The Rinnegan's New Host

"It really is Jiraiya- senpai!?"

Katsuki scratched his head silently, thinking to himself, "That's quite a coincidence."

After Second Shinobi War ended, Jiraiya left the village and wandered the Shinobi World like a free spirit. He was arguably the most carefree of the Sannin. Even the village could not keep track of Jiraiya's exact whereabouts, only his general location.

If I remember correctly, Jiraiya should still be wandering in the desert of the Land of Wind... Recalling the information of the Anbu in her mind, Katsuki sighed inwardly. Sure enough, the whereabouts of a strongman like Jiraiya are extremely difficult to track, which must be tough on the Anbu who are out on field missions.

Back in the village, we can consider reorganizing the Anbu. Since the Second Hokage, the Anbu has developed for so many years, and its power has become extremely vast, resulting in a rather chaotic internal system of responsibilities.

It's not that all the Anbu Chief were incompetent, but rather that the Anbu, being such a behemoth, developed too rapidly. Every Anbu Chief, no matter how hard they tried, could only barely maintain its Anbu operation. To solve this problem at its root would involve too many things and would definitely cause considerable turmoil.

Given the Third Hokage's prudence, he would never allow such a thing to happen. Therefore, the current state of the Anbu is that while there are no major problems, there are countless minor ones.

Fortunately, with the Fourth Hokage now in power, Orochimaru has become the new leader. Unlike the Third Hokage, who sought stability, Orochimaru dislikes stagnant situations.

With the Hokage's support, the Anbu reorganization is no longer just a pipe dream.

He was secretly considering these things. After all, he was already in this position, and he felt uneasy about just doing nothing and waiting to die.

"Kyusuke, you said Konan and Jiraiya- sensei left? Where did they go? Why are they running around at this time?"

Yahiko grabbed Kyusuke and asked anxiously.

The kettle on the stove hissed, and white steam rose like clouds of smoke towards the ceiling.

The room was warm and cozy, even a little stuffy.

"Yahiko, relax. With Jiraiya- senpai here, there's no need to worry too much about Konan's safety. Besides, their main target is Nagato. Konan failed once, so there's unlikely to be a second attack; it would be a waste of their time."

"But······"

"Moreover, did Jiraiya- senpai and Konan leave any instructions before they departed?" Katsuki, looking at Kyusuke and Great Buddha.

"Well······"

Kyusuke didn't answer immediately, but looked back and forth between Yahiko and Katsuki, unsure whether to listen to this stranger.

"Tell him, answer his question."

Yahiko buried his head in his hands and sat down; everyone could see his weakness and sorrow.

Kyusuke changed. Ever since he hadn't seen Nagato, he had had a vague premonition that something was wrong. He had never seen Yahiko like this before... The worst possible outcome inevitably surfaced in his mind.

"Hey, Yahiko, where's Nagato? Nagato did he go?"

······

"Call!!"

Katsuki slapped his forehead and let out a long sigh. He could already foresee how chaotic this small room would become in the coming days.

If you want to ask questions, you'll have to wait a while.

The underground passage was deep and boundless.

Senju Zen and Uchiha Genso walked side by side, their light steps treading on the dim yellow rocky road, raising a light dust.

Every hundred or so steps, an oil lamp cast a dim light, barely illuminating the road for a few dozen steps.

"Squeak--!"

The abrupt sound of the door opening echoed through the dark corridor, kicking up dust that filled the air, making one wonder how long it had been since the house had been cleaned.

"Cough cough, can't we find a decent place to stay? How long has this place been abandoned?"

Uchiha Genso waved his sleeve to disperse the dust in front of him, and frowned his handsome, willow-leaf-shaped eyebrows.

"In fact, this is a base that was established two months ago."

A chilling, sinister voice drifted into their ears.

"Come in!"

"Two months ago? But it's like it's been abandoned for two hundred years." Genso shrugged, then followed Chan into the room, closing the door behind him.

The room was large and fully furnished, but the most eye-catching feature was the operating table in the center and the huge shadowless lamp on the ceiling. If you looked closely, you could also see the logo on the lamp: Konoha Medical Equipment Manufacturing Company, which was a business of the Senju Clan.

"Well, it's probably because only the two of you know how to use the passageway, so... it's been neglected in cleaning."

As was his habit, Jue's lower body was tucked into the wooden cabinet, while his upper body was exposed. Only Black Zetsu was speaking to Genso. The talkative half of Jue had been caught off guard and struck by Katsuki's lightning, turning it to ashes. This new half of Jue was a taciturn fellow, the kind who wouldn't utter a sound even if you tried to get a word out of him.

"This is Hanzō's corpse."

Senju Zen took out a scroll with red-bound edges from his bosom.

"Furthermore, our battle with Hanzō was discovered by Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, and it was just a Shadow Clone; we couldn't detect his true identity... It seems our information can no longer be kept secret."

"Jiraiya? He's a troublesome fellow... but we don't need to worry about him for now. As for you, it doesn't matter if you become known. After all, as you continue your actions, you'll inevitably attract the attention of various countries sooner or later. Right now, the most important thing is to hand [it] over to you."

Black Zetsu extended his left hand, took the scroll, and put it into his sleeve. Then, with a flick of his right hand, a glass bottle appeared in his hand. Two eyeballs gently swayed and floated in the clear liquid, the ripples of which carried a captivating allure.

"Rinnegan..."

Senju Zen's breathing became heavy. With this, just this, he could overthrow this corrupt and decadent world and reshape a beautiful and peaceful new era...

"...Good stuff, but...I still prefer my own eyes."

Genso stroked his Rinnegan. He was also somewhat envious of the Sharingan Rinnegan, he wasn't as fanatical about it as Zen.

Or perhaps their feelings were different. Genso hated Konoha, and his goal was to destroy the Konoha and the Uchiha Clan, while Zen's ambitions were far greater. He wanted to change this crazy world, although in Genso's eyes, this idea was truly insane.

And frankly, he didn't believe that transplanting the Rinnegan would be enough to overturn the world. He'd probably struggle to even overthrow Konoha, considering that the previous Rinnegan user had just been killed by them and Zetsu working together, hadn't they?

The Rinnegan is not invincible!

Emperor Genso, whose ambitions were simpler, saw this more clearly.

When can the transplant be performed?

Black Zetsu smiled with satisfaction at Senju Zen's urgency; indeed, human hatred was the fastest way to make them stronger.

So he gave Zen an answer that made his heart race.

"Anytime is fine."