"Naruto, hurry up and eat your breakfast!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
It was a bright, sunny morning in Konoha.
Naruto had been dragged out of bed early by Kushina's voice, while Minato sat by the dining table flipping through old records and reports.
Quite some time had passed since they had been awakened through Edo Tensei. As for the blank stretch of years they had missed, Minato, as the former Fourth Hokage, naturally intended to fill in every gap as thoroughly as he could.
He was deeply curious about the current state of Konoha, but at the same time, he was enjoying this life more than he could put into words.
Watching Kushina busy herself in the kitchen, watching Naruto stumble out of his room with a yawn, Minato couldn't help smiling.
"Morning, Dad."
Still half-asleep, Naruto shuffled over and greeted him.
"You're reading those reports again? What's so interesting about them? You could just ask me."
"What would a brat like you know?"
At that moment, Kushina came out carrying breakfast and set it down in front of Naruto.
"Here, hurry and eat. Honestly, Edo Tensei bodies don't even have a sense of taste, so I don't even know how well I made it."
"Mom's cooking is the best!"
Naruto immediately gave her a big thumbs-up and grinned, then rubbed his hands together.
"Alright! Time to eat!"
The second he finished speaking, he dug in enthusiastically. Kushina might not have a sense of taste anymore, but her cooking was still incredible.
Naruto ate happily. These past few days had been the happiest days of his life.
He had imagined this kind of life countless times before.
Every morning, his father would sit beneath the sunlight reading the paper, waiting for the day's duties to begin.
His mother would make breakfast for him, and the whole family would spend the day together, happily welcoming a brand-new morning.
But sadly, all of that had once been nothing more than fantasy. Back then, he hadn't even known who his parents were, or what they looked like. Everything about them had been vague and blurred.
But now it was different.
Now he could see it all clearly.
Now he could reach out and touch it.
Even if both of them were only here because of Edo Tensei, he was still so happy he could barely stand it.
He truly hoped this would last.
That it could go on forever.
"Slow down. Don't choke."
Watching Naruto wolf down his food, Kushina felt a pang in her chest. She reached out and rubbed his head, then her expression turned displeased.
"Seriously, what exactly was that old man, the Third Hokage, thinking? What kind of life was Naruto living before this?!"
"Uh... don't you already know all that?"
Seeing Kushina look like she was about to flare up again, Minato immediately rubbed his forehead with a troubled sigh.
"This is still my fault. Naruto became a jinchuriki without us there to protect him. On top of that, the village was in a difficult position at the time, and Danzo was stirring trouble from the shadows.
"No matter what choice the Third made, he had to prioritize the village. All he could do was redirect the conflict. Naruto and the Uchiha were both victims in all of this.
"But it's all in the past now. Naruto himself said the Third always took care of him in his own way, and there was also our Hokage's aide. Back then, Ren never cared about Naruto's status at all. He kept looking after him the whole time. Compared to many war orphans, Naruto actually had it better than most."
Minato had already met with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The moment Hiruzen saw him, he had nearly attacked on instinct.
It couldn't be helped. Edo Tensei had practically become Orochimaru's signature by now. According to rumor, that man had gathered a huge pile of "materials," clearly with Konoha in mind.
And with what had happened to the First and Second Hokage before, there was no way Hiruzen wouldn't be alarmed at the sight of Minato.
At the same time, however, he had also been confused. Konoha had tried before to summon Minato early, but every attempt had failed.
Clearly, something about the original Edo Tensei had caused that.
So how had Minato returned now?
Only after asking did Hiruzen learn that Ren was the one who had summoned him, and only then did he finally breathe easy.
He had no idea how Ren had accomplished it, but seeing Minato again still made him genuinely happy.
Yet along with that happiness came a trace of guilt, because he knew very well why Minato had come.
After all, Konoha really had wronged Naruto's family.
The two of them had talked through the entire night, and only stopped when Hiruzen, an old man in his seventies, simply couldn't keep going anymore.
