The Sage of Six Paths remained silent for a moment, deciding to watch how things unfolded.
What he feared most was the resurrection of his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, which would lead to the destruction of the shinobi world.
But judging by the current situation, the possibility of her escape seemed slim.
Moreover, Shinho showed no signs of intending to destroy the world.
Just then, the Sage of Six Paths' eyes sharpened.
Did he notice me?
What a terrifying state.
Although Shinho's strength wasn't equal to his, it was approaching that level.
He was at least qualified to perceive his presence.
The Sage of Six Paths waved his hand, closing the mirror in front of him.
…
The sense of being watched vanished.
Shinho raised an eyebrow.
It was indeed the Sage of Six Paths.
The Six-Armed Heavenly Zombie King was, at its core, a zombie, a being of death.
Now enveloped in death energy, Shinho could vaguely sense the gaze coming from the Pure Land.
After all, the Pure Land was the netherworld of the shinobi world, the realm of the dead.
"Hokage-sama."
Konan's expression was heavy as she stepped forward.
"Please… spare Pain."
Deva Path was Yahiko's corpse.
Neither she nor Nagato could bear to see it completely destroyed.
Even though it was now riddled with holes, at least it still had an intact form.
"Where is your real body?"
Shinho released Deva Path.
Nagato hadn't severed the connection, but his chakra was nearly depleted. He could no longer control Deva Path.
Inside a giant tree a kilometer away, Nagato sat in silence after hearing Shinho's question.
He could still choose to abandon Yahiko and escape with Konan.
After all, there was quite a distance between them and Konoha.
Plus, Konan was still in her peak condition. She could carry him and fly to safety.
But Yahiko… Yahiko was his dearest friend.
Konan hesitated for a few seconds before speaking solemnly;
"We've lost, Nagato."
Nagato's fists clenched reflexively.
He knew they had lost, completely and utterly.
He had unleashed every Rinnegan technique at his disposal.
And the result?
Shinho was unscathed.
His belief in himself as a god now felt like the actions of a clown, ridiculous and pathetic.
"There's no point in continuing to fight."
Nagato began to cough violently.
His body, after such immense chakra consumption, was struggling to hold on.
"I had a bet with Shinho Aburame," Konan took a deep breath and spoke.
She had never told Nagato about this before as there had been no need.
At the time, Nagato had been confident he was invincible.
If she had mentioned the bet back then, it would have only angered him.
"A bet?"
Nagato looked up, surprised.
When did this happen?
Did Konan betray me?
As the leader of the Akatsuki, he knew that some members harbored hidden agendas. For example, Uchiha Itachi.
But he had never doubted Konan.
The three of them had grown up together and shared a bond deeper than blood.
"When I went to recruit Kazuma in the Land of Fire's capital, I met Shinho Aburame there."
Konan recounted the details of the bet.
"I see…"
Nagato's gaze grew distant.
Was the path I chose truly the wrong one?
If anyone else had said this to him, he would have dismissed it with scorn.
But this was Shinho, the man who had just defeated him so effortlessly.
In this world, strength dictated authority.
And now that his composure had been broken, doubt began to seep into his mind.
Konan breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
If this had been the old Nagato, he might have chosen to fight to the death and summoned the Gedo Statue.
But now… there was hope.
"Nagato, I want to give this a try."
Konan's voice was gentle but firm.
"Peace isn't just our dream, it was Yahiko's dream too."
Nagato remained silent.
At that moment, footsteps sounded from outside the tree, loud and heavy, as though belonging to a giant.
The massive tree split and fell to the sides.
Nagato instinctively narrowed his eyes.
When his vision adjusted to the light, he saw the Six-Armed Heavenly Zombie King.
An invincible form.
Nagato's heart trembled.
"Konan-nee, does our bet still stand?"
Shinho asked with a terryfying smile on his giant form.
Nagato was momentarily stunned.
Konan-nee?
What's going on?
Didn't you say you'd only met once?
"It does."
Konan glanced at Nagato and replied resolutely.
"Looks like there's no need to fight anymore."
Shinho deactivated the Six-Armed Heavenly Zombie King form.
Staying in that state for too long would cause erosion. In severe cases, it could lead to stagnation in cultivation, making future progress impossible.
"Welcome to Konoha, both of you."
Shinho extended his hand toward them.
Konan was momentarily stunned before reaching out to shake his hand.
"We will not join Konoha."
Nagato abruptly interrupted their friendly exchange.
"Nagato."
Konan's expression changed, and she quickly called out to him.
"We agreed to follow you because we wanted to see your so-called path to peace," Nagato said seriously, "But if you want us to become Konoha's shinobi, I'm sorry, that's something I cannot do."
Konan opened her mouth but found herself unable to speak.
She didn't know how to persuade him.
Nagato's parents had been killed by Konoha shinobi.
Yahiko's death was also tied to Danzo and his Root organization.
"That's fine."
Shinho waved it off, smiling. "You'll come join Konoha eventually."
He truly believed that.
After all, Nagato wasn't inherently evil. His descent into darkness had been caused by Yahiko's death.
