Night had fallen.
Deep within the hidden base of the Akatsuki.
Inside one quiet room, the only sound was the faint rhythm of someone sleeping.
Gurgle.
The floor slowly rippled as if it had turned into liquid. A White Zetsu quietly emerged from the ground, its strange half-plant body rising soundlessly from the earth. Its eyes immediately moved toward the bed.
Nagato lay there, breathing slowly, a faint snore escaping him as he slept.
White Zetsu watched him carefully for several seconds, making sure nothing was wrong. After confirming that Nagato was truly asleep, a satisfied grin spread across its pale face.
The creature slowly sank back into the ground again.
Inside its mind, a message was instantly transmitted to another White Zetsu stationed elsewhere.
Nagato is asleep. We can move now. Inform Obito immediately.
At Uchiha Madara's hidden base, another White Zetsu received the message.
Moments later, the plan was set into motion.
Hum.
A spatial vortex suddenly appeared inside Nagato's room.
The air twisted and distorted as a masked figure stepped out from the swirling distortion. The man wore a spiral mask that concealed his identity completely.
It was Obito.
He stood silently beside the bed and looked down at the sleeping Nagato.
Nagato, these eyes... I will take them back.
You are not worthy of possessing them.
Obito's gaze turned cold behind the mask.
Without hesitation, he acted.
His hand moved quickly and ruthlessly.
In an instant, Nagato's pair of Rinnegan were violently gouged out.
"Ahhhh!"
Nagato's scream tore through the silent night like a blade.
It was sharp, desperate, and filled with unbearable pain.
The sudden scream immediately alerted the others nearby.
"NAGATO!"
"NAGATO!"
Two figures rushed toward the room at full speed.
Yahiko and Konan were the first to arrive.
They kicked the door open and burst inside.
However, the scene they witnessed lasted only a brief moment.
A masked man stood in the room as a spatial vortex swallowed him once again.
"It's you! What did you do to Nagato!"
Yahiko roared in anger, but he only managed to shout a single sentence.
The vortex collapsed.
Obito disappeared completely.
The room returned to silence.
Yahiko and Konan rushed to Nagato's side.
When they saw his condition, both of them froze.
Blood streamed endlessly from Nagato's eyes. His eye sockets were empty and deeply sunken, an obvious sign that his eyes had been brutally torn out.
The sight was horrifying.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Yahiko clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"Uchiha Madara!"
He raised his head and roared toward the sky in fury.
With both of his eyes stolen, Nagato was practically crippled for the rest of his life.
---
Far away in Konoha.
Inside the Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk while Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya stood nearby. The atmosphere in the room was serious.
Jiraiya had just returned from meeting Nagato and the others.
He sighed lightly before speaking.
"Unfortunately, the information I received from Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan is the same as what Minato already reported."
"The mysterious person left almost no clues."
Minato crossed his arms while listening quietly.
Jiraiya continued.
"That man hid his identity well. He wore a mask the entire time, and no one could see his face."
Hiruzen took a slow puff from his pipe. Smoke drifted gently through the air.
He did not seem particularly surprised.
After all, Minato had also been present during the incident. What Nagato and the others saw was essentially the same thing Minato witnessed.
Because the attacker deliberately concealed his identity, the only useful information they had came from the techniques he used.
After thinking for a moment, Jiraiya spoke again.
"Sensei, Minato, since that mysterious person can use the Flying Thunder God Technique, perhaps we should begin our investigation from that angle."
Minato nodded.
"That is reasonable."
The Flying Thunder God Technique was not an ordinary ability.
It was an S rank space time Ninjutsu created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. The technique was recorded inside the Scroll of Seals and had always been under strict protection.
Only the Hokage had direct control over that scroll.
If someone outside the village had learned the technique, it meant something unusual had happened.
By investigating that possibility, the range of suspects could be narrowed considerably.
As for the strange black flames the attacker used, no one had a clear answer.
Minato had seen them ignite suddenly on the opponent's body.
Kurenai Yuhi and Might Guy had witnessed the same phenomenon.
However, none of them knew the name of the technique.