Minato, as an Edo Tensei, didn't get tired at all.
Hiruzen definitely did.
"Hmph. You were just brainwashed by that old geezer!"
Kushina understood the underlying reality perfectly well, but that didn't stop her from being furious.
"I went to see that place myself. Why was Naruto living in that dump? Why didn't they let him move back here?
"And I even heard from him that he drank expired milk before. Sure, that happened because he stockpiled food, but what does that tell you? It means buying things was hard for him in the first place! What's the point of just giving him money?
"Honestly, what a bunch of bastards. Naruto suffered through so many miserable days, and I heard he even brought that old man mushroom soup once. He got off way too easy!"
"..."
The second mushroom soup was mentioned, both Naruto and Minato pressed their lips together.
Then father and son quietly exchanged a glance.
That one pot of mushroom soup had nearly sent the Third Hokage straight to the afterlife.
But neither of them dared bring that up.
After a moment's thought, Minato finally said, "Alright, Kushina. Naruto couldn't just move back here. You know the rules. Especially with Danzo around. And besides... we were dead."
"Tch. Danzo, that rotten old vulture. I always knew he was scum!"
The moment Kushina heard Danzo's name, she snorted coldly. Her disgust for him was obvious.
"Naruto, from now on, you need to listen properly to that Hokage's aide. He helped you, and he took care of Danzo's mess too. After we're gone, you need to behave yourself and stop causing trouble for Lord Hokage's Aide. Got it?"
"Mm-hm..."
Naruto nodded on instinct, but the moment he actually processed what she had said, his body froze slightly.
Right.
His parents were still going to leave.
Edo Tensei had changed many things, but they still didn't look like living people. They couldn't even freely appear in front of everyone else.
That probably didn't feel good for them either.
Naruto lowered his head, and the pace of his eating slowed.
He wished he could eat more slowly, just so this moment together could slow down with it.
Sixteen years.
After all this time, he had finally gotten to experience this.
He didn't want it to end so quickly.
"Naruto..."
Kushina seemed to realize she had said the wrong thing. She opened her mouth, wanting to patch it up somehow, but for a moment she had no idea what to say.
In the end, she fell silent as well.
These past few days, she had tried her best not to think about it.
She wanted so badly—so, so badly—to stay with her child a little longer. She had already missed the first sixteen years of Naruto's life, but she still wanted to see more of his future.
But no matter how she looked at it, Edo Tensei was not a jutsu that fit the natural order.
What did Konoha think of it?
What did the Hokage's aide who performed the technique think of it?
She truly didn't know.
She understood that she had only been summoned to help Naruto learn to control the Nine-Tails.
But once that was over... then what?
"Alright, enough with the gloomy faces."
At that moment, Minato set down the report in his hand and suddenly spoke up.
"There's no need to think about that now. We still have time. Our job is to teach Naruto properly.
"As for what happens afterward, we'll deal with it then. If Naruto performs well, maybe we'll get to stay with him a little longer.
"After all, that Hokage's aide is a pretty decent person, isn't he?"
"Perform well... and my parents can stay with me longer?"
Naruto's eyes lit up at once.
Ren might be a little unreliable sometimes, but he was absolutely someone Naruto could trust.
If he could properly complete the tasks Ren gave him, then...
"Alright!"
Naruto clenched his fist and shouted, "Mom, let's start training right away!"
"Quit yelling."
The instant the words left his mouth, Kushina smacked him on the head.
"Finish your breakfast first. You're still growing, so stop messing around!"
"That's right. Eat first. You've got a lot ahead of you today. I still want to teach you the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Minato smiled from the side and rubbed the spot Kushina had just smacked.
"Do your best, Naruto. I know you can do it."
"Mm!"
Naruto grinned, then lowered his head and earnestly resumed eating.
The feeling of home...
It really was wonderful.
