Blood flowed down the black rod that had impaled his body, staining the surface of the sea beneath his feet.
Hayama Shirakumo looked at the corpse floating on the water, a trace of regret surfacing on his face.
In his current state, he could no longer continue the fight.
His vision blurred and the world seemed to tilt. This man, an enemy who had never shown a hint of emotion regardless of the foe he faced, suddenly collapsed onto the sea.
Darkness began to consume his sight. Looking up at the sky, he slowly reached out his hand as if trying to touch something.
He thought back to the day they first met.
As a plain, newly promoted Jonin, he had attended his first Jonin Council meeting, only to be appointed to the Hokage Guard Platoon by the Lord Fifth—who himself had only recently taken office.
From the initial White Fang Sword Style to the later Sage Mark, and then the techniques like "Void Break" and "Sea Splitter"...
Lord Hokage had never once mistreated him.
He didn't understand. He was just an ordinary, unremarkable "nobody" in the village.
Why had the Hokage chosen him out of all the other ninjas?
But now, he no longer needed to understand...
He had proven himself. He had proven that the Lord Hokage's judgment had been right!
"Ha... haha... hahahaha..."
Blood mixed with foam spilled from his mouth. He could feel his life slipping away, yet he couldn't suppress the urge to laugh out loud.
The true culprit behind the Nine-Tails' Night all those years ago—the puppet master behind the Uchiha Massacre—had died by his hand!
"Quick! Where is the medical ninja?!"
"Medical ninja! Medical ninja!"
"Lord Hayama needs emergency treatment!"
Amidst the jostling and shaking, Hayama Shirakumo seemed to hear the surrounding clamor. Along with it, the sharp scent of disinfectant drifted into his nostrils.
"How is he?"
Standing outside the operating room, a white-haired man spoke as he watched the man lying on the surgical table through the glass.
"Reporting to Lord Hokage: Lord Hayama's internal chakra pathways are severely damaged. It is clearly an injury caused by pushing his chakra to its absolute limit," the Director of the Medical Department replied, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. "Furthermore, that black rod pierced his chest, narrowly missing his heart. It's extremely dangerous. With my abilities, I can only manage to keep Lord Hayama alive..."
"I see," Kakashi replied, not blaming the man. With both Tsunade and Shizune currently on the front lines, this director was the most skilled medical ninja left in the village. "Do your best. You are dismissed."
The Medical Director hurriedly took his leave.
After the battle between Hayama Shirakumo and Obito Uchiha, Hayama had been on the verge of death. Once the officers of the accompanying fleet realized the frontline units couldn't save him, they immediately decided to dispatch one of the three Ancor Vanti ships to rush Hayama back to Konoha for treatment.
That was how he had arrived here.
Kakashi looked at the man in the operating room, his heart heavy with complex emotions.
By now, he had received the reports from the Kirigakure battlefield.
Hayama Shirakumo had successively decapitated Mei Terumi, defeated Yagura Karatachi, and killed Obito Uchiha.
But the price paid for such a brilliant achievement was steep.
The Medical Director's words had been polite, but they were a hair's breadth away from saying that Hayama would never be a ninja again.
The only plan now was to wait for either Tsunade's or Shizune's battlefields to be decided, and then arrange for them to return to the village for emergency treatment. If they were forced to abandon their current duties, the enemy would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to turn the tide.
Therefore, neither Shizune nor Tsunade could be moved yet.
Rubbing his brow, Kakashi sighed inwardly.
Although Hayama's victory was magnificent, there were two oversights.
Yagura Karatachi was not dead; he had vanished from the battlefield. Furthermore, when the troops cleared the area, they only found Obito Uchiha's headless body. His head, like Yagura, had disappeared.
Kakashi didn't blame anyone for this. No one, including Kakashi himself, could have predicted such an outcome.
He could roughly guess who was responsible.
Black Zetsu.
The third son of the Rabbit Goddess.
He had swept in and snatched the spoils.
Worrying about it now was useless. The priority was to end the war as quickly as possible so Tsunade and Shizune could be freed up.
At that thought, Kakashi narrowed his eyes.
