Naruto: North and South

The young boy’s body visibly shriveled before their eyes, his dark red hair turning snow-white at a staggering pace. Scarlet blood ran from his nose, tangling with the taste of salt on his lips and tongue.

This was the process of the jutsu unfolding. When the green light fully merged into the long-dead Kakashi, Nagato released his hand from the seal.

Blood erupted from him, his body so weak that even standing was unstable.

Kita supported him, while an unending flow of chakra surged into Nagato—from both Kita and Sakura.

Sakura had witnessed a forbidden technique beyond S-rank, and she had witnessed a person’s resurrection. The dead chest slowly began to rise and fall; the cold body gradually warmed.

Yet, he did not wake.

Nagato refused Sakura’s attempt to continue sending chakra, gasping as he spoke, “You… you heal him first. I… I’m fine. He’s lost too much blood… even with Rinne Rebirth, if untreated… he won’t survive. I… just need to rest. Obito, give me chakra. Kita, stop.”

“Right, right.”

Obito hurriedly complied, pouring massive amounts of chakra into Nagato’s body. The Rinnegan’s power reactivated, rapidly absorbing Obito’s chakra. Nagato’s once-weak body slowly regained strength. Only his hair remained white, no longer crimson.

It wasn’t until Obito was sweating, breathing heavily from exertion, that Nagato ceased absorbing. His stamina recovered somewhat, his body partially restored—but the hair stayed snow-white.

“Whether he lives depends on Kakashi’s fate. Rinne Rebirth can resurrect the dead, but it cannot fully heal wounds. If he is not carefully treated, he will still die,” Nagato said, needing Kita’s support just to stand.

Sakura nodded earnestly. “I understand. I’ll do everything I can to heal him.”

Nagato said no more. Leaning on Kita, he murmured, “Let’s go.”

Kita stayed silent, supporting his frail body as they moved. Obito’s eyes were red as he gazed at the snow-white head, full of guilt.

“I’m sorry… and… thank you.”

Sorry for Yahiko. Thank you for Kakashi. Nagato reflected on the man who had impersonated Madara and everything that had come since—helplessly.

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear you speak.”

When the door closed, Nagato sighed deeply—both at the jutsu’s aftereffects and at the sheer difficulty of controlling such forbidden power. He barely had time to joke with himself before he noticed Konan standing silently to the side.

Nagato froze, halting his steps.

Kita saw her too and stopped.

Konan’s face betrayed nothing. Her eyes were like a still well; no one could tell the rage buried beneath.

“Konan…”

His steps faltered; his body felt heavy, almost entirely drained. Even this voice was just an empty shell.

“I—”

Hours earlier, he had sworn to her that Obito deserved his fate; he would never save him. Hours later, the successful release of Rinne Rebirth left Nagato weak and powerless.

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear you speak.”

Konan said, stepping forward coldly, supporting his frail, ice-cold body as they walked.

Nagato said nothing. Kita pursed her lips and whispered,

“Konan, Nagato is also—”

“Shut up.”

…

In truth, Kakashi’s choice had been almost insignificant. The Sixth Hokage had wanted him to reveal everything he knew about Obito and had even offered mercy—he wouldn’t have had to participate in the operation against him. Yet Kakashi chose death.

Only by dying could he avoid betraying Konoha, betrayals to the Hokage’s orders, and even betrayals to Obito.

It wasn’t necessary. Even if he had given all of Obito’s information to the Sixth, Obito’s power made him untouchable. No ambush of ANBU could change that; numbers meant nothing against an overwhelmingly powerful opponent.

But Kakashi would not speak.

Kita recalled years ago asking Kakashi about Obito. He had sworn then as well: he would never tell.

“Kakashi-senpai is very capable,” Itachi had said of him. Later, he extended his hand to Sakura. Sakura, defeated, handed over ten ryo from her dog-shaped purse.

Kita was puzzled.

“I made a bet with him—whether Pain would save Kakashi-sensei. He said yes. I said no.”

Itachi gleefully pocketed the money, then produced a lollipop. Sakura, in retaliation for his small triumph, forcibly removed the IV needle from Itachi, letting small droplets of blood spill. Itachi’s face twisted with indignation.

Kita, “….”

Is it just me, or is this girl getting too accustomed to life in Akatsuki? What did Nagato tell her? She was furious—using a bet to settle this matter was infuriating. Folding her arms, she glared at the two, her authority unmistakable.

“Are you looking forward to seeing Pain hurt himself to save a Konoha ninja?”

Sakura stiffened; the question was tricky. Itachi answered sincerely.

“From my perspective, I hope Pain saves him. Kakashi is my senior. If the roles were reversed, I would not save him.”

Sakura was confused but still cleaned the puncture point on Itachi.

Kita found his reasoning reasonable—she couldn’t refute it immediately. Yet the thought left a sour taste.

“Half your strength to save one Kakashi? Not worth it,” Itachi admitted.

“For Pain, saving or not isn’t about worth. Broadly, it’s the start of letting go of hatred. Konoha has caused him pain. Saving Kakashi proves that the past has truly vanished.”

Kita thought: He really is twisted, thinking about these strange things.

“All day thinking about nonsense. Can you focus on serious matters? How long until your illness heals?”

“That depends on her,” Itachi said, pointing at Sakura with a mischievous grin.

Sakura said, “A couple more years of treatment, minimal use of Mangekyo. And you, Kita, check yourself first before others. You’re concentrating on the Hundred Seal—don’t waste chakra. Overuse can worsen your condition.”

Regarding illness, Sakura was unusually strict.

Kita listened humbly, then asked another question, “Have you examined Pain’s body? Is he okay?”

Sakura shook her head.

“He’s fine. Overexertion of chakra will need a few days to recover. I’ve prescribed medicine. Lifespan effects require long-term observation. The Uzumaki’s constitution is resilient. Historical records say jinchuriki survived a few days after the tailed beast was removed, so the side effects of forbidden jutsu are reduced.”

That was reassuring. Kita asked one more question.

“And Kakashi?”

“Kakashi-sensei lost a lot of blood, but his wounds have been treated. He’ll wake eventually. No problem.”

As she spoke, Sakura removed the IV from Kita’s hand, and the next stage of treatment began. She injected synthetic medicine to neutralize toxins. So far, no rejection reactions appeared.

“By the way, my hands are fine. Let them come for check-ups when free.”

Kita remembered Nagato assigning Sakura to check the team, though the progress seemed slow. Judging by her knowledge of them, she figured Sakura might never get the team to complete the check-ups in her lifetime.

Well, that was Sakura’s business.

“When there’s a chance, speak up. Sakura, Kakashi delayed the schedule, but soon Akatsuki will attack Konoha. What do you think?”

The data recorder paused briefly, then continued as usual.

“I will go.”

Hmm… I really want to know what Nagato told her.