"I finally understand why you didn't tell Konoha..."
In the Land of Rain, Jiraiya stared blankly at Ren, his mind in utter chaos.
Just moments ago he had been locked in a life-and-death battle with Nagato, only to turn around and discover they were actually on the same side. That alone had nearly broken his brain.
And now, seeing Ren and Konan acting so intimate—so natural, so unconscious in their closeness—he truly felt like he no longer understood this world at all.
What the hell was going on?
Had he been abandoned by the times?
Why couldn't he understand the world anymore?
Nagato was in much the same state.
He stared at Ren and Konan in disbelief, completely unable to process how things had somehow turned out like this.
When had they gotten involved with each other?
How had it become like this?
Why had Konan never told him?
Nagato's face was full of confusion, but a moment later, irritation welled up inside him too.
Of course Konan had every right to make her own choices, but no matter what, they were still best friends, weren't they?
Nagato had always treated Konan like a little sister. After Yahiko's death, he had sworn he would protect her no matter what.
And while Ren was certainly an outstanding man—whether in strength or character...
No, forget the character part for now.
This bastard could only be described as exceptional.
But the problem was, didn't this guy already have girlfriends?
And if Nagato's information was right, more than one!
So how had Konan ended up with him?
"What nonsense are you spouting? Keep talking like that and I'll have you thrown into Root's prison."
Ren raised an eyebrow and spoke with utter disdain.
"And once I get back, I'll immediately announce across the Land of Fire and every neighboring country that no entertainment establishment is allowed to let you in. The moment one of them does, I'll shut the place down the very next day. Believe me?"
"Y-you..."
Jiraiya's breathing stalled. He stared at Ren in disbelief, then shakily raised a finger toward him.
"That's an abuse of power!"
"What, you got a problem with that?"
Ren snorted dismissively. He loosened the arm wrapped around Konan's waist and continued lazily, "That's what happens when I'm the Hokage's aide, Senior Jiraiya. You should learn to respect authority."
"..."
Jiraiya no longer wanted to speak.
He had heard Kakashi grumble before about how "the skies over Konoha were pitch black."
At the time, he hadn't understood what that meant. Of course, he hadn't had the time to think about it either.
But now he understood.
Konoha's sky really was black as hell.
He couldn't see through it at all.
"As for Konan and me, sorry for not explaining earlier. But that's the same reason I didn't inform Konoha about the Akatsuki."
Seeing Jiraiya go silent in numb surrender, Ren nodded in satisfaction before turning to Nagato.
"The fewer people know certain things, the lower the chance the secret gets exposed. I'm sorry this was kept from you. It wasn't because I didn't trust you.
"It's because you had to keep dealing with Obito Uchiha, and that man has always been after the Rinnegan. He was never going to trust you completely.
"Any change in your emotions could have attracted his attention. So yes, I'm the one who told Konan not to tell you."
Ren basically took all the blame onto himself.
What else was he supposed to do?
It wasn't like he could say he had kept joking about "showing sincerity" until Konan had finally offered some "sincerity" of her own.
There was no way he could say that out loud.
Still, he was a little annoyed with himself. He had relaxed too much. Habit had become instinct, and now he'd exposed himself.
"Enough. This isn't the time to talk about that. We've got something more important to do."
Seeing that Nagato was still silent, Ren turned to the Deva Path beside him and asked calmly, "Have you made up your mind? Are you willing to use your eyes to bring Yahiko back to life?"
"My eyes?"
Jiraiya snapped back to himself immediately, suddenly realizing what Ren meant.
"His eyes? You mean—"
But before he could finish, Ren shook his head at him.
Jiraiya hesitated for a moment, then could only sigh and shut his mouth.
He hadn't forgotten what he had seen and heard on the moon. Nagato's eyes had long been a knot in his heart.
But now that Ren was asking for them, did this mean Ren wanted to use them himself... or something else?
"Yes. I've made my decision."
