In that moment of impotent rage, Jiraiya was examining Hanzo's body with his disciples.
Hanzo's corpse, that unseen slash—everything foreshadowed an unusual, powerful force orchestrating everything behind the scenes.
Who exactly is this person, and what is their purpose?
Jiraiya glanced at Nagato beside him, and a vague guess formed in his mind.
Honestly, all I wanted to do was take advantage of the lull after the war to gather material and complete the final chapter of the Snow Woman series.
They came looking for Yahiko simply because they happened to be passing through the Land of Rain and thought they'd come in for a look.
This one look had serious consequences; it cost him his life.
"We probably can't stay in Amegakure anymore; you've suffered too many casualties recently."
Looking at the few remaining Akatsuki Organization members around him, Jiraiya bluntly told Yahiko about their current situation.
Yahiko did not object to Jiraiya's explanation, but his tone was somewhat sorrowful. "But where can we go if we leave Amegakure?"
The members standing nearby nodded in agreement. This was their hometown; if they left, where would they find a place to belong?
Moreover...
Their business dealings with Konoha are still ongoing.
"How about we get away from Hanzo's control and find a new base near the Land of Rain?" Jiraiya knew these people wouldn't agree to join Konoha, so he had no intention of trying to persuade them.
"This is the only way for now."
Yahiko's expression was full of bitterness as he agreed to Jiraiya's plan.
"Then..." Jiraiya tossed aside the ninja fragment of Hanzo in his hand Jiraiya began to form hand seals.
The sensation underfoot changed, and the surrounding scenery shifted once more.
An Akatsuki Organization member walked over to Nagato and kindly helped him up, as he was feeling somewhat exhausted from the long battle.
"Thank you, you are..." Nagato raised her head, looking at the familiar face in front of her. Just as she was about to speak, everything went black before her eyes, followed by a piercing pain.
"Ah!!!"
A powerful repulsive force erupted from Nagato, drawing the attention of everyone present.
"Nagato, what's wrong?!"
Jiraiya turned around abruptly and saw a tear of blood streaming down Nagato's face.
The sudden turn of events shocked everyone. Just as Nagato knelt on the ground and reached out to cover his empty right eye socket, the figure that Nagato had previously flung away approached again.
"Don't even think about it, Fire Style— "
Realizing that Nagato had been ambushed, Jiraiya was about to make a move when he noticed that his perspective had changed.
Nagato, who should have been kneeling on the ground, appeared in the sky, and the figure he wanted to attack became elusive.
"Illusion Technique? Obito, you—"
Jiraiya wanted Obito to Dodai his place, but Obito was also in a bad mood. With his perspective reversed, he couldn't even maintain his balance and fell to the ground, bringing Yahiko down with him.
A powerful knee strike landed on Nagato's face. The figure grabbed Nagato's hair, forcing him to raise his head, and used his free hand to gouge out the second Rinnegan.
"Nagato!"
The other Akatsuki Organization members watched with eyes wide with rage, but there was nothing they could do.
Everyone's Kakuzu was affected, making it impossible to take the right action to stop the other party.
"I'll accept the Rinnegan."
In front of everyone, he carefully put away the Rinnegan, his voice hoarse, and left with a single sentence in Naoya Uchida's voice before using the Body Flicker Technique to leave the scene.
Only after the other party left did the crowd's attention clear up, and they hurriedly surrounded Nagato.
"Hateful!"
After seeing Nagato's injuries, Jiraiya slammed his fist into the ground.
The humiliation of having his disciple's eyes gouged out in front of him, and being powerless to do anything about it, caused Jiraiya to lose his composure.
"Who are the attackers, and why would they do such a thing?!"
Konan lifted Nagato's head, letting him rest his head on her lap, her face filled with sorrow.
"Nagato..."
Yahiko also got up from the ground and struggled to rush towards Nagato.
After confirming that there were no pursuers behind him, Uchiha Yaowan deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Dojutsu, Aya Kahishikuni.
The left eye's ability is to change how others perceive you, while the right eye is to distort their perspective.
With this Dojutsu, Uchiha Yaowan successfully infiltrated the Akatsuki Organization's ranks without even Setsuna noticing.
"Foolish fellow, since we can't reverse Nagato's mind, we might as well just abandon him."
Taking out the glass bottle from his pocket, Uchiha Yaowan stared at the pair of Rinnegan glowing with purple light inside, a look of fascination on his face.
The Rinnegan, the power of the Six Paths, allows one to control all things in the universe.
However, I can't use these eyes for the time being.
In any case, a new host has already been found, and the former is easier to control than the resolute Nagato.
"Hey, boss."
A loud, boisterous voice rang out, and a shirtless man with a huge three-edged scythe on his shoulder and slicked-back gray hair appeared before Yaowan.
"The sacrifice is over?" Yaowan glanced at the bloodstains on the other person's body and, already used to the other person's style, immediately guessed what the other person had just done.
"That felt so good." Hidan chuckled and asked, "Where do we go next?"
"Land of Fire"
Looking at the subordinate he had painstakingly subdued, Yaowan curled his lip.
Although the process of subduing it was very difficult, its abilities were indeed worth the effort.
An immortal body—I never imagined the Shinobi World would possess such a troublesome ability.
Is it Jashin Cult? I should definitely check it out if I have the chance.
As the two walked side by side, Yaowan was making plans in his mind.
The Land of Fire, Konoha.
Kushina was in a very bad mood.
Since Minato became the head of the Anbu, the amount of surveillance he was under has decreased significantly.
But this did not change the fundamental problem, which was that she and Minato still rarely saw each other.
Aside from the sweet week that followed their marriage, Minato was busy with work every day and had no time to spend with Kushina.
Fortunately, with age, Kushina now possesses enough Nine-Tails Chakra; otherwise, Nine-Tails would have already sought to create negative emotions and bewitch Kushina's mind.
At this Nine-Tails, Kurama experienced the same treatment as during the Mito era, being bound hand and foot by Kushina with the Adamantine Sealing Chains in the mental space to vent her dissatisfaction with Minato.
Kurama: So now you all understand where my hatred for humanity comes from, right?
Isobu: I feel quite comfortable inside the Jinchuriki's body. I can sleep soundly every day, and I only need to provide some Chakra from time to time.
Kurama: Get out of here.
Hatake Sakumo: Sorry, Kushina, it's just that Minato is too useful...