At first, Gaara had only felt a faint sense of familiarity.
But now, standing amid this storm of sand and wind, the memories began to stir within him—like long-buried echoes being uncovered by the desert itself.
Yes… this scene.
The swirling yellow sand, the same suffocating air.
He remembered a figure who had once strengthened the seals on his body with talismans, who had told those around him to treat him kindly.
He'd long thought it was only a dream—but as he grew older, that memory became sharper, and here, it felt undeniably real.
"Of course we've met. You're fine now."
Shigeo reached out, grabbing the black chains that bound Gaara. He summoned Yōton (Lava Release), intending to melt them away.
But the moment his fingers touched the metal, pain shot through his palm.
The chains quivered as though alive—and in the next instant, they lunged toward him, driving straight for his spine.
Gaara fell to the ground, freed from the shackles as they released him.
"It's a trap!"
Shigeo gritted his teeth, twisting his body. He wrapped one arm around the chains, holding them back, preventing them from piercing his flesh.
Gaara tried to stand, but his chakra was nearly gone. He could barely move.
"Shigeo-dono, are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
Even as chakra drained from his body, Shigeo steadied himself.
The mountain trembled. Stone cracked and fell. From the walls of the valley, seven or eight more chains burst forth, whipping through the air toward him.
He tried to evade, but it was too late.
His right arm remained pinned by one chain as he initiated Kūkan Idō (Space-Time Transfer).
Then realization struck.
Gedo Mazō (Outer Path Demon Statue).
A massive surge of chakra coursed through the chains.
Shigeo released Jiton (Magnet Release)—a dark, swirling shell surrounded him, layer upon layer, forming an impenetrable sphere.
The statue's chains coiled around the magnetic barrier, tightening endlessly.
Had even an inch of his skin been exposed, they would have pierced him.
Within that shell, Gaara was also shielded.
"I remember now," Gaara gasped weakly. "You really did save me… years ago, when my father tried to kill me—it was you who rescued me!"
Shigeo glanced at his arm, still trapped within the demonic binding, and smiled faintly.
"Yeah. I did. But this isn't the time for nostalgia."
His expression hardened.
Inside him, the nine tailed beasts stirred restlessly.
He had thought their unease came from Shukaku's proximity—but no.
This familiar pull emanated entirely from the Gedo Mazō itself.
The nine beasts within him were clones, artificially created from the originals.
Yet, born and raised within his own chakra and flesh, they were bound to him—different in mind and body from their counterparts outside.
Gaara stared in awe.
When he'd been chained, he couldn't use chakra at all—completely suppressed.
But Shigeo, despite the same drain, still maintained vast magnetic defenses.
The difference was beyond comprehension.
"Master, it's after our chakra!" called the voice of Little Nine within him.
"Should we fight it?" shouted another beast.
"Stay calm," Shigeo replied firmly. "We'll handle this one step at a time."
His eyes shifted—the pale blue Rinnegan now marked with six tomoe.
He bit his thumb, pressing blood against the chain locked to his arm, then formed seals and shouted:
"Gedo Mazō!"
The ground shook.
The colossal statue erupted from within the mountainside, emerging into the open desert.
Even so, its countless chains still coiled around Shigeo's magnetic barrier.
It was a paradox—he had summoned it, yet remained ensnared by it.
This was the eternal struggle between the beast and the summoner.
When Pain had summoned the statue, he had needed no blood pact—just direct control.
Shigeo's blood contract, however, was an attempt to break the binding.
The statue obeyed the summoning but did not change its nature—it still sought the power of the tailed beasts.
Far away, within the howling storm, a voice hissed from the sand.
"As expected," White Zetsu whispered. "He really does carry all nine beasts… all nine chains are out!"
Tendō Pain's eyes narrowed coldly. "He's summoned the Gedo Mazō himself."
From another ridge, Uchiha Obito watched through his single Mangekyō Sharingan, his voice low.
"If he dares show himself fully… I'll kill him on the spot."
Around them stood the other five Paths of Pain, and among them—Sasori of the Red Sand, his puppet body shifting in the wind.
He had posed as a Sunagakure elder, deceived them, and abducted Gaara himself.
Jyakin and Magu had failed their mission and defected to Shigeo's Nanmo Village.
Now Akatsuki had come to erase their betrayal.
Originally, the plan had been to extract Shukaku's chakra—but once they learned Shigeo was coming to Sunagakure, everything changed.
Instead of retreating, they decided to strike.
To use the Gedo Mazō's sealing chains to capture the man who held the chakra of all nine beasts.
White Zetsu had hesitated, fearing what Shigeo might do if the statue angered him.
He even remembered Shigeo's past threat—to destroy the Gedo Mazō entirely if provoked.
But he had kept that secret from Obito.
Every operation carried risk, and this time, they wanted to test the limits.
Thus, the extraction of Shukaku became an ambush for Shigeo.
For years, Akatsuki had studied him.
How to neutralize his jutsu, how to restrain his power, what emotions could manipulate him, which techniques could trap him.
No detail was ignored.
Obito's research was especially meticulous.
Unlike Pain's previous assault on Nanmo, this was a refined strategy—carefully calculated, not impulsive.
They no longer underestimated him.
This time, skill and tactics would determine victory.
If successful, Akatsuki's grand plan could accelerate by years.
At that moment, Shigeo was at a clear disadvantage.
Though he had summoned the Gedo Mazō, its chakra chains still bound him—and within him pulsed exactly what the statue desired most: the energy of all nine tailed beasts.
Obito's Mangekyō gleamed, his gaze fixed on the magnetic sphere shielding Shigeo.
The desert howled. The chains groaned.
Thunder rolled across the valley of sand as the true battle began.
(End of Chapter)
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