Nagato finally spoke.
He looked at Ren and no longer thought about Konan. Whatever he thought now wouldn't change anything.
What mattered was that Yahiko's chance to return was right in front of him.
Of course, he could still attempt to use the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, but that technique would devour his life.
It wasn't that he feared death. He just wanted to do more while he still could.
Now that there was another way, he was willing to try it.
"I'm willing to give up my eyes to resurrect Yahiko. And honestly... I also want to see what happens when the Sage Body and the Sage Eyes are brought together."
As he spoke, he reached up and moved to gouge out his own eyes.
He had clearly made up his mind.
"Don't rush. I'm not taking your eyes now."
But just as his fingers were about to touch them, Ren suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"And to be more precise, I'm not the one who wants them. When the time comes, you'll understand."
As he spoke, Ren let go of Nagato's wrist and slowly walked over to Yahiko's body.
"Release your control. Leave the rest to me."
Nagato had no idea what Ren intended, so he instinctively glanced at Konan.
Without the slightest hesitation, she nodded.
Something complicated twisted in Nagato's chest, but in the end, he could only do as Ren said.
"What exactly are you planning to do?"
"In truth, some things aren't nearly as difficult as people imagine."
As Ren spoke, he lifted a hand. Space suddenly twisted violently, and in the next instant, a White Zetsu body dropped out from within the distortion.
"That's... one of those white creatures?"
Nagato reacted instantly.
Ren pointed at the White Zetsu, and in the blink of an eye the creature's expression turned blank and dazed as it slowly rose to its feet.
"Mm. They're the White Zetsu hidden on Obito Uchiha's body. He himself may not even know they're there."
Ren nodded while the White Zetsu, under his control, walked toward Yahiko's body.
"During my fight with Obito just now, I was actually worried there wouldn't be any White Zetsu around. That would've made things troublesome for me. But the situation turned out better than I expected.
"There weren't any nearby, but he had them on him. As for Obito... his condition is probably pretty awful right now."
Obito's body had nearly been torn apart by the spatial technique Ren had evolved using the knowledge he had wrung out of Orochimaru's so-called title as the "Doctor of the Shinobi World."
As Ren continued evolving, all of his abilities had grown increasingly bizarre and terrifying.
And after this latest round of biological evolution, he had effectively surpassed the limits of ordinary human life-forms, which gave him a much deeper understanding of all kinds of power.
Spatial power was one of them.
Against that, Obito had had practically no answer.
But the man's instinct for survival truly was outrageous. In the instant Ren's spatial chaos tore through everything, Obito had somehow found a crack in the distortion using Kamui itself.
Without a moment's hesitation, he used Izanagi to drag himself back from death, then unleashed nearly all of his remaining ocular power to force Kamui into overdrive and barely escape.
"No wonder that's the same ability that can pierce even Kaguya Otsutsuki's Yomotsu Hirasaka. This bastard's cheat is ridiculous..."
Ren couldn't help muttering under his breath, while also feeling a bit lucky that Obito was an idiot.
If that guy had actually been smart, the shinobi world would have been completely screwed.
"But I don't care about his condition. What I want was on him in the first place."
As he spoke, the White Zetsu had already begun forming hand seals. A strange chakra began to pulse from its body.
"And now... it's time to witness it."
Under Ren's control, the White Zetsu finally completed the seals and placed a hand on Yahiko's body, now no longer under Nagato's control.
Suddenly, an enormous surge of life force erupted from the White Zetsu, and in the next instant that vitality flowed through its hand and into Yahiko's body.
"This is..."
Nagato and Konan stared blankly.
They could both feel it happening.
That special life force was continuously pouring into Yahiko's body.
And through the Rinnegan, Yahiko's condition now appeared incredibly subtle—his body itself was even undergoing miraculous changes.
"This jutsu... what exactly is this...?"
Nagato had done everything possible to preserve Yahiko's body, but even then, there were still unavoidable alterations.
