Plucked Out

"Madara Uchiha is still alive--!? Konan, are you sure this isn't a joke by that brat Katsuki? Seriously, this joke is really awful..."

"If I could, I'd hope it was just a bad joke." Konan smiled bitterly, revealing a delicate beauty. "Teacher, regardless of whether what Katsuki said back then was true or false, we've done a lot of investigation over the years, both overt and covert, about the Rinnegan and the Uzumaki Clan. We've done a lot of research, although we don't have much reliable evidence..."

"But, but Katsuki is right, the deaths of Nagato's parents are very suspicious, and there is a lot of fragmented evidence... all of which prove that a dark force is trying to manipulate Nagato."

The larger the plan, the harder it is to conceal. When Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu attempted to overthrow the world, even the elusive White Zetsu could not leave no trace. The reason they hadn't seen it before was simply because their eyes were blinded by hatred.

Once the fog is cleared, countless suspicious points emerge.

"Ugh--!! What the hell is this?!" Jiraiya rubbed his temples, his head throbbing. He hadn't expected Konan to actually drop such a bombshell: Madara Uchiha wasn't dead, and was actually causing trouble behind the scenes. "... Couldn't you little brats have told me sooner?"

"But... we can't find you at all, teacher!"

Konan's words left Jiraiya speechless. What she said made perfect sense. He was used to wandering around, and even Konoha's Anbu couldn't find out his exact whereabouts, let alone a newly risen Akatsuki Organization finding out information about him. It was impossible!

"Um----!?"

Jiraiya's eyes suddenly widened.

"Teacher, what's wrong?"

Konan looked at Jiraiya with some nervousness.

"... My Shadow Clone is destroyed, Wood Release? I... I don't even know what to say! This is unbelievable, it's really unbelievable..." Jiraiya pursed his lips as Jiraiya had a toothache, his face full of melancholy and sorrow.

"Ah! How are Yahiko and Nagato? Are they alright?" Konan exclaimed in surprise.

"It's nothing, nothing at all. Hey, we haven't found any trace of them. Nagato's a bit slow, but Yahiko's quick-witted. They should be fine..." Jiraiya didn't dare to speak too definitively. Knowing about Madara Uchiha's situation, Nagato was now shrouded in too many uncertainties, and Yahiko could very well be affected...

"Is this the trial the Child of Prophecy must endure? Truly a harsh fate..."

He lamented Nagato's turbulent fate and was also annoyed that he was unable to help his disciple overcome his difficulties.

"Konan, come with me to Konoha!"

Jiraiya was never one to wallow in self-pity; he was a true man of action. Because of the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, he traveled far and wide for decades without fail. Rather than sighing and complaining, he decided to do something worthwhile.

For example, go back to the village and find that brat Katsuki.

It seems that kid knows a lot of things...

"Konoha? But I still have companions here..." Konan, looking at Kyusuke, Great Buddha, and the others through the barrier, hesitant.

"What are you thinking? It's not like you're going away and never coming back." Jiraiya chuckled. "My assessment is that if you stay here, you're likely to encounter danger again, and it will implicate them."

He pointed at the people outside the barrier.

"After returning to Konoha, you can mobilize manpower to investigate Yahiko and Nagato's whereabouts. Otherwise, with your limited manpower, who knows when you'll get any news about Yahiko and Nagato."

Every word struck a chord deep within Konan's heart. Her expression shifted repeatedly, and she had to admit that Jiraiya- sensei said made a lot of sense.

"Going to Konoha?"

Konan murmured to herself, her eyes somewhat lost, but she had already made up her mind.

The Land of Grass.

"Nagato... Nagato, run... run away quickly..."

Yahiko had long since fallen unconscious, yet he continued to mutter almost instinctively.

Her bright red bangs were cut off by the raging wind, revealing her pale face, which was hidden deep inside. Nagato wore a helpless and bitter smile.

Carrying the dying Yahiko on his back, he fled all the way, exhausting his strength. In order to protect Yahiko, he had to use his own body as a shield, which was already at his limit.

Is this where I'm destined to be?

Nagato coughed up blood and knelt on the hill. His eyes, which symbolized legend and myth, narrowed slightly, as if afraid of the sunlight. He watched as the giant wooden figure, as tall as a mountain, strode forward with an aura that shook the mountains and rivers.

"They're not giving us any way out! This is... maddening! Yahiko, I'm sorry, but this time we're both probably going to die here."

He laid the dying Yahiko down and carefully made him lie flat on the grass.

"Finally... finally... one last gamble, for that faint glimmer of hope."

He stood up and limped forward to meet the pursuing wooden figure. His left leg was fractured, and every step he took was excruciatingly painful.

"Damn it, I should have left two summoned beasts behind; at least we wouldn't have to walk."

Perhaps he was about to die, Nagato to himself, a far cry from his usual taciturn self.

The fierce battles had truly exhausted all his trump cards. All the summoning beasts he had painstakingly collected were killed by the wooden golem. Even the strongest Multi-Headed Dog was strangled to death by the opponent's sea of trees. Splitting was useless; it would only turn into nutrients for the trees.

"Shinra... damn it, can't even fire a single shot?"

His raised arm fell limply to his side. Nagato looked back at Yahiko lying on the grass, hesitated for a long time, and finally gave up his plan to destroy Yahiko's eyes.

He knew perfectly well why that creature that looked like a pitcher plant had come—it was for his eyes. Otherwise, this battle would have ended long ago.

Even the Rinnegan is not truly invincible. Compared to these ethereal eyes that exist only in myths and legends, Wood Release is the strongest Kekkei Genkai recognized in the Shinobi World. This was a consensus after the First Hokage defeated Madara Uchiha, an undisputed consensus.

"Yahiko, you must live!"

"Don't worry, as long as you don't resist, I'm too lazy to lay a hand on those indifferent humans."

A sinister whisper echoed in his ear. Nagato's Nagato twitched, but he stood motionless, letting the black hand behind him cover his face. The fingers gently pierced into the corner of his eye, the cold fingers slowly stirring in his eye socket, and then, little by little, slowly, plucked that rare and precious eye out.

"What a beautiful gem... don't you think so, Nagato?" Black Zetsu's laughter rang out.

"Take the other one!"

Blood flowed from his empty eye sockets, but Nagato remained as cold and unmoved as a stone.