Naruto's talk-no-jutsu wasn't just a joke—it truly hit hard. His words left Nagato's true body dizzy and confused, especially with Jiraiya's help shaking the foundation of Nagato's long-held beliefs.
Outside, the battle between Deva Pain and Kiyosuke's group was still raging on, but something strange was happening. The movements of the Pains became jerky and uneven, as if their connection had lagged out. They would move a little—then suddenly freeze—then move again, then stop.
"This is… connection lost?!"
Kiyosuke scratched his head. "How lame."
He raised a finger, aimed directly at Deva Pain's heart, and fired a burst of flame.
The fire pierced straight through Pain's chest in an instant.
The remaining Pains, weakened and sluggish, were quickly taken down by Itachi and the others.
Dragging Deva Pain's corpse, Kiyosuke led the group back toward the cave. The others followed close behind.
Halfway in, a sudden shout echoed from inside.
"What was that?!"
"Nagato!"
"Nagato!"
Kiyosuke dropped the corpse immediately and charged in.
When he arrived, he saw it—half of Nagato's body was covered in a black, tar-like substance that had just taken one of his Rinnegan eyes.
It had tried to take the other one too, but when it noticed Kiyosuke's arrival, it fled without hesitation.
Nagato coughed weakly.
His frail, emaciated body was half-fused into a machine. As he looked up at Kiyosuke with his remaining Rinnegan, his expression was tired, bitter.
"So all this time… I was nothing but a pawn?!"
All of it—his will, Yahiko's dream—everything had been part of someone else's plan.
Black Zetsu had revealed it moments earlier: the Rinnegan wasn't his by birth. It had been given to him—selected by Uchiha Madara himself to serve as a vessel, a tool for Madara's resurrection.
"Yes, that's right. You were just a pawn."
Kiyosuke walked closer, expression blank.
"Uchiha Madara intended to use you to revive himself, and to help him collect the Tailed Beasts. Not just you—Obito, too. You were both nothing more than his tools."
Obito removed his mask, his gaze conflicted.
"For more than ten years, it's like I've been living in a dream. A puppet."
"I caused the Nine Tails' attack on Konoha, bringing death and devastation to the village. I killed my own teacher and his wife. Then I destroyed Akatsuki, which could have actually brought peace to the world… I used Danzō and Hanzō to make you into Pain. All these years, we were just chess pieces in Madara's hands."
The moment he'd seen Black Zetsu, Obito had known things were bad. But he couldn't fight back—not because Black Zetsu was strong, but because its strange nature made it impossible to predict or kill.
And since it was attached to Nagato's body, none of them—Jiraiya, Naruto, or Konan—had dared to make a move.
Nagato coughed violently again. His body had been in this state for over a decade; only his Uzumaki vitality had kept him alive this long.
"What have I even been doing with my life?"
As he looked back, Nagato realized Madara's shadow had loomed over him from the very beginning.
Kiyosuke said quietly, "Come back to Konoha with me. But first, I'll need to take your Rinnegan—you can't hold onto it anymore."
Konan stepped forward, blocking Kiyosuke's path.
"No. The Rinnegan belongs to Nagato."
"It doesn't belong to him," Kiyosuke said, shaking his head. "It belongs to Uchiha Madara. And now that Black Zetsu has one of the eyes, it'll definitely try to resurrect him. We'll be facing that monster sooner or later."
"I once fought Madara when he was already old. He went up against a younger me, Kakashi, and Minato all at once. We couldn't kill him, even then. He didn't win either, but I knew then—one day, he'd come back. A revived Madara will be at his peak. You can't defend the Rinnegan from him."
Nagato was silent for a long moment, then sighed.
"Then take it."
"Nagato..."
"Konan, he's right. I can't fight Madara in my current state. If I hold onto the Rinnegan, I'll only help him complete his plan. Better it go to Kiyosuke."
"Thank you," Kiyosuke said, bowing slightly.
"But before that—Naruto."
"Huh? What is it, Kiyosuke-san?" Naruto tilted his head.
"Release some of the Nine-Tails' chakra."
"Eh?"
"Eh what? Hurry up."
"Oh!"
Naruto didn't question it further. He closed his eyes, and crimson chakra began to surge from his body, radiating a violent, heart-pounding energy.
Two tails flared behind him. In this state, he could still barely maintain control.
"Good," Kiyosuke said. "Nagato, use your Preta Path to absorb the Tailed Beast chakra. Recover your strength first. Then we'll head to Konoha—Hokage-sama can help stabilize your body. There's a great battle coming. We'll need every bit of strength we can gather."
"Alright," Nagato said, not wasting words.
"Preta Path!"
He extended his hand, beginning to absorb Naruto's chakra. For years, he'd been forced to supply chakra to the Six Paths of Pain, leaving his body in constant exhaustion.
Now, with the Pains gone and the Nine-Tails' chakra replenishing him, his withered frame began to strengthen rapidly.
The chakra of the Nine-Tails brimmed with life force—absorbing it restored Nagato's body to a healthy, normal state.
His legs, however, were another matter. They had been destroyed when saving Konan, and not even the Nine-Tails' chakra could repair that.
Kiyosuke walked behind him and pulled out the black rods embedded in his back.
No one knew how many years they had been there—relics from the day Nagato first used the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The rods had served as chakra receivers, allowing him to remotely control the Six Paths and transmit chakra and thoughts.
But now, they were no longer needed.
The old wounds on his back began to heal. Nagato exhaled weakly.
"I'll take your Rinnegan now," Kiyosuke said.
"Alright."
A sharp pain struck his eye, and then—darkness.
Nagato understood. The Rinnegan that had been with him since childhood had finally left him.
Kiyosuke sealed the Rinnegan away carefully.
"It's fine. Obito, you still have some Sharingan left, don't you?"
"Oh, yeah."
When he had become the masked man, he'd taken several Sharingan from fallen Uchiha. He hadn't returned them when he came back to Konoha—Kiyosuke had sent him undercover again before he'd had the chance.
"Then I'll leave it to you to find Nagato a new pair of eyes."
"No problem."
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