"What did you say?!" Nagato's voice cracked with disbelief, his usually composed features contorting into an expression of absolute horror.
The revelation struck him like a physical blow, shattering not just his understanding of his own power, but the very foundation of his identity. Everything he had believed about himself, every decision he had made based on the assumption that he was the chosen wielder of the legendary Rinnegan, suddenly crumbled into ash.
In the air above them, Konan felt her heart stop as she witnessed the transformation in her oldest friend's expression. Despite being hurled backward by the Second Tsuchikage's devastating attack, her paper-based form had absorbed most of the impact through the Shikigami Dance technique. Physical damage meant little when her body could reform from scattered fragments, but the emotional devastation radiating from Nagato was a wound that no jutsu could heal.
"Don't look at me with such betrayal in your eyes," Zetsu said, his voice carrying a mockingly paternal tone. "I am, after all, your savior. If it weren't for my intervention all those years ago, you would have been killed by those Konoha ninja who invaded your homeland. Your entire family—your parents, your dreams, your very existence—would have ended in that burning village."
The reminder was calculated cruelty, designed to undermine Nagato's sense of agency while simultaneously claiming credit for his survival. Every word was chosen to emphasize his dependence on forces beyond his control, reducing him from a powerful leader to a manipulated tool.
"The pain you experienced then," Zetsu continued as his hands formed complex seals, "was nothing compared to what you're about to endure now."
"AAAHHH!" Nagato's scream tore through the battlefield as agony beyond description flooded through his nervous system.
The curse seal embedded in his heart activated with malevolent precision, sending waves of torment that transcended mere physical sensation. It was pain that attacked his very soul, bypassing every defense mechanism his body possessed and striking directly at the core of his being.
His hands, no longer under his conscious control, began moving through the familiar motions of seal formation. Each gesture was performed with mechanical precision, his body obeying commands that originated not from his own will but from the malicious influence of the cursed mark that had been placed within him years ago.
"Let go of Nagato!" Konan's voice rang out across the battlefield, filled with desperate fury.
She launched herself toward her suffering friend, but her path was suddenly blocked by a crystalline barrier that materialized from thin air. The surface shimmered with an ethereal beauty that was completely at odds with its deadly purpose.
"Ring!" The sound that emerged from the crystal was hauntingly musical, like wind chimes in a gentle breeze.
"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu!" the Second Tsuchikage announced with clinical detachment.
The crystal formation expanded rapidly, transforming from a barrier into a massive spike that thrust toward Konan with lethal intent. The Dust Release technique was designed to reduce anything it touched to its component atoms, making evasion the only viable defensive option.
Konan's eyes widened as she recognized the technique's true nature. She twisted her body with desperate agility, but the attack was too large and too fast for complete avoidance. The massive paper wing on her left side disintegrated instantly upon contact with the advancing spike, reduced to nothingness as though it had never existed.
The partial hit sent her spinning through the air, her remaining wing struggling to maintain flight as she fought to regain her equilibrium. The loss of half her aerial mobility made her vulnerable to follow-up attacks, but her primary concern wasn't her own safety—it was the sight of Nagato's continuing torment.
Under Zetsu's relentless control, Nagato's hands continued their inexorable progress through the resurrection technique's required seals. Each gesture brought them closer to a conclusion that would doom not just himself, but potentially the entire ninja world.
"Those two Konoha ninja," Nagato managed to gasp between waves of agony, his teeth clenched so tightly that his words were barely comprehensible, "I killed them myself! That power was mine!"
The desperate assertion was his last attempt to maintain some sense of personal agency, to convince himself that at least some of his actions had been his own choice rather than the result of manipulation by unseen forces.
"Even now," Zetsu replied with cruel amusement, "do you still naively believe that you awakened the Rinnegan's power through your own trauma and determination?"
The question was rhetorical, designed to strip away the final vestiges of Nagato's self-perception. Every word was calculated to reinforce his helplessness while simultaneously claiming credit for abilities he had believed were rightfully his.
"Those eyes were never yours," Zetsu continued, his voice taking on the tone of someone explaining a simple concept to a confused child. "They belong to Madara-sama, and always have. You were nothing more than a temporary container, a vessel chosen for your Uzumaki heritage and your capacity to handle the strain of wielding such power."
"As for the deaths of those ninja, and every other display of strength you've manifested over the years—none of it was ever your own accomplishment. You have been a puppet dancing to strings you couldn't even see."
The words shattered more than just Nagato's beliefs about his own abilities. They destroyed his understanding of every significant moment in his adult life, retroactively transforming his greatest achievements into evidence of his own powerlessness.
How could he not believe it? The curse seal in his heart was proof that he had been marked from the beginning, prepared for manipulation from the moment of its implantation. Every decision he had thought was his own, every moment of rage or determination that had seemed to justify his actions, had been guided by forces beyond his comprehension.
"It seems you're finally beginning to accept reality," Zetsu observed with satisfaction as Nagato's resistance began to weaken. "Acceptance will make the remainder of this process much easier for all involved."
