One-Eyed King

"Go on, tell them to hurry up. Don't let them delay our departure for the Land of Iron." Nagato waved his hand, signaling for the aloe-headed creature to get lost immediately.

After White Zetsu left, Nagato turned to Konan at his side and said, "With your level of Chakra control, it isn't impossible for you to master these techniques. Spend your time on training from now on; you can leave the village's internal affairs to those below you."

Although the original Amegakure had been destroyed by the Pains, the relevant ninja system had been preserved. Internal village matters had always been handled by Konan, the "Angel." But times were different now, and Nagato felt it would be better for Konan to focus her time on increasing her strength.

Seeing Konan quietly nod in agreement, Nagato cast a look of disdain at Tsunade: "Well? You're teaching Konan ninjutsu, so should our Amegakure be providing your meals?"

Tsunade's eyes widened in anger at Nagato's words. She stared at him, as if questioning whether there was something wrong with his brain.

"Don't be ungrateful! Do you have any idea how high the cost of living is in Amegakure? And look at you two..." Nagato pointed to the pile of dirty bowls and plates on the table, signaling for the two gluttons to look at the mess they had made.

Hinata lowered her head in embarrassment; she clearly still possessed a shred of precious shame, so she was still salvageable!

Tsunade, however, scoffed and began picking her nose with the air of a middle-aged man, her foot arrogantly propped up on the chair.

"Have you considered what I mentioned last time about you joining the Akatsuki?" Nagato simply found a chair to sit on and urged Tsunade, "Our Akatsuki doesn't have many official spots—only ten in total. Talented people are lining up like carp crossing a river just to get in; many would even throw their lives away just to be a temp for a day. You better think carefully. If you lose this opportunity and someone else beats you to it, it'll be too late to regret it."

Nagato had figured it out: Tsunade was quite talented, and it was worth trying to win her over.

Tsunade looked at him as if he were mentally disabled.

"I've even thought of a title for you once you join the Akatsuki." Nagato paused here, as if pondering something, then revealed an expression as if he had just thought of it, saying in a very perfunctory tone, "How about 'One-Eyed King'? Such an imposing title isn't something just anyone can have; if you're not careful, someone else might snatch it away."

As he spoke, Nagato glanced at Hinata, signaling to Tsunade with his eyes that she was the competitor for the "One-Eyed King" title.

His ability to touch a sore spot was truly unparalleled. Tsunade couldn't even finish picking her nose; she glared at him coldly, wondering if this redhead was looking for a fight. Did he have no clue how she had become the "One-Eyed King" in the first place?

"How about this..." Nagato wanted to continue persuading her, but Tsunade quickly raised her right hand, palm facing his face, signaling him to shut up.

Nagato immediately closed his mouth obediently. A medical talent like Tsunade still needed to be respected. This old woman could save lives at critical moments; although he didn't need it himself, Konan did.

"For a ninja, death is a very common occurrence," Tsunade said in an incredibly serious tone. "I have participated in many wars and lost many people I cherished, but I have never harbored hatred because of a comrade's sacrifice, because that is a desecration of their deaths."

At this point, Tsunade suddenly raised her voice: "However! This absolutely does not mean I will cooperate with someone like you!!"

She glared furiously at the indifferent Nagato, her presence imposing, radiating a righteous aura that suggested she and a villain could never coexist. Even Konan couldn't help but look at her sideways, while Hinata watched Tsunade with eyes full of admiration, thinking she was truly worthy of being the Hokage!

Nagato felt helpless. He glanced at the fierce Tsunade, thinking that this old woman must have forgotten how she used to run out of Konoha to gamble all over the world. If it weren't for her solid status, she would have been a rogue ninja long ago! Who was she trying to act tough for?

He thought for a moment and decided to change his approach to "persuade" this stubborn person: "Heh heh, as expected, Naruto was right—you and Jiraiya are not the same kind of person."

He deliberately mentioned Jiraiya in a dismissive tone, causing Tsunade's expression to turn even colder. The air around them became tense as her eyes narrowed sharply. Everyone here knew that Jiraiya had died at the hands of the Pains.

Nagato acted as if he didn't see Tsunade's expression and continued to speak to himself: "I once saw Naruto's memories (this was, of course, nonsense). Naruto once said this to you, right? If Jiraiya were the Hokage, he would never have given you such a dangerous mission."

Tsunade clenched her fists tightly, suppressing the anger in her heart, wanting to hear what other nonsense this redhead wanted to spout. The fire in her eyes burned brighter and brighter, and she seemed on the verge of exploding.

