Inheritance!

After a pause, Uchiha Jin continued, "But by the time Uchiha Madara fused Senju Hashirama's power and awakened the Rinnegan, he was already old!"

"He no longer had the strength to carry out the peace plan recorded on the Inheritance Stone Tablet, a plan that required the Rinnegan to achieve!"

"So, while implanting the Rinnegan into Nagato, he began searching for a successor!"

"The Masked Man you saw was the unlucky bastard Uchiha Madara chose!"

"An unlucky bastard?" Yahiko asked in confusion. "Why would you say that? Isn't inheriting Uchiha Madara's legacy a good thing?"

In Yahiko's view, his will was his own. Accepting Uchiha Madara's training did not mean he had to inherit Uchiha Madara's will.

As long as it made him stronger, he could better realize his own ideals. There was nothing wrong with that.

Uchiha Jin shook his head. "Uchiha Madara's way of choosing a successor was a little different from what you imagined! To make the Masked Man inherit his will, Uchiha Madara had plotted for a very long time!"

After a pause, Uchiha Jin looked at Yahiko. "It was roughly on the level of making you die once, then letting you watch Konan die at Nagato's hands!"

Yahiko shuddered and immediately understood what Uchiha Jin meant.

That kind of thing really was...

Yahiko could not put the feeling into words. In any case, he would never be able to accept such a reality!

Uchiha Jin continued, "In short, rather than cultivating a successor, Uchiha Madara was cultivating a chess piece!"

"Being Uchiha Madara's successor meant having no rights whatsoever!"

Yahiko nodded blankly. He no longer envied Uchiha Obito for receiving Uchiha Madara's training.

Uchiha Obito truly was an unlucky bastard!

After remaining silent for a long while, Nagato spoke again. "Big Brother Jin, I want to know what Uchiha Madara's plan was!"

As a chess piece, Nagato also wanted to know what goal he had been forced to "strive for."

Since things had already reached this point, Uchiha Jin naturally did not hide anything. He explained, "The Eye of the Moon Plan—a plan to use a technique called Infinite Tsukuyomi to drag everyone in the world into an illusion!"

"Because every person's illusion is different, everyone can become a victorious person loved by all within their illusion!"

Nagato: "..."

Yahiko: "..."

Konan: "..."

Some things truly left people speechless!

This Eye of the Moon Plan could probably only fool a three-year-old child!

Yahiko finally tried asking, "What would happen to people in reality?"

Uchiha Jin said, "They would be hung from trees, then transformed into humanoid weapons called White Zetsu within their pleasant illusions, losing their own will!"

Yahiko's Trio fell silent.

Perhaps they should not have asked that question.

How could such a childish plan possibly have any redeeming qualities?

Ignoring their expressions, Uchiha Jin continued, "No matter what you think, that Masked Man will not give up on you!"

Nagato shook his head and said firmly, "No matter what, I will never accept his ideas!"

"You don't need to accept them!" Uchiha Jin explained. "According to Uchiha Madara's plans, Nagato, you are merely a vessel—a tool. All you need to do is use the Rinnegan's power to revive him at the proper time!"

"He should have left many contingencies within you. Your will is not important at all!"

Nagato froze, then an indignant expression appeared on his face!

He had never expected that he was nothing more than this in Uchiha Madara's eyes!

Yahiko cried out in alarm, "Then isn't Nagato in great danger? Big Brother Jin, can you help Nagato?"

"Not yet." Uchiha Jin shook his head, then said solemnly, "And Uchiha Madara is already dead. The contingencies he left behind may never come into effect!"

"What you should be worried about now is the Masked Man!"

Yahiko froze. "Why?"

Uchiha Jin explained, "That Masked Man has already gone mad! According to Uchiha Madara's plan, he should not have met with you like this, but now he wants to lure Nagato into the same darkness as himself!"

"You and Konan may both become tools he uses to guide Nagato!"

Nagato frowned at those words and said in a low voice, "Big Brother Jin, are you saying that the Masked Man will target Yahiko and Konan?"

Uchiha Jin nodded. "That possibility cannot be ruled out! And his ability is extremely unusual. He appears and disappears without a trace, so you may not be able to guard against him!"

After a pause, Uchiha Jin added, "More importantly, for certain reasons, I will not take action against him right now. I cannot help you eliminate this hidden danger!"

"So, you will need to remain vigilant yourselves for a while. Try not to act alone!"

"He only wants to lead Nagato into darkness, not gain Nagato's hatred!"

"So long as you stay together, it will be difficult for him to find an opportunity to strike!"

Uchiha Obito's Kamui was practically unbeatable when it came to escaping. Uchiha Jin would need to make some preparations if he wanted to capture him!

Therefore, at this point in time, Uchiha Jin did not want to engage him in a direct conflict!

Yahiko nodded solemnly. "Don't worry, Big Brother Jin. We'll be careful!"

Uchiha Jin smiled and reassured them, "Of course, you do not need to worry too much. Before I leave the Land of Rain, I will leave you with a contingency as well!"

"A contingency?"

Yahiko's Trio were all stunned and deeply confused.

"You'll find out when the time comes!" Uchiha Jin said mysteriously. "That is about everything. Are you heading back today, or staying here for the night?"

Yahiko did not ask further. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Although I still want to talk with you more, Big Brother Jin, the Akatsuki Organization cannot spare anyone right now. We can only head back today!"

"There will be other opportunities." Uchiha Jin did not try to stop them. "When Shimura Danzō comes knocking, I will send someone to notify you again. Be careful yourselves as well!"

"Understood!"

Yahiko's Trio all nodded, knowing the seriousness of the matter.

"Oh, right. Consider this a meeting gift from me. You can take a look when you have time!"

As if suddenly remembering something, Uchiha Jin reached into his Waist Pouch and took out three palm-sized red books, handing one to each of them.

The books' covers were entirely red, without a single word on them. They bore only a special emblem composed of a Hammer and Sickle!

Yahiko asked in confusion, "Big Brother Jin, what is this?"

Uchiha Jin explained with a smile, "These are some ideas I compiled from my own understanding of this world, combined with the philosophy of a senior. Read them more when you have time!"