"How much time has passed?"
Having regained some strength and energy from the nutrient solution prepared in advance by Kagetsu, Nagato finally felt that his body was no longer heavy and weak. He glanced at the sky and subconsciously asked.
In the narrow space between life and death, Nagato had completely lost track of time. Every second had been a chaotic blur. He couldn't be sure how long he had been trapped there, nor how much time had passed in the Shinobi World.
"About seven hours have passed since Yahiko sent me his message," Kagetsu replied, offering an answer that shocked Nagato.
Though Nagato had mentally prepared himself, Kagetsu's response still left him stunned. So, during what had felt like an agonizing eternity, only seven hours had passed in the Shinobi World?
If his body weren't clearly telling him that everything he experienced was real, Nagato might have suspected he had fallen victim to an exceptionally powerful genjutsu.
"What about Yahiko?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Nagato hurriedly asked about Yahiko.
"Don't worry about him. If everything is going as planned, he should be making his way toward us right now. I've already sent him the information that you and Shisui are safe.
"By the way, do you want to wait for him to regroup here, or head to the Land of Rain and meet him there? Never mind, your body hasn't fully recovered yet. You should stay here and rest for now," Kagetsu said, waving his hand dismissively.
As he spoke, he bit his finger and summoned a small white snake, about the thickness of a finger.
Then, he pulled out a scroll and wrote a brief message on it with chakra, detailing their current location.
The small snake opened its mouth wide, swallowing the scroll before disappearing in a puff of white smoke.
"Can you move on your own? This place isn't particularly safe, so we need to relocate," Kagetsu asked, turning his gaze to Nagato.
"I can manage," Nagato replied.
After checking his condition, Nagato moved his limbs under Kagetsu's watchful eyes, signaling that he didn't need assistance or support.
"Alright, let's go," Kagetsu said, taking the lead. Meanwhile, Anko slung Shisui over her shoulder and followed close behind.
With Anko's current physical strength and stamina, Shisui's weight didn't hinder her movements at all. If needed, she could even carry one person in each hand—Shisui in her left hand and Nagato in her right.
"Even within the borders of a major nation like the Land of Fire, war can still break out?"
On their way, Nagato noticed the ruins and destruction caused by large-scale jutsu and ninja battles. It was clear that intense and frequent ninja combat had recently taken place in this area.
Thinking about Kagetsu's earlier actions, it was obvious that he had been tied down on this battlefield for quite some time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to send a message asking them to come and assist Shisui.
"The Land of Fire's geographical location and abundant resources make it an inevitable center of conflict. Every ninja village harbors ambitions of conquering Konoha, replacing it, and achieving the same level of dominance as Konoha.
During periods of heated wars between the Five Great Nations, the smaller nations in the ninja world can't even serve as buffer zones."
Kagetsu arrived at a previously designated resting point. After carefully checking the traps and barriers he had set earlier and confirming they hadn't been triggered, he finally relaxed a bit.
At least this meant the hideout hadn't been discovered or exposed yet! This allowed their small team to rest for a while.
"Shisui, he…"
Seeing Anko carefully place Uchiha Shisui down against a large tree, Nagato's face showed a hint of worry.
He and Shisui had just gone through a life-and-death ordeal together.
Thinking about how Shisui might lose his vision and no longer be able to fight on the battlefield as a ninja, Nagato couldn't help but feel a tinge of sorrow.
Especially since the excessive use of Shisui's visual prowess in coming to their aid against Hanzo of the Salamander from Amegakure was the root cause of his condition.
"Don't worry. If it's just blindness, that's not too hard to fix. Medical-nin can transplant a pair of suitable eyes for him.
Even if Shisui needs a new pair of Sharingan, the Uchiha clan can provide them. The real issue is Shisui's own Mangekyō Sharingan."
Kagetsu let out a sigh, feeling at a loss for words.
"Tell me, what kind of enemy did you encounter that could force you, Yahiko, and Shisui into such a desperate situation?
Yahiko only mentioned in his report that you faced a dangerous, powerful enemy who could use Wood Release."
"Yahiko didn't tell you that the one we fought was White Zetsu?" Nagato sat down beside Kagetsu and asked in surprise.
"White Zetsu?" Kagetsu blinked.
Yahiko hadn't included those details in his report.
When Kagetsu first saw Yahiko's report, he assumed they had encountered Uchiha Madara, who had come out to stretch his legs like an old man doing rehabilitation exercises.
That must have forced Shisui to use Reverse Summoning—a ninja technique version of the Black Cavity—to enter the thin veil between life and death.
But on second thought, that seemed unlikely. If it were Uchiha Madara, Yahiko would have at least mentioned it in the report.
He trusted that if it were really Uchiha Madara, Shisui would have sensed the opponent's overwhelming ocular power and warned both Nagato and Yahiko.
"Yes, but he was different from the White Zetsu you've encountered. His face was covered by a swirling mask," Nagato replied seriously as he glanced at the unconscious Shisui lying across from him, while recalling the battle scenes from before.
Under Jiraiya's guidance, Nagato had come to understand what his eyes truly meant. However, his small sense of pride and confidence had been utterly shattered by consecutive blows.
Whether it was Hanzō, an unknown enemy from the ninja world, or even Shisui with his Mangekyō Sharingan—or Kagetsu—they all left Nagato feeling deeply inadequate.
Especially Hanzō.
If it hadn't been for Kagetsu's intervention, he, Yahiko, and Konan—the three companions who had relied on each other since childhood—might have already died in the Land of Rain.
The ocular powers granted by the Rinnegan, like a Kekkei Genkai, were abilities he could instinctively use without formal training.
But because the Rinnegan's abilities were of such a high level, Nagato always felt an overwhelming sense of danger whenever he tried to use or train with those powers.
He couldn't use the Rinnegan's abilities freely.
Before meeting Kagetsu, he could only unleash them during moments of extreme emotional outbursts, when he ignored the sense of danger and forced himself to activate the Rinnegan's incredibly destructive abilities.
Most of the time, though, the Rinnegan's powers were unreliable for him. Each ability consumed too much chakra, which was overwhelming for someone his age.
Even though Nagato was an Uzumaki, known for their naturally high chakra reserves, his body hadn't matured enough to consistently supply the energy needed for these abilities without suffering severe backlash.
In moments of true desperation, he might fully unleash the Rinnegan's power during a fit of extreme emotion. But the consequences of doing so? Even Nagato couldn't predict them.
Perhaps his body would be drained by the Rinnegan's eye techniques?
****
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