I Am Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 383 383 Nagato vs Madara

On the rain-soaked street, the number of pedestrians in the commercial district wasn't particularly low.

People hurried about, either busy rebuilding their homes or hustling for their livelihoods.

However, when that burly figure in dark red layered armor walked slowly, the surrounding crowd, with indescribable fear, involuntarily parted to either side, clearing an empty path for him.

Rain fell on him, sliding off along the grooves of his armor, but couldn't wash away that overbearing, suffocating aura that looked down upon the world.

Madara's steps were steady and slow. Each footfall on the wet cobblestone street seemed to carry immense force, shattering the clamor of the rain, clearly audible to Nagato's ears.

Nagato knew… he was coming for him!

Inside the shop, Konan, who was discussing purchase details with Amado and his daughter, seemed to sense Nagato's abnormality lingering at the entrance.

She turned her head, looking at the slightly stiff back at the door, and asked with a trace of concern, "Nagato, what's wrong? Is something happening outside?"

Nagato, with his back to Konan, trembled almost imperceptibly.

He could feel that domineering gaze locked onto him. The immense pressure made it almost impossible to breathe.

He opened his mouth, but his throat was so dry he couldn't produce a clear sound.

'I can't... I can't bring danger to them...' This thought screamed madly in Nagato's heart.

He clenched his teeth fiercely, forcing himself to use the calmest tone possible, lying without turning his head, "N-no... it's nothing. You guys keep busy, I... I'm going to buy something. I'll be back soon."

Before his words even finished, he abruptly pulled up his cloak's hood, covering his face and those conspicuous Rinnegan.

Then, as if fleeing something, with slightly stumbling yet abnormally swift steps, he rushed into the continuous rain curtain, his figure quickly disappearing around a street corner.

Konan watched Nagato's hurried departure, her brows slightly furrowed, a trace of suspicion rising in her heart.

Nagato's tone and movements just now felt unusual.

But right now, procuring food and supplies was urgent business for the village's operation. She could only temporarily suppress the unease in her heart and prepare to continue negotiating with Amado.

However, just as she turned back, her peripheral vision caught sight of a burly figure in dark red armor passing by the shop entrance, as casually as strolling through a garden.

That mere glimpse, the terrifying aura emanating from the other party, as heavy as a mountain, made Konan's heart clench sharply!

'This kind of aura... he's definitely not an ordinary Ninja!'

'Even more frightening than Hanzo-sama at his peak!'

'Nagato!' A terrible thought instantly exploded in her mind.

She rushed outside. Nagato's figure was already gone from the street, and the red-armored figure had also vanished.

'Not good! Nagato's in danger!'

Konan's face instantly turned pale. She could no longer care about the procurement matters. Turning back to the bewildered Amado and his daughter, she said urgently, "Sorry, Amado-san! I have something very important I must handle immediately!"

Amado saw Konan's suddenly changed expression, connecting it with Nagato's abnormal departure just now and that heart-palpitating aura outside, and immediately guessed the general situation. He asked in a low voice, "Is something wrong with Nagato? Do you need our help?"

Konan shook her head, her tone anxious but firm. "No, the other party is very dangerous! Please, Amado-san, proceed with the purchases we discussed as quickly as possible. The village urgently needs them!"

Before her words finished, her legs suddenly decomposed into countless pure white paper sheets. These sheets rapidly coalesced behind her, forming a pair of large, exquisite angelic wings.

"Please!" The paper wings flapped fiercely, stirring up a gust of air. Konan's figure shot into the sky like an arrow from a bow, ignoring the falling rain, heading at top speed towards the Akatsuki temporary command post at the northern port of Amegakure.

Akebi walked to her father's side worriedly, looking in the direction Konan disappeared. "Dad, is Nagato in trouble?"

Amado took a deep drag of his cigarette, snuffed the butt in an ashtray, his wrinkled face grave. He shook his head, his tone complex. "It should... be alright. After all, that lord is still in Amegakure."

Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous shadow at a street corner, the ground rippled like water. A figure, half pure white, half pitch black, slowly protruded its upper body.

It was Zetsu.

The white half spoke in its somewhat comical tone: "Hey, hey, is this really okay? That guy Madara, even though he's restored to his prime form, isn't he just forcing a dying burst of life with the Gedo Statue, only a final flicker?"

"According to intelligence sent back by other White Zetsu earlier, the two monsters fighting in Amegakure both transformed into non-human forms in the end, with eyes that were either Byakugan or Sharingan, even weird eyes we've never seen before! If, according to your speculation, at least one of them is Kaguya-sama's enemy... just how strong must they be? Madara going now isn't just serving himself up on a plate?"

The black half's hoarse, gloomy voice sounded, carrying a hint of calculation. "It's fine. Our primary goal is to ensure the Rinnegan returns to Madara's hands. That kid named Menma deliberately contacting Yahiko and Nagato… his purpose is likely also these eyes."

"As long as Madara can successfully retrieve the eyes, even if he's temporarily no match, with the power of the Rinnegan and the intelligence we have, there will always be room for maneuver in the future."

