Although a hundred thousand White Zetsu surged from the horizon like a raging white tide, shaking the earth and creating a magnificent spectacle.
Nagato's Rinnegan was fixed on the Truth-Seeking Orb enveloping Konan.
Reason told him that this pitch-black sphere contained the world's most supreme Yin-Yang Release Power, an absolute barrier that could block all attacks.
Since they were perfectly intact, Konan should be safe and sound.
However, a fear originating from the depths of his soul, surpassing all reason, gripped his heart.
Yahiko's tragedy was still fresh in his mind; he couldn't bear the cost of losing Konan again.
"I must confirm!"
This worry ultimately overwhelmed Six Paths Nagato's rationality.
With a thought, the Truth-Seeking Orb surrounding Konan flowed and dissipated like mercury, revealing the scene inside.
The first thing that caught his eye was Konan's left half of her face.
Her fair skin, tightly closed eyelids, and that familiar outline with a hint of tenacity made Nagato's taut heartstrings suddenly relax.
Good, she just seems to be unconscious...
However, this relief lasted only a moment.
When his gaze fell upon Konan's right half of her face, it was as if ten thousand years of ice instantly froze his blood.
That half of her face was actually covered by a writhing, ominous black substance!
This black substance clung tightly to Konan's skin like a living thing, even subtly rising and falling.
Most chillingly, the corner of her mouth on the black-covered side was twisted upwards at an extremely unnatural angle, forming an utterly cold
This smile was filled with absolute malice and endless mockery, creating a terrifying sense of dissonance with Konan's usual cool and resolute demeanor.
"Zetsu?!"
Nagato cried out in alarm, his pupils rapidly contracting, and the ripples of his Rinnegan seemed to tremble.
The substance covering Konan was precisely the black part of 'Zetsu'!
A chill mixed with shock, anger, and disbelief instantly engulfed him, almost suffocating him.
"How is this possible? How did it penetrate the Truth-Seeking Orb?!"
He clearly remembered that the true form of this black substance was precisely the black half of Zetsu that was always by Obito's side!
Truth-Seeking Orb, this ultimate power that should annihilate all things, how could it...?
Could it be that it was already there when the shield was formed?
Takuno couldn't help but shake his head at this scene.
The Truth-Seeking Orb indeed possesses the power of all things, but it is not omnipotent.
Essentially, Black Zetsu is a product of Kaguya's Yin-Yang Release, and so is the Truth-Seeking Orb.
Although there are slight differences in their essence, they are fundamentally from the same origin.
Therefore, the barrier formed by the Truth-Seeking Orb could block others but not Black Zetsu.
Ultimately, Nagato relied too much on the power of the Ten-Tails and the Truth-Seeking Orb it created.
However, this cannot be entirely blamed on Nagato, after all, Black Zetsu managed to deceive the Sage of Six Paths back then, so how could it not deceive Nagato, who had only recently mastered Six Paths level power?
It's just that this current development really holds no surprises.
Takuno shook his head and continued to watch.
However, he also had a premonition that his time as a bystander would not last much longer.
Here, Nagato's heart, under the impact of immense fear and anger, strangely solidified into a cold, dead silence.
He looked at that familiar yet extremely twisted face; the serene tenacity of Konan's left face contrasted with the writhing black malice on her right, creating a soul-rending dichotomy.
The ripples in his Rinnegan trembled violently, almost breaking through their limits.
But he took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the rage and panic that threatened to destroy his sanity.
"Let her go," Nagato's voice was deep and hoarse, yet it carried an undeniable authority.
"What do you want me to do?" He stared directly at the black substance occupying half of Konan's body.
The moment Nagato calmed himself and asked the question, Konan's tightly closed left eyelid trembled violently.
Then, the eye not covered by the black substance slowly opened with difficulty.
Intense struggle and a clash of wills surged in her clear pupils, a resistance from the depths of her soul.
Although her body was still firmly controlled by the ominous black substance, unable to move or even make a sound.
Her only eye, which belonged solely to herself, clearly conveyed fervent emotion.
That eye stared fixedly at Nagato, filled with pleading and determination.
There were no words, but Nagato instantly understood everything:
"Don't mind me! Don't agree to him! Do what you have to do!"
