegan for yourself, isn't it?"

"All your words have been said."

Dan didn't argue but followed up on Nagato's words, "So where's your Rinnegan? Did you let Konan take it? Seems I'll need to head to the Hidden Rain Village."

"No need to," Nagato replied, shaking his head.

"Why?" Dan asked, puzzled.

Nagato's voice turned cold, "Because you'll die here. This time, as you wished, I'll personally see to our mutual destruction."

As he spoke, the ground beneath them began to shake, and a purple barrier enveloped the area inside the giant paper tree.

"Your Mangekyō Sharingan has a teleportation ability, doesn't it? It allows you to move to any point in your field of vision," Nagato revealed.

Dan, seemingly unflustered, responded, "So?"

Nagato calmly explained, "Before you arrived, I set up a sealing barrier using the power of the Rinnegan. You can't teleport out. This barrier can only be broken from the outside. No amount of power can break it from within."

He continued, his voice full of determination, "This tree will be our shared grave, Uchiha Dan!"

As Nagato finished, a dark seal appeared on his chest, signaling his readiness for the final act.

The seal, known as the Four Symbols Seal, originated from the Uzumaki clan. Being a descendant, Nagato had mastery over it, and his version was even more potent.

In an instant, Nagato's blood, as dark as ink, spurted out, filling the area, threatening to drown Dan.

Dan stepped back, realizing that even with his Time Stop and his most powerful punch, he might not break the barrier in time.

Nagato had truly backed him into a corner in such a short time.

However, Dan wasn't unprepared.

Suddenly, the eye in the palm of his left hand, previously belonging to Obito, opened. It glowed with a deep red, its Mangekyō Sharingan activating a powerful technique.

Dan's figure distorted, being swallowed up by a spatial vortex.

The next moment, the black blood filled the space where Dan once stood.

"No!" Nagato screamed in despair as he and the entire tree descended into the abyss, marking his end.

...

In a world without sun, stars, or moon, the sky was perpetually dark. The ground was desolate, devoid of life. The only features were giant, shining cubes randomly stacked, their purpose unknown.

It was Kamui's dimension.

A space born from Obito's despair, separate from reality.

Suddenly, a spatial ripple appeared, and Dan descended from above.

"I've finally made it," he murmured, glancing at Obito's eye in his palm.

Since Tsunade had transplanted Obito's left eye into him, Dan had been practicing its use. Today, it proved invaluable.

He took a moment to explore the dimension. Before leaving, he approached one of the tall cubes, jumped, and with chakra-infused fingers, etched onto its surface:

"Uchiha Dan was here."