"For now, let's just watch."

…

In the rain curtain, Nagato was running desperately.

The cold rain soaked his hair and clothes; heavy panting echoed in his chest.

He tore off the cumbersome hood, letting his red hair get drenched and cling messily to his cheeks, revealing those purple Rinnegan filled with terror and desperation.

He hadn't thought about immediately seeking Menma's help.

That mysterious, powerful youth was their only hope now.

But the thought that the man chasing him was likely the mastermind who transplanted these eyes into him and indirectly caused his parents' death!

His strength must be unimaginable! If a fight broke out in the village, the already shattered Amegakure would suffer catastrophic damage, those villagers who had just seen a glimmer of hope...

Moreover, after witnessing Menma and Isshiki's terrifying battle firsthand, deep in Nagato's heart, he had gained some vague understanding of the Rinnegan's power.

A mixture of anger over his parents' deaths, resentment towards his own fate, and determination to protect his comrades and the village led him to make a bold and risky decision.

He would face this enemy alone!

He would personally test his own resolve, test the power of these eyes!

However, no matter how much Nagato urged his Chakra, pushing his speed to the limit, the footsteps behind him, like a death knell, remained unhurried, following him, maintaining a fixed distance.

Those footsteps seemed to beat directly on his heart, making his heartbeat pound like a drum. Fear, like cold vines, slowly wound its way up.

Finally, Nagato arrived at a relatively open riverbank.

The murky river, swollen from days of heavy rain, surged and roared, rushing towards the northern strait between the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth.

Nagato stopped at the muddy riverbank, hands on his knees, panting violently, then abruptly turned around.

From the edge of the forest, the man in red armor slowly strode out.

Rain slid down his sharply defined cheeks, but he paid no mind. He casually crossed his arms over his chest. Those deep eyes held a scrutinizing, almost playful gaze as he looked at the panting, terrified Nagato.

"Not running anymore?" Madara's voice was flat but carried a condescending arrogance, as if a tiger was toying with a rabbit that couldn't run.

Nagato stared fixedly at the other, the flames of anger and hatred burning in his purple Rinnegan. He forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart, his panting voice hoarse with agitation. "It was you... you transplanted these eyes into me! And killed my parents?! Was it?! Answer me!"

He roared out the questions and pain that had been pent up for years.

Madara slightly raised an eyebrow, seeming somewhat surprised that Nagato knew some inside information.

But he disdained explaining anything to what he saw as a 'pawn' and 'vessel'.

To the questioning of the weak, he had always been too lazy to respond.

He just looked at Nagato indifferently with those Three-Tomoe Sharingan, declaring arrogantly, "The weak have no right to shout before the strong. These eyes have been lodged with you long enough. It's time to return them to their rightful owner."

This 'rightful owner' reply ignited the fuse to Nagato's powder keg!

Images of his parents' tragic deaths instantly flashed in Nagato's mind. Endless grief and hatred completely overwhelmed reason!

"Ugh!!!" His eyes bulged, he let out a furious roar, and with all his strength, hurled the kunai and several shuriken he held tightly at Madara!

Simultaneously, his hands formed hand seals at a dizzying speed.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

In an instant, the shuriken in the air seemed to gain life, one becoming two, two becoming four, four becoming eight...

In the blink of an eye, they split into over a hundred gleaming shuriken, like a dense swarm of bees, emitting piercing whooshes as they blanketed the sky, shooting towards Madara!

And mixed among them, the kunai was clearly tied with a sizzling explosive tag!

This fierce attack would require even a typical Jonin to deal with seriously.

But Madara didn't even move a step.

He just casually lifted his right foot and lightly stomped the ground!

Thump!

A Chakra tremor emanated from his foot. A few gravel stones were jolted into the air, accurately striking the kunai with the explosive tag, knocking it off course. It exploded several meters away from him!

Bang!

Flames and shockwaves instantly swallowed most of the nearby shuriken, turning them into scrap metal.

The remaining shuriken, due to the sudden explosion, lost their accuracy and force, clattering as they scattered on the ground.

However, Nagato's attack didn't stop.

The moment he threw the ninja tools, his hands had already begun another series of complex hand seals… a full forty-four seals!

And his chosen location was the surging, rushing river behind him!

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Accompanied by Nagato's hoarse, furious roar, the vast river water behind him seemed seized by an invisible giant hand. It rose with a roar, coalescing into an enormous, lifelike water dragon of far greater size, exuding an imposing momentum!

The water dragon let out a roar, carrying the momentum to crush everything, charging fiercely towards Madara across the way!

Nagato's talent was indeed astounding.

Not only had he mastered all the Jutsu taught by Jiraiya at a young age, but under the subtle influence of the Rinnegan, he had also comprehended the six Chakra Nature Transformations that were difficult for ordinary people to achieve, proficient in mainstream Ninjutsu.

Even without the Rinnegan, given time, he would undoubtedly have become a Kage-level powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of the Ninja World.

Now, leveraging the terrain, the Water Dragon Bullet he unleashed had reached a super top-tier scale and power, equivalent to several Jonin combining their efforts!