Chapter 1: Shock in the Land of Rain! The Emperor Returning from Hell
Konoha Year 50, Land of Rain.
The wind in the valley carried the scent of blood-red mud; the rain hit his face, cold and heavy.
Pei Fei felt as if his chest was being torn apart.
The pain was not a sudden burst, but rather a cold iron blade grinding through his ribs bit by bit before finally piercing his beating heart. He struggled to open his eyes, his vision blurred by a thick shroud of blood.
What met his eyes were Nagato's purple eyes, marked with strange concentric circles. Nagato's hands were trembling, and the Kunai held in his palms was firmly pinned into Pei Fei's chest.
Blood surged like a bursting dam, gushing along the Kunai's fuller, splashing across Nagato's face and staining his fiery red hair.
"Yahiko... why... why did you do this!"
Nagato's voice was hoarse to the extreme—a mournful cry echoing from the depths of his soul.
"Ho... ly... shit..."
Pei Fei squeezed these words from his throat, only for them to be quickly swallowed by the surging blood foam.
At that moment, a violent roar erupted deep within his brain, and countless memory fragments rushed in like back-flowing seawater, brutally overwhelming his original sanity.
He recognized it.
This was the Land of Rain.
The person in front of him who had killed him was Nagato.
And above the valley, the blue-haired girl surrounded by exploding tags and Rain Ninja, crying her heart out, was Konan.
The instigator—the old man wearing a breathing mask with eyes as cold as a venomous snake—was none other than Hanzou.
"I'm done for... I just transmigrated and I'm already being served up like a slaughtered pig?"
Pei Fei cursed inwardly. He instantly accepted his identity as 'Yahiko,' but he could not accept this certain-death ending. Yahiko must die so Nagato can turn dark, so the Ninja World can welcome chaos... to hell with the script!
[Ding! Last Wish List System is now online!]
[Detected that the vital signs of key plot character 'Yahiko' are about to vanish. Activation conditions met. Beginning to retrieve character's last wish.]
[Yahiko's Last Wish: Protect Konan and Nagato, and bring true peace to the Land of Rain.]
[Starter Pack automatically distributed: Reward — Stand 'King Crimson'!]
[Starter Quest initiated: Regain Control of Fate. Objective: Take complete control of the Land of Rain.]
At that moment, Yahiko felt a scalding warm current surge from the wound in his heart.
The system repaired the damaged heart muscle and stopped the gushing blood.
However, the numbness from excessive blood loss continued to spread. The prolonged cardiac arrest had caused the brain to lack oxygen; even if the wound healed, this body was like a machine with its power cut, unable to restart.
"With a wound of that magnitude, death is certain."
Above the valley, a Root Ninja standing beside Hanzou spoke indifferently. Through his Byakugan, he clearly saw that Yahiko's heart had stopped.
"No... I haven't even seen this world clearly yet, how can I die in a gutter like this!"
Yahiko let out a violent roar from the depths of his soul.
"King Crimson!"
A distortion, barely perceptible to the naked eye, occurred in the air.
A humanoid phantom, its body covered in crimson skin and a white grid-like pattern, abruptly appeared beside Yahiko.
Its face was hideous, its eyes bulging, and nested on its forehead was another identical small face—that was 'Epitaph,' which could see through time.
"Make my heart... beat again!"
King Crimson's massive red palms actually passed through Yahiko's chest without any resistance.
Without causing any new wounds, it phased directly into Yahiko's body and, with those powerful hands, grabbed the heart that had nearly ground to a halt.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Forced resuscitation!
Precise and violent compression caused the stagnant blood to boil within the vessels once more.
Yahiko violently spat out a mouthful of foul blood, his lungs greedily inhaling air. In that instant, the sensation of life reclaimed the high ground!
"Hmm?"
Above the valley, Hanzou's pupils suddenly constricted.
He had just been coldly watching Nagato collapse in despair, but he suddenly sensed a heart-palpitating aura erupting from that orange-haired kid who should have been a corpse.
"A final flash of life?" Hanzou snorted coldly.
At that moment, Nagato had already erupted, saving Konan in his despair, and was now staggering back to Yahiko's side.
"Yahiko... you... you're not dead?"
Nagato slumped in the mud, staring in disbelief at the man who had already propped himself up from the ground.
Konan broke free from her restraints and lunged forward frantically, hugging Yahiko tightly, her tears mixing with the rain.
"That's great, I knew you wouldn't leave us behind..."
"Cough, cough... Konan, let go a bit, my chest still hurts."
Yahiko raised his hand and patted Konan's back with a touch of unfamiliarity but firm resolve.
When he looked up again, his gaze had changed.
It was no longer the simplicity of chasing an illusory dream, but a depth and coldness born from seeing through the world's ugliness.
"I have already... crawled back from hell."
Yahiko pushed Konan away and slowly stood up.
In the void behind him, King Crimson's furious face flashed momentarily.
"Watch out!" Nagato suddenly screamed.
Behind Yahiko, several pitch-black figures slinked forward like ghosts. They were the Root elites sent by Danzo, and they would not give their prey any chance to breathe.
Short blades coated in lethal poison were aimed directly at the back of Yahiko's head in a fatal arc.
At this point, Nagato had just utilized the power of the Rinnegan, and his legs were a bloody mess from the Exploding Flame Formation; he couldn't possibly make it in time to help.
"It's over," the Root Ninja said coldly.
Yahiko didn't even turn around; a cruel curve simply hung on the corner of his mouth.
The 'Epitaph' on his forehead suddenly flickered.
In Yahiko's consciousness, the next ten seconds turned into flickering images. He saw the enemy's blade pierce his back, and he saw Konan's terror.
"Is this the predetermined ending? I refuse."
"Time Deletion!"
Hum—!
At that moment, the time of the entire field seemed to be brutally clipped away by some supreme power.
Except for Yahiko, no one noticed this vanished interval of time.
In the Root Ninja's perception, he was striking with all his might for a killing blow.
But in the next instant, he suddenly found his target had vanished. His blade weirdly pierced through thin air, and due to the excessive force, his body stumbled forward uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, Yahiko was already standing behind and to his side.
"How is this possible?" The Root Ninja's pupils were shaking violently.
"In the time that has been erased, no one can offer resistance."
Accompanying Yahiko's declaration, King Crimson's fist, bulging with red veins, slammed directly into the Ninja's chest with a force that bordered on cataclysmic.
Bang!
The sound of blood exploding was dull and shocking.
A gaping hole appeared in the Ninja's chest, as if he had been hit by heavy artillery at point-blank range. The corpse slumped into the mud, eyes staring wide, not knowing what had happened even in death.
Above the valley, Hanzou, who was originally as steady as a mountain, frowned.
He hadn't seen any Hand Signs, nor had he sensed any fluctuations in Chakra.
But that instantaneous movement and that terrifying lethality before his eyes...
Just what did this brat do?