Though he was reluctant to admit it, Orochimaru's perception was actually superior to the Uzumaki Clan's natural talents. Talking here would surely lead to leaks.
If Obito were to reveal any truly important intelligence, Orochimaru might even turn back.
So Nagato nodded slightly and said, "Then let's talk when we get back to the village."
"Okay." A glint flashed in Obito's eyes, then he casually said to Konan beside him, "You can come listen too."
"..." Konan was about to ask about this, but Obito agreed before she could speak. The words were stuck in her throat, and she could only meekly reply, "Alright."
...
The group returned to the Village Hidden in Rain and entered an inconspicuous black spire.
This was Nagato's usual resting place, protected by numerous sealing jutsu on the outside. No sensory ninja or doujutsu ninja could see through it, making it the safest and most hidden spot in the Village Hidden in Rain.
Nagato sat on the wooden bed and turned his gaze to Obito. "What is it you want to say now?"
"Of course." Obito didn't keep them in suspense any longer. He began to speak with a serious expression, mixing truth with falsehood.
"As I just said, the Sage of Six Paths truly exists. And a thousand years ago, the ninja world wasn't just this small corner you see now. The entire planet was fertile land, and people didn't have to fight and kill just to survive."
"But good times didn't last. Evil beasts appeared and ravaged the land, causing widespread destruction. They fought many battles against the Sage of Six Paths, who protected the world..."
In the dark room, Obito's low voice echoed. Nagato and Konan held their breath, listening intently to the story that sounded like a myth.
"After the great battles, the Sage of Six Paths successfully eliminated the evil beasts. But the entire ninja world had suffered immense damage. So, the Sage of Six Paths reorganized the land's veins and planned the landscapes, leaving the last piece of land for humanity to survive."
As Obito spoke, he glanced at Nagato. "You might have been to the Land of Wind and seen that desert, but the areas west of the Land of Wind are true death traps. This hard-won ninja world today is all thanks to the Sage of Six Paths' diligent efforts."
To think his ancestor had done such a thing, Nagato felt a sense of pride and his heart stirred with a touch of honor.
"However, the Sage of Six Paths was severely injured in the previous great battles and had also poured too much of his heart and soul into the ninja world..."
Obito's voice was devoid of emotion. "So his originally limitless lifespan came to an end."
"..." Nagato remained silent, but his mind raced. If the Sage of Six Paths hadn't died, and had continued to command the world with his unparalleled power, perhaps there wouldn't have been so much conflict and fighting.
Regardless of Nagato's thoughts, Obito's narration continued. "Although the Sage of Six Paths is gone, before his passing, he made arrangements and divided his power into nine parts..."
Hearing this familiar setup, Nagato's eyes narrowed slightly. "You mean the tailed beasts..."
"Exactly." Obito continued to explain. "How powerful the Sage of Six Paths was. How could ordinary people bear his power? So, the Sage of Six Paths had no choice but to separate them and entrust them to future generations to protect the ninja world."
"But what the Sage of Six Paths didn't anticipate was that although the evil beast died back then, its residual spirit still existed in the ninja world. And after the Sage of Six Paths passed away, it set its sights on the nine parts of power and infiltrated them."
"This is precisely why the tailed beasts are so violent and unpredictable."
Obito's eyes narrowed, but his tone was firm. "But I believe that as long as we can clear away the evil beast's emotions, we can recreate the power of the Sage of Six Paths and use it to pacify the world."
"The emergence of the perfect Jinchuriki is the best proof of this."
"No wonder you've been urging me to collect the tailed beasts." Nagato suddenly understood, resolving the biggest doubt in his mind.
Obito's actions did seem to be using him. But honestly, if he were Obito, he wouldn't have entrusted everything.
Besides, these were things that happened in the past. Nagato didn't care about these minor grievances now. Moreover, the other party hadn't actually done anything against him.
"Collecting the tailed beasts and recreating the Sage of Six Paths' power is just one part of the plan to achieve peace in the ninja world..."
