Nagato's entire body looked completely drained.
His once delicate skin had shriveled, tightly clinging to his skeleton.
The energy within him was being siphoned through the chains embedded in his body, flowing directly into the Gedo Statue.
The Gedo Statue, which had its eyes closed, suddenly opened its mouth wide.
A torrent of dense chakra erupted from its gaping maw, coalescing mid-air into a massive purple chakra dragon!
With a hoarse and agonized roar from Nagato, the dragon soared forward, ferociously diving toward Rei and the Konoha shinobi behind him.
Anyone struck by that dragon would have their chakra instantly devoured.
Even a Tailed Beast would suffer grave injuries from such an attack.
As for the cost...
One only had to look at Nagato's skeletal figure.
Even for someone of the Uzumaki Clan's vitality, this level of sacrifice was terrifying. Had it been an ordinary person, they would've died long ago.
Facing the Rinnegan's power, Rei didn't flinch.
Dark red chakra violently surged over his massive spiked iron club.
A wave of terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body as he swung the weapon with both hands.
"Overlord!"
A crimson thunder pillar imbued with destructive will exploded forth, smashing toward the oncoming chakra dragon in a blink.
The purple dragon roared and tried to swallow the blast.
It attempted to absorb the technique's chakra.
But Nagato's expression changed drastically.
He couldn't sense any chakra within this attack at all.
What surged toward him wasn't a jutsu...
It was something far more primal — a raw, soul-rattling force that made even Nagato's heart tremble.
This was a power beyond chakra.
It was a deeper force — the willpower of humanity taken to its extreme.
While he was still stunned, the thunder pillar of Conqueror's Haki had already torn through the dragon.
It pierced its colossal form like a divine spear, crashing toward Nagato with the weight of death.
Startled, Nagato twisted his frail body and transmitted a command through the black rods embedded in him to the Gedo Statue.
The towering gray giant instantly reacted, swinging its massive fist down.
The chakra dragon had weakened the impact slightly, but even so, the Gedo Statue's enormous fist was almost blown back by the remaining power as it collided with the thunder column.
Boom!
Blinding light scattered as the thunder dispersed across the Gedo Statue's arm.
"Worthy of the Rinnegan's power," Rei muttered, gripping his spiked club — taller than most men — as excitement burned in his eyes.
Then, with an explosive step, the ground beneath his feet shattered.
His entire body transformed into a bolt of crimson light as he shot toward Nagato like a cannonball.
But even at that speed, he couldn't escape the Rinnegan's gaze.
The Gedo Statue swung its enormous fists wildly, pounding the ground like a berserker.
Its monstrous fists rained down, casting massive shadows that swallowed Rei's figure.
He was forced to stop.
But Rei didn't retreat — if anything, he became more excited.
A burning fighting spirit surged from his chest.
It had been a long time since anyone had been able to meet him in head-on combat like this.
"Gedo Statue... you'd better be able to take a hit!"
Rei let out a wild grin.
He released his grip on the club, letting it slam into the earth behind him with a heavy thud.
Then he raised his fists — bare-knuckled — and began pummeling the Gedo Statue directly!
Blow for blow.
A savage barrage.
Though Rei's body was massive compared to normal humans, his fists were like a child's next to the Gedo Statue's enormous hands.
But despite the size difference, Rei met every blow head-on.
Both of them were like walking mountains made of steel.
Each strike from Rei sent shockwaves blasting outward like a storm.
The ground beneath his feet crumbled layer by layer, collapsing under the sheer pressure of their collision.
Solid rock shattered into dust beneath them.
Watching this terrifying scene, the Four-Tails muttered in a rare moment of hesitation:
"Should we go help him?"
Despite his instinctual fear of the Gedo Statue, he couldn't help but feel a strange respect for Rei — or Xuan Mu, as he was known in some circles.
At the very least, he was better than those damn Rock Shinobi.
Back when the Tailed Beasts were sealed inside Jinchūriki, they could only watch helplessly from within the desolate spiritual worlds of their hosts.
Caged like beasts.
Any thought of resistance would lead to brutal suppression.
Used as tools of war, and hated by humans at the same time.
Now, as a summoned beast, things were different.
At least he didn't have to live that miserable life of imprisonment anymore.
He only had to be summoned during battle.
But if Rei died here... he'd be sealed away again.
Maybe even fall into the hands of that treacherous old man from the Stone Village...
So no — the Monkey King, the Four-Tails, didn't want Rei to die.
Still, among them, the Two-Tails — who understood Rei best — quietly shook her head.
