The Rinnegan Appears

On Natsuhi afternoon in Konoha, the air was so thick it felt like you could wring water out of it.

Having just left Orochimaru's Scientific Research Department, Tsunade felt a throbbing pain in her head.

The outrageously complex data charts, Orochimaru's inquisitive golden vertical pupils, and his incessant chatter of technical jargon nearly exhausted the patience of one of the Sannin.

If it weren't for the involvement of Wood Style and her First Hokage's cell research, Tsunade would never want to set foot here again.

Now that she has left the Scientific Research Department, she feels a great sense of relief.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long.

She stood at the fork in the main road in the village, feeling as if she were at a crossroads in her life.

To the left, at the end of the straight road, stood the solemn Konoha Hospital building. There, countless documents lay like hungry monsters, their gaping maws waiting for her to fill them.

Just imagining the endless paperwork made Tsunade feel a heavy weariness creeping up from her very bones.

To the right is a side road leading to Konoha's commercial street. You can almost smell the various fragrances wafting from there.

Especially the izakaya next to the "Three-color Dango" restaurant, the chilled and refreshing Daiginjo beer seemed to have already evoked memories on her tongue.

"Well----"

A long sigh, brimming with countless complex emotions, escaped from Tsunade's full, red lips.

Whenever she felt overwhelmed by work and exhausted, she would miss her disciple who always helped her solve most of her problems.

When that guy was around, the hospital's workload was reduced by more than half.

Unfortunately, that guy was sent out again by the Fourth Hokage to deal with the restless activities of those muscle-bound barbarians from Cloud Village on the Northern Front border.

Tsunade vigorously shook her dazzling blond hair, trying to shake off the thought of "Taiichi" and the ensuing "more work".

She knew the importance of the matter. After the Nine-Tails's rampage, the Cloud Village was eyeing them covetously, and it was absolutely necessary for a combat force of Taiichi's caliber to be stationed on the border.

She wouldn't go so far as to go to the Hokage Tower and grab Minato by the Minato to complain, just to make things easier for herself.

But... it's just that I'm suffering!

Despite her owner's faint, rational protests, her long, shapely legs, clad in wooden clogs, still "honestly" and with a touch of eager excitement, stepped onto the right-hand fork in the road.

"Well, I need to catch my breath before I start working, right? Just a little bit, it won't affect the rest of the work!" Tsunade seemed to have finally convinced herself, or perhaps she was just trying to save face.

Before long, she was sitting by the window in that familiar izakaya, easily enjoying this rare moment of peace that belonged to her, feeling as if she had been reborn.

However, this tranquility is destined to be short-lived.

Just as Tsunade empty glass, hesitating whether to have another, the curtain with the wind chimes hanging on it was suddenly flung open, and a girl dressed in dark purple appeared in the doorway, panting.

The person who entered was Shizune. Her anxious gaze quickly swept across the store and instantly locked onto the dazzling gold light by the window.

"Lady Tsunade!"

Her voice, though Shizune, was clearly urgent. Before she could even catch her breath, she waved towards the door.

A member of the Anbu, wearing an animal mask and a black, tight-fitting combat suit, appeared silently behind Shizune like a ghost.

The two quickly walked across several tables and went straight to Tsunade.

Tsunade, holding the second cup of sake that had just been filled, paused for a moment.

Caught red-handed by the Anbu during working hours in an izakaya—even with her thick skin, she couldn't help but feel a flush rise to her cheeks, a barely perceptible blush creeping up to her ears.

She could even feel the curious and knowing stares from the other tables of customers.

"Ahem—" Tsunade lightly, trying to cover her embarrassment, and put down her wine glass. "What's the rush?"

He tried hard to maintain the dignity of Sannin, but his eyes were somewhat unfocused.

The Anbu seemed to be a newcomer; his eyes, hidden behind the mask, revealed nervousness and a hint of barely perceptible fatigue.

He had clearly been searching for Tsunade in the village for a long time, and now that he had finally found her, his voice was somewhat hurried. "Lady Tsunade! The Hokage-sama has urgently convened a meeting! He orders you to go to the top floor conference room of the Hokage Tower immediately! All the important personnel are present, except for you!"

Tsunade frowned. "An emergency meeting? What's so urgent?"

She was still figuring out how to cover up her sneaking out for drinks.

The Anbu spoke rapidly, "It's Lord Taichi Matsushita! He just returned from the Northern Front border with extremely important and urgent intelligence! The Hokage-sama demands your presence! Your subordinate—your subordinate has been searching for you for a long time!"

