"Nagato! Yahiko!"
Konan's scream pierced the air, her voice raw with fear as she watched her two closest friends collapse one after another.
"I'm… I'm okay, Konan…"
Yahiko gritted out, clutching his swollen jaw. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes wavered with shock.
"Just… a scratch…"
Nagato, on the other hand, lay face-down in the dirt, unmoving.
His limbs sprawled like a discarded ragdoll, dust clouding around the crater his body had carved into the ground.
"Ah… maybe I hit a little too hard,"
Uchiha Miyuki muttered with a nervous chuckle, scratching her cheek.
Then, she turned back with a teasing smile and gently reached out to Konan, taking her hand.
"You saw it, right? Your friend threw the first punch," she said with a raised brow, her tone playful but not without weight.
"I… I'm sorry."
Konan lowered her head, bowing slightly.
"On his behalf, I apologize. Yahiko was too impulsive."
She didn't dare challenge Miyuki. Not after what she had seen.
These people weren't just strong—they were monsters compared to them.
And Yahiko, reckless as always, had almost dragged them all into death's jaws.
"Oh, don't worry about it,"
Miyuki waved it off with a grin.
"There's an old saying—sometimes the best friendships start with a good fight. So, I guess we're friends now, right?"
Her fingers slipped slightly lower, attempting to wrap around Konan's waist.
"H-Hey, what are you doing…?" Konan flinched slightly.
"Hateful! Let her go!"
Nagato's roar suddenly cut through the tense moment.
Everyone turned to see him trembling as he struggled to rise, blood running down his temple.
His vision blurred, but he saw one thing clearly: Miyuki's arm around Konan.
He didn't stop to think. Didn't consider that Miyuki was a woman or that Konan was probably in no real danger.
He just snapped.
"You bastard…! I'll kill you!!"
he shouted, fingers flying into a seal.
"Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—arise!"
"Wait—Nagato, stop!" Konan cried, reaching out in vain.
It was already too late.
A guttural roar tore through the air as the earth cracked and split beneath them.
From the depths of the broken ground, a massive skeletal hand burst free, followed by a colossal, grotesque form.
A demonic statue—silent, imposing, and monstrous—loomed over them, its mouth open in a wordless scream, a haunting echo of forgotten power.
The ground trembled. Even the wind stilled.
"What… the hell is that thing?"
Esdeath muttered, her eyes gleaming with a mix of curiosity and bloodlust.
"That,"
Miyuki said casually, stepping back beside Daemon, "is the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. A remnant of the Ten-Tails' body. No chakra… but overflowing with life force."
She watched the summoned beast with interest.
"It's the origin of all chakra in this world. In other words, Nagato just pulled out the very root of this world's power… and tossed it into the middle of a tantrum."
Facing one of the big bosses during the later stages of the Hokage timeline, Miyuki didn't let a trace of panic show on her face.
Just kidding—look at all these overpowered characters around her! Of course she was terrified!
But seriously, it was only a shell of the Ten-Tails, long since drained of chakra.
Even if the actual Otsutsuki clan—the true masters of the Ten-Tails—descended from the stars right now, they'd still be forced to take a beating and leave in disgrace after facing His Highness Daemon.
And over in the chat group…
Another Reincarnator, Yamamoto Mei, was giving everyone a crash course on just how ridiculous this thing really was.
"What a pointless creature. Is this kid Nagato always this touchy?"
Staring up at the roaring, feral giant looming before them, Daemon couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
What's got you so worked up?
They hadn't even done anything that crazy yet.
"Stand down. Let me test its strength."
Just as Daemon looked ready to act, Luo Hao—radiating fighting spirit—stepped forward and leapt into the air, graceful and unshaken.
"Fight in the south of the city, die in the north
If death comes in the wild, let the vultures feast upon my flesh"
"Call me Black-Hearted—but I shall dine among nobles!"
With that resounding chant, power surged around her as mystical light wrapped her body.
A towering Vajra Warrior, over a hundred meters tall, materialized behind her, its form glowing with divine radiance.
This was a symbol of Luo Hao's dominion—the divine embodiment of the two Buddhist Kings she once defeated and stole power from: Vajrapani and Narayana.
The Vajra Warrior wasn't just terrifying in size—it held overwhelming power, defense that could shrug off missile strikes, and martial prowess amplified by Luo Hao's own techniques.
