Yoru's voice seemed to pierce through space itself, echoing directly into Nagato's ears.
The frost-laden world continued to spread. Even the hidden underground chamber where Nagato and Konan resided was now covered in a layer of glittering ice crystals.
The sudden drop in temperature made both Nagato and Konan involuntarily shiver. It was as if even chakra couldn't shield them from such overwhelming cold.
But Nagato paid no attention to the creeping chill invading his body. His eyes—those pale lavender Rinnegan—were wide open, frozen in stunned disbelief, as though he'd just witnessed something beyond comprehension.
"W-What is this…"
"RMMM!!"
An icy shockwave spread outward. Yoru shifted his gaze from Deva Path Pain to the heavens above—toward the massive Chibaku Tensei sphere, now entirely shrouded in frost.
He stood in midair, one hand gripping his blade.
There was no need to charge chakra.
No theatrics.
No wind-up.
Just—
A simple motion.
He raised his sword.
And slashed.
An arc of unbearable cold streaked across the sky—like a crescent moon cleaving the heavens. It moved at such a speed that not even the sharpest eye could follow. Mist, air, and even space itself froze solid in its wake—then shattered.
To most onlookers, it was just a flash of white sweeping the sky.
Then came the sound.
"Crk…"
Cracks webbed across the surface of the floating Chibaku Tensei. The gravitational core had frozen—then fractured—setting off a chain reaction.
Frozen rocks shattered and fell from the heavens like a hailstorm of crystalline debris.
As countless icy fragments plummeted to the ground, Yoru slowly lowered his sword and looked down. His expression was calm—indifferent.
From below, the self-proclaimed god, Deva Path Pain, looked like nothing more than a pitiful clown.
Far in the distance, Minato continued flashing through the battlefield with his Flying Thunder God Technique, rescuing the wounded from the falling debris. He glanced toward Yoru, and his expression grew increasingly complex.
"To think someone with power like that chose cooperation over conquest...
I misjudged you, Yoru of the Mist."
"Power like that…"
Gold dust erupted from the ground, blocking the dense shower of shattered ice shards. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and Baki, hiding beneath the gold dust, felt their worldview completely shattered at this moment.
Uchiha Fugaku, watching beside them, wore an expression far more conflicted.
Two years ago, on the Kirigakure front lines, he had clashed with Yoru.
Back then, even with his Susanoo activated, he could barely hold his own. Though he ultimately lost, he believed that had he gone all out, the outcome might have been different.
But now?
In just two short years, Yoru's power had reached such an overwhelming level that Fugaku could scarcely comprehend it. No, not just him—no one in the world should be capable of this kind of growth. Not even the Sage of Six Paths.
Clearly, Yoru had been holding back before.
Back then, Yoru had hidden his true strength, just as Fugaku only used his three-tomoe Sharingan in public, despite having awakened the Mangekyō.
But after ascending to the seat of Mizukage, Yoru no longer needed to hide.
He held both power and position.
He had nothing left to fear.
Fugaku clenched his fists.
"When… When will I be able to show my strength without reservation?"
"Why…?"
Deva Path Pain let out a hoarse growl.
"How could you possibly wield this level of power?!"
Yoru replied coolly, "What kind of adult goes all-out against children from the start?"
The words struck Pain like a slap across the face. His usually stoic expression twisted with rage and shame.
"No… No!
I am a god!
I am the strongest in the world!
I will cleanse it!
I will save it!"
He roared like a madman.
Though he knew the gap between him and Yoru was as vast as heaven and earth, Nagato's obsession with divinity, his messianic complex, pushed him to keep yelling about salvation—as if chanting it would make it true.
Yoru shook his head, then vanished.
Pain's heart skipped a beat. Instinctively, he unleashed Shinra Tensei.
But what good was that against a fully Bankai'd Yoru?
Even with the restriction of the Gigai.
Yuki Yoru's figure had already appeared in front of Deva Path Pain, and despite the Shinra Tensei's repulsion.
His hand pressed directly to Deva Path Pain's chest.
"No…"
"Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiko."
(Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon)
With a muted murmur, Yoru's palm unleashed a brilliant beam of energy at point-blank range, obliterating Pain's body in an instant.
It was Hadō No. 88 — an advanced Kidō spell, deployed directly to the face.
The blast dissipated. Deva Path Pain's body was gone—only his severed head remained, still intact.
