"Ah!"
The moment Nagato let out a miserable scream, the heart inside his body was already torn out by Earth Grudge Fear and then fused straight into Madara's body.
"You…"
Nagato forced his eyes open, his gaze filled with hatred as he stared fixedly at Madara.
But after that brief flash of enmity, even the last of his strength was exhausted.
His Rinnegan had been taken, his body gravely injured, and now even his heart had been ripped out.
No matter how tenacious his vitality was, it could no longer stop the endless darkness from swallowing his consciousness.
"Such a pitiful and tragic fellow.
He served as a growth bed for Lord Madara's Rinnegan for so many years, yet didn't even get the chance to experience the power of the Rinnegan for himself.
In the end, he even became a source of a high-quality heart for Lord Madara!"
White Zetsu looked at Nagato's corpse, his eyes still open in death, and spoke in a hypocritically sympathetic tone.
"Earth Grudge Fear can seize a heart and, along with it, take the original owner's Kekkei Genkai as well.
By obtaining Nagato's heart, he's effectively gained Nagato's Sage Body.
Seen this way, Madara is, in a certain sense, getting closer and closer to Hagoromo."
Black Zetsu, possessing Kakuzu's body, watched as Madara claimed Nagato's heart. A strange glint flashed deep within his eyes.
Uchiha…. Senju….. Uzumaki….
Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Rinnegan. Wood Release. Sage Body…
Perhaps without even truly being resurrected, you might already be qualified to become Mother's sacrifice.
With that thought, Black Zetsu's dissatisfaction toward Madara for altering his script without permission quietly vanished.
"Pitiful?
I don't see it that way at all.
Just as you said, a mere growth bed for the Rinnegan. Being able to give off one last bit of heat for its user before dying is, in itself, an honor!"
After taking Nagato's heart, Madara abruptly opened his Rinnegan.
A sublime, life and death dominating power, along with an immense surge of chakra within his body, erupted all at once.
In an instant, between the skies and the earth of the Land of Rain, a blue Susanoo appeared, so tall it dwarfed mountains, so imposing it seemed that simply standing upright would allow it to brush against the very sky of the Land of Rain.
Boom!
Following an earth-shaking explosion, a dazzling, brilliant blue light burst forth from the center of the blue Susanoo, instantly engulfing several miles of space in every direction.
When that world-dimming blue radiance, bright enough to seem capable of illuminating even the Land of Water, gradually faded, the towering blue Susanoo had already vanished.
Madara, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu were nowhere to be seen.
The only things left behind were a massive crack in the clouds, stretching for several thousand meters, and a domineering declaration that echoed through the sky and earth of the Land of Rain.
"Garp, throughout my entire life, I have never been inferior to you!"
…
Land of Fire
Beneath the three colossal stone statues at the Valley of the End, Garp suddenly turned around.
His gaze fixed on a distant direction, the Land of Rain.
"Uncle Garp, is something wrong?"
Tsunade noticed that Garp had first stood silently beneath the three statues, herself, her grandfather, and Madara, then seemed to space out, staring at the faraway sky.
"Did you think of the First Hokage and Madara?"
Kushina's eyes rolled as she spoke.
Snore….
The moment that familiar sound of dozing off rang out, Tsunade and Kushina's expressions stiffened.
Not just them, even Shikaku, Inoichi, and the others, who had witnessed this phenomenon on Garp more than once, were left somewhat dumbfounded.
Looking at Garp, who had suddenly fallen into a deep sleep, they exchanged glances, all at a loss for what to do.
"Lord Orochimaru, what should we do now?
Over in Konoha, the Third Hokage and the others have already prepared a victory ceremony for Lord Garp at the village gates."
At this moment, even the exceptionally intelligent Shikaku didn't know how to handle the situation.
"Wait. Also, pass down the order, have all the ninja remain quiet until Lord Garp wakes up."
Orochimaru pondered briefly before giving his answer.
Wake Garp up?
He, at least, wasn't brave enough to try that.
"Yes!"
Shikaku nodded without the slightest dissatisfaction.
As news of Garp falling into deep sleep spread, along with Orochimaru's order, the several hundred Konoha ninja, who had been eager to return home and reunite with their families, given how close they already were to Konoha, were first stunned.
Then all gathered around the Valley of the End. Not a single person returned to Konoha on their own.
At this moment, whether it was the proud Uchiha, the Sannin, the Ino–Shika–Cho, or any other Konoha ninja, everyone stood silently around Garp, gazing at him, waiting with incomparable patience for this man to awaken from his slumber.
No one complained. No one made a sound. Even their breathing was suppressed to the lowest possible level.
For a time, the vast Valley of the End was completely encircled by Konoha ninja, packed so tightly there was no gap at all.
Yet the only sounds to be heard were the flow of the river, the fluttering of insects' wings, and the clear cries of birds. There was not the slightest trace of human clamor.
However, just as Garp slept soundly without a care, and Orochimaru and the others waited patiently, on a small hill a thousand meters away from the Valley of the End, three figures wearing Kumogakure forehead protectors stared toward the valley with resentment in their eyes.
"C, you're saying Garp and the others have stopped moving?"
A stared at C, a hint of doubt in his gaze.
Although he had already persuaded C to help him and Killer B, he still suspected that C was only pretending to agree.
"That's right."
C nodded, as if he hadn't noticed the suspicion in A's eyes.
"That's strange. The Valley of the End isn't far from Konoha anymore. Why would they all stop there?"
After exchanging a look with C, A spoke, half speculation, half question.
"Judging from their chakra, they're all gathered around a single person, almost like they're carrying out a mission. Every one of them is doing their utmost to conceal their presence."
As C said this, he seemed to think of something. His expression suddenly became a little strange.
...
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