The battle at sea had decided the winner between Konoha and Kiri, but there was a commonality: the leaders of both sides had exited the stage. However, Kirigakure had suffered devastating losses in that naval engagement; they wouldn't be able to cause trouble again anytime soon. Kiri could be set aside for now and dealt with once everything else was settled.
Now, there were four fronts left: Lightning, Wind, Earth, and Rain.
To end this as fast as possible, the first step was to eliminate the Land of Rain.
During the short time since the Kirigakure front opened, the "Azure-Jade" duo of Sasori and Deidara had appeared in the Land of Rivers, while the "Three-North" duo of Kakuzu and Hidan had arrived in the Land of Frost to assist Kumogakure.
Only Kisame Hoshigaki, codename "South," had appeared alone in the Land of Grass.
Might Guy had already sent back intelligence. Until now, he had been holding back his strength, waiting for the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki to appear on the Kumo battlefield so he could finish him along with Kakuzu and Hidan in one fell swoop.
Now that Tenzō had arrived in the Land of Grass to join forces with Jiraiya and Tsunade, the scales that had been tipping toward Iwagakure were being pushed back.
So, now...
A cold light flickered in Kakashi's eyes.
Aside from Pain and Konan, all members of the Akatsuki had been deployed.
That meant only those two remained in the Hidden Rain Village...
Kakashi walked out of the hospital and squinted at the slightly piercing sun in the sky.
It was time. He should make his move...
A slender hand appeared in his field of vision, blocking the harsh sunlight.
"Staring at the sun for too long is bad for your eyes."
Hikari held her hand out, shielding Kakashi's gaze.
"I was just about to look for you."
Looking at Hikari, Kakashi smiled and took her hand in his.
"What do you need me for?"
Hikari gazed at him with a bright smile, her slightly playful tone sounding almost like she was acting spoiled.
"Dead?"
Looking at the black-and-white, aloe-like figure emerging from the ground, the usually stoic face of Pain showed a hint of surprise for the first time.
"Yes. Madara is dead," Black Zetsu spoke calmly. "He died at the hands of Konoha's Hayama Shirakumo."
"I see."
Pain didn't say much. He continued to watch the rain quietly, but his heart was wavering.
Regardless of the true identity of the man who always hid behind a mask, even Pain had to admit the man's strength. He was top-tier in the ninja world. After all, he was the one who had orchestrated the Nine-Tails Disaster in Konoha twelve years ago; he lived up to his reputation.
"Konoha's strength is beyond imagination. The prowess of just one member of the Hokage Guard is already this great. I think we should..."
Black Zetsu looked at the man before him, speaking with hesitation.
"Avoid their edge?"
Pain finished Black Zetsu's sentence with a hint of enigmatic mockery. "Do you think I will lose as well?"
As Pain continued to speak, Black Zetsu remained silent.
Because of the Rinnegan and Obito's previous behavior, Pain... Nagato... was utterly convinced of his status as a "God."
To Nagato, Pain was not just a ninja; he was a symbol of absolute power. No one could block his path, and no one could stop him. This had shaped Nagato's current personality.
"No, that's not it. I simply feel we need to prepare some contingencies," Black Zetsu said. "After all, you are invincible, but Konan is not."
Black Zetsu's words caused Pain's eyes to narrow, a cold light shooting from them. "Do you think an invincible God cannot protect the person he wishes to protect?"
Surprisingly, Black Zetsu did not lower his head this time. He met Pain's gaze as an equal.
"According to Hayama Shirakumo—the man who killed 'Madara'—he is only ranked fourth in strength within Konoha, excluding the Hokage."
"Leader, do you understand what that means?"
"There are at least three people stronger than Madara Uchiha."
"And no matter how strong you are, you are but one person."
"Even a God faces hardships, losses, and obstacles on the path to divinity. It is a road of trials and tribulations. Even the Sage of Six Paths could not guarantee he could protect those he loved along the way."
"Much less you."
Black Zetsu pointed toward the sky, his voice calm as he looked directly at Pain.
"That moon in the sky was created by the Sage of Six Paths himself."
"Leader. Pain. Nagato."
"Can you do the same?"
Black Zetsu's words were quiet, yet they left Pain speechless.
Time ticked by. Faced with the soul-piercing gaze of Pain's Rinnegan, Black Zetsu did not flinch.