If there truly was a path to peace, Nagato was someone who would gladly walk it.
"No, we won't."
Nagato's voice was firm.
"No matter. Let's head back to Konoha first."
Shinho smiled again.
"What do you plan to do with Amegakure?"
Nagato's expression shifted as he asked.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Shinho paused for a moment and added, "Don't worry, Amegakure will remain unharmed."
Nagato silently nodded.
"Here— you can have Yahito's body back."
Shinho casually guided Deva Path's broken form back in front of Nagato.
Nagato stared at Yahiko's battered corpse, guilt washing over his face.
He had transformed Yahiko into Deva Path so that his dearest friend could witness the arrival of peace.
And now, all of his dreams had been shattered.
Konan waved her hand, and countless sheets of paper enveloped Yahiko's body.
Then, she moved behind Nagato and gently pushed his wheelchair forward, away from the massive tree and toward Konoha.
Shinho walked alongside her.
However, his mind was preoccupied with the lines of text that appeared before his eyes:
...
[Achievement Unlocked: "False God" – Reward: Fixed Immortal Travel Gu]
[Fixed Immortal Travel: Rank Six Immortal Gu. If the user has a clear mental Understanding of a location, they can arrive there within three breaths.]
..
The achievement name was a bit peculiar, but it fit the situation well.
What thrilled Shinho the most was the reward, his second Rank Six Immortal Gu.
Although Spring Autumn Cicada was powerful, it was unusable in the short term, so it might as well not exist for now.
But Fixed Immortal Travel was different.
As one of the four great movement type Gu, its utility was immeasurable. It was essentially a super-enhanced version of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The only issue was that he was still a Rank Five Gu Master.
Even though he had abundant primeval essence, the consumption of this Gu was tremendous.
Still, being able to use it once or twice a day was incredibly useful.
Besides, he was already very close to becoming a Rank Six Gu Immortal.
There was also another limitation as it required a clear understanding of the location in order to teleport there.
In other words, Shinho had to physically visit the location at least once.
But that wasn't a major problem.
Another line of text appeared in front of him at that moment:
...
[Achievement Unlocked: "The Undead of Konoha" – Reward: Hole Earth Gu]
[Hole Earth Gu: Rank Five Gu. It consists of a parent Gu and a child Gu, which can be placed in two different locations to create a teleportation tunnel.]
..
The new text disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Shinho couldn't help but smile.
"The Undead" likely referred to his zombie-like state while using the Six-Armed Heavenly Zombie King.
But that wasn't the important part.
The crucial thing was the Hole Earth Gu.
This was the teleportation array that Shinho had long anticipated.
With this, Konoha's transportation capabilities would become much faster and more efficient.
And when combined with Fixed Immortal Travel, Shinho was already thinking of many creative ways to use it.
…
The three of them returned to Konoha.
The Blood Curtain Skyflower Gu had alredy been deactivated.
Jiraiya and the others quickly gathered around.
When they saw the emaciated Nagato, their faces were filled with astonishment.
"What… what happened?"
Jiraiya couldn't help but ask.
"It was from our battle with Hanzo," Konan replied heavily. "Yahiko… he died during that time."
Jiraiya's face froze.
He finally understood the full story.
No wonder Nagato and Konan had changed so much.
Thinking of the cheerful and optimistic Yahiko now dead, Jiraiya couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.
…
Amegakure
Atop the tallest building—
"I wonder when Nagato will return."
Zetsu, with his pitcher-plant-like appearance, gazed at the endless rain in the distance.
"With his strength, it should be over soon."
Uchiha Obito's eyes glimmered with anticipation.
The nine tailed beasts were nearly all captured. The time was approaching to summon the Ten-Tails.
When that happened, Uchiha Madara would be revived, and the Infinite Tsukuyomi would be cast to create a new world.
A world where Obito could see Rin once more, the Rin who had loved him.
Time passed.
As they waited, the air around them suddenly twisted.
A White Zetsu emerged from the ground, its face full of panic.
"Disaster!"
It cried out in terror.
"What happened?"
Obito and Black Zetsu exchanged glances, their expressions darkening.
"Nagato… Nagato suffered a crushing defeat!"
White Zetsu quickly recounted the events of the battle.
Obito's face filled with disbelief.
In White Zetsu's account, Shinho was like a god descending upon the battlefield, completely overwhelming Nagato.
Even Black Zetsu was stunned.
No one understood the Rinnegan better than it did.
After all, the Rinnegan originated from the God Tree's chakra, the supreme eyes of the Otsutsuki clan.
How could anyone resist its power?
"Nagato and Konan have already joined Konoha."
White Zetsu delivered another bombshell.
"What did you just say?!"
Obito shot to his feet.
Nagato joining Konoha wasn't the issue.
The problem was that the Rinnegan was still in Nagato's possession.
If they couldn't retrieve it, the Eye of the Moon Plan would fail completely.
"What should we do now?"
Obito instinctively looked at Black Zetsu.
"…"
Black Zetsu remained silent.
Will we have to hide and wait again?
It had waited a thousand years the last time.
How long would it have to wait this time?