[Ōnoki: "Our village's Four-Tails and Five-Tails have both escaped. Kurotsuchi, Kurotsuchi, are you there? If you are, hurry and lead the troops to capture them."]
[Fourth Raikage: "Killer B, stop singing. Move out—we're going to catch the Two-Tails."]
[Mei Terumi: "The Three-Tails and Six-Tails belong to our Mist Hidden. Please don't interfere!"]
[Danzō: "Hmph! Ridiculous. Do the Tailed Beasts have your village's names written on them?"]
[Ōnoki: "Danzō, what do you mean by that?"]
[Danzō: "Nothing else. @Tsunade, hurry and take people to help them catch the Tailed Beasts!"]
[Shibuki: "Everyone, I'm the chief of Takigakure. We'll handle the Seven-Tails ourselves; we won't trouble you for help."]
[Ōnoki: "Heh heh…"]
[Fourth Raikage: "Heh heh…"]
The ugly sides of the major ninja villages were laid bare in the livestream, making quite a few people roll their eyes nonstop. Now the kids believed in Diga even more.
The villagers of Amegakure looked up and shouted, "Diga, thank you!"
Diga struck a pose, then flew straight up into the sky.
"This is what a righteous warrior looks like. The four great ninja villages are all a bunch of hooligans."
...
Doctor Snake closed the Amegakure livestream. By accident he connected to a signal—it was Deidara's.
"Hey, Kairen, help me turn on a stream. I want to perform my art in front of the Uchiha and let everyone see what eternal beauty is!"
Doctor Snake agreed and switched the feed to Deidara's battle with Sasuke.
...
Back on Kairen's side, Kairen flew into midair, reverted to his true form, and returned to Amegakure.
Konan set the Six Paths of Pain in a corner, her face full of desolation.
When she saw Kairen, she ran up with a pleading look.
"Kairen, hurry and save Nagato. He was taken away by White Zetsu."
Jiraiya, dusty and disheveled, walked out from the side. Hearing that Nagato had been captured, he asked without a second word,
"Where is he? I'll go save him!"
Konan shook her head, indicating she didn't know either.
Kairen pressed two fingers to his forehead and carefully sensed Nagato's chakra.
In a forest dozens of km to the southeast of Amegakure, Kairen sensed Nagato's chakra.
Nagato's chakra was very faint, like a wisp of candlelight.
Kairen used the Flying Thunder God Technique and, with Konan and Jiraiya, quickly appeared where Nagato was.
It was a very dark forest. Nagato's Rinnegan had already been gouged out, and his whole body had been pierced through the chest by a sharp tree trunk—extremely bloody.
Konan's eyes widened; she covered her face in disbelief.
Tears streaming, she staggered forward and supported Nagato's terrifying face.
"Nagato, Nagato, don't scare me! Don't scare me!"
Jiraiya poured all his chakra into Nagato's body, but the other's body had already crashed—it couldn't absorb any chakra at all.
Nagato's finger twitched. Smelling Konan's scent, he said in a trembling voice, "…Konan!"
Konan was in tears. "Nagato, don't talk. I'll definitely find a way to heal you—Tsunade, right! We'll go find Tsunade."
Nagato's voice was extremely thin; you couldn't hear it without pricking up your ears.
"…No… I… I'm done for already. I'm… I'm sorry. Earlier… I… I actually wanted to hurt you!"
Konan's voice trembled. "Nagato, don't talk!"
"Cough, cough… I actually can't bear the weight of the Rinnegan. Heh heh… After all, these weren't my eyes to begin with."
"Cough, cough… Heh heh. Looking back on my life, it was truly a tragedy. But my greatest happiness was meeting you and Yahiko, and Jiraiya-sensei."
Nagato's hand reached forward.
Jiraiya handed his own over and held that hand like a withered branch.
With a bit of self-mockery, Nagato said, "…Sorry, Jiraiya-sensei. I let you down. I'm not the child of prophecy you spoke of. I… I'm just the tragedy of a small country."
Jiraiya kept comforting Nagato.
"Stop talking! Stop talking! It's all in the past. I won't hold what you and Konan did against me."
"Heh heh… Jiraiya-sensei, you're still this tolerant."
Nagato's hollow face turned toward Kairen.
"…Kairen, you're a very mysterious person. I still haven't even figured out your origins, but there's no time left."
"P-please leave Konan to you. She is the greatest support of my and Yahiko's lives. Treat her well. Don't… don't make Konan cry."
"Otherwise… otherwise, even as a ghost, I… I won't let you go."
Konan kept crying. "Nagato, don't go! Don't go!!"
She turned her face toward Kairen and begged nonstop.
"Kairen, hurry and save Nagato. I know you have a way. Save him. No matter what you ask of me later, I'll agree."
Kairen instantly perked up. Seeing that Nagato had only one breath left, he pressed one hand against Nagato's head.
"Nagato, wait!"
"…Hng…"
Nagato's voice grew thinner and thinner, gradually returning to silence.
Kairen poured all the vitality in his body into Nagato's, and a green halo appeared around them.
Thick vitality was like spring descending; many withered branches sprouted new buds again.
Nagato's body, left with only bones, began to slowly turn back. One foot that had stepped into the gates of the underworld was pulled back by Kairen.
Vital energy flowed through Nagato's body, and his breathing grew longer and longer.
With one hand, Kairen shattered the thorns at his chest and injected Wood Release chakra into it. Nagato's bloody hole slowly closed.
Under the surprised gazes of Konan and Jiraiya, Nagato's condition kept getting better.
The white hair began to turn red, and there was more flesh on his chest.
Kairen's face was a bit pale. He hadn't fully recovered after the earlier battle, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through.
For Konan to be able to unlock new poses, he had to go all out. Anyway, he could resurrect infinitely.
Kairen directly cranked up the power to save Nagato.
Nagato's withered hair turned a vivid red, and his pale skin returned to normal, with surging blood flowing within.
Nagato could feel his vitality returning. "I!"
He turned his head and sensed Kairen's pale face; the vitality in Kairen's body had shrunk a bit.
"Kairen, you—"
"Don't talk. I'll give you a big gift!"
Kairen pointed a finger at Nagato's empty eye sockets, like putting the finishing touch on a painting.
Two eyeballs appeared in Nagato's hollow eyes, and Nagato saw the world's light again.
Kairen's face went completely white. He waved his hand and collapsed. "I'm going to sleep for a bit. Don't make noise!"
"Kairen!!"
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