His tone carried a hint of grievance, clearly indicating that the wasted time was putting him under immense pressure. If it were a seasoned ANBU Anbu familiar with Tsunade's temperament, they would probably have staked out the gambling den or izakaya instead of wasting so much time.

"Taiichi is back?"

Tsunade's initial embarrassment and displeasure at being disturbed vanished instantly, replaced by pure surprise. Her amber eyes lit up as if two small flames had been ignited.

She automatically ignored the prefixes "important intelligence" and "emergency meeting," her mind only focused on the two words "Taiichi"—her savior had returned! This meant that the mountain of work would finally be shared!

"Yes! Lord Taiichi- ichi, he—"

Before the Anbu could finish speaking, Tsunade jumped up, her movement so fast that she knocked over the wooden stool she was sitting on, making a loud bang.

Before Shizune could even react, she activated her Body Flicker Technique.

Whoosh!

Only a faint golden afterimage and the lingering aroma of wine remained in the air.

Shizune looked at the empty seat, then at the glass of wine on the table, sighed helplessly, resignedly took out her wallet from her pocket, and gave the shop owner who rushed over an apologetic smile, "Boss, the bill."

The new recruits from the Anbu nearby stared in disbelief as Shizune expertly paid the bill, finally understanding why their Senior always had such complicated expressions when talking about searching for Lady Tsunade.

The atmosphere was heavy in the spacious conference room on the top floor of the Hokage Tower. The huge oval conference table was almost entirely filled with Konoha's elite forces.

The most core decision-making level.

In the main seat, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had dazzling blond hair that shone brightly in the sunlight streaming through the window, but deep within his azure eyes lay a lingering sense of solemnity.

To his left sat, in order, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had stepped down as Hokage but still served as Advisor elder, along with Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. The faces of these three veteran figures were also etched with worry.

To Minato's right sat some of Konoha's top fighters and strategists: Konoha, dressed in an Orochimaru with a gloomy and calm demeanor; Jiraiya, with white hair, whose eyes occasionally glanced Jiraiya the door; and Nara Shikaku, representing the newly joined core decision-making circle.

At the end of the conference table, Taichi Matsushita sat quietly. He was wearing a dark combat uniform, and the dust and grime of his journey had not completely dissipated. Unusually, the iconic orange-red fur ball was not perched on his shoulder.

When Tsunade appeared at the conference room door, everyone's eyes immediately turned to her.

"Sorry, something came up on the way and I was delayed."

Tsunade tried to keep her voice steady as she quickly walked to the empty seat next to Jiraiya and sat down. She could feel the disapproving look in her teacher Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.

Sure enough, the Third Hokage coughed lightly, tapped his pipe lightly on the table, and looked at Tsunade with his aged but still sharp eyes, his tone carrying the reproach of an elder and a hint of helplessness.

"Tsunade, it's an emergency meeting. Everyone's here. When you're working, please stay focused and don't leave your posts unnecessarily. Everyone's time is precious."

Tsunade was a little embarrassed, inwardly cursing the inflexible Anbu rookie, but could only politely reply, "I know, I'll be more careful next time."

She quickly scanned the entire room, her gaze sweeping over Minato, Orochimaru, and Shikaku, before finally glaring fiercely at Taiichi sitting opposite her.

A faint, almost imperceptible smile played on Taiichi's lips, his eyes holding a mischievous glint in them.

You brat! You dare laugh at me? You'll regret this later!

Tsunade conveyed a silent threat with her eyes. Taiichi received it, and the smile on his lips seemed to deepen by a tiny fraction before returning to its usual calm.

Minato spoke up at the opportune moment, drawing everyone's attention back to the main topic from this little incident. "Alright, now that everyone is here, let's begin the meeting."

His voice was steady and powerful, instantly bringing the atmosphere in the conference room back to a somber state.

"The reason for this urgent summons is that Taiichi has just brought back crucial intelligence from the Northern Front border. It is of great importance and requires our joint analysis."

His gaze turned to Taiichi: "Taiichi, thank you for your help."

He nodded Taiichi, without saying a word.

He took out a Sealing Scroll directly from his large Ninja Tool Pouch, stood up, walked to the empty space reserved next to the conference table, and under the gazes of everyone, some solemn, some curious, and some inquisitive, he formed several hand seals.

"Untie!"

With a low shout, the Sealing Scroll was suddenly pulled open, and a thick cloud of white smoke exploded with a "bang," revealing a mangled corpse on the ground!