Yoru plucked the head up with one hand. With the other, he slowly pulled a chakra receiver from the neck and turned it in his palm, voice casual:
"Now then… Can you finally recognize your place, 'kami-sama'?"
He smiled faintly.
Sensing chakra nearby, Yoru vanished again.
Elsewhere, outside Iron Country, in a hidden cave—
Black Zetsu had been watching the battle unfold through shared vision. A moment ago, he'd thought they could hold out a bit longer, maybe reposition.
Then Yoru's frost blade slashed through a Chibaku Tensei like it was warm butter.
Black Zetsu froze.
"No! Nagato can't beat him! We have to evacuate Nagato—now!"
He surged toward the hideout.
Inside, Nagato sat slumped in his special wheelchair, trembling. His breath came in short, labored gasps.
"I… I am God…
I won't lose… I can't lose…"
But his chakra was dwindling—fast.
All six of his Paths were controlled via the Rinnegan's power, supplied from his main body. Each of them required a constant stream of chakra to function. Now, with the Six Paths being slaughtered like fodder, and even the Chibaku Tensei destroyed in a single blow, Nagato was nearly drained.
His strength was gone.
"What's happening out there?" Konan asked, seeing the panic on Zetsu's face and the frenzied look in Nagato's eyes.
"There's no time to explain!
Deva Path won't last much longer—
You have to retreat, now!"
Black Zetsu's husky voice was urgent. His plans were almost entirely based on the Rinnegan.
For a thousand years, he had worked toward this. Nagato was the best host yet—perfectly synchronized with Madara's eyes since childhood.
If Nagato died or his body was ruined, the entire Moon's Eye Plan would be delayed for decades.
"Nagato…"
Konan hesitated for only a second—then activated her Paper Release, wrapping her partner and his wheelchair in fluttering sheets.
They launched into the sky.
"I am God… I won't lose… I'm the one…"
"Nagato!"
Konan's voice cut through his haze.
He jolted awake and glanced toward her.
She was flying beside him, wings of paper unfurled, guiding their escape. A moment later, Nagato performed hand seals with trembling fingers and summoned Yatagarasu, dragging Konan with him as they soared into the sky.
"I'm sorry, Konan," Nagato muttered bitterly, voice hollow.
"I failed. That man… he's the true god, not me."
"Don't say that!" Konan snapped.
"You have the Rinnegan! You were chosen by heaven—you are the one meant to lead us into peace!"
"That man may be strong, but his power comes from devouring souls! That's how he's grown so quickly! He's used the Shinigami of the Seireitei to scour the Shinobi World for souls—fueling his strength!"
"Don't you remember Jiraiya-sensei's book?"
"Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi…" Nagato murmured.
His expression changed.
When Minato Namikaze was lost on his life's path, the Toad Sage gave him this work by Jiraiya, reawakening Minato Namato's fighting spirit.
And after Minato Namikaze became the Fourth Hokage, this book was widely published by him, spreading throughout the Shinobi World.
Actually, not many people bought it. Primarily because it was cheap, not only half the price of other novels released at the same time, but it also came with a buy-one-get-one-free offer, making it an epic-tier toilet paper.
But Minato didn't mind.
The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi was a novel meant to promote unwavering willpower and a profound message of stopping conflict and war. Such novels were destined not to be widely read, so Minato Namikaze used this method to spread the book as much as possible throughout the Shinobi World, allowing more people to see Jiraiya's creation and will.
And Nagato was one of those few readers and supporters.
Yes, it was one of the Akatsuki's mandatory reads. In fact, after reading Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, Nagato himself even conceived the idea of writing a novel.
The title was already decided: it would be called...
"Nagato's Struggle."
With great power comes great responsibility.
In Jiraiya's Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, it was written that to bring peace to the chaotic and war-torn Shinobi World, one must possess unwavering perseverance and indomitable endurance against hardship.
These spirits were absorbed by Nagato, strengthening his idea and belief that he was the savior.
When Heaven is about to confer a great office upon a man, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his sinews and bones with toil. It exposes his body to hunger, and subjects him to extreme poverty. It confounds his undertakings.
Once I have diligently cultivated myself for another three years, I will surely let Yuki Yoru know who the true god of the Shinobi World is!
"I understand now, Konan…"
Nagato took a deep breath, his determination reigniting.