Obito's narrative was still ongoing. His words even placed the Sage of Six Paths' power later in the sequence, which greatly piqued Nagato and Konan's curiosity.
What else was there in the plan that was more important than the Sage of Six Paths' power?
"The Sage of Six Paths, who founded the Ninshu Sect and unified the ninja world a thousand years ago, had two bloodline descendants."
"The Uchiha Clan possessed the doujutsu kekkei genkai, and the Uzumaki Clan possessed powerful life force, inheriting the Sage of Six Paths' 'Eternal Eyes' and 'Sage Body' respectively. However..."
At this point, Obito paused. "But my clan's records also mention something else..."
"Um, excuse me."
Suddenly, a half-black, half-white head emerged from the ground in the dark room. "Although I really don't want to interrupt your storytelling, I have something urgent to report."
Nagato and Konan frowned in unison. Obito was at a crucial point, and being interrupted now was truly annoying.
Nagato glanced at Black Zetsu on the ground and asked, "What happened?"
"Uh... It's not a big deal, but it's quite urgent."
Black Zetsu's expression remained unchanged as he spoke unhurriedly. "When you fought Orochimaru earlier, you caused quite a bit of damage to the village. Large sewage pipes are broken in many places, and there's a risk of sewage backing up... The people there are waiting for orders from 'Paper Angel'."
As he spoke, Black Zetsu's vacant gaze turned to Konan.
The Akatsuki organization's power structure was quite streamlined. Military power was almost entirely responsible by the former Six Paths of Pain, while administrative management was held by Konan.
Although Kakuzu occasionally provided some help when he wasn't out on bounty missions, most of the time, Konan made the decisions regarding the Village Hidden in Rain.
The benefits of concentrated power were self-evident, but the drawbacks were also numerous. It was usually fine, but now, without a leader, and having to manage village affairs, the reactions of those below were rather slow, and they weren't doing a good job.
Konan knew this, of course. But Obito's information was at a crucial juncture, and she was more interested in hearing the rest of the story.
"Konan, you go ahead."
Nagato turned to the woman beside him. "We have no secrets between us. What I hear now, I will tell you again later."
"...Alright." Hearing Nagato say this, Konan cast a reluctant glance at Obito, then her body dissolved into paper pieces and scattered.
Normally, she wouldn't have left the weakened Nagato so easily. But she had to admit, Obito's honesty had dissolved many of the barriers.
Furthermore, having witnessed the battle between Nagato and Orochimaru in the sky earlier, she didn't believe Obito posed any threat to Nagato, even in his weakened state.
While 'Kamui' was indeed good and could defeat low-level ninjas, it was far from being on the same level, and could only serve as a minor aid.
After watching Konan disappear, a strange light flashed in Black Zetsu's eyes, and he sank back into the ground. Obito's narration continued.
"In the Uchiha compound, there is the Naka Shrine, which has been worshipped for generations. Beneath it, in a secret chamber, there is a stone tablet left by the Sage of Six Paths. It contains messages that only the Mangekyo Sharingan can read..."
Speaking of this, Obito looked deeply at Nagato. "Only by combining the power of the Uchiha and Uzumaki Clans can one achieve 'all things in creation'."
Nagato frowned upon hearing this. After a long moment, he slowly said, "What does that mean?" While he wasn't illiterate, he couldn't understand the obscure words now. And with Obito here to explain, he didn't want to guess.
"Is it hard to understand? The Uchiha possess the 'Eternal Eyes' that symbolize Yin Release, while the Uzumaki Clan possesses the 'Sage Body' that symbolizes Yang Release..."
Obito took a step towards Nagato and looked him directly in the eyes. "The combined power of the two, the power of 'all things in creation', is the Rinnegan."
Nagato's heart trembled, and numerous speculations flooded his mind.
He had always thought these Eternal Eyes were a gift from heaven, but now that was in question.
It wasn't recently that Uchiha ninjas had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. And those who knew the Akatsuki's secrets, would they attempt something?
When he thought of the Whirlpool Village being wiped out overnight, and Obito who used 'Uchiha Madara' as his alias... Some things were better not thought about. Just the fleeting thoughts made his scalp tingle.