"Master Rei, he's really enjoying himself right now."
"Enjoying?"
The Four Tails looked puzzled.
But just then, wild laughter echoed across the battlefield.
"Hahahaha, come on! Hit harder!"
Veins bulged on Rei's arms, radiating intense heat.
A mighty layer of Armament Haki covered his arms.
Like iron tongs, his hands gripped the Gedo Statue's descending fist firmly.
"More strength! Come on!"
His feet had sunk into a deep pit.
Nagato tried to pull the Gedo Statue away from Rei's grip.
But to his shock, Rei's strength seemed to surpass even the Gedo Statue's!
"If you don't fight back harder, it'll be my turn next."
With a forceful yank, Rei managed to pull the massive statue off balance.
At that moment, a golden flash streaked across the sky and appeared behind the Gedo Statue's head.
Although Nagato reacted, the Gedo Statue's massive body made it impossible to turn quickly.
He could only watch as Rei raised his mace high.
"Conqueror's Strike III: Yin Naraku!"
The Conqueror's Haki erupted, forming blazing red thunder around the iron rod, and came crashing down!
BOOM!
The Gedo Statue's steel-like body caved in under Rei's blow.
The force of the impact knocked the statue off balance, slamming it hard into the ground.
The earth trembled and cracked like an earthquake had struck.
Nagato coughed up a mouthful of blood from the backlash.
Even he couldn't endure that kind of counterforce.
The barely sustained Gedo Statue vanished in a puff of white smoke as soon as it landed.
"You can't hold on anymore?"
Rei rested the mace on his shoulder, tilted his head, and grinned with satisfaction.
Nagato stretched his arms out, standing protectively in front of Konan.
He didn't need to say a word—his actions made it clear.
He would never let anyone hurt his comrade.
"What a touching friendship."
In the blink of an eye, Rei returned to his normal form and appeared behind Nagato.
Nagato's purple pupils contracted. Even though his reaction time kept up with Rei's sudden movement, his body was too weakened to keep up.
"So this is the end..."
Memories of his traumatic childhood flashed through his mind—Jiraiya, Yahiko, Konan...
As Rei's hand-chop landed on his shoulder, Nagato finally lost consciousness.
Several Konoha shinobi appeared next to Rei.
"Take them to the prison. Keep them alive. I still have use for them."
The Konoha fighters swiftly carried out the order.
When Nagato awoke, he heard Yahiko's unmistakable, furious shouting.
"Let me go! Let go of me! I will never bow to those who attacked the Land of Rain!"
It was definitely Yahiko's voice.
Nagato's eyes snapped open.
The bright light stung his pupils through his wine-red hair.
He sat up abruptly.
Even that simple movement sent splitting pain through his head.
The Rinnegan came with consequences…
With his current body, overusing the Rinnegan could drain his very life force.
Just like when he fought Rei...
But to Nagato, that didn't matter. What mattered most was that Yahiko and Konan were still alive!
"Hey, brat, bark again and I'll kill all your friends."
Nagato looked up and saw Rei standing quietly in front of the cage.
A lightsaber was pointed at his neck through the bars.
"What brat? I'm your senior brother!"
Yahiko shouted in defiance.
Rei sighed and said helplessly:
"Alright, big bro, do you really want me to wipe out the whole Akatsuki organization?"
Yahiko gritted his teeth and shouted:
"Don't hurt them! Come at me instead!"
Rei shrugged and replied casually:
"Relax. As long as you shut up, I won't lay a finger on them."
This guy is too noisy.
If it weren't for Jiraiya's sake, Rei would've already killed all of them without hesitation.
Looking toward the surrounding forest, Nagato suddenly asked:
"Where are you taking us? Konoha?"
Now that Rei didn't seem intent on killing them, Nagato felt a little more composed.
No matter what happened, as long as they were alive, there was still hope.
Rei shoved his hands in his pockets and looked off into the distance.
"I'm not heading to Konoha yet. I'm taking you somewhere else first."
Nagato frowned. "Where?"
Rei's expression turned cold, as if recalling something.
"A place where you can meet your teacher."
"Master Jiraiya?"
Yahiko's eyes lit up immediately.
Nagato and Konan were both shocked.
At this moment, the three still held deep respect for Jiraiya.
He was their mentor. Their savior.
Rei nodded and glanced at the phone in his hand.
"It's almost time."
He placed one hand on the cage.
A black spell spread from his palm like a spiderweb, covering the entire cage holding Nagato and the others.
"Inverse Seal Technique!"
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