Konan brought the body of the Deva Path back into the giant tree where Nagato was hidden. The puppet was severely damaged and would require extensive repairs before it could be used again.
"Nagato, are you alright?" Konan asked, looking at him with deep concern.
All Six Paths of Pain had been destroyed. As the controller, Nagato was bound to suffer a significant backlash. He panted heavily, coughing as he spoke. "I'm fine... just... exhausted too much chakra. I never expected a master of that caliber to be hidden within the Uchiha."
"Who is this man? We have zero intelligence on him, yet he knows our deepest secrets."
Konan hesitated before whispering, "He said he cos from another space-ti. And that in that world... I am his woman."
"What?" Nagato's eyes widened in shock. "Another space-ti! That explains how he knew about your birthmark, and how he knew the Six Paths were rely puppets I was controlling."
Nagato suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Nagato! We have to stop this!" Konan cried, her heart aching. "Continuing to channel chakra like this will only accelerate your death!"
Nagato coughed again, his gaze fanatical. "To build the world Yahiko dread of, I will gladly give my life!"
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Suddenly, the sound of slow applause echoed from behind Konan.
"Who!?" Nagato froze. "How did you track us here?"
Konan spun around, her face pale with shock at the sudden appearance of Uchiha Raizen.
Raizen offered a thin smile. "Nagato, lend your Rinnegan. After this battle, they won't be returned to their owner anyway. You might as well give them to ."
"My eyes are not yours to command," Nagato hissed, staring coldly at Raizen.
"Are they truly your eyes?" Raizen chuckled. "Or were they rely deposited in you by soone else so you could do their dirty work?"
Nagato's spirit shook. This was a secret from his childhood; no one should have known.
"They're Madara Uchiha's eyes," Raizen said plainly. "As an Uchiha myself, it's only fitting that I reclaim our ancestor's eyes. As for the man you're 'partnering' with, he's a traitor to our clan. He has no right to them."
"How do you know so much?" Nagato demanded. "Why would a man from another world know our history?"
"Because," Raizen explained, "our worlds are identical. The history, the people, the timing—all the sa. The only difference is . My presence changed my world. Yours, without , followed its original tragic trajectory. I know your past, and I know your future."
"Then tell ," Nagato stared intently at Raizen's eyes. "What is the future of Akatsuki?"
Raizen's voice was flat. "Extinction. Every single one of you will die."
Nagato's pupils contracted, and Konan flinched.
"Liar!" Nagato barked. "I might die, but Konan? With her power, she could easily escape."
"You are fish on my chopping block, Nagato. Why would I bother lying to you?"
"You think you've already won!?" Nagato roared. "If I risk it all, I can still take you with !"
"Try it." Raizen's eyes shifted into the Mangekyō Sharingan. A tidal wave of terrifying chakra erupted, filling the cramped space of the tree.
"This pressure... it's far stronger than Itachi's," Konan thought, her heart trembling. During the battle in the village, she had been too far to feel the full weight of Raizen's aura. Standing before him now, it felt as though the heavens were crashing down.
"I'm only talking to you because of Konan," Raizen sneered. "Otherwise, the fact that you killed Jiraiya-sensei would be enough for to kill you ten thousand tis over. You ungrateful wretch! Without Jiraiya, you would have starved to death as war orphans. You repay your savior with murder and call it 'peace'? You're nothing but common terrorists."
Nagato flinched at the ntion of Jiraiya.
"I'm done wasting my breath."
Raizen's Mangekyō spun. He unleashed his overwhelming pupil power to seize control of Nagato's mind. Nagato, depleted of chakra and physically frail, had no resistance. His eyes grew dull and glazed.
"Nagato!" Konan scread.
"It's no use, Konan. He's under my control. I'm going to help him do what he was ant to do—to let history return to its track."
"Don't kill him!" Konan stepped in front of Nagato, glaring at Raizen.
"I won't kill him. I'm just letting him seek redemption."
Under Raizen's ntal command, Nagato began to weave signs. "Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique!"
"No! Nagato! That jutsu will kill you!"
Raizen stepped forward and pulled Konan into a firm embrace, pinning her arms so she couldn't intervene. "Konan... look at him. Do you really think this is 'living'? He's a walking corpse plugged into a machine. Let him go. Let this be his atonent."
Konan stopped struggling, her body going limp as she looked at Nagato's emaciated, tal-pierced fra. She wept silently. "Let him find peace then..."
The Resurrection of the Leaf
Back at the ruins of Konoha, Sakura was wailing over Kakashi's body. Choji was nearby, sobbing for the man who died to save him.
"Please, Raizen... succeed," Tsunade prayed, looking toward the horizon.
Suddenly, a gargantuan King of Hell manifested in the center of the crater. Its mouth unhinged, and a torrent of green souls flooded out. The spirits flew across the ruins, diving back into the bodies of the fallen.
One by one, the dead opened their eyes.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried out as Kakashi sat up, looking confused. "Teacher! You're alive!" Choji hugged him, blubbering with joy.
"He did it..." Hinata wiped her tears, her heart full.
Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Raizen. If you don't mind an 'old lady,' I'll definitely bear you a son for this."
A New Journey
Inside the tree, Nagato's hands fell to his sides. He had a final, lucid mont. "Konan... live on. For and Yahiko." His eyes closed, and his breath ceased.
Raizen released Konan. She stood by Nagato's body in silent grief. After a long while, she spoke. "I will take them back to the Land of Rain to be buried."
"If you do," Raizen warned, "the man calling himself Madara will co for you. He will kill you to take those eyes."
"I have a plan for him," Konan said firmly.
"You underestimate the Uchiha. Even if you use billions of paper bombs, he has Izanagi. He can turn reality into a dream to escape death. You cannot beat him. Co with to my world, Konan. Nagato is still alive there. You can talk to him. You can change his path."
Konan shook her head. "That world has its own Konan. I belong with them."
"Then I'm sorry." Raizen delivered a swift strike to her neck, knocking her unconscious.
He retrieved a dical container and carefully extracted the Rinnegan from Nagato's sockets, storing them in his System Space. He then sealed the bodies of Nagato and Yahiko into a scroll.
Carrying the unconscious Konan, Raizen used the Flying Thunder God to return to Tsunade's side.
Tsunade had collapsed from exhaustion, her face aged and wrinkled. Raizen felt a pang of pity. He laid Konan down and began to channel wood-attribute chakra into Tsunade using advanced dical ninjutsu. Within minutes, her youth was restored and she opened her eyes.
Seeing Raizen's hands on her, she blushed deeply. "Thank you, Raizen."
"You're welco, future wife," Raizen teased. "Rest now. Everything is over."
A few days later, the "reconstruction" of Konoha began. Yamato was working double shifts as a literal human construction crane. Raizen used his Wood Style to build a temporary house on the slopes above the Hokage Rock.
A knock ca at his door. It was Hiashi Hyuga, accompanied by Hinata and Hanabi. They carried massive chests.
"Master Raizen, thank you for saving my daughter and my clansn," Hiashi said with a deep bow. He then unsealed the scrolls to reveal mountains of cash and gold jewelry.
Raizen stared, stunned.
Knowing Raizen had an interest in Hinata, Hiashi had moved instantly to secure the Hyuga's future by "clinging" to the village's new strongest leg.
"Master Raizen, I entrust Hinata to you! This is her dowry!!!"
Hinata turned bright red, nearly fainting. Beside her, little Hanabi looked at Raizen with stars in her eyes. "Is this the hero? He's so handso! Big sister is so lucky to marry a hero like him!"
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