Yahiko had long since become nothing more than an empty shell.
That much could not be changed.
But at this moment, massive amounts of chakra were flooding his body, continuously extracting from Yahiko's cells and amplifying them.
"It's Chiyo's technique. I got it from Sunagakure during the last mission there."
Ren smiled casually and rubbed his chin.
"Of course, if you feel indebted, you can always make it up to me some other way."
"..."
Nagato said nothing, but a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
The Fifth Kazekage, Pakura... didn't she also seem to have a very close relationship with Ren?
The moment that thought appeared, his mood worsened again.
Still, he had no time to dwell on it, because Yahiko had changed once more.
As that tremendous chakra gathered and accumulated, Yahiko's body seemed to collect enough of it to reach some critical threshold.
Then, from the deepest core of his body, an indescribable aura quietly began to emerge.
"Oh? The flame of life has been reignited?"
Nagato's Rinnegan couldn't see it, but Ren noticed it immediately.
After all, Yang Release was the power Ren was most proficient in.
Driven by that newly lit flame of life, Yahiko's entire body began undergoing unbelievable transformation.
His shattered bones started to reform.
His organs, blood, and muscles began reconstructing themselves.
Strange mist poured wildly from his body, and as more and more of it escaped, his body slowly regained vitality.
Clink—
One black receiver after another fell from within him, while his wounds rapidly began to heal.
Most importantly, whether it was Ren or Nagato, both of them could sense—and even faintly perceive—that an invisible figure seemed to be settling over his body.
"Gahhh!"
At that exact moment, the White Zetsu suddenly let out a hoarse scream.
Even it had clearly reached its limit.
They turned to look and saw that the White Zetsu under Ren's control had already shriveled completely, so dried out it could practically be called a corpse husk.
Thump—
But just then, a distinct pulse of living chakra spread outward, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of a heartbeat.
As that heartbeat grew stronger and stronger, Yahiko's body trembled slightly.
No one knew how much time passed before he slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Konan, tears already brimming in her eyes; Nagato, stunned and frozen; and Jiraiya, whose mouth hung slightly open in utter disbelief.
Yahiko stared blankly at them all, then instinctively spoke.
"Nagato, Konan, Jiraiya-sensei... why are you—"
Before he could finish, Jiraiya lunged forward and pulled him into a fierce embrace.
In one of Otogakure's bases in the Land of Rice Fields, space suddenly rippled.
Obito Uchiha stumbled out of it in a ragged heap and crashed headfirst to the ground.
He was breathing hard, his body twisted unnaturally, blood seeping from wounds all over him.
His mask had shattered. One eye had gone completely blind, while the remaining Mangekyo Sharingan was still bleeding nonstop.
He had never imagined he could be wounded this badly.
And he definitely had never imagined Ren's spatial power could become this terrifying.
"Obito?"
As he lay there gasping for breath, Black Zetsu rose up from the ground and stared at him in disbelief.
"What happened to you? What the hell happened?"
Black Zetsu was genuinely shaken.
Wasn't Obito supposed to be in the Land of Rain with Nagato and the others?
How had he ended up injured like this?
More importantly, Black Zetsu realized the White Zetsu cloak hidden on Obito's body was gone.
That bizarre detail made him immediately realize something.
Because if even Obito, who had Kamui space, had been beaten into this state, then there was only one possibility.
"Was it Ren? Did he go there?"
Black Zetsu's expression darkened instantly.
If it was that man, then the situation was bad. Very bad.
"It was him. He traced us to the Land of Rain and found Nagato and the others..."
Obito spoke weakly.
Right now, the last thing he wanted was to explain that he himself had gone to the Land of Rain first, which had then led to all of them getting completely beaten down.
No matter what, he didn't want to say it.
And no matter what, he couldn't.
"As for Nagato's side, I don't know the current situation. But I doubt it's going well..."
"Nagato?"