Everyone in the meeting room couldn't help but frown.

The corpse was dressed in a tattered Black-bottomed Red Cloud Robe, the signature attire of the Akatsuki! What was chilling was that the corpse's skin had an unnatural grayish-brown color, and its face was studded with black metal rods.

"Hiss----"

The robe alone was enough to make everyone in the know gasp.

"Gentlemen," Taiichi's cold voice broke the brief silence, pointing to the dismembered corpse on the ground, "This is the source of the intelligence I brought back. Yesterday, on the northern border of the Land of Hot Water, I was ambushed by members of this organization."

There were three opponents in total. One self-destructed, one escaped, and this one—"He paused, his gaze sweeping over the Animal Path's corpse,"—was killed on the spot. Please note, this one, and the other two, were not the original forms.

"Not the original body?" Mitokado Homura asked in confusion.

"Yes," Taiichi answered confidently, "It's just a Puppet, a shell remotely controlled by powerful eye energy."

The manipulator is likely the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails's rampage, or at least one of the masterminds. They belong to the same organization and share the same goal.

"Target? What target?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in a deep voice, the sparks from his pipe flickering.

"Tailed Beast." Taiichi uttered the two words decisively, "They explicitly demanded the Nine-Tails from me. Considering the events of the Night of the Nine-Tails, I have reason to deduce that collecting all the Tailed Beast is the core objective of their organization."

Nara Shikaku felt a chill run up his spine.

All the clues connected instantly! The Nine-Tails' rampage, the mysterious mastermind, the powerful organization, the Tailed Beast — Konoha's recent series of radical reforms now had the most reasonable explanation!

This organization, lurking in the shadows, likely possesses far greater ambitions and strength than they previously anticipated!

Konoha's various "major actions" were actually to deal with such a terrifying potential threat!

Although Shikaku's deduction deviated somewhat from the truth of Konoha's reforms (which were actually to guard against the Ōtsutsuki Clan from beyond the heavens), at the current level of understanding, this judgment was perfectly reasonable and made it easier for everyone present to understand Konoha's recent strategic adjustments.

"To give everyone a more direct understanding of the nature of the opponent's power," Taiichi continued, "I suggest you all come forward and take a close look at this corpse, especially—his eyes."

Eye?

Everyone's curiosity was heightened. What Taiichi emphasized so solemnly must be extraordinary.

Minato was the first to stand up and crouch down beside the corpse. Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura followed closely behind. Orochimaru practically rushed over, his golden snake eyes flashing with fanatical light. Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shikaku also surrounded them.

When their gaze fell on the face of the mutilated corpse, focusing on the eyes that were not yet fully closed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

What eyes they were!

The pupils displayed an extremely strange pattern of concentric circles, like tree rings, one inside the other, each circle seemingly containing some ancient and mysterious power.

That was no ordinary Dōjutsu or bloodline limit.

"What... what kind of eyes are these?" Utatane Koharu was puzzled. With her experience, she couldn't recognize this strange Dōjutsu at all.

"Never seen it before—" Mitokado Homura frowned, trying hard to search his memory for records in ancient books.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's breathing became noticeably heavier, and the knuckles of his fingers gripping the pipe turned slightly white from the force. He recognized those eyes; he had seen a description of them when researching information about the Otsutsuki.

Orochimaru licked his lips, his eyes practically overflowing with fanaticism. "Incredible—the mere Chakra fluctuations emanating from his body after death are so astonishing—"

He desperately wanted to gouge out those eyes and take them back to study them.

Only from Jiraiya.

The moment his gaze fell upon those purple reincarnation patterns, he felt as if he had been struck by an invisible thunderbolt.

The color drained from his face in an instant, his tall body swayed violently, and he involuntarily took half a step back, bumping into the chair behind him with a screeching sound.

"Jiraiya?!" Tsunade keenly sensed her old friend's unusual behavior and asked in a worried whisper.

Jiraiya seemed not to hear, his divine light still fixed firmly on those Rinnegan, his gaze shifting violently—shock, confusion, pain, reminiscence—ultimately settling into a deep, almost desperate bitterness.

Taiichi took in everyone's reactions, especially Jiraiya's utter discomposure. He stopped teasing, his calm voice like a stone thrown into a deep pool, creating ripples in the deathly silent conference room. "This is the Rinnegan, the foremost of the three great Dōjutsu, the Rinnegan possessed by the Sage of Six Paths."