Chapter 181: The Rinne Rebirth Technique!
In a remote corner of the Land of Rain…
"What's wrong, Black Zetsu?"
Joined at the hip, White Zetsu gave Black Zetsu a puzzled look.
Black Zetsu's current state was all too strange.
Normally so calm and collected—an embodiment of Lord Madara's will—he was now trembling in fear.
Muttering as if in shock:
"They've arrived… They really arrived…"
"Impossible…why…"
"Mother!!"
Abruptly, Black Zetsu broke away from White Zetsu, transforming into a puddle of dark fluid, then slithering off.
No—he couldn't just sit idle!!
He had to figure something out.
He absolutely had to save her—Mother!
She was truly immortal; not even those beings from beyond the sky could kill her!
…
Under that terrifying pressure, Kakuzu painfully lifted his head.
"Wh-what…are these creatures…"
Just that oppressive aura alone far exceeded what he felt when facing Senju Hashirama!
Fwoosh—Boom!
Whereas Kakuzu could barely move, Jiraiya and Orochimaru reacted in time.
Orochimaru's entire body ignited with faint green, serpent-like chakra flames.
Over these three years, he had never ceased studying Slashing Release. He couldn't fully master it, but knowledge gleaned through association had hastened his analysis of the Dragon Vein crystal fragment.
Now he could enter Sage Mode almost instantly—his strength greatly enhanced.
Jiraiya summoned the Two Great Sage Toads, and as he transitioned to Sage Mode, he asked them,
"You two…any idea who or what they are…?"
Fukasaku's brow was knitted tight. "White Eyes? At least in all our centuries, my old lady and I have never seen Byakugan users of that level…"
…
Floating in the air, seated on Kinshiki's shoulder, Momoshiki gazed down at them contemptuously.
He cast his eyes toward the towering central spire of Amegakure.
"Kinshiki, go slaughter those wretches."
"Yes, Lord Momoshiki!"
"Wait…" Urashiki interjected, somewhat intrigued by Orochimaru.
"That's the use of natural energy, right? I'm quite curious. Let me handle it."
Swish!
He flung the fishing rod in his hand. Its line wrapped around Orochimaru's upraised arms.
In an instant, a mass of emerald energy was reeled in, yanking Orochimaru out of Sage Mode!
Orochimaru's pupils shrank in alarm.
"What…is this?!"
Swish!
Urashiki jerked the fishing rod overhead, appearing before them with a falsely amiable smile.
"Not too special an ability, no… Now, you must be Orochimaru, correct?"
"And the other, Jiraiya-sensei, teacher of that 'Uchiha Kagami,' yes?"
"We're looking for one of our compatriots who's gone missing, and we'd like a word with Kagami. But you know, he's got a nasty temper. So…if you people would help us out a bit?"
Time itself seemed to freeze. Their bodies began crystallizing, starting from the feet upward.
Slash!!
A black rod whooshed through the air, piercing Jiraiya's thigh, abruptly breaking the time-freezing effect.
Everyone turned to see who'd thrown it.
Atop a tall building stood three figures in red cloud cloaks:
Nagato, Konan, and Tendo Pain.
…
"Who are you people, and why did you attack my teacher?" Tendo Pain demanded coldly.
Momoshiki spat, sneering at the red-haired man with Rinnegan. "Look at you, playing puppet games with that Rinnegan?"
"And you…didn't even naturally awaken those eyes. Pathetic."
Whoosh!!
A black rod shot forcibly at Nagato.
Everyone reeled in shock. Nagato launched a black rod of his own to counter—
Crack!
Unsurprisingly, Nagato's black rod shattered.
The difference in Yin-Yang Release strength was as distant as heaven and earth!
Shunk—
Nagato's chest was impaled by the black rod, seizing up his chakra flow.
He recognized that feeling all too well…
Impossible!!
Boom!!
Momoshiki flickered forward amid their cluster and, with a casual blow, destroyed Tendo Pain (Yahiko).
"Yahikoooo!!" came Nagato's anguished cry.
