Uzumaki Nagato was beginning to waver now, falling into silence. Ryun was unaware of this, continuing to torment Hanzo the Salamander.
"Oh, right, Miss Konan, bring Yahiko over. I have a way to bring him back to life." Ryun smiled at the young girl, then continued stepping on Hanzo the Salamander.
Hanzo the Salamander abruptly looked up at that moment. He wanted to see the expression of the person standing on him. Bringing the dead back to life? Preposterous! Utterly preposterous! Who does he think he is? The Sage of Six Paths?
Even the legendary Sage of Six Paths doesn't possess such an ability. What makes you, Ryun, think you can do it? He suddenly sneered, which caught Ryun's attention.
"Laugh, laugh, laugh. You're everywhere. Shut up!" Ryun looked at Hanzo the Salamander, took a wooden plank from a storage scroll, and with a smack, hit him across the mouth.
Hanzo the Salamander immediately quieted down, making no more sounds, just staring intently ahead.
Konan, upon hearing this, froze. Her tragic beauty was pitiable, but the shock in her pupils made her body tremble. Bringing the dead back to life! This was the first time she had ever heard of such a thing!
Uzumaki Nagato came to his senses. "Konan, go quickly! Brother Ryun wouldn't lie! Yahiko can come back!"
Konan nodded. "Okay! I'll go right now!" After speaking, Konan hurried to Yahiko's corpse, picked him up, and placed him before Ryun.
"Nagato, come here, give me a hand. Hold this old guy down for me!" Ryun said with a laugh, then beckoned to Nagato. Nagato quickly nodded, taking Ryun's place to step on Hanzo the Salamander, this time on his face.
Hanzo the Salamander gritted his teeth in pain. Damn it! Ryun humiliating me is one thing, but you, a little brat, want to humiliate me too! Hanzo the Salamander was about to resist when Nagato, from somewhere, produced black rods and thrust them through both of Hanzo's arms.
Hanzo the Salamander only felt his hands go numb. He couldn't extract chakra. His hands were stiff and completely immobile. He was instantly bewildered. What's going on! What exactly is happening! Before he could fully process the sensation, his legs were also pierced by two iron rods, thoroughly pinning him to the ground.
"Nagato, you brat! What, what have you done! Why can't I move, why can't I circulate chakra! What are these rods, what kind of devilry are they!" Hanzo the Salamander was shocked. These rods not only sealed his chakra points but also prevented his chakra from flowing.
In other words, at this very moment, Hanzo the Salamander was like fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of others. Even a six-year-old child with a knife could easily kill Hanzo the Salamander, the so-called Demigod of the Shinobi World.
"Noisy!" Uzumaki Nagato slapped him directly. His pair of purple Rinnegan stared intently at Hanzo the Salamander before him. Seeing these eyes, Hanzo first froze, then felt wary.
Because these eyes carried an inexplicable pressure, causing his soul to tremble! That's right, it's the power of these eyes! Damn it! Why does this kid have such eyes!
His whole body was immobile. Aside from maintaining the most basic breathing, he was no different from a vegetative person.
Uzumaki Nagato smiled. "Can you be quiet now? If you disturb my brother Ryun, I'll finish you." Nagato's words were icy and bone-chilling, making Hanzo the Salamander break out in a cold sweat.
Ryun glanced back at Hanzo the Salamander and Uzumaki Nagato, sighed, then turned back. He first felt Yahiko's heart and carotid artery. They were still warm.
Then he looked at Yahiko's abdomen, where a bloody hole was still oozing blood. Ryun spoke slowly. "He's not dead yet. I can heal this level of injury." After saying this, he extracted chakra, then released a cyan light from his left eye.
Greenish-blue light enveloped Yahiko's entire body. The bloody hole in his abdomen now writhed with regenerating flesh, constantly healing. The organs that had been grazed also began to repair themselves due to the effect of the green light.
His heart, which had stopped, began to beat again, pumping blood throughout his body. Soon, Yahiko's pale face gradually regained color, becoming ruddy. Konan covered her mouth, unable to believe it. Could someone really pull a dead person back?
After finishing this, Ryun closed his left eye, feeling a bit sore. "This is my Mangekyō ocular jutsu, Samsara. It's also fortunate I arrived in time. He wasn't dead yet, so I just restored his injuries."
"But even if he had truly died, I could still revive him." Ryun slowly stood up, turned, and walked towards Nagato. The next moment, Yahiko hurriedly sat up. "Nagato, kill me! Otherwise, you and Konan will die!"
After saying this, he immediately looked around. When a person is closest to death, the scenes that play in their mind are like a panorama of their entire life.
And then he saw Nagato beating Hanzo the Salamander, Konan crying nearby, and Ryun's back. He touched his own abdomen and found it smooth and intact as before. Could this be a dream?
No, if it were a dream, why would Hanzo the Salamander be here! And being stepped on by Nagato! Moreover, the pain of the kunai stabbing in couldn't be fake!
