Requirements and Distinctions of Talent

"But I truly possess a Sage Body; the fact that I can manipulate this pair of eyes is proof." Nagato pointed to his own eyes.

Katsuyu was silent for a moment: "The Rinnegan is indeed not something an ordinary person can withstand; your Uzumaki Clan bloodline must be extremely pure. However, your Chakra reserves..."

Katsuyu seemed to hold Nagato's Chakra reserves in great contempt.

"Unless, there is something wrong with your eyes!" Katsuyu concluded.

"Ah, these were transplanted into me by someone else," the Asura Path replied.

"That goes without saying. With your red hair, you are clearly of the Uzumaki Clan; how could you possibly awaken the Rinnegan on your own?"

Katsuyu seemed to be amused by Nagato once again.

"You saw through it long ago?" Nagato was shocked, the voice of the Asura Path rising in volume, "Then do Mount Myoboku and Ryūchi Cave know about this as well?"

Katsuyu swayed her drooping tentacles, making Nagato feel as though he could sense a sentiment from her that could only be described as pity.

"What do you think? Why else do you suppose Mount Myoboku never stood on your side?"

Nagato: ...

Thinking about it now, it was no wonder that none of the Three Great Sage Regions supported the Akatsuki. It turned out they all knew he was a fraud; this was truly embarrassing.

It made sense, though. It was said that the Three Great Sage Regions were ancient relics that had existed since the era of Kaguya Otsutsuki. How could they not know the origin of the Rinnegan? Not to mention anywhere else, if those toads at Mount Myoboku had believed Nagato's Rinnegan was awakened by his own power, they probably would have pledged their entire clan to him long ago.

"However, that you could rely on your own power to use both Rinnegan simultaneously is something I did not expect. When I was in Konoha before, I assumed your true body could not handle the power of the Rinnegan, which is why you could only use the puppet method," Katsuyu said as she crawled onto Nagato's shoulder. "Let me take a look and see what exactly is going on with you."

The ability to use the power of both Rinnegan simultaneously was proof of Nagato's status as the third Six Paths figure. In this world, up until the very end, only the Sage of Six Paths, Madara Uchiha, and Nagato had ever achieved such a feat. Even Obito Uchiha could not manage it.

One must know that Obito's talent for eyes could be considered top-tier. When he first awakened his eyes at twelve, they were double-tomoe Sharingan, and the second time, they evolved directly into the Mangekyō Sharingan. Not only did his own right eye awaken the Mangekyō, but the left eye, which had been installed in Kakashi's face, evolved alongside it.

After awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, the ability residing within Obito's Mangekyō, "Kamui," was exceptionally powerful. Not only did it possess top-tier space-time capabilities, but more importantly, it came with its own pocket dimension.

This was simply exaggerated. This inherent pocket dimension was the key to Obito's eyes transcending the average Mangekyō Sharingan and rising to a god-like level. Because in this world, apart from Kamui, only Kaguya Otsutsuki's "Amenominaka" could bring its own pocket dimension.

The difference between the two techniques was, of course, significant. After all, Kaguya Otsutsuki's "Amenominaka" was a Kekkei Mōra obtained only after she awakened her Tomoe Rinnegan; it could be called true divine power in this world. But Obito's Kamui not only possessed space-time attack, defense, and movement capabilities, but also held the prototype of the "Amenominaka" pocket dimension. It could be said to be power approaching that of a god, the key to resisting Kaguya at the end of this world, and proof of the talent of Obito's Sharingan.

Furthermore, Obito's adaptability to Hashirama Cells was also very strong. Upon his first battle using a White Zetsu body, he was able to comprehend the Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs on his own. With half his body composed of Hashirama's cells, he was someone who possessed the power of both the Uchiha and the Senju.

Yet even so, Obito could not withstand the power of two Rinnegan and was not qualified to be called the fourth Six Paths.

In Obito's own words: "Just the powerful Chakra and ocular power within a single Rinnegan is enough to make me lose myself."

In other words, the limit of Obito Uchiha at his peak was merely one Rinnegan.

Nagato, however, had been transplanted with two Rinnegan since childhood. He could not only withstand the powerful energy within the Rinnegan but also maintain his original nature, remaining deeply desirous of peace from the bottom of his heart, wishing only to protect his two companions, Yahiko and Konan.

This was the gap in talent between the two, and also the strength of Nagato's Sage Body.

Katsuyu fully understood what it meant for Nagato to be able to wield the abilities of both Rinnegan simultaneously, which was why she began to examine Nagato's body.

"Both legs are necrotic, the meridians in your body are heavily obstructed, your life force is draining, and your lifespan is severely depleted. Your spiritual energy is weak, and there are traces of long-term erosion by external spiritual energy. The vast majority of the cells in your body have lost their vitality after being damaged. The state you appear to be in now is the result of being forcibly awakened by external Chakra..." Katsuyu sounded like a doctor delivering a terminal diagnosis to a late-stage cancer patient, her voice growing lower and lower. "Judging by the state of your body, you must have been a corpse not long ago, right? Why are you still alive? How have you been living all this time? You aren't some kind of pervert, are you?"

Katsuyu looked at the Black Receivers on Nagato's body, implying something.

Nagato felt his eyelids twitch; he felt this Katsuyu was a bit sharp-tongued. Using the Asura Path, he said with dissatisfaction: "Why say so much? Can I practice Sage Arts?"

Katsuyu thought for a while and replied: "You likely do possess a Sage Body; otherwise, in your current physical state, a normal person would have died long ago. I suggest you abandon the Rinnegan, because it is clear that the spiritual energy within the Rinnegan is constantly eroding your body, increasing the burden on your system."

"That is not something you need to worry about," the Asura Path said coldly.

"Hmph, I don't care about you then. Fine, back to Sage Arts. I mentioned the conditions for practicing Shikkotsu Forest Sage Arts earlier. First, you need vast amounts of Chakra. Although you haven't reached that point, the reason is simply because your physical state is too poor. Once you begin Sage Art training, natural energy will repair your body and help you reach the requirement for Chakra volume, so you have no problem there. Moreover, because your Sage Body has been in a long-term damaged state, it has actually given the Black Water a chance to reshape your body; you could say it's a blessing in disguise."

At this point, Katsuyu paused, appearing somewhat dissatisfied: "Next is Chakra control. The most important thing in Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art training is learning to master balance. The balance between natural energy and Chakra, as well as the balance between natural energy and acid. Therefore, your Chakra control must be strong enough to master these two balances. But it cannot be too strong, because if it is too strong, it is easy to expel the acid from the Black Water out of your body during the training process, preventing the acid from effectively altering your body. Since you can use the Rinnegan, your Chakra control won't be weak, and because your Rinnegan are transplanted, your Chakra control cannot be stronger than mine, meaning you won't be able to completely purge the acid from the Black Water. So, you barely meet this requirement as well."

"Why can't I completely purge the acid if my Chakra control isn't stronger than yours?" Nagato asked, interrupting in confusion.

"Because the Black Water exists precisely because of me!" Katsuyu replied, sighing: "If you had come to Shikkotsu Forest sooner, you might have truly become the first person to learn Shikkotsu Forest Sage Arts. It's a pity; the Black Water now contains too many bound Wraiths. These Wraiths will enter your body along with the energy during your Sage Art training. You must know that natural energy is inherently a very violent force. Maintaining the two balances within your body during Sage Art training is already an incredibly difficult task; with so many Wraiths causing destruction, I really advise you to just give up."