His control over Nagato's hand seals became more precise as the young man's will to resist diminished. Each gesture brought them closer to the technique's completion, and with it, the resurrection of the most dangerous individual in ninja history.
"Nagato!" Konan's voice cut through his despair like a blade of pure determination. "You cannot give up now! If you surrender to this manipulation, the world truly will end!"
The words reached him even through the fog of agony and self-doubt, reminding him that his choices affected more than just himself. But it was her next statement that truly penetrated his consciousness.
"Don't forget what Jiraiya-sensei and Yahiko taught us!" she continued, her voice growing hoarse with emotion and desperate conviction. "Even if you cannot become the god who guides this world to peace, you can still serve as a bridge to true understanding between people!"
The reminder of those long-abandoned ideals struck Nagato with unexpected force. The beliefs he had discarded as naive and unrealistic—the hope that people could learn to understand each other, that conflicts could be resolved through communication rather than overwhelming force—suddenly seemed not just possible but essential.
Because of Yahiko's death, he had abandoned faith in Jiraiya's vision of a world where mutual understanding could replace endless cycles of revenge. The loss of his dearest friend had convinced him that only through the threat of absolute destruction could humanity be forced to abandon its warlike nature.
But today, after his battle with Minato, something had changed. The Fourth Hokage had demonstrated that the seemingly impossible dream of genuine peace wasn't just theoretical—it could be achieved through the kind of principled leadership that Jiraiya had always advocated.
"AAAARGH!" With a roar that seemed to emerge from the depths of his soul, Nagato's suppressed will exploded outward in a final act of defiance.
Through sheer force of determination, he managed to resist the curse seal's compulsion and halt the progression of hand seals. His palms, which had been moving inexorably toward the technique's completion, gradually slowed and then stopped entirely.
"You want to manipulate me into using the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to resurrect Madara," Nagato declared through gritted teeth, "but I will not allow you to succeed!"
Under Zetsu's resentful gaze, Nagato's hands—which had been pressed together in the final seal—slowly began to separate. The act required enormous effort, as though he were pulling apart magnets of incredible strength, but his renewed determination provided the necessary willpower.
"Damn you, stubborn brat!" Zetsu snarled, his composed facade finally cracking to reveal the fury beneath. "You think you can resist me indefinitely?"
Rather than continuing to force the hand seals, he shifted tactics and began using the curse seal's power to assault Nagato's heart and mind directly. Waves of spiritual pressure crashed against his consciousness, each one designed to break his will and force submission.
No matter how strong Nagato's determination might be, the power of the curse seal was absolute within its domain. The mark had been designed by Madara himself, incorporating principles of control that made even suicide impossible for its bearer. When Madara had used a similar technique to manipulate Nohara Rin, forcing her to become a weapon against her own village, her only escape had been to deliberately intercept Kakashi's attack and choose death over continued manipulation.
Nagato's hands, despite his desperate resistance, gradually began moving back together. The curse seal's power was simply too overwhelming to resist through willpower alone.
"ROAAAAR!"
At that moment, a terrifying sound erupted from within Nagato's body—not human, but something far more primal and dangerous. The roar of a tailed beast pushed beyond its limits, its fury adding to the chaos of conflicting forces within his form.
"You're courting death by deliberately releasing the tailed beast's seal!" Zetsu exclaimed, genuine alarm creeping into his voice for the first time.
Understanding that he couldn't resist the curse seal's power through conventional means, Nagato had made a desperate choice. Rather than continuing to suppress the beast sealed within him, he deliberately loosened the constraints that kept it contained. The resulting clash between the tailed beast's chaotic energy and the curse seal's controlling influence created a maelstrom of conflicting forces within his body.
"Cough!" Blood sprayed from Nagato's mouth as the opposing energies tore at his internal systems, but the strategy was working. The tailed beast's rampage was disrupting the curse seal's ability to maintain absolute control over his actions.
"Nagato!" Konan's voice carried both heartbreak and admiration as she witnessed his sacrifice.
She understood that this might be the only way for him to resist Zetsu's manipulation, but she also knew the terrible cost such an approach would exact on his already weakened body. The technique was likely to kill him even if it succeeded in preventing Madara's resurrection.
Despite the pain and the danger, something in Nagato's expression had changed. For the first time in years, she could see traces of the gentle person he had been before Yahiko's death hardened his heart. His willingness to sacrifice himself to prevent a greater catastrophe showed that the idealism they had shared in their youth wasn't entirely dead.
"BOOM!"
A massive explosion echoed across the battlefield from the center of the stone mountain where Madara and Minato continued their titanic struggle. The shockwaves spoke to a conflict between forces that transcended normal human capability, powers that could reshape the landscape with their casual exercise.
It was at this critical moment that Black Zetsu received new instructions, transmitted through methods that bypassed normal communication entirely. Madara was beginning to fall into a disadvantageous position against the Fourth Hokage, making Nagato's resurrection technique not just desirable but absolutely essential.
"This is the only option remaining," Black Zetsu murmured, his strategic mind calculating the risks and benefits of his next action.