Nagato even felt the urge to stop Obito from continuing. But at this moment, the other party threw out another interesting piece of information.
"You should know about the Sharingan and the Mangekyo Sharingan, but how are they awakened? There is a certain pattern to it."
Nagato suppressed his distracting thoughts and his expression became a bit more serious. "What pattern?"
"Love, hate, pain... extreme emotional fluctuations."
Obito's eyes instantly turned cold. "Almost all Uchihas awakened their doujutsu when they lost a companion."
Nagato was silent for a moment, but he quickly reacted, his brows furrowed deeply. "You mean the Rinnegan..."
"That's right."
"The appearance of the Rinnegan was not a natural gift, but a successful experiment by my teacher, Uchiha Madara..."
Red light flickered in Obito's eyes. Before Nagato could digest this fact, he continued, "Actually, your parents' death was no accident. They were Madara's subordinates, and they were deliberately killed before your eyes by Konoha Ninja, with the purpose of testing if you had the potential for the Rinnegan."
"In fact, it wasn't just you. Your parents, your grandparents, were all failures of this experiment."
"If you hadn't had this potential, they would have found a woman with Uchiha blood for you to marry and then had a new test subject."
"And you would have served as a consumable, watching him die before your eyes..."
"..." The cruel and malicious words struck his mind like steel needles. Nagato's first reaction wasn't anger.
Generations upon generations without end. What kind of cruel and evil person could think of such a method, all for a nonexistent legend?
How many people had died before him for this? If he hadn't succeeded, how many more would have been discarded like consumables?
Nagato refused to use the word 'sacrifice' for such a thing, because it wasn't noble.
And... was this still happening now?
The thought sent a shiver down his spine. He looked at Obito with a questioning gaze, intending to demand a full confession. But before he could even finish speaking, he suddenly found his body out of control.
A viscous black substance had appeared from his chest at some point and was spreading throughout his body.
Nagato caught a glimpse of a dark head emerging from the ground. The Black Zetsu who had just left had returned at some point, and his body's mutation was clearly related to Black Zetsu.
Almost at the same time, Obito, who was less than ten feet away, lunged forward, his hand reaching for Nagato's eyes.
"His target is the Rinnegan..." Nagato's mind flashed with this thought, and then he became furious.
No matter what, he would not let these eyes, stained with blood and born from countless corpses, fall into the hands of another.
His emotions and will burned like a raging inferno, and then exploded. The strange purple light emanating from the Rinnegan instantly turned into a surge of powerful force, blowing off both the floor and the ceiling. The entire black spire was instantly destroyed.
However, Obito, who was close at hand, was not repelled. After passing through Nagato, he reached back and scooped out, his fingers still aimed at the Rinnegan.
"Kamui..." Nagato's mind was sharp, and he instantly understood the cause and effect. "He actually used this opportunity as a feint! Could it be..."
Behind Nagato, Obito's eyes were calm, showing no trace of emotion.
That's right. He risked this one chance because he believed Nagato could break free from Uchiha Madara's control.
And since the current outburst was within the plan, why wouldn't he have made any preparations?
Earlier, whether it was the secrets of the Sage of Six Paths, the secrets of the Uchiha Clan, or even the half-true, half-false revelations about Nagato's background... they were all meant to stir Nagato's emotions.
First, he gradually gained the other party's trust, and then he shattered it in the most decisive way.
Nagato's outburst was indeed incredibly fierce, but even the strongest flames eventually die down. Especially before this, he had already expended a lot of energy sealing the tailed beasts, fighting Orochimaru, and even using Susanoo...
This also caused Nagato's decline to be even more rapid.
And to ensure this attack was fast enough to never fail, Obito had even taken out the black monster sealed in Kamui's dimension and augmented himself.
Suppressing the other party's emotions during the conversation had already consumed a lot of his energy. In other words, he really only had one chance.
However, this one chance was enough.
Obito struck swiftly, without any hesitation. After the blow, a scream rang out.