The Emperor's Variant?

Good grief, it was CPU after all! How was the so-called Will of Fire of Konoha Village any different from MLM brainwashing?

Once you became a shinobi, you had to give everything to the shinobi village. Were people not supposed to be free?

"Why do you only talk about dedication and sacrifice? If you receive something, you should give something in return. Isn't a relationship only stable and long-lasting when there are mutual interests involved?"

Jiraiya shook his head at Nagato's words, a hint of disappointment in his gaze.

"No! You're wrong! The spirit of willingly devoting one's life and sacrificing one's life to protect one's bonds is what makes it great. Once you mix in personal interests, it becomes unbearably vulgar!"

Jiraiya was utterly disappointed that Nagato could say something so materialistic.

What had the Nagato of that other world gone through?

The two of them had talked along the way, and both knew that they shared a teacher-disciple relationship.

Could it be that I never taught him the Will of Fire in that world?

Nagato was baffled too. They wanted the horse to run but refused to let it eat grass. It seemed the true culprits behind these rogue ninjas and wandering ninjas were not their inner greed, but Konoha Village's deformed upbringing and inaction!

"What are the core socialist values here?"

"Core socialist values? Our values are to dedicate ourselves to the village, of course!"

Jiraiya was dumbfounded. He found Nagato's words somewhat incomprehensible.

"Don't you have things like prosperity, democracy, and harmony?"

"Huh? Shinobi only need to follow the assignments they're given and dedicate themselves to their missions and village. What use would those things be?"

"You have to understand that shinobi are merely tools during missions. Tools aren't allowed to have feelings!"

Nagato, who had never experienced life under the Shinobi Village System, simply couldn't understand Jiraiya's words.

What did he mean, shinobi were merely tools?

Shuriken, Soldier Pills, and storage scrolls were tools, weren't they?

Being a shinobi was merely a profession. At its core, they were still living, breathing people!

The greatest difference between humans and animals was emotion. Could someone who suppressed their emotions still be called human?

No wonder those civilians were so afraid of shinobi!

No wonder shinobi were synonymous with disaster!

So the people here—even someone like Jiraiya, who was a shinobi himself—saw themselves as nothing more than tools!

Nagato gained a new understanding of this world's twisted nature.

"You talk about dedication and sacrifice while treating shinobi as tools. Isn't that contradictory?"

Nagato couldn't help speaking up.

"Contradictory? We're sacrificing and dedicating ourselves for the sake of the village!"

"What about comrades?"

"Comrades? Comrades are important, of course, but carrying out missions accurately is what shinobi must understand."

Nagato felt that there was no way to get through to him.

The mission was important?

In the Empire, no matter the circumstances, human life always came first.

Here, human lives were treated like blades of grass. It would be strange if no one defected!

Seeing that Nagato had fallen silent, Jiraiya silently took out the writing fees he had saved over the past six months and distributed them to the civilians.

Nagato watched silently without saying a word.

Jiraiya was somewhat puzzled as well.

Judging from Nagato's various expressions of surprise, the world he came from was perhaps better than Jiraiya's own.

But that didn't make sense!

If it was such a good world, and the Empire had a perfect system, why had the flames of war still spread to a parallel universe?

Shouldn't they love peace just like Konoha?

Besides, this boy Nagato had clearly been full of murderous intent when he first arrived!

Looking at the wandering ninjas before them, who were still chattering, begging for mercy, and shouting threats, Nagato brought his palms together.

"Impure World Reincarnation—Modified!"

Nagato used Almighty Pull to cover the bodies of some of the dead with hair.

Soon, some of those who had just died looked at their new bodies in confusion.

Their families cried tears of joy and embraced them tightly.

The scene was bizarre. Inside the Impure World Reincarnation were the murderers who had just killed their family members, while outside were those very family members.

"Na... Nagato? That's a forbidden technique, isn't it? Is it really appropriate to use it like this? Once they gain the power of immortality, they might become no better than these people!"

Jiraiya spoke up with a frown, trying to stop him.

Nagato merely let out a sigh from the corner of his mouth.

"This is Modified Impure World Reincarnation. They'll consume the life force of those wandering ninjas, including their recovery ability and stamina. They aren't immortal. Once their life force is completely exhausted, they'll die as well."

"Now that I've seen it, I can't just stand by and do nothing. Let these wandering ninjas serve as the vessels for Impure World Reincarnation and make up for the people they just killed. As for what happens afterward..."

Jiraiya swallowed and wanted to say more, but Nagato had already started walking ahead.

"Let's go. We'll take a look at the Capital of the Land of Fire."

Jiraiya thought for a moment before saying, "Although some of the things we encountered along the way were rather terrible, I think you'll definitely be shocked by the prosperity of the Capital of the Land of Fire!"

Nagato had already lost the expectations he'd initially held for this world. He drooped his shoulders and said listlessly, "Hopefully."

"What?! My Uchiha Clan was wiped out by one person? Could it be that Emperor's variant here?"

Obito's startled voice drifted indistinctly into Kakashi's ears.

His consciousness was muddled.

That voice by my ear... It sounds like Obito... Am I... dead?

Kakashi opened his eyes. Before him were the unconscious Naruto, the wary Sakura, the furious Sasuke, and the helpless-looking Tazuna.

Beside them stood a man who looked nine-tenths like himself, while the hopping, exaggerated movements of Obito pulled his thoughts back to reality.

"So... he used the back of the blade..."

Kakashi moved slightly and felt waves of pain in his neck. He was somewhat regretful.

"If he'd used the edge just now, it might have been better..."

But since he had woken up, he would continue carrying out the mission and would not easily give up on protecting the students before him.

First, I'll see what these two are planning and recover a little.

He did not need to maintain the Sharingan constantly, and Kakashi could feel that his maximum Chakra had increased.

"But that final slash..."

Kakashi's sword technique combined with Lightning Release still left him deeply shaken.

"Emperor?"

Sasuke's face was filled with confusion. Although he had already heard the name Emperor mentioned repeatedly by the two men, he still felt that Itachi Uchiha could not possibly have achieved such a level.

Why? He's just trash who slaughtered his own friends and family!

"Uh... he's also a member of the Uchiha Clan. His name is Uchiha Senju."

Obito spoke with a solemn expression.

This world has an Emperor too? That's the end of it. With the bloodlines of the Senju and Uchiha Clans, he was born with the aptitude of the Sage of Six Paths.

"Uchiha Senju?"

Sasuke shook his head at the name.

"I've never heard of him."

Obito breathed a sigh of relief. That was right. If such a person really existed, how could he possibly be unknown?

How has this world not been unified yet?

"Then who was the person you mentioned—the one who wiped out the entire Uchiha Clan alone, the disgrace and traitor of our clan, and someone who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan?"