Ryun patted Nagato's shoulder. "Go take a look. Yahiko has come back. I'll handle this guy!" After speaking, Ryun looked at Hanzo the Salamander and the four black rods on him.
Konan cried bitterly. The extreme swings of fortune in life had come too suddenly.
"Konan, I'm fine! Don't cry!" Yahiko hurriedly tried to comfort her.
"You jerk!" Uzumaki Nagato gritted his teeth and punched Yahiko in the left cheek. Feeling the pain, Yahiko grimaced, but he knew Nagato hadn't used his full strength!
"Who gave you the right to decide for me? Did you think sacrificing yourself heroically was cool? Did you ever consider my feelings, or Konan's feelings! The Akatsuki organization wouldn't be the Akatsuki without any one of us! Do you understand that, you jerk!" Nagato grabbed Yahiko by the collar and lifted him up!
Yahiko laughed sheepishly. Faced with such a furious Uzumaki Nagato, he didn't dare talk back. After all, he understood Nagato was doing this for his own good. What more could he argue about?
"Nagato, be gentler. Yahiko just woke up. We don't know how well his body has recovered yet!" Konan stepped forward and took hold of Nagato's other hand. Nagato was taken aback, then released Yahiko's collar and nodded.
Just moments ago, when Nagato pulled Konan close to protect her, Konan had accepted reality and chosen Nagato. Even though Yahiko was revived now, if someone asked Konan who she liked, she might say Nagato without hesitation.
"Hmph! For Konan's sake, I'll let you off this time. If there's a next time where you abandon us and try to bear everything alone, don't blame me for beating you up!" Nagato said haughtily, then walked towards Ryun.
"Ding, detected Uzumaki Nagato's corruption value is 0. Mission completed: altering the original plot of Yahiko's death, the birth of a god! Reward: second skill of the Golden Rinnegan, Space Cutting."
Ryun's eyes lit up. Space Cutting! Then, the system demonstrated it in his mind. He could manipulate spatial power during battle to separate people or objects.
For example, using this skill on Hidan would instantly separate his body and limbs!
Konan glanced at Yahiko. "What Nagato said is right! Yahiko, from now on, you mustn't act like this again!" After speaking, she followed Nagato, walking side by side with him towards Ryun.
Yahiko was stunned. What happened! And Konan used to call me 'brother' before, right? Why is she calling me 'Yahiko' directly now? He sighed. After checking his body and finding no major issues, he got up and followed the two.
When the three arrived before Ryun, Ryun also withdrew his consciousness from his mind. He looked at the three kids and smiled. "Finished catching up?"
Ryun's eyes held a playful glint as he looked at Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko. Especially when looking at Konan and Nagato, he paid a bit more attention, making Konan's face flush and Nagato feel somewhat awkward.
"Brother Ryun, um, thank you!" The speaker was Yahiko. He scratched his head, not expecting that to save him, Ryun had traveled a great distance to come.
Ryun glanced at Nagato, then spoke slowly. "It's nothing, Leader Yahiko. I should be thanking you for the rice seeds. The first batch of seeds has already been planted, just waiting for next year's harvest."
"I never thought Brother Ryun, as the Hokage, would also care about farming matters like this!" Yahiko was surprised.
"What's the difference between the Hokage and the common people? Aren't they all people? People need to eat. And Leader Yahiko's gift can increase food production. One could say Leader Yahiko is doing even better than me, the Hokage!" Ryun praised generously.
Yahiko scratched his head. Was what he was doing really that good?
"Brother Ryun, shouldn't we figure out how to deal with Hanzo the Salamander? After all, because of him, Yahiko almost died!" The speaker was Uzumaki Nagato. His expression was very unpleasant now, a cold glint flashing in his eyes!
Konan nodded. She had absolutely no fondness for this man who had kidnapped her and attacked him! He almost caused Yahiko's death. If Yahiko had died, given Nagato's personality, who knows what path the future Akatsuki would have taken.
Hanzo the Salamander lifted his head and looked at the three Akatsuki members. He finally sighed. "History is written by the victors. Since I have lost, do with me as you will, kill or maim as you please."
He understood now that his road ended here. Over twenty years as a leader, there had been humiliation, glory, patience, compromise. The flavors were rich and complex. He had no regrets.
Yahiko's expression was complicated. He wanted to speak up and forgive Hanzo the Salamander, but a glance from Nagato made him hold back. Somehow, he was a bit afraid of Nagato now.
Seeing this, Ryun shook his head helplessly. He looked at Hanzo the Salamander. "Hanzo, to put it bluntly, the you of today is no longer the ambitious, idealistic man who wanted to give the Land of Rain a life like the great nations."
"The you of today is more like a vicious dragon perched atop the Land of Rain. Anyone who challenges your authority, you eliminate, just to maintain your rule. Am I right?" Ryun saw through people's hearts. He had seen this kind of thing more than once.
Whether it was the Third Hokage or Hanzo the Salamander, weren't they all like this?
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