She would rather sacrifice herself than have Nagato succumb to Black Zetsu for her sake, abandoning the power and the chance to change the world they had gained by sacrificing everything, even Yahiko.
"Konan..." Nagato's heart felt tightly squeezed by that eye, making it impossible to breathe.
How could he ignore her? Yahiko's bloodstains hadn't faded, and the pain of losing comrades one after another was vivid.
Konan was one of the original three of the Akatsuki, a dear kin who had weathered storms with him, and his only remaining, most important bond.
Give her up? Absolutely impossible!
Even if it meant opposing the entire world, even if it meant falling into the abyss of hell, he would never let go!
"Oh?"
The other half of Black Zetsu, occupying Konan's body, let out a surprised and mocking sound, the eerie corner of its mouth widening further. "This will... is surprisingly tenacious. To be able to struggle awake even under the protection of the Truth-Seeking Orb, truly worthy of the woman known as 'Angel'. What a pity..."
Black Zetsu's voice suddenly turned cold, filled with absolute control.
"This awakening is meaningless; it will only make her clearly feel how she becomes a tool to destroy you. Under my control, a mere human will cannot escape."
It manipulated Konan's body, letting out a chilling laugh that sounded especially eerie in the wind of the desolate desert.
"Since you are so 'sensible' as to ask, then I will graciously tell you my demand. Actually, with your intelligence, you can probably guess, right?"
Black Zetsu paused, seemingly enjoying the Pain and suppressed anger in Nagato's eyes, then declared its ultimate goal word by word:
"It's simple. Use your 'Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique' to revive Uchiha Madara!"
Immediately after, it added the most crucial demand:
"Then, obediently strip away the 'Ten-Tails Jinchuriki' power you currently possess, and offer it completely to Uchiha Madara!"
This was precisely the ultimate goal Black Zetsu and Obito had been planning for a long time.
Resurrecting Madara and bestowing the strongest Ten-Tails power upon him was an indispensable key step in achieving the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Nagato, as the wielder of the Rinnegan and the current Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, was the only key to achieving these two goals.
And Konan, at this moment, became the most powerful hostage to force Nagato to hand over this key.
After hearing Black Zetsu's demands, Nagato's face showed no surprise, only a coldness bordering on despair.
Of course, he had guessed.
After Obito's mask was exposed, Madara was summoned by Edo Tensei, and especially after Black Zetsu revealed its true colors and controlled Konan, this outcome seemed already written.
The price was to sacrifice his ideals, his power, and ultimately possibly his own life, all to buy Konan a sliver of hope.
The light of the Rinnegan flickered in Nagato's eyes, containing immense power capable of tearing apart the heavens and earth, yet also locked in the deepest Pain and choice.
He gazed at Konan's eye, which was desperately conveying a message of refusal, and immense Pain almost swallowed him whole.
Even though the battlefield was still raging with fervor, in Nagato's ears, it seemed only the sound of wind sweeping yellow sand remained.
A long time passed.
As Madara waited for him to surrender with arrogant mockery, Nagato slowly raised his gaze, his cold purple eyes piercing the Edo Tensei body:
"These eyes... they were yours, weren't they?"
Edo Madara's brow slightly arched, a flicker of surprise passing through his scarlet eyes, which then turned into a dismissive scoff like dust.
"There's no point in hiding it now. Indeed, the dying boy who acquired the 'Eyes of God' on the Land of Rain battlefield was merely a pawn laid out by this old man for my revival."
"As expected..." A broken sigh escaped Nagato's throat, and Takuno's lazy reminder appeared before his eyes.
The other party hadn't lied to him; he had been living under the other party's schemes his entire life.
"Then Yahiko's death, the tragedy of my parents, were all 'designs' of the owner of these eyes?!"
Madara's Edo Tensei body stood motionless in the dust, only his tone carried the ruthless indifference of a ruler.
"The accidental killing of your parents during the Hidden Rain Village war was a necessary sacrifice to awaken the Rinnegan's potential; but the Akatsuki..."
He glanced at Obito in the shadows, "After this old man died of old age, it was handed over to Obito."
Countless fragments of memory exploded in Nagato's mind: Yahiko's blood splattering as he ran into the Kunai, Obito's whispers of
He abruptly turned to Obito, a storm raging in his Rinnegan.