The entity that had been masquerading as part of White Zetsu suddenly revealed his true nature. The black coloration that had seemed like natural pigmentation began to flow like liquid shadow, separating from the white form with fluid grace.
"Swoosh!"
Black Zetsu's true form moved along the ground like a living pool of darkness, bypassing every physical obstacle as he approached Nagato's struggling form. Without hesitation, he flowed directly into the young man's body through the pores of his skin.
The black coloration spread rapidly across Nagato's right side, transforming his pale flesh into something that resembled living shadow. His right hand underwent a particularly dramatic transformation, becoming entirely black while radiating an aura of malevolent power.
"Let's see how you resist me now!" Black Zetsu's voice emerged from within Nagato's body, carrying a note of triumph that suggested absolute confidence in his new strategy.
By possessing the right side of Nagato's body—the side without the curse seal—Black Zetsu had positioned himself to control the young man's actions without interference from the tailed beast's chaotic energy. The direct possession bypassed the spiritual conflict that had been disrupting the previous approach.
Nagato's hands, which had been trembling with the effort of resistance, were forced back together with inexorable strength. The seals began forming once again, each gesture bringing them closer to a conclusion that would reshape the ninja world.
"BOOM!"
Another explosion echoed from the distant battle between Madara and Minato, but this time the sound carried a different quality. It was the noise of something breaking, of a defense finally being overwhelmed by superior force.
In the heart of the stone mountain, Minato's form blazed with dark golden light as natural energy coursed through every fiber of his being. His fists, enhanced by sage chakra of unprecedented purity, struck again and again at the complete form of Susanoo that had seemed invincible moments before.
Each impact sent shockwaves through the massive chakra construct, causing cracks to appear in armor that had withstood the attacks of entire armies. The dark blue energy that formed Susanoo's protective shell began to collapse under the relentless assault, unable to regenerate faster than it was being destroyed.
"CRACK!"
With a sound like thunder, the complete form of Susanoo finally reached its breaking point and shattered entirely. The massive construct, tall as a mountain and imposing as a natural disaster, dissolved into fragments of dispersing chakra.
As Susanoo collapsed, Madara himself became visible within the wreckage. His legendary armor was cracked and torn, pieces of it scattered across the battlefield like the remnants of a fallen monument. Most startling of all, the damage had exposed something hidden beneath the protective gear.
On Madara's chest, clearly visible through the torn armor, was a human face. The features were unmistakably familiar to anyone who had studied Konoha's history or looked upon the carved visages of the Hokage Monument.
"That's the face of the First Hokage!" Minato breathed, recognizing Hashirama Senju's distinctive features embedded in his opponent's flesh.
The revelation explained much about Madara's capabilities in his resurrected form. The Wood Release techniques that had seemed so impossible for an Uchiha to wield now made perfect sense—he had literally incorporated portions of his greatest rival's body into his own, gaining access to abilities that should have been impossible for someone of his bloodline.
As the complete Susanoo collapsed entirely, Madara's body began radiating deep blue chakra once again. Despite the damage he had sustained, his power reserves seemed undiminished, suggesting that the battle was far from over.
"BANG!"
Before the new chakra construct could take shape, Minato's fist struck with devastating force, dispersing the gathering energy before it could solidify into another defensive technique. The speed and precision of the attack left no opportunity for counteraction.
Recognizing the danger, Madara condensed a light film in front of himself—a barrier designed to absorb chakra-based attacks and neutralize their effectiveness. The technique was a desperate measure, but against an opponent of Minato's caliber, desperation might be the only viable strategy.
The natural energy that powered Minato's attacks struck the chakra-absorbing barrier with tremendous force, but the defensive technique held firm for several crucial seconds. However, even Madara's legendary defensive capabilities had limits, and the barrier finally shattered under the sustained assault.
"You've absorbed my sage chakra," Minato observed as he appeared instantly in front of his opponent, "but your body hasn't turned to stone. You truly are Uchiha Madara—the only person capable of handling natural energy in its raw form without the proper training."
The statement was both an acknowledgment of his opponent's legendary status and a recognition that the battle was reaching its conclusion. Seal-like patterns began condensing in Minato's palm, preparing for a technique that would end the conflict permanently.
Just as Minato's hand descended toward Madara's resurrected form, carrying with it the power to seal away even the most dangerous of opponents, a different kind of conclusion was taking place elsewhere on the battlefield.
Nagato's black and white hands finally came together in the ultimate seal, despite every effort to resist the compulsion. His purple eyes, ringed with the power that controlled life and death itself, began to glow with otherworldly light.
The technique that would resurrect the most dangerous individual in ninja history was finally complete.
"Gedō: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu!"
The forbidden art that could bring back the dead at the cost of the caster's own life erupted across the battlefield, its power transcending the normal boundaries between life and death. The very fabric of reality seemed to bend around the technique's activation, creating distortions that made the air itself appear to shimmer and flow.
As the light of resurrection blazed across the battlefield, two opposing forces reached their culmination simultaneously—Minato's attempt to seal away the dead, and Nagato's forced resurrection of the man who would reshape the ninja world according to his ancient and terrible vision.
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