"ROAR—!!"
Provoked, the massive heretic demon howled furiously, sending shockwaves rippling outward as it hurled a titanic fist toward Luo Hao in mid-air.
"Excellent! I've been waiting for something like this!"
Rather than retreat, Luo Hao's eyes gleamed with excitement. She raised her arms and commanded:
"Flying Phoenix Twelve Divine Palms – Great Wind Devours the Heavens!"
The giant Vajra Warrior's golden palm transformed into a blazing phoenix, descending like a divine hammer.
BOOM—!!
The sound shook the heavens. The sheer force behind the attack made the heretic demon's knees buckle as it crashed to the ground with an earth-shattering impact.
Cracks splintered across the battlefield, the earth trembling like a living creature beneath them. Dust and debris were swept away in the resulting shockwave.
"Hahaha! Wonderful! It's been too long since I had a proper test of strength!"
Luo Hao's laughter rang out across the battlefield. Her joy wasn't just from winning—it was the thrill of the challenge, the heat of real combat.
The Vajra Warrior's hands ignited with radiant flames—Sunfire, infused with her martial intent.
"Flying Phoenix Twelve Divine Palms – Crimson Sun Soars to the Heavens!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
One devastating blow after another rained down, each one strong enough to flatten a city block.
The massive demon statue was slammed again and again, its towering form smashed deep into the collapsing earth like a broken toy.
"No way… how is this happening?!"
Uzumaki Nagato, thrown to the ground by the quaking battlefield, stared in disbelief.
His gaze locked on the heretic demon—beaten down and overpowered.
He couldn't comprehend it. How could a woman possess power like that?
But then—he sensed it.
Despite its battered appearance, the heretic demon wasn't actually injured.
"I'm not done yet! The Outer Path's not just powerful—it's indestructible!"
Hope surged in Nagato's heart. He had to protect Konan and Yahiko.
The demon roared again, answering its summoner's resolve, and burst from the rubble.
Just as Nagato had felt—it wasn't scratched.
"Its defense is that insane? Even with this much force, it's untouched…"
Luo Hao's smile faded as her expression grew serious. She raised her hand, ready to switch to another technique.
But before she could act, Daemon's voice rang out cold and sharp:
"God Avoid."
Zheng—
A blade of golden light tore through the sky like a divine decree.
It was a slash that transcended space, distance, even the very concept of defense.
A sword that couldn't be dodged—even gods would fall before it.
And with the power of his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception guiding the blade to the absolute end point of all things…
The sword cleaved cleanly through the heretic demon statue—splitting it in half.
BOOM!
The corpse of the split Ten-Tails husk hit the ground with a thunderous crash.
"Are you serious?! The Ten-Tails' body was actually killed?!"
Miyuki's jaw dropped. She had always assumed that beings like the Ten-Tails—or even fragments of it—were unkillable forces of nature.
Yamamoto Mei: "Why are you so shocked? Isn't this the norm now?"
Live Broadcast: Chat Group
Yamamoto Mei fell into a stunned silence.
Yamamoto Mei: "Tailed beasts can die—they just resurrect over time. The Ten Tails is nothing more than a fusion of all nine. Even the universe isn't truly eternal, so why would a glorified pet of the Otsutsuki clan be immortal?"
Uchiha Miyuki: "I blame the anime. I thought the Ten Tails got sealed in the end... not completely wiped out."
Luo Hao: "Daemon wields the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. Unless you're truly immortal, you're not walking away from a battle with him."
Jibril: "Exactly. Even my defenses couldn't hold up. If he couldn't kill a crippled golem, I'd be more surprised!"
Even Luo Hao and Jibril, both native powerhouses of their own worlds, couldn't help but be exasperated by Miyuki's surprise.
This was Daemon, after all.
While idolizing someone blindly isn't ideal, for the chat group members who had watched him rise from a helpless Celestial Dragon to a man capable of destroying worlds—it was hard not to respect him.
For them, anything Daemon did felt inevitable.
Back in the Battlefield
Uzumaki Nagato stood frozen, staring at the massive corpse of the Heretic Golem.
"This can't be real… The Gedo Statue… destroyed?" His voice trembled. "Is this… a dream?"