He spurred the Yatagarasu forward—ready to retreat and fight another day.
But they hadn't even made it far.
Without warning, a shadowy figure stood atop Yatagarasu's head—completely silent until he spoke.
"I underestimated you, Nagato."
It was Yoru.
His calm voice rang out, slicing through the high-altitude winds as he looked down at the stunned pair.
"I should've brought you back to Kirigakure by force when I had the chance.
Had I done so…
You wouldn't have ended up like this."
"Ended up like this…?"
Yatagarasu came to a sudden halt in the air.
Nagato's mental defenses shattered again. That fragile clarity he had just reclaimed broke under Yoru's words.
"I… am God… I am—"
"A god… whimpering like a dog with its tail between its legs?"
Yoru shook his head slowly.
"You're just another fool drunk on power.
If you'd open your eyes—really open those Rinnegan—you'd see you're just a slightly bigger ant than the rest."
He pointed at Nagato's custom wheelchair.
"Look. You're still in a cradle."
"You don't understand anything!"
Konan snarled.
"Long before you came along, Nagato bore the weight of the world's pain. He dreams of peace. He leads us toward it!
He's the one true god!"
She raised her hands—dozens of razor-sharp paper shuriken formed around her.
With a fierce shout, she hurled them in a hurricane barrage.
The sky filled with paper blades like a swarm of locusts.
Yoru didn't move.
The shuriken closed in—only to crumble into frost at the edge of his spiritual pressure. Each one froze mid-air, shattered, and fell like snowflakes.
"Dance of the Shikigami."
Konan's hands blurred again, and her body burst apart into thousands of sheets of paper.
They surged like a blizzard of knives, trying to overwhelm him from every angle.
But Yoru simply walked forward through it.
His Four World Freeze technique remained in full effect—powerful enough to nullify even gravity itself.
What could a few paper jutsu do against that?
"Konan, get back!"
Nagato suddenly roared.
He slammed his hands together.
The veins around his Rinnegan bulged. The sheer strain contorted his face. Chakra exploded from his body—but not just chakra.
He had long since burned through most of his energy in the fight. Now, his body was cannibalizing his life force.
His vibrant red hair dulled to an ashen shade.
His skin clung tightly to his bones.
He looked like he had aged decades in seconds.
But in exchange, he summoned something terrifying.
"Die, Yoru!"
"Summoning Jutsu—Gedo Mazō!!"
His voice was a twisted, agonized scream.
Even Konan looked horrified.
She leapt off Yatagarasu just in time, spreading her paper wings to glide to safety as a massive vortex opened in the sky.
The air shook.
The entire space visibly shuddered at that moment.
A massive, skeletal figure burst forth, engulfed in billowing smoke.
It was the Gedo Statue—the empty husk of the Ten-Tails, sealed long ago by the Sage of Six Paths.
Its grotesque body loomed over the landscape.
Nine empty eye sockets.
Ten jagged spike-like stumps protruding from its back.
Massive, shackled arms—like a titan imprisoned by gods.
It was the shell of divinity.
An ancient evil brought back by force of will.
"The Gedo Statue?!"
Down below, Black Zetsu's voice cracked with panic.
"Shit! Yoru followed them!
Nagato's going to try to use it?!"
His thoughts raced.
"Even if the statue crushes Yoru, Nagato won't survive it! That thing drains chakra and life force alike!"
"This is bad. This is very bad!"
If Nagato died here, the Eye of the Moon Plan would be delayed indefinitely.
A new compatible Rinnegan host could take decades to locate—if ever.
"No. Absolutely not."
Black Zetsu growled.
He turned to White Zetsu beside him.
"Prepare for emergency assimilation. If things go south, we merge with Nagato directly."
"What?! Wait a second!" White Zetsu balked.
"I'm not Tobi! If I merge with him, I'll have to fuse completely into his body! You know how much he hates that!"
"Too bad!" Black Zetsu snapped.
"We can't let him die—not here!"
"Fine, fine…"
Piggybacking through the ground, the Zetsu duo burrowed toward Nagato's location.
High above, Nagato clung to the Gedo Statue's back, his emaciated body stuck to its spine using chakra.
This… was his final card.
The Gedo Statue—
The empty body of the Ten-Tails, left behind after the Sage of Six Paths split its chakra into the Nine Tailed Beasts.
Sealed on the moon by the Sage himself.
Later in his old age, Madara, having come to understand the cycle of life and death, awakened the Rinnegan. With it, he successfully summoned the Gedo Statue to prolong his life. Using the Statue and Hashirama's cells, he cultivated White Zetsu.
After Madara's death, the Gedo Statue was summoned again by Nagato. It was this very power that turned the tide in the battle between the Akatsuki and Hanzō in the Land of Rain.
Since then, the Statue had remained hidden within the Akatsuki's base, serving as the focal point for their gatherings.
And now, this empty vessel of Ten-Tails, driven by Nagato's immense chakra, had awakened once more—rising to fight for him!
"Roar!!!"
The Gedo Statue let out a thunderous scream. For the first time, a flicker of surprise appeared on Yoru's face.
He had seen the Gedo Statue before—from afar. But back then, he had been too busy fighting Uchiha Shisui—who had just unlocked his Eternal Mangekyō.
Though Shisui later also awakened the Rinnegan and could summon the statue himself, Yoru had prevented that from happening.
After all, summoning the Gedo Statue required a massive cost in chakra and life force—he wasn't about to let a key subordinate end up drained like Nagato.
More importantly, summoning it would definitely draw Black Zetsu's attention—and Yoru had always been wary of that "third child of the Rabbit Goddess."
"The shell of a divine being…"
Yoru narrowed his eyes, murmuring with fascination.
"A lifeform on the level of the Sage himself.
Perfect.
Now I can test what it would take…
to fight the Ōtsutsuki."
He smiled.
"DIE, YUKI YORU!"
"Fire!"
Nagato's voice roared down from atop the statue.
He may have looked like a dried husk, but the Gedo Statue's power surged through him, reigniting his confidence.
He was God again.
His eyes burned with that same messianic madness.
"Burn it all to ash!"
The Gedo Statue roared.
The jagged stumps on its back glowed red-hot.
Columns of fire erupted into a blazing inferno.
They coalesced into a massive fire dragon—raging, shrieking, scorching the sky.
Even the landscape, long frozen by Yoru's Bankai, began to thaw from the heat.
It charged straight toward him.
The fire dragon roared across the battlefield, an inferno powerful enough to reduce mountains to cinders.
But Yoru didn't move.
He stepped forward, straight into the storm of fire.
No defense.
No barrier.
No jutsu.
Just him… and his Zanpakutō.
As the dragon's maw closed in, a frost bloomed around Yoru's body.
And then—
The flames froze.
A surreal, impossible sight.
The fire itself turned to shimmering crystal. Flames that should have reduced stone to lava became sculptures of ice—locked mid-roar, mid-flicker, mid-death.
The ice crawled up the body of the dragon and—
Shattered.
Yoru swung once.
The entire frozen fire construct broke apart in an avalanche of glittering shards.
Everyone watching was stunned.
Even Zetsu, who had seen the impossible time and time again, went rigid in disbelief.
"That's not just chakra suppression… That's complete elemental override."
Black Zetsu whispered hoarsely.
"Next."
Yoru said calmly, stepping forward again.
Nagato's face twisted.
"Lightning! Wind!"
The Gedo Statue raised its bound hands once more. Storm clouds surged in its wake. From the broken stumps of its ten protrusions, chakra howled out—lightning dancing with slicing gales.
Thunder cracked.
A fusion of wind and lightning burst forward, forming another draconic entity—this one fast, crackling with power and edge.
A storm incarnate.
And yet…
It too froze the instant it touched Yoru's aura.
The moment it entered the range of his Four World Freeze, it lost cohesion. Power stopped flowing. Matter stalled. Time itself seemed to hold its breath.
And Yoru, unfazed, cut through it with a single swing.
Another frozen dragon shattered at his feet.
Nagato's lips parted in horror.
"This… This can't be happening…"
"You can freeze chakra?"
"Let's see if you can handle this!"
His desperation reached a crescendo.
With a howl, he slammed his palms onto the Gedo Statue's skull.
The restraints on its wrists shattered.
Chains fell away like dust.
The monster… moved.
The Gedo Statue flexed, rising from its hunched position.
It was no longer sealed.
It no longer needed permission.
It became a god of war, striding forward with earth-shaking force, bearing down on Yoru like a titan from myth.
From the ground, it looked like a mountain was attacking a man.
A death sentence.
"This is it! Die, Yoru!!"