Unable to Explain His Actions

"Destroy the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?" Konan lowered her gaze, seeming to let out a silent sigh. "Have you already made up your mind?"

After all, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path embodied the Akatsuki's dream for all these years. Nagato's casual remark about destroying it left her feeling somewhat reluctant.

"It's only a last resort. Truly powerful, confident people don't stay hidden in the shadows for long," Nagato said dismissively. "The Sage of Six Paths has already died once, no matter how you look at it. If he were powerful enough, he could easily get whatever he wanted. He wouldn't need to skulk around like this. His actions are those of a loser, and in the end, this world belongs to the living."

"Destroying the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path won't do us any good. It could even cause unexpected trouble." Nagato looked up at the grotesque statue and thought, I could get ahead of everyone else and become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, gaining the greatest power in the world in one step. But why would I do that? It's disgusting. I'd be stuck with this thing inside my body for the rest of my life, with no chance to change my mind. Only a real pervert would want that.

"I understand." Konan stood with Nagato for a while, looking at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, then asked softly, "Compared to the Sage of Six Paths, Madara is nothing, right? Do you think Madara knows the Sage of Six Paths exists?"

Nagato turned to look at Konan and smiled faintly, thinking she had hit the nail on the head. "I don't think Madara knows. If necessary, I'll tell him."

Then, looking thoughtful, he cautioned Konan, "Don't get involved in Madara's affairs. He's dangerous right now."

The Madara Konan had mentioned was, of course, Obito. But the person Nagato wanted to tell was the real Madara Uchiha.

Given Obito's abilities and potential, he no longer deserved to know secrets of the Six Paths level. Madara Uchiha, on the other hand, was worthy of them. He had the strength to interfere in a war at that level.

He was the kind of chuunibyou who might get carried away and challenge the Sage of Six Paths to a one-on-one fight.

That was also why the Sage of Six Paths hadn't dared meet Madara—or Hashirama—while they were still alive.

Although the Sage of Six Paths had always watched over the reincarnations, Black Zetsu knew that reincarnations who reached a certain level of power could see him.

But Madara and Hashirama were clearly far stronger than ordinary reincarnations. Their abilities were on a completely different level from Sasuke and Naruto's. Based on the information available, Nagato thought Madara and Hashirama might be the strongest reincarnations in history. Sasuke and Naruto, by contrast, were a relatively weak pair among the reincarnations; it was even uncertain whether they were average.

For one thing, Naruto was the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths' younger son, yet he had been sealed with the Nine Tails for sixteen years and still couldn't control even half of it on his own. He was even worse than Kushina Uzumaki—pathetically weak, and nowhere near Hashirama's level.

"Nagato, I'm not going to attack Madara, and don't treat me like a child." Konan sounded displeased. "From the look of you, you've already made up your mind. What are you planning to do?"

"Let's leave the Sage of Six Paths aside for now. He lived too long ago for us to gather much information about him. Besides, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is in our hands. We're the ones with the upper hand."

Nagato continued, thinking as he spoke. "Our top priority now is dealing with the Five Kage Summit. I plan to make Amegakure less prominent in the eyes of the outside world, and direct everyone's attention toward the Akatsuki."

"To do that, we have to make the Akatsuki's power felt. We need to teach the Five Kage a harsh lesson and make them understand that the Akatsuki is no longer a problem they can solve by holding a meeting among themselves." In the dim underground base, Nagato's voice gradually became the only one left. "The great nations' arrogance ends here. If war is inevitable, I'll be the first to strike."

His gaze turned completely cold. "This time, I plan to destroy the nation among the Five Great Nations that's most hostile to the Akatsuki. We'll establish our new headquarters there and use it as a battlefield in the war to come. As long as we can safeguard Amegakure's peace, sacrificing another country's peace is worth it."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Konan's tone held a trace of helplessness. The Land of Rain had once been used as a battlefield by the great nations, which was why its people had suffered so badly. She hadn't expected that one day they would use the same tactics against the great nations. Still, she felt no pity for foreigners.

"I understand. In that case, I'll need to start making preparations as soon as possible," Konan said calmly.

"Right. I'll leave all the preparations within Amegakure to you. And make sure you get some rest and stay in good shape."

Konan nodded. She had grown up during wartime, so she knew how precious time was now. Once they entered a state of war, they wouldn't be able to enjoy the peace and comfort they had now. Without hesitation, she transformed into scraps of paper and vanished from the spot.

Nagato knew that learning the Sage of Six Paths' secrets wasn't impossible for him. Katsuyu, that reclusive old slug who'd spent a thousand years holed up somewhere, surely knew a lot about the Sage of Six Paths.

Unfortunately, Katsuyu probably wouldn't tell him. The old slug was clearly holding something back. Or perhaps it said nothing simply because it was afraid of getting into trouble. Knowing its hopeless personality, that was entirely possible.

Nagato scratched his head helplessly. In truth, even though he trusted Konan completely, he still had no intention of telling her Madara's real identity. There was no point. Konan wouldn't benefit from knowing, and it would only increase the risk of Obito finding out. Secrets stayed secret because everyone involved believed the fewer people who knew, the better.

After Konan left, Nagato gazed at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path for a while, then walked out of the underground base as well.

With the information he had, there was no way to make sense of the Sage of Six Paths' actions. Although he was certain the Sage of Six Paths was the one orchestrating Kaguya's resurrection, it was also the Sage of Six Paths who eventually stopped and sealed Kaguya. Sasuke and Naruto had been nothing more than two tools in his hands.

If the Sage of Six Paths had truly wanted to resurrect Kaguya, he could have done it long ago. After all, he had been the first Ten-Tails Jinchuriki; there was no need for him to go through all this trouble.

There had to be a reasonable explanation for his contradictory actions, some reason that had forced him to do it. And all Nagato needed to uncover the truth was greater strength.

After all, only those at the Six Paths level were qualified to explain secrets of that level. Once he was strong enough, finding out the truth would be easy. He could just fly to the moon and take a look. It was no big deal.

At that thought, Nagato quickened his pace, his expression growing serious.

He'd remembered something important: he'd been walking around without pants this whole time, wearing nothing but a red-clouded black robe.

And it was one he'd taken off the Asura Path.

No wonder he'd kept feeling a faint chill down there. No one noticed, did they?