He quickly tried to summon it again using the summoning jutsu, but nothing responded.
It was futile.
There was only one Heretic Golem in the world—sealed on the moon by the Sage of Six Paths. And now that Daemon had destroyed it, it was gone forever.
"Nagato!"
Konan, still reeling from the aftermath of Daemon's earlier attack, crawled toward her friend, trying to bring him back to his senses. But her eyes widened in horror when she saw Daemon raise his arm again.
He held the same golden sword that had slain the Gedo Statue.
"Stop!!" Konan screamed, panic flooding her voice.
But Daemon didn't even glance at her.
He wasn't concerned about whether Nagato lived or died. What intrigued him was whether killing Nagato—another Rinnegan wielder—would yield a Noble Phantasm as powerful as the one he acquired from Uchiha Madara.
After all, both had the same eyes. The similarities were worth testing.
"God Avoid—!"
In a flash of golden light, Nagato's bloodied head separated from his shoulders.
His Rinnegan eyes, still open, were frozen in disbelief—as if he had never expected to die so easily.
Daemon glanced at the newly acquired Noble Phantasm in his hand and frowned.
"Hmph. Nothing special. I guess because he wasn't the true owner of the Rinnegan, the result doesn't match Madara's reward."
"Nagato—!!" Konan shrieked.
Her body trembled as she watched the lifeless corpse of her closest friend.
But before she could react further, Yahiko—his eyes bloodshot and voice hoarse—charged at Daemon.
"You monster! How dare you—!"
Crack!
He didn't make it far. Luo Hao calmly intercepted him with a single palm strike, shattering every bone in Yahiko's body.
He collapsed, blood pouring from his mouth, ears, and nose.
"Yahiko!?"
Konan's scream cracked as she rushed toward him.
Her once-beautiful face was now stained with dust, tears, and grief. She could only stare, hollow-eyed, at her friend's broken body.
If only I hadn't dragged them into this... If only James Dickson had never joined Akatsuki.
This whole battle… it didn't need to happen.
With Nagato dead and Yahiko crippled, Konan was left broken—physically and emotionally.
Uchiha Miyuki clenched her fists tightly, her expression dark.
The earlier slap she gave Yahiko—meant as nothing more than petty venting from being bullied—now weighed heavily on her conscience.
She never intended for any of this to happen.
"A dog lunging at a lion doesn't deserve mercy just because it's weak,"
Daemon muttered as he raised his sword again, ready to finish Yahiko off.
"Stop!! Please!!"
Konan suddenly sprang forward with a desperate burst of speed and wrapped her arms around Daemon's leg, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Please don't kill him! I'll do anything! Anything—just spare Yahiko!"
Yahiko, still barely alive, could only mumble her name through broken teeth.
"Konan…"
Her tears splattered onto Daemon's armor as she clung to him.
"Please… Nagato already paid the price. If Yahiko dies too… I have nothing left!"
Even Miyuki stepped forward.
"Your Highness Daemon," she said carefully, avoiding his gaze.
"Nagato was the one who attacked. Yahiko only acted out of desperation. Could we… show him mercy?"
Daemon looked at her, slightly amused. He wasn't expecting this sudden shift.
Miyuki's eyes, however, were focused solely on Konan.
"Konan," she said softly.
"You don't want Yahiko to die… or live the rest of his life broken and helpless, do you?"
Her words were laced with eerie calm—more like a devil tempting a fallen angel.
Konan trembled. Then, slowly, she released Daemon's leg and lowered herself onto her knees.
With tears in her eyes, she looked up at him.
"…I understand."
The girl who once stood tall as a kunoichi of the Akatsuki now knelt in the dirt, her voice trembling.
"I will accept Yahiko's punishment. Just… please spare him. I'll take responsibility."
Daemon raised an eyebrow, about to reply—
[System Notification]
[Aizen Sosuke has joined the chat group.]
[Eriri Sawamura has joined the chat group.]
[Uchiha Madara (Soul) has joined the chat group.]
Uchiha Madara (Soul): "Hah! So this is the infamous chat group I wasn't allowed into before. What's this place supposed to be?"
Uchiha Madara (Soul): "Wait… are those the kids from Akatsuki? Didn't I just die a moment ago? Why do they look like they've been hit by a Meteor?"
--------------------------------------
Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters!