My Foolish Junior Brother

The same words, the same information—when spoken by different people, the effect is completely different.

This could be seen clearly from the expression on Naruto's face right now. This guy, whose brain was no larger than a walnut, was currently torn between wanting to risk his life to fight Nagato and being unable to let go of his intense curiosity. He couldn't help but widen his eyes and shout, "This... how is this possible? You... how could a guy like you know these things?"

What did he mean by "a guy like me"? Nagato suppressed his inner dissatisfaction and continued to drop bombshells on Naruto:

"Heh, these things aren't some unknown secrets! The fox behind you knows them perfectly well. The higher-ups of Konoha, including your teachers and masters, and even the toads of Mount Myoboku all know. It's just that you are the only one who doesn't!" Having said this, Nagato tilted his head and asked the Nine Tails, "Right? Kurama!"

It was as if he were very familiar with the Nine Tails!

The Nine Tails bared its fangs, feeling a toothache for the first time in its life.

It really wanted to ask this red-haired Rinnegan user how he knew its name, but in the end, it chose to stay silent. It decided to find an opportunity to ask him later; the Nine Tails' mind was a bit chaotic right now, and it just wanted to be a quiet little fox.

And to Naruto, the Nine Tails' reaction was as good as an admission.

Naruto opened his mouth wide, as if he had suddenly become mentally challenged. He looked at Nagato, then at the Nine Tails. His mouth grew wider and wider, his throat bobbed slightly, and he seemed to want to say something, but didn't know what to say.

"Do you know the biggest difference between you and Sasuke?"

By now, Nagato had entered a mindset akin to playing a prank, and he continued to poison Naruto's mind: "Actually, you and Sasuke are really alike. You've felt it too, haven't you? You two are like true brothers."

The name Sasuke made Naruto freeze again. The Nine Tails rolled its eyes with human-like intelligence, feeling that Nagato understood Naruto far too well; everything he said touched on the topics Naruto cared about most.

"Even your experiences are so similar. But you two cannot understand each other. Do you know why?"

Nagato's voice continued to ring in Naruto's ears like the whisper of a demon. It made Naruto instinctively want to refuse, but he couldn't resist the longing in his heart to keep listening.

"Why?" Naruto wheezed, looking at Nagato, seemingly having forgotten that the red-haired man before him was his enemy.

"The reason is simple: because Sasuke knows everything, while you know nothing." Nagato shook his head and continued, "Who are you exactly? What is your status? Who were your parents? How did they die? What is the meaning behind your name? And where is your clan?"

"Sasuke knew the answers to all these questions from the very beginning, which is why he became an avenger and joined my Akatsuki. But you, you know nothing, which is why you are the way you are now—so wretched and lost."

As Nagato said this, he sighed with a deep sense of drama, as if he truly cared for Naruto.

The Nine Tails simply lay on the ground, propping its chin up with a paw, watching Nagato spout nonsense, a look of watching a show on its fox face.

This was truly interesting. This red-haired man, Nagato, was putting on such an axe-wielding display, trying to bewitch its jinchuriki right in front of its face?

The Nine Tails remarked that in all its long life, it had never seen such a bizarre character.

Naruto's brain was already in complete disarray. His brain capacity wasn't much larger than a walnut to begin with, and now, having been fed so much information by Nagato at once, his mind had turned into a total mess.

At this point in time, Naruto should have received the trust and redemption of the Fourth Hokage. But now, all he had before him was Nagato, this transmigrator full of malicious intent. By appearing to tell Naruto some information, he had only left Naruto with even more confusion.

"Do you hate me? Do you want to kill me? Do you want to know the answers to everything? Do you want to know the true face of this world?" Nagato smiled slightly, adopting a very perverse sense of humor as he mimicked the Fourth Hokage. With one hand on his hip and the other pressed onto Naruto's yellow-haired head, he said kindly, "My foolish junior brother, you are very weak right now! Why are you so weak? Because the pain in your heart is not yet deep enough."

"Feel pain, feel hatred, feel resentment. And then, once you see through the truth of Konoha, come find me in the Akatsuki!"

By now, Nagato had decided that since he couldn't find a way to become stronger from Naruto, he would simply influence Naruto's ideology and try to make him join the Akatsuki. In this way, his other goal—the realization of a revolution in the ninja world—would be easier to achieve, right?

Moreover, the most critical thing was that he could use this behavior to test the Sage of Six Paths' attitude toward Naruto.

Would he completely ignore Naruto's ideological shift, or would he appear again at a critical moment to stop Naruto from "turning dark"? Nagato thought it was exciting, feeling as if he were making moves right under the nose of the great tiger that was the Sage of Six Paths.

Looking at Naruto, who was lost in deep thought, Nagato spoke his final words with a malicious sense of humor: "Now, as your senior, let me help you uncover the truth about Konoha! Remember, the first truth about you is that you are merely a jinchuriki of Konoha. And jinchuriki, also known as the power of the sacrificial vessel, means you were simply selected by Konoha to be a sacrifice offered to the Nine Tails!"

Having said this, Nagato ignored Naruto's chaotic gaze and left Naruto's inner world.

Nagato knew that his time was running out. If he didn't leave Konoha soon, a bowl-cut guy named Might Guy would come to discuss the meaning of youth with him.

One had to know that not long ago, he had killed Guy's good friend Kakashi. If Emperor Guy heard such news, he would surely rush over at top speed to greet him with the most passionate youth possible?

Passionate enough to go straight into Night Guy and kick him to death with those stinky feet.

"Konan, dispel your shadow clone now." The Asura Path, who had been "treasure hunting" in Konoha with Konan's paper clone, suddenly spoke.

He was currently carrying a huge paper bag, walking out of the Hokage Office with Konan's paper clone. The two "people" looked like they had gained quite a harvest.

Hearing the Asura Path's words, Konan's paper clone nodded, scattered into individual sheets of paper, and vanished on the spot.

Nagato then used the Summoning Jutsu to summon the Asura Path over.

Taking the large paper bag from the Asura Path and feeling its heavy weight, Nagato's mood became excellent. He felt that this trip had been a fruitful one; Konoha was truly a good place, and he would come again next time he had the chance...

With a pleasant mood and a decision to act like a villain, Nagato placed the Byakugan handed over by the Deva Path into the paper bag, then tore the necklace of the First Hokage from Naruto's neck.

Without the slightest hesitation, Nagato and the Animal Path performed hand signs simultaneously.

"Summoning Jutsu!" "Summoning Jutsu!"

With two loud "bangs," Nagato and the Animal Path swapped positions, appearing inside the Paper Tree.