Slayer: Look directly at the Seraph, standing on the sun

Chapter 850 What are you hesitating about?

"Nagato! What are you hesitating for?!"

Hanzo, growing impatient, increased the pressure on his hands, and Konan let out a painful groan. "If you don't make a move soon, I'll kill this woman first!"

"stop!!!"

Nagato let out a beast-like roar, his Rinnegan widening suddenly, his pupils contracting violently. The extreme mental pressure nearly broke him; his breathing was rapid, like that of a drowning man.

"Xiao Nan..."

Hanging in mid-air, Xiao Nan looked down at her two companions struggling in pain, her heart filled with endless self-blame and despair.

Why? Why did it turn out like this?

Why did Teacher Zhang Hai, who once taught her and promised to protect her, and Konoha Village, which was supposed to represent justice and peace, become such a cruel executioner?

She looked at the masked Konoha ANBU members behind Hanzo, and in their cold eyes she read mockery and indifference.

"So... this is reality..."

Konan closed her eyes in anguish. If she could, she would have wanted to kill herself immediately, no longer a burden to Yahiko and Nagato. But Hanzo had sealed her chakra and taken control of her body, making even the desire to die a luxury.

Just then, Yahiko, who had been silent all along, suddenly moved.

He looked at Nagato, who was still struggling in pain and hesitant to pick up the kunai, and a trace of pity flashed in his eyes, but it quickly turned into determination.

He knew Nagato too well. This introverted, kind-hearted, even somewhat cowardly best friend would never do anything to him.

If this stalemate continues, Hanzo will really kill Konan.

"Nagato."

Yahiko's voice suddenly became unusually calm, a calmness that was heartbreaking.

Nagato looked up and, through the rain, saw Yahiko's familiar, warm smile, like sunshine.

"You are the hope of dawn, and the hope of this world."

Yahiko spoke slowly, as if giving his last words, "You must live on, no matter what. Take Minami with you, and go see true peace."

"Yahiko... what are you going to do..." Nagato felt a sense of foreboding.

"I'm sorry, brother. You shouldn't have to make this painful choice."

Yahiko suddenly bent down and grabbed Nagato's trembling hand, which was holding a kunai but dared not stab.

“No…don’t!!!”

Nagato's eyes widened in horror as he tried to pull his hand back, but Yahiko's strength was astonishing, and he held his wrist firmly.

"Kill me! Nagato! That's an order!"

Yahiko let out a final roar, a voice filled with resentment towards his fate and a desperate desire for his comrades to live.

"Only if I die can you live! Do it now! There's no time!"

puff!

Accompanied by a dull thud as a sharp blade pierced flesh.

In Nagato's despairing gaze, Yahiko slammed his body into the kunai. The sharp blade pierced his heart without resistance, and blood instantly stained Nagato's hand, as well as the cold, rainy night.

"Mi... Yan..."

Nagato stared blankly at his best friend who had collapsed in his arms, the last glimmer of light in those eyes that possessed the Rinnegan completely extinguished.

The world has collapsed.

The cold rain, mixed with the warm smell of blood, seeped into the soil and into the depths of Nagato's soul.

"Mi... Yan..."

Nagato knelt in the mud, cradling the lifeless body in his arms. The large hand that usually patted his shoulder and gave him strength now lay limply on the ground.

Yahiko had a kunai stuck in his chest, and blood gushed out like a spring, staining his black robe embroidered with red clouds.

"Cough cough..."

Yahiko coughed up a mouthful of blood with difficulty, his eyes began to glaze over, but he still tried his best to focus on Nagato's face, which was filled with fear and tears.

"Don't...don't cry, Nagato..."

Yahiko's voice was so weak it was almost drowned out by the rain, but the smile on his lips was as warm as ever, "I'm sorry... I kept saying I'd take you to see real peace... but... I couldn't hold on any longer..."

His gaze passed over Nagato and landed on the blue-haired girl not far away, who was hanging in mid-air and crying her heart out.

"Xiao Nan..."

A deep longing and regret flickered in Yahiko's eyes. "I'm sorry... I let you see... how disheveled you are... The thing I regret most in my life... is that I wasted so many years... not telling you sooner... I..."

Before he could finish speaking, he gasped for breath, his life force rapidly fading away.

"Nagato... listen to me..."

With his last ounce of strength, Yahiko gripped Nagato's wrist tightly. His eyes, their light fading, burned with a final, burning determination. "You are... the savior of this world... Take my share... and live on with Konan... no matter what..."

"You must... survive..."

These last few words seemed to have exhausted his entire soul. Yahiko's hand loosened limply, slipped, and crashed heavily into the puddle, splashing up a pool of murky water.

That orange-haired boy, always full of energy and shouting about changing the world, the soul of the Akatsuki, their most important older brother, closed his eyes forever on this cold and cruel rainy night.

"Yahiko!!!"

Xiao Nan let out a desperate cry, her whole body limp as if her bones had been removed. Tears blurred her vision; the figure that always stood smiling before her would never return.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

Nagato roared to the sky, his voice sounding more like that of a wounded, dying beast than a human.

His mind kept replaying Yahiko's smile, his grand words about dreams, and the nights he spent talking about the future around the campfire.

"why why……"

Nagato held Yahiko's gradually cooling body, his whole body trembling violently. Endless sorrow, anger, and despair intertwined in his heart, forming a raging black torrent that overwhelmed all his reason and cowardice.

hum-

A strange and oppressive purple aura erupted from Nagato's tear-filled eyes. It was the legendary Rinnegan, which controls life and death, awakening now due to its host's extreme emotions.

"Hmph, what a touching friendship."

High on the cliff, Hanzo coldly watched this scene, his eyes showing no pity, only the ruthless determination to eliminate any threat.

"Now that the guy named Yahiko is dead, this show should end."

Hanzo waved his hand as if shooing away flies, "Do it. Kill these two too, leave no one alive."

"Yes!"

The Rain Ninja and Konoha Root ninjas who had been lying in ambush all around immediately accepted the order.

"kill!!!"