Obito stepped out of the Kamui vortex, his single eye condensing into a cold pool within his blood-red Sharingan.
"I didn't do much; I merely gave this rotten world a gentle push."
He looked at Minato, who was fighting in the distance amidst a golden flash, his hoarse voice filled with sarcasm.
"Look... the order protected by these so-called 'heroes' can easily give birth to monsters like Pain. How ridiculous."
Nagato's clenched knuckles let out a mournful snap, and his towering hatred almost tore his sanity apart.
But when his gaze fell upon Konan's half-eaten face, consumed by Black Zetsu, all his boiling killing intent instantly froze.
Anger couldn't change his manipulated fate, nor could it save his dearest friend at this moment.
"...It's not just this world that's ironic."
Finally, he could only squeeze out this withered whisper through clenched teeth, the light of his Rinnegan flickering in immense Pain.
At this moment, he made his choice.
Upon hearing this, Black Zetsu and Madara smiled, while Obito's eyes flickered, lost in thought.
Nagato stared at Konan.
Even though Black Zetsu, like the most malicious curse, covered half of her face, twisting her expression, Nagato clearly saw it.
A crystal clear tear, uncontrollably, slid from the corner of her uncorrupted left eye, winding down her pale cheek.
It finally dripped onto the sand-covered ground, spreading a small, dark mark.
This single tear pierced Nagato's heart more sharply than any accusation.
"Enough..." Nagato's voice was deep and hoarse, the contained fury and despair almost incinerating him.
He no longer looked at Black Zetsu's nauseating cold smile, nor did he pay attention to Madara and Obito's mockery and threats.
All his anger, unwillingness, and twisted love and hate for the world now transformed into a resolute determination.
For Yahiko's ideals? To protect Konan? All of this had long been crushed by reality.
Now, he had only one thing left to do.
"Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique!"
Accompanied by Nagato's heart-wrenching roar, he slammed his hands together into a hand seal.
Suddenly, an unimaginably vast amount of life energy burst forth from his body!
This energy was not a warm green, but rather carried a nearly sacred glow, spreading out like a tangible tide with him at its center!
At the same time, Nagato's floating body trembled violently.
The eight Truth-Seeking Orbs floating behind him instantly became dim and lifeless, like ashes that had lost all energy.
His seemingly endless chakra as the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki was being drained at a terrifying rate!
His body visibly shriveled, his once strong physique, empowered by the Six Paths Power, began to age rapidly, his skin losing its luster, and his silver hair quickly becoming withered and gray.
Each breath became heavy and difficult, as if he carried the weight of the entire world.
This was the price that had to be paid to recall the souls of the deceased from the Pure Land to the living world and bestow upon them true life!
The golden light of life, like gentle waves, instantly swept across the entire brutal desert battlefield.
Where the light shone, an incredible miracle occurred!
Those Allied Shinobi Forces members whose bodies were still relatively intact after falling in the fierce battle, whether severely wounded and on the verge of death by the Ten-Tails' impact or killed by the White Zetsu's encirclement.
Their fatal wounds healed rapidly at a visible speed as the golden light swept over them!
Broken bones reconnected, pierced chests mended, and lost vitality flowed back into their cold bodies like a spring.
Their bewildered eyes slowly opened, filled with immense shock and confusion at being brought back from the dead, as they struggled to sit up or stand, disbelievingly looking at their restored bodies and feeling their hearts beating again.
The entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence, followed by an uncontrollable burst of exclamations and commotion!
From the high-ranking officials to the ordinary Shinobi, everyone in the Allied Shinobi Forces was dumbfounded.
One moment they were grieving for the sacrifice of their comrades, the next they witnessed their miraculous resurrection!
Surprise, confusion, and disbelief intertwined, even temporarily diluting their fear of the Edo Tensei army.
And that sacred golden light also precisely targeted the Edo Madara!
"Hoh hoh hoh... Hahahahaha!"
The Edo Tensei body disintegrated inch by inch in the golden light dust, as Madara felt the dust forming his body being stripped away.
The Rinnegan temporarily embedded in his Edo Tensei body were the first to shatter, the purple crystals exploding into stardust like fragile glass.