After an unknown amount of time, the man finally spoke.
"You win, Zetsu."
"Take Konan and leave."
"I will stay here alone."
In the end, Pain was still Pain. His concession was merely to have Konan leave and stay out of the conflict until the war ended.
"What if the Hokage takes the field himself?"
"Then I shall kill him."
"And if you lose?"
"A God does not lose."
"You are not a God. You are merely walking the path toward becoming one."
"I will not lose."
"Even the Rabbit Goddess, a true deity, was not invincible," Black Zetsu said calmly, causing Pain's eyes to twitch slightly.
The Rabbit Goddess...
"The reason the Sage of Six Paths created the moon was to seal the Rabbit Goddess."
I'm sorry, Mother. To make this fellow set aside his useless arrogance for a moment, please forgive me. Black Zetsu sighed inwardly.
A ripple of emotion appeared on Pain's face. He knitted his brows, looking at the black-and-white aloe-head. He felt that this creature's origins might be far from ordinary.
"So, what are you trying to say?" Pain's voice turned cold.
"Avoid their edge. Think before you act."
Obito's death had truly shocked Black Zetsu. Even Obito, who possessed Wood Style cells, Kamui, and Izanagi, had died. Who else was safe? In Black Zetsu's eyes, when it came to survival methods, even the real Madara Uchiha was inferior to Obito. If such a person could die, what about the Pain before him?
Konoha's strength was truly terrifying.
"You may leave." Pain's voice grew icy.
Allowing Black Zetsu to talk back was already a display of great tolerance. Zetsu should not overstep his bounds by flaunting the "God's" favor.
Black Zetsu looked at the man with dissatisfaction, a thousand curses on the tip of his tongue, but he suppressed them under the gaze of those purple, ripple-patterned eyes.
The only plan now was to hope the Hokage of Konoha wouldn't appear on the battlefield and expose Pain. Otherwise, knowing Kakashi Hatake's personality, if any front suffered a setback, he would personally step in to resolve the problem.
After Black Zetsu left, another figure appeared in the room.
A woman with a paper flower in her hair and a cold, elegant face looked worriedly at Pain, who was still silently watching the rain.
In her heart, she felt Black Zetsu's words made sense. As a ninja, one should never underestimate an opponent. Especially not the legendary Kakashi Hatake.
But...
"No need to worry. This is all just a bit of wind and rain before the arrival of peace."
Pain's words slightly steadied Konan's mind. But even so, she couldn't help but ask with concern, "Nagato... what if you lose?"
Pain didn't answer. He just stared silently at the rain.
"A God... does not lose."
"My dream."
"Yahiko's dream."
"Everyone's dream will be realized after this war."
"I am Justice."
"And I... am God."
Hearing Pain's words, Konan left silently.
However, after leaving, she saw a figure standing at the corner of the corridor. It seemed he had been waiting for her.
"Zetsu?" Konan looked at him, puzzled.
"Pain is too arrogant. You are the only one who can persuade him now," Black Zetsu said.
"Pain will not lose," Konan shook her head, intending to walk past him.
Yet, as they brushed past each other, Black Zetsu's voice suddenly grew loud.
"If he were a God, there would be no war in this world!"
Konan's footsteps stopped. She looked at Black Zetsu in shock. Pain's quarters were right above them. These words... weren't meant for her.
"If he were a God, his parents wouldn't have died!"
"If he were a God, Yahiko wouldn't have died!"
"If he were a God, this country wouldn't be weeping!"
Black Zetsu had burned his bridges, his eyes filled with determination as he looked at Konan. This was the most he could do for Nagato. Now that Obito was dead, all hope rested on Nagato. If Nagato followed in Obito's footsteps, his mother—his Mama—would never be revived.
It had taken him a thousand years to bring these Rinnegan to fruition. He couldn't wait another millennium. In these thousand years, he had missed his mother every single moment. Those lonely, empty nights brought him unbearable pain.
He had to do something. To make his mother leave the prison that sealed her. To let this world return to his mother's embrace. To make that rebellious son, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, pay the price!
To make the Goddess descend upon her garden once more!
————
Supporting me on Pa-treon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.
pat-reon .c-om/Dragonhair
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)