"Normal Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
[Year 1 bNb]
~ With Liam ~
"Nagato!" Konan's voice cut through the rain, raw with grief and fear.
The desperation in her voice shot through Liam like electricity. His body was failing him, his chakra nearly depleted, but something deeper than physical strength propelled him forward. Something that felt like Nagato's love for his friends, mixed with Liam's own determination to rewrite this story.
Instinctively, Liam leapt towards Konan. However, as he went to help unbound Konan, he noticed something—thin threads of chakra, barely visible in the rain, crisscrossing the ground around Konan.
'Explosive tags.' He realized with sudden clarity. Hanzo hadn't just left Konan alone; he'd turned her into bait for a trap. Before Konan could say a word, the world erupted in fire and sound. Liam threw himself toward Konan, wrapping his body around hers as they were blown backward off the cliff. For a moment, they were suspended in air, wrapped in each other's arms as debris and flame surrounded them.
Then they hit the ground, hard. Liam took the brunt of the impact, his shoulder cracking audibly against stone. Pain coursed through his body, but he kept his grip on Konan, rolling to shield her from the worst of the falling debris.
When the dust and smoke cleared, they lay in a shallow crater. Liam's back was peppered with shrapnel, his clothes torn and smoking. Konan stared up at him, her amber eyes wide with shock.
"You're... different," she whispered.
Liam managed a pained smile. "A lot different," he admitted. "But still here for you."
He forced himself to his feet, pulling Konan up beside him. Her hands were still bound, and he fumbled to release the wire cutting into her wrists. Around them, the surviving Rain and Root ninja were regrouping, cutting off possible escape routes.
"Stand behind me," Liam demanded, positioning himself between Konan and the approaching enemies. Blood ran freely down his back, his chest, his arms. He could barely stand, let alone fight, but he straightened his spine and faced Hanzo, who approached through the settling dust.
"Interesting," Hanzo said, studying him with new respect in his eyes. "Those eyes... You're no ordinary child."
Hanzo's gaze lingered on the concentric ripples of the Rinnegan. "The legendary dojutsu. I'd heard rumours, but to see it in person..." His voice hardened. "All the more reason you can't be allowed to live."
He made a sharp gesture, and the remaining ninja drew their weapons and began to close in, forming a tightening circle around Liam and Konan.
"Nagato," Konan whispered behind him. "What do we do?"
Liam squeezed her fingers, mind racing. He had no chakra left. No way to use the Rinnegan's powers again. His body was broken, bleeding. In the original timeline, this was where Nagato, consumed by rage and despair, had summoned the Gedo Statue. He sacrificed his mobility for power, leaving him emaciated and crippled for life.
Liam refused to follow that path. He would not become Pain. He would not spend years as a puppet, manipulated by Obito and ultimately killed by Naruto.
From the corner of his eye, Liam caught a glimpse of a masked figure watching from a distant tree—Obito, waiting for exactly that moment, ready to swoop in afterward and take advantage of Nagato's despair.
"Come on," Obito seemed to be willing him. "Summon it. Give in to your hate."
Liam felt hatred, alright. But not the kind that would make him a puppet. He hated the entire broken system of the ninja world—the child soldiers, the endless wars, the clan politics, all of it. He hated that Yahiko had to die. He hated that Konan would have died too, that Nagato would become a shell of himself.
But most of all, he hated feeling helpless.
The first of the ninja lunged forward, blade aimed at his heart. Liam braced himself, determined to shield Konan with his body if nothing else.
"No!" he screamed, the word tearing from his throat. "I won't die here!"
Suddenly, something unexpected stirred deep within his core—something that wasn't the Rinnegan, but older, deeper, running through his veins. A power that had nothing to do with his eyes and everything to do with the blood of the clan whose name he now bore.
Uzumaki.
The blade was inches from his chest when it happened. Golden light erupted from his back, materializing into thick, heavy chains that shot outward with incredible speed. They intercepted the attacking ninja, wrapping around his torso and limbs before constricting with such force that blood sprayed from every joint.
Liam stared in shock at the chains extending from his body—chains made of pure chakra, glowing with golden light, hovering in the air around him like serpents waiting to strike. He recognized them immediately, though he'd never expected to possess them.
Adamantine Sealing Chains. Kushina's technique. An Uzumaki bloodline ability he'd never seen Nagato use in the anime or manga.
From the trees, Obito's normally composed demeanour had cracked, his single visible eye widening with genuine shock.
"This isn't supposed to happen," Obito murmured. "The Uzumaki bloodline?! He's awakened it?!"
The remaining attackers hesitated, unnerved by the sudden appearance of this unknown technique. Even Hanzo took a step back, wariness replacing the confidence in his stance.
Liam felt the chains as extensions of himself, responding to his will, his emotions. It didn't drain him like the Rinnegan had. Instead, it felt like tapping into a wellspring he hadn't known existed, like his body was designed to channel this specific power.
A second ninja attacked from his left. The chains reacted without conscious thought, spearing through the man's chest and flinging his corpse into three of his comrades.
"Stand down!" Hanzo ordered his remaining forces, but it was too late. The chains had taken on a life of their own, feeding on Liam's emotions like a wildfire consuming dry brush.
A Root agent formed hand signs for an earth jutsu, but chains burst from the ground beneath him, impaling him through his mask. Three more tried to attack in coordination—one with fire, one with water, one with kunai wrapped in explosive tags. The chains caught them all, crushing, piercing, tearing.
"I will live!" Liam roared, his voice carrying over the rain and screams. "I will protect Konan!"
More chains erupted from his back, from his shoulders, from his chest. They slashed through the rain like golden scythes, cutting down enemies on all sides. Blood mixed with the mud and water at his feet, steam rising from the corpses as the chains' heat seared flesh on contact.
The slaughter continued for what felt like hours but must have been only minutes. Ninja after ninja fell to the unstoppable force of the chains, unable to counter or escape a technique they'd never encountered. Liam stood at the centre of the carnage, his red hair plastered to his face by rain and blood.
Danzo had retreated with his remaining Root agents, recognizing a losing battle. Hanzo stood his ground longer, but even the legendary Salamander knew when he was outmatched. He backed away, keeping his eyes fixed on Liam.
"This isn't over, boy," he warned, forming a hand sign. "We'll meet again."
He disappeared in a swirl of smoke and rain, leaving behind the bodies of his forces scattered across the muddy battlefield.
Gradually, as the threats diminished, the chains calmed. They shortened, their movements becoming less frenzied, more controlled. Liam could feel them responding to his will now, rather than just his emotions. He experimentally directed one to retrieve a fallen sword, watching in fascination as it obeyed perfectly.
The clearing went silent except for the steady drumming of rain. Liam's breath came in ragged gasps, his body trembling from adrenaline and the aftermath of power. The chains retracted slowly, shrinking back into his body until only a faint golden glow remained beneath his skin.
"Nagato..." Konan approached cautiously, her eyes wide. "What was that?"
Liam turned to her. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "But I think... I think it's who I'm supposed to be."
In the distance, Obito remained motionless, watching. His plans had just become significantly more complicated.
Liam met that masked gaze across the battlefield, a challenge in his ringed eyes. The chains might have receded, but he could still feel them inside him, waiting to be called forth again. A power that had never been part of the original story. A wild card that could change everything.
"Come down," he called out, his voice steady despite his exhaustion. "I know you're there. Madara."
~ End of Chapter 2 ~
From this point forward, I will be calling Liam as Nagato now.