Jiraiya used his Talk no Jutsu on Konan, but Ino wasn't interested in that. She left the wooden house to search for secrets from Konan's memory, such as where the Akatsuki Organization kept its money. Was it in a bank? What was the account password?
If she found the money, she could hire Kakuzu to cause trouble in a few days.
Jiraiya temporarily dispelled Konan's desire to die, pulling her back from the brink of self-destruction and falling into the abyss.
The three returned to reality, and Konan's emotions had stabilized.
With her self-control online, those dark thoughts and painful memories were temporarily suppressed.
She was still unwilling to talk about the Akatsuki Organization. Don't ask, because her answer was always 'I don't know.' Jiraiya worried she would go to extremes, and Ino also believed it was best not to push too hard now.
It was still the same old saying: a young girl and a mature woman are different.
Konan in her youth was easy to fool, but now? The Akatsuki Organization and her familial bond with Nagato and Yahiko were her spiritual pillars. It was impossible to make her betray the Akatsuki Organization.
Konan was unwilling to discuss the Akatsuki Organization's affairs. She refused to reveal its current stronghold, objectives, number of members, or their abilities. She believed that doing so would be a betrayal of Nagato. If Ino forcibly read her mind, she would choose death. Jiraiya did not force her.
But Konan confirmed the existence of Uchiha Madara.
"That Uchiha Madara found the three of us back then, when Yahiko was still leading the Akatsuki Organization." There were only Konan, Ino, and Jiraiya in the interrogation room.
Ino was there primarily for monitoring, to prevent Konan from lying.
In Konan's mind, the Akatsuki Organization and Uchiha Madara were two different things.
Information about the Akatsuki Organization could not be revealed, but information about Uchiha Madara could.
Jiraiya's expression was solemn. This was the second time he had heard that name from an Akatsuki Organization member. The last time was from information Uchiha Itachi sent back to Konoha. He wanted to ask for more clarity.
"Is it really Uchiha Madara? Is Uchiha Madara still alive? Are you sure the person you saw was Uchiha Madara?" Jiraiya asked three questions consecutively.
Konan said with a relatively certain tone, "Jiraiya-sensei, we are not children anymore. We investigated this person during Yahiko's time. Afterwards, Nagato and I also conducted investigations. Besides Uchiha Madara, there are only a few other strong individuals in the Uchiha Clan who can use the Mangekyo Sharingan. It's not Uchiha Shisui, nor Uchiha Itachi, and certainly not Kakashi Hatake. We can only conclude that the masked person who could control the Nine-Tailed with the Mangekyo Sharingan is Uchiha Madara."
Ino listened quietly, without any emotional fluctuations.
No one in this world would have imagined that Uchiha Obito, who was always a dead last, could possess such great potential, nor would anyone investigate a dead person.
One could only say that the executor Madara and Zetsu found was indeed excellent.
Obito was eventually successfully talked down by Naruto, and he might have harbored thoughts of returning to the light, but he had gone too far, too deep, and could no longer turn back.
The Chunin vest he had longed for so many years had only been worn in his imagination; he never wore it in reality. It was, one had to admit, quite ironic.
Uchiha Obito. If you reverse his name, Obito, what do you get? Tobi. It's the same in Japanese: Obito (オビト) and Tobi (トビ).
He might have held a one-in-a-hundred or one-in-a-thousand hope, leaving a hint for the world, hoping someone would connect the name Tobi to himself, then defeat him, break his arms and legs, or even kill him directly, to stop his conspiracy and end this cruel nightmare.
Unfortunately, except for Kakashi, no one in this world cared about a small character like Uchiha Obito.
Obito? Who's that? Never heard of him!
No one stopped him, so he could only follow the predetermined path, moving forward, all the way to the end.
Aside from Uchiha Madara, Konan was unwilling to reveal any other information. When Jiraiya asked how Yahiko died, she remained silent.
Konan and Jiraiya's relationship was not a secret among Konoha's high-ranking officials. The Akatsuki Organization, or rather Nagato, was very at ease with Konan falling into Konoha's hands. If it were the Third Hokage or Fourth Hokage, he would definitely send the Six Paths of Pain to retrieve her, but Jiraiya? He knew Konan would be safe in Jiraiya's hands.
Zetsu stole Konan's ring, and after that, the Akatsuki Organization took no further action.
Konoha's high-ranking officials, especially the three Advisors, saw that Jiraiya was in a bad mood and did not suggest things like "execute Konan" or "torture her for a confession."
Konan received a long-term meal ticket in Konoha's prison. Her cell had newspapers, and Jiraiya would occasionally visit and talk to her. Aside from losing her freedom, she had lost nothing else.
After a week of heightened security, with no attackers appearing, the Village lowered its alert level.
Another week passed, and things returned to normal.
Ino saw a hint of the Rinnegan's charm in Konan's memories. After much thought, she realized she had underestimated the "not human" path.
She thought that even if she gathered Asura Chakra and Indra Chakra, and had even greater talent than Uchiha Madara, effortlessly achieving the fusion of All Things of Nature to a height that Ashura and Indra themselves never reached in their lifetimes, and then becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, that should be the peak.
Ashura and Indra's mother was a mortal.
The bloodline's limit was there. If Ino were to stubbornly compete with these two brothers, she would absolutely not be able to surpass the Six Paths Sage. Naruto and Sasuke's peak was the limit; for the rest of her life, she would have to live under the old man's surveillance.
If you are needed to save the world, you must go.
If he thinks you are too dangerous, the old man will find two "heroes" to hit you with a Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei.
This was not the life Ino wanted. To work for Konoha Village like a tool, and after finally becoming the strongest in the Ninja World, becoming Six Paths Ino, she would still have to work for some old geezer? What a joke!
Ino wanted to break free from the Six Paths Sage, that is, the bloodline restrictions of Otsutsuki Hagoromo. So she had to find a way through the other branch of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's bloodline, namely the descendants of Hamura Otsutsuki.
These descendants of Hamura Otsutsuki were, one could say, far away yet close at hand.
Ino went to the Hyuga Clan to find Hinata. No other reason, she just wanted to borrow her body for a bit.
Hinata had just finished training and was eating rice in small mouthfuls.
A small bowl of rice and a fish—that was the Hyuga Clan's young lady's lunch.
"Pfft—" Suddenly hearing Ino's request, she sprayed out all the rice in her mouth.
A Ninja, especially one skilled in taijutsu, has an unusually large lung capacity. Hinata's small body was full of strength, and she was eating a bit quickly, so the rice in her mouth sprayed out in a fan shape, all over the floor in one breath.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, forgetting about her meal, kneeling on the ground, picking up the grains of rice one by one.
Ino: "..."
There were quite a lot of rice grains. If Hinata picked them up by herself, it would take at least ten minutes. It wouldn't be appropriate for her to just stand there, would it?
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