234 Naruto: Snatching the Mangekyō

"Victory!"

"Unbelievable!"

"This seals it—Konoha has officially won this war!"

From the rubble below, Tsunade and the two Uchiha—Fugaku and Shisui—wore expressions of relief as they saw Akira successfully restrain Nagato.

Carrying the temporarily immobilized Nagato, Akira descended gracefully, landing before the trio.

When they got a closer look at him now, Tsunade, Fugaku, and Shisui couldn't help but show a flicker of astonishment.

During the chaos of the battle, none of them had truly grasped Akira's actions or power with clarity. Now, standing just a few feet away, they could fully appreciate the state he was in.

Akira turned his gaze toward them, his tone filled with concern.

"Are you all okay?"

"It's nothing. Injuries like this don't mean much to me. Even without the power of the Ten-Tails, I'd be fine," Tsunade replied confidently, shaking her head.

As the most formidable medical ninja in the shinobi world, her confidence was not unfounded.

Fugaku and Shisui exchanged glances and also shook their heads. Having consumed large amounts of the Ten-Tails' flesh, their regenerative abilities were now astonishingly high. Though not immortal, they could endure injuries that would typically incapacitate others.

"Akira, what do you plan to do with him?" Fugaku asked, his gaze fixed on Nagato, who was still bound by Truth-Seeking Orbs, his expression tense.

"Akira, it doesn't seem like the Truth-Seeking Orbs alone can fully restrain him. He's slowly breaking free of the seal," Shisui remarked, his tone tinged with surprise.

Indeed, even the potent sealing abilities of the Truth-Seeking Orbs weren't enough to completely suppress Nagato's movements.

Despite having a Truth-Seeking Orb piercing his body, Nagato's regenerative abilities were still functioning. While much slower than before, his body was steadily repairing itself. If this pace continued, he would fully recover in about ten minutes.

Moreover, the vast chakra of the Ten-Tails inside him was actively repelling Akira's Truth-Seeking Orbs, gradually pushing them out of his body.

"This level of regeneration… it's practically true immortality," Tsunade murmured in awe, her eyes fixed on Nagato.

As a medical ninja, she understood better than anyone what such abilities entailed and how impossibly difficult they were to achieve.

This was a state that had previously only existed in theory.

Akira stared at Nagato intently, his voice steady.

"We need to find a way to extract the Ten-Tails from him."

"Is there a way to do that?" Tsunade asked immediately, her tone urgent.

Akira shook his head. "No. The Ten-Tails jinchūriki is fundamentally different from other tailed beasts. Conventional methods won't work, and the Six Paths–Ten-Tails Coffin Seal isn't an ordinary sealing technique."

"Hah…" Nagato chuckled disdainfully. "Hokage, now that I've become the Ten-Tails jinchūriki, I've achieved true immortality. There's nothing you can do!"

Akira's expression remained calm as his mind raced with possibilities.

It wasn't that he was entirely out of options—he just didn't want to risk losing the Ten-Tails entirely.

The Ten-Tails was invaluable, not just to Konoha but to the entire shinobi world. Its power wasn't something to squander.

Beyond its use as a weapon or resource, the Ten-Tails was linked to a path of ascension—a confirmed route to godhood.

For Akira, Konoha, and the shinobi world, this possibility was of unimaginable significance.

"Oh, is that so?" Akira smirked, his tone sharp and deliberate. "I wonder, Nagato… what would happen if I were to slice you into pieces and seal them separately?"

Nagato's face darkened, his previously unshakable confidence faltering.

While the Ten-Tails jinchūriki was nearly invincible, the prospect of being dismembered and individually sealed left him uneasy.

More than anyone, Nagato understood the power of sealing techniques. As a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, he was intimately familiar with their devastating effectiveness against immortality.

If he were in peak condition, he might not fear any sealing jutsu the shinobi world could throw at him. But in his current state, being dismembered and sealed was a real threat.

Seeing the crack in Nagato's composure, Akira chuckled coldly.

"So, you do understand the consequences, don't you?"

"Akira, are you seriously considering this?" Tsunade asked, her expression caught between disbelief and intrigue.

Knowing Akira, Tsunade suspected his threat was mostly a bluff to intimidate Nagato. After all, Akira wouldn't easily relinquish something as valuable as the Ten-Tails.

"If there's no other option, I might have to. The danger of letting a Ten-Tails jinchūriki roam free is far too great," Akira shrugged nonchalantly.

In truth, the current situation left little room for viable alternatives. Successfully extracting the Ten-Tails' chakra through sheer force was virtually impossible.

First, Nagato's mental fortitude was unmatched, granting him an extraordinarily high compatibility with the Ten-Tails.

Second, without the cooperation of the other tailed beasts, forcibly removing the chakra wasn't feasible.

In this state, Akira doubted he could overpower Nagato, who had already subdued the will of the Ten-Tails.

"A real powder keg…" Fugaku muttered, his expression serious as he stared at Nagato.

"More like one of those ticking bombs the tech department likes to tinker with," Shisui joked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Though meant as humor, Tsunade nodded in agreement.

"This 'bomb' could blow up the entire Land of Fire if it goes off."

"Akira, you need to decide soon. The Truth-Seeking Orbs won't hold much longer. Once Nagato's body fully heals, sealing him will be even harder," Tsunade urged, her tone grave.

Akira nodded slowly, his gaze locked on Nagato. "There's still some time. Let me try something."

"Oh? What's your plan?" Tsunade, Fugaku, and Shisui all turned to him in surprise.

"Just watch. Even if I can't extract the Ten-Tails, I should be able to weaken Nagato significantly," Akira said with a faint smile.

He stepped forward, standing directly before Nagato.

Feeling Akira's presence approach, Nagato's instincts screamed in alarm. A foreboding sense of dread gripped him.

Without warning, Akira's right hand plunged into Nagato's chest, his fingers searching for something deep within.