Black Zetsu's face completely changed.
In his wildest dreams, he had never expected Ren to get to Nagato first.
He truly could not imagine what would happen if Ren captured Nagato and took control of the Rinnegan.
Who the hell would be able to stop him then?!
Madara Uchiha definitely could.
Once he became the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki, he absolutely could deal with Ren.
But the problem was that Madara needed to be revived first.
And to revive him, they needed the Rinnegan.
But if the Rinnegan was in Ren's hands...
It was a perfect deadlock.
An unsolvable loop.
How was this supposed to work anymore?!
The more Black Zetsu thought about it, the more his mind nearly exploded.
What now?
What were they supposed to do now?
Victory had been so close, right there in front of them.
So why had everything gone wrong like this?
What was he supposed to do?
Black Zetsu stood rooted to the spot, his eyes filled with confusion.
And that frozen reaction drew the attention of Orochimaru, as well as—
"Madara Uchiha?!"
The instant Madara stepped out from the shadows, Obito, still sprawled on the ground, felt his breathing stop.
Now he understood why Black Zetsu had always been so secretive.
So the bastard had already summoned Madara!
No wonder he hadn't told him.
No wonder he had been hiding.
So that was it.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Madara had absolutely no interest in exchanging pointless words with Obito. He strode over, grabbed Obito by the collar, and hauled him up off the ground.
"The Rinnegan... was taken by Ren?"
Madara was visibly agitated.
After all, he had actually fought Ren himself.
He knew better than anyone how terrifying Ren's strength was.
Even though Madara now had a new body, one that had been restored and repaired, and his power had advanced another step, his Edo Tensei body still had no proper answer to Ren's Yin-Yang Release.
And without truly returning to life, his Rinnegan was still incomplete.
Facing the current Ren, even Madara found it deeply troublesome.
And if that monster also obtained the Rinnegan, Madara didn't even dare imagine what level he would reach.
At that moment, he truly wanted to strangle Obito to death.
You lost the Rinnegan?
Then why the hell didn't you just die there too?
"Don't get worked up yet. Ren probably hasn't had an easy time getting Nagato's Rinnegan."
Black Zetsu forced himself to calm down, then spoke after a moment of thought.
"The power of the Rinnegan is no joke, and Nagato's control over it isn't low either. They've fought several times before, and Nagato has always been able to respond with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
"Back then, even when the statue had very little chakra, it could still hold him off to some extent. Now that it has chakra from several Tailed Beasts, it should be able to manage even better.
"And Obito said their battle took place in the Land of Rain, right?"
"Yeah. In the central region of the Land of Rain."
Obito nodded with difficulty. His entire body still hurt like hell. Being torn by space itself was a truly horrific experience.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
"Nagato deceived Ren. He made Ren and the others believe Nagato had no connection to the Land of Rain, and Ren was being very restrained when he attacked.
"It was obvious he didn't want to slaughter people in the Land of Rain and damage Konoha's relationship with the country. Under those circumstances, Nagato should have been able to preserve himself."
Although Obito spoke weakly, he believed that conclusion had to be correct.
There was no way Ren would willingly create a disaster in a place like that.
Black Zetsu nodded rapidly, trying to reassure Madara.
"That's right. So we absolutely cannot panic right now. Nagato may not be in as much danger as we imagined. Our top priority is finding him as quickly as possible.
"Beyond that, we need to gather more strength. There are certain things we should begin putting into motion."
Madara's gaze flickered as he listened.
The situation was even more complicated and troublesome than he had anticipated.
But in the end, he slowly nodded.
It was true.
The most important thing right now was finding Nagato and making the necessary preparations as quickly as possible.
If this dragged on any longer, who knew what might happen?
Certain actions truly could not wait anymore.
"How are Kumogakure and Iwagakure doing?"
After a long silence, Madara finally asked in a low voice.
Black Zetsu had clearly already prepared for the question.