Nagato, however, smiled: "I was thinking, if I replaced you with Jiraiya, what choice would he make? Jiraiya once sacrificed his life to obtain intelligence on the Akatsuki. Your Konoha ninja, Itachi Uchiha, also infiltrated the Akatsuki as a spy for a long time, making huge contributions to Konoha. And you? You never even thought about using my invitation to join the Akatsuki as an opportunity to scout for intelligence on the organization?"

"Silver-tongued devil!" Tsunade could no longer hold back. She slammed the table and stood up abruptly, "I am the Fifth Hokage of Konoha!"

Nagato blinked, immediately understanding what she meant. The Hokage was the iconic figure of Konoha, representing the entire village. Whether it was dying in another country for intelligence like Jiraiya, or joining an enemy organization under a cloud of infamy like Itachi, neither was clearly something a Hokage should do. Nagato narrowed his eyes, realizing that using Jiraiya and Itachi to fool Tsunade wouldn't work. This old woman wasn't stupid; how had he not noticed that before?

"So what? There is already a Sixth Hokage now, and before long, the Seventh Hokage will likely be chosen, provided that Konoha can even exist until then..."

"Are you planning to move against Danzo?" The look in Tsunade's eyes as she looked at Nagato was actually one of anticipation.

Nagato suddenly felt that Danzo was a good guy. Should he consider intentionally going easy on him and sparing his life during the operation to deal with the Five Kage Summit?

"Not us, it's Sasuke Uchiha. Haven't you heard? He wants revenge on Konoha!" He quickly distanced himself, explaining that the one who wanted to kill Danzo was Sasuke. He wanted to avoid losing face if Danzo didn't end up dead. Sasuke was fine; that kid was used to being slapped in the face and should be able to understand his leader's good intentions.

Tsunade calmed down and stared at Nagato, saying nothing. Because she didn't know the truth about the Uchiha massacre, Nagato's mention of Itachi's sacrifice, and now Sasuke's revenge, gave her a bad premonition.

Nagato didn't notice Tsunade's expression; he thought that at this point in time, the truth about the Uchiha massacre was common knowledge. Seeing the old woman suddenly go quiet again, Nagato continued: "Of course, I don't think Sasuke has the strength to take revenge on Konoha yet, but if Sasuke joins the Akatsuki, that might change. As long as I am willing to help him, it won't be long before Konoha disappears from this world. You know, I have the strength to do it."

At this point, Nagato looked at Tsunade and emphasized his tone: "As far as I know, Sasuke's current goal is to execute everyone in Konoha—ninjas and civilians alike, regardless of age!"

Tsunade, who had been silent, had her expression change drastically. She gritted her teeth, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. She didn't want Nagato to know that she, the Hokage, knew less about the Uchiha situation than Nagato, a foreigner. Moreover, her intuition told her that Nagato was telling the truth, because Konoha had changed a long time ago; any dark thing could happen in Konoha.

Hinata, who had been listening the whole time, couldn't help but cover her mouth, her wide eyes filled with shock. She found it hard to imagine that Sasuke Uchiha, who had graduated from the ninja academy in the same year as her, would one day want to do such a thing to Konoha.

"Alright, I understand." Seeing that Tsunade remained silent, Nagato nodded, feeling he understood her meaning. "You can't join the Akatsuki because you're bound by the status of Hokage, right? Then as long as Konoha is destroyed and the position of Hokage no longer exists, the obstacle to you joining the Akatsuki will disappear."

After saying this, he stood up, looking as if the conversation was over.

"Wait!" Tsunade was practically about to explode with rage again. "What are you planning to do now?"

She felt that Nagato was clearly not quite right in the head. He had been "chatting" perfectly well in Konoha before, and then suddenly blew it up. Now, she had no idea what kind of terrifying plans he had.

Nagato ignored her and walked to the door in a few steps.

"Come back!" Tsunade called out hurriedly. "Let's discuss this further. How about we both take a step back?"

She had already figured it out: since Konoha was already like this and she had become a prisoner, why bother with so much? She would figure out what the Akatsuki was all about first.

Long ago, when the young Sannin encountered the demigod Hanzo of the Salamander in Amegakure, Jiraiya chose to fight to the end, while Tsunade was the one supporting Jiraiya and urging him not to say anything more.

Many years later, the now-famous Sannin encountered Nagato in Amegakure one after another. Orochimaru chose to defect after joining, Jiraiya chose to fight with his last breath to obtain intelligence to defeat Pain, and Tsunade, now, would also have to make her own choice.