He clutched at the rod in his chest, fighting to pull it out.
Momoshiki glanced down from above. "No use. Those Rinnegan eyes are decent in purity; wasted on a mortal like you."
"Just hand them over!"
"What?"
Suddenly, an explosive tag was stuck to Momoshiki's waist.
Konan snatched Nagato up, tears slipping down her cheeks.
She'd lost Yahiko once; she refused to lose Nagato as well!
Though she tried desperately to yank out the black rod, every time her hands touched it, her strength left her body. She couldn't break it; that rod's toughness was leagues above Nagato's black rods!
"I…will never…leave you, Nagato!" Konan wept uncontrollably.
Rain's people had just begun finding hope. They'd started living better lives.
Why… Why was everything collapsing now?
Is there no god…?
…
Momoshiki scowled with disdain at the explosive note. "Such trivial illusions?"
He lifted a hand in annoyance, preparing to tear it free. Then—
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…!!
Like a chain of unstoppable blasts. The tag's explosion carried on for a full fifteen minutes, fanning out in waves of unimaginable severity.
…
Buildings were ruined. Even the nearby sea boiled under the bombarding shockwaves.
…
As the smoke gradually cleared, Momoshiki emerged unscathed, only minus the regal robes he wore.
He was furious.
"Tch—such pathetic lowlifes!"
He lifted one hand slowly, a sphere of crimson chakra forming overhead, surging bigger and bigger.
"Not worth chasing them. I'll just annihilate you and this entire country in one shot!"
…
"Konan, run!"
An appalling wave of chakra pulsated from overhead, the death knell for the Land of Rain.
Konan struggled to wrench out that rod. With Nagato's chest still pinned, the rods felt unstoppable.
But she wouldn't yield.
I refuse…!
In sorrow, she cried: "We've just found hope…why must it be destroyed again?! God…what did I do wrong?"
---
"Stop crying, Konan."
A low, hoarse voice rang out.
From the darkness emerged Black Zetsu.
He reached for the black rod piercing Nagato.
No hesitation—
Schlurrrp
Just like a hero drawing the sword from the stone, effortlessly uprooting the spear that had stymied Konan so deeply.
"Nngh… Black Zetsu, what in the world—"
Nagato, reeling, knew precisely how inconceivable this act was. The infiltration of Yin-Yang Release that overcame that monstrous black rod's might surpassed even that white-eyed man's capability.
"I am the manifested will of Uchiha Madara," Black Zetsu said bluntly.
"Time's short, so I'll be brief. You must realize your Rinnegan never belonged to you. The true owner is Madara himself."
…
"Madara awakened the Rinnegan in old age. He considered handing it to a fellow Uchiha, but neither Obito nor Kagami possessed the capacity to inherit those eyes. You were never chosen by the Sage of Six Paths, but by Uchiha Madara!"
"Till his final hour, Madara's dream was to bring true peace to this world. He entrusted you with the Rinnegan and created me to guard his remains and guide you.
Only now…" Black Zetsu's tone grew chilly. "Nagato, you've failed. Facing that apocalyptic threat, you can't do a thing! The Land of Rain is about to be destroyed!"
"All our painstaking efforts, all Lord Madara's hopes pinned on you—yet you've done nothing to stop these monsters!"
…
Nagato closed his eyes sorrowfully. "No…there's still one way."
He glanced at Black Zetsu.
"You said you still have Madara's remains…?"
"I can't do it, but if the original owner of the Rinnegan—Uchiha Madara—is here…maybe he can talk with Kagami to save the Land of Rain!"
…
Black Zetsu stared impassively.
Sure. Let him fall into my trap—saves me the trouble of using force.
He mused that with Kagami in this world, nothing the other clan could do would wholly destroy it. Possibly once Kagami finished them off, reviving his mother might be simpler.
…
Nagato formed a massive sequence of seals, a terrifying swirl of chakra surging, whipping up storms.
Outer Path—Rinne Rebirth Technique!
Through cracks in the shattered high-rise, dazzling white light erupted.
It heralded…
The revival of a legendary figure.