"Though their attitudes may still be a little ambiguous, they're mentally prepared already. After all, no one can avoid something like this.
"And don't forget—we also have their former Kage through Edo Tensei. They cannot refuse, and they won't."
"How many Edo Tensei troops do we have now?"
Madara had come from the Warring States era and had experienced more battles than most people could imagine.
Beyond that, he had witnessed all three great shinobi wars of the modern era.
Naturally, he knew exactly how to prepare for a war.
"We have nearly a hundred thousand White Zetsu. As for the Edo Tensei forces, the number isn't especially large, but every single one of them is elite."
Black Zetsu answered smoothly, quickly laying out everything he knew.
"Together with Kumogakure and Iwagakure's main forces, our war potential and total scale are enormous.
"And Kumogakure has the Heavenly Transfer Technique. They can send Edo Tensei units straight to any battlefield at any time, which gives us even greater mobility.
"No matter how strong Ren is, he'll still be trapped in a situation where he can't cover every front. He'll be caught between impossible choices. Our chances of winning are high!"
"Is that so?"
For the first time, Madara seemed to relax.
The scale of their forces and the quality of their elite troops were impressive—enough to surpass the allied shinobi forces in some respects. That alone gave him confidence.
Though they were somewhat lacking when it came to dealing directly with Ren and that mysterious Uchiha woman...
As long as they found Nagato and confirmed the Rinnegan was still secure, Madara could be revived.
And once revived, he could become the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki.
At that point, he would no longer need to fear Ren.
"We have intel!"
Just as Madara was sinking into thought, the ground rippled and a White Zetsu poked its head out.
"Oh, everyone's here."
"Cut the crap. What is it?"
Madara shot the White Zetsu a cold look and demanded immediately.
"Y-yes, yes, don't rush."
The White Zetsu was visibly startled by him, but quickly nodded.
"Several of us disappeared in the Land of Rain. If nothing unexpected happened, they're probably dead.
"But one of them sent back a final message before losing contact. He said he had taken Nagato away from the battlefield and hidden him.
"Then he immediately left the Land of Rain and eventually disappeared inside the Land of Fire. He's probably dead too."
Lost contact inside the Land of Fire?
He took Nagato away from the battlefield and hid him?
At those words, everyone present lit up.
Maybe...
Nagato was still in the Land of Rain?
"It seems we have a lead."
Black Zetsu let out a small sigh of relief and looked at Madara.
"I'll go to the Land of Rain myself. I'll search it thoroughly."
"Don't rush yet."
Madara thought for a while before finally speaking.
"It's possible Nagato has already been taken back to Konoha. We can't ignore any possibility."
"Then... what do you mean?"
Black Zetsu still didn't quite follow, so he asked carefully.
Madara didn't bother hiding his plan.
"You go to the Land of Rain. Search every inch of it. Don't overlook a single clue.
"But at the same time, once Hashirama returns, I'll go to Konoha with him."
At that, Madara paused before continuing.
"If Nagato is in Konoha, I'll be able to sense the chakra of the Rinnegan.
"If he is there, then we'll rethink our plans. But if he isn't, the White Zetsu can pass the message to you.
"And while I'm in Konoha, I can create pressure there as well, forcing Ren to return and giving you time and space to act.
"Of course, we can also use this opportunity to send a necessary message."
After a brief pause, his eyes darkened.
"After all, Kumogakure and Iwagakure aren't truly of one mind with us. We need to give them a signal they can't ignore—something that forces them to obediently follow."
"Hey... are you sure this is really okay?"
Outside Konoha, in the Land of Fire, Jiraiya glanced at Ren before finally lowering his voice and asking.
"Is leaving Nagato there really a wise decision? He fought you and lived. That alone already makes no sense.
"On top of that, he now knows even more secrets, and Yahiko's been revived too. No matter how I look at it, letting him stay there doesn't seem reasonable."
"That wasn't my decision. It was theirs."