It resembled a powerful Dōjutsu ability from the Uchiha Clan, yet the ninja world was vast and filled with unusual talents. Without proof, no one could confirm anything.
For now, the investigation had reached a dead end.
---
Elsewhere in Konoha.
Inside a quiet house.
Ryūjin calmly observed everything through the Telescope Technique.
After confirming that no clues had been left behind, he relaxed slightly.
"This matter is basically settled."
"No evidence. No trail."
He ended the jutsu and stretched his shoulders.
Following his usual routine, Ryūjin spent the next two hours in meditation training, steadily refining his chakra control and maintaining his combat readiness.
Only after finishing his training did he finally turn off the lights and lie down.
Soon, he drifted into sleep.
---
The next morning.
The first thing Ryūjin did after waking up was create a Shadow Clone and leave it at home.
His real body activated Kamui.
The space around him twisted.
A moment later, he appeared at the newly generated Shukaku Location from the Sign in System.
As soon as he arrived, the familiar notification appeared in his mind.
New sign in location detected, Shukaku Location. Would you like to sign in immediately?
Ryūjin answered without hesitation.
"Sign in."
Ding.
Congratulations to the host for completing the sign in.
Reward obtained: Shukaku's Chakra.
The moment the system finished speaking, Ryūjin felt a massive surge of chakra erupt inside his body.
The chakra was violent, ancient, and extremely powerful.
Then something unexpected happened.
"Where am I?"
"Hahaha!"
"The seal has been broken?"
A loud and arrogant voice suddenly echoed through the area.
At the same time, the chakra within Ryūjin's body surged wildly.
Sand colored chakra burst outward.
Within seconds, a figure formed.
A gigantic tanuki shaped beast appeared in front of him.
It was Shukaku.
Ryūjin stared at the creature in silence.
"..."
For a moment he felt speechless.
Shouldn't the system have forced Shukaku to obey him?
At the very least, some form of control mechanism should exist.
Could it be that the system he bound to was actually a cheap one?
Even worse, the Shukaku standing before him clearly looked weaker than the real one in the Hidden Sand Village.
Then Ryūjin realized the truth.
The system had not given him the complete Ichibi.
It had only granted a portion of Shukaku's chakra.
In other words, this was a miniature version of the One Tail.
Still dangerous.
Still arrogant.
But far from its true strength.
Shukaku glared at Ryūjin with ferocious eyes.
"You brat, are you my Jinchuriki?"
"I don't know how you broke the seal, but you are looking for death!"
Without waiting for an answer, Shukaku raised its massive claw and slammed it down toward Ryūjin.
Ryūjin simply smirked.
"A pet daring to act arrogant in front of its master."
"You've really crossed the line."
With a single thought, natural energy flooded his body.
Ryūjin instantly entered Sage Mode.
A Rasengan formed in his palm.
He stepped forward and slammed the spinning sphere directly into Shukaku's incoming claw.
Boom!
The collision exploded with tremendous force.
A powerful shockwave burst outward, shaking the surrounding forest.
Within the surge of energy, Shukaku's massive body was forced backward two steps.
The beast's eyes widened slightly.
"You brat... you've got some skill."
Ryūjin laughed softly.
"Some skill?"
"If a pet refuses to behave, then today I'll humiliate it properly."
"Sage Art, Ultra Big Ball Rasengan."
A massive Rasengan appeared in front of him, nearly the size of a human body.
The chakra contained within it was terrifying.
Even Shukaku felt an instinctive sense of danger.
"What... what kind of power is that?"
Before the tailed beast could react, Ryūjin had already moved.
The giant Rasengan smashed directly into Shukaku.
Boom!
The explosion sent the creature flying through the air like a kite with its string cut.
It crashed hundreds of meters away, snapping several large trees before finally slamming into the ground.
The enormous beast lay there motionless like a dead animal.
Whoosh.
Ryūjin appeared beside it in an instant.
He casually poked Shukaku's body with his foot.
His expression was full of disdain.
"What?"
"Already dead?"
"If you're not dead, get up."
===
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