Ren shook his head.
This wasn't something he had chosen. Nagato had made the decision himself.
Of course, Ren did want Nagato to stay, but if he had shown any desire to retreat, Ren wouldn't have forced the issue too hard.
After all, Konan's "sincerity" was already there...
At worst, he could always wait for a later opportunity and let Madara or Obito take the Rinnegan instead.
But Nagato had been unexpectedly firm. He seemed utterly determined to complete his role and had no intention of leaving.
Since that was the case, Ren naturally chose to respect his decision.
Besides, Ren had more than enough methods available to him now.
"And Yahiko has only just revived. There's nothing wrong with letting them spend more time together. Even if Nagato dies, as long as the timing is right, I can just pull him back too. Can't I?"
"You really are something else..."
Jiraiya looked utterly strained after hearing that, but soon shook his head with a sigh.
"Still... to be honest, the way you're doing things makes me uneasy. This really is breaking the natural order. Is that truly alright?"
"There you go again."
Ren looked at Jiraiya speechlessly, clearly annoyed by that expression on his face.
"And honestly, instead of lecturing me, maybe you should spend some time thinking about yourself."
"Me?"
Jiraiya blinked, not understanding, but Ren had no intention of letting him off.
"Yes, you. Why don't you think carefully about how many stupid things you've done, and how self-righteous you've always been?"
"..."
Jiraiya was momentarily stunned, but Ren continued without pause.
"This time, if I hadn't been there, you ran off to the Land of Rain alone. Did you even think about what that could have done to Nagato?
"And if Nagato hadn't been persuaded by me—if he had still sunk fully into darkness—do you think you'd still be alive right now?"
"..."
Jiraiya had no answer.
He truly didn't know how to respond.
But Ren was merciless.
"You'd be dead. Dead horribly. And no matter which outcome we're talking about, you'd have had no room to do anything except hurt other people in the process.
"Self-righteousness has practically become your trademark. Especially that obsession of yours with some ridiculous prophecy, always believing you're destined to find the Child of Prophecy.
"But what gives you the right to believe your student must be the one? Just because some toads said so? Instead of ever considering whether maybe you should rely on your own effort?"
Ren's words were harsh, but Jiraiya had nothing to say in return.
Because he truly had no way to refute them.
"And think about Minato Namikaze. How did he die?"
Ren glanced at Jiraiya. These were words he had wanted to say for a very long time.
"If you had been in Konoha that night—if you had helped—would things have turned out that badly?
"And think about Naruto. Would he have become an orphan? Even if he still had, if you had returned to Konoha instead of continuing to chase after your so-called Child of Prophecy, then with your influence in the village, would he really have suffered so much in his early years?
"You're a man who never takes responsibility, yet still thinks he knows best.
"Sometimes I honestly feel Orochimaru was right. Anyone you label as the Child of Prophecy ends up short-lived.
"And while you go off searching for that Child of Prophecy, who knows how many people end up dead because of it?"
After saying all that, Ren felt utterly refreshed.
He had wanted to say those things to Jiraiya for ages.
He just hadn't had the right chance before.
Now that he finally had one, there was no way he was letting it pass.
There was nothing more satisfying than tearing into someone.
And reducing them to total silence felt even better.
After glancing at Jiraiya, who stood there speechless, Ren no longer bothered with him.
He still had plenty of things to deal with.
"I also need to head to the moon to replace Sasuke's eyes, then check how Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra training is going. After that, I need to improve Konan and Tsunade's abilities, and then there's Yugao's situation too.
"Oh, and Konan will be coming to Konoha after a while. I need to show her the root system so she can pass the information back into the Akatsuki...
"Hm? Wait. Why is all of that colliding at once?"
A sudden sense of alarm hit Ren.
If all of those things overlapped, wasn't he screwed?
But before he could think any further, his vision suddenly flickered.
It seemed he had received another pretty good reward.
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