The Missing Nagato
Inari City, High Heaven Palace.
Inside the main hall, the morning light poured down through the openwork window frames, illuminating the dark wooden pillars and the stone slabs on the floor.
The shadows of the pillars were stretched long and straight, like a row of silent guards, standing quietly on both sides of the hall that symbolized the highest power of the Land of Rice.
In the center of the main hall, two female ninjas were kneeling on the ground, their heads slightly lowered, their fists lightly pressed against the cold stone slab.
"Kow-sama."×2
The two called out in unison, their voices respectful yet without the slightest hint of humility.
The person appeared to be around the same age as Kou, with thick, dark purple hair tied back with a wooden hairpin. Her face was beautiful and serene, with a hint of heroic spirit between her brows.
Former elite Jonin of Hidden Star Village, now the captain of the "Hoshi" air force unit of the Land of Rice - Natsuhiboshi.
The other person was much younger, with long, smooth, brownish-yellow hair cascading over her shoulders. Although her face still retained some of the childishness of a young girl, her figure had already grown to be comparable to Tsunade's.
Hotaru, the former young lord of the Tsuchigumo Clan and the vice-captain of the inspection force in the Land of Land of Rice.
Behind the large desk at the far end of the main hall, Kou placed the scroll he had just finished reviewing on the corner of the desk, looked at his subordinates who maintained proper court etiquette, and sighed helplessly:
"I've told you so many times, our Land of Rice doesn't care about these kinds of formalities."
"I'm just your boss, not your ancestor. You don't need to kneel down every time you see me."
You don't need to be modest.
Natsuhiboshi was the first to raise her head and respectfully said:
"As a subject, it is one's duty to pay respects to one's sovereign."
Moreover, if it weren't for your improvement of the Mysterious Peacock Method back then, our Star Concealment lineage would still be tormented by the cost of that secret technique, suffering from it generation after generation.
Both publicly and privately, I should pay my respects to you; please do not refuse.
Upon hearing this, Ying quickly nodded in agreement:
"Yes, yes, Sister Xing is absolutely right, Lord Kou, please don't refuse."
Besides... if Grandpa knew I didn't properly greet you when I met you, he'd definitely scold me again.
As she spoke, she seemed to suddenly recall some unpleasant memory, and her still somewhat chubby face visibly trembled.
Seeing their resolute attitude, he opened his mouth, but ultimately wisely swallowed back the words of persuasion that were already on the tip of his tongue.
"Changing this deeply ingrained feudal mindset in the Ninja World is indeed a long and arduous task."
He sighed inwardly, then casually waved his hand and said to the two of them:
"Alright, alright, I can't argue with you guys."
That concludes this topic. Everyone, please stand up and report your respective findings.
"Yes!"
The two stood up at the same time, their movements swift and efficient.
Ying stepped forward first, handing the densely packed report to Kou, her small face hardening as she earnestly reported to the leader:
"My lord, I have done as you instructed and inspected all the ninjas and people throughout the Land of Land of Rice."
To date, none of the individuals examined have shown any signs of being manipulated by Genjutsu or Dōjutsu.
In addition, the Fuma Clan also conducted a simultaneous investigation of their allies Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Hot Water, and found nothing unusual there either.
She paused here, then cautiously added:
"Please rest assured, all inspection procedures were strictly carried out according to the standards you set, with absolutely no omissions!"
He took the briefing, quickly glanced at the data and conclusions, and nodded slightly.
But his expression did not lighten in the slightest because of this "good news".
Kou placed the report back on the desk, then turned his gaze to Xia Natsuhiboshi, who was standing quietly to the side, and asked in a deep voice:
"Xing, how about you over there?"
Have you discovered anything regarding Orochimaru's whereabouts or the movements of the remnants of the Akatsuki?
Natsuhiboshi Rixing clasped her hands in front of her and reported to her supervisor in a methodical manner:
"Regarding Orochimaru, we have yet to find any trace of him within the Ninja World."
"As for the remnants of the Akatsuki... According to the intelligence we have gathered, Uchiha Itachi has recently appeared in the Land of Land of Wind, but his whereabouts are extremely secretive, and we have not yet been able to pinpoint his exact location."
Kakuzu remains active in the underground black markets of various countries and is currently appearing in the Land of Land of Hot Water area.
Raiga Kurosuki has been confirmed to be active within the Land of Lightning.
"What about Nagato and Konan?"
Kou looked at her intently and asked calmly.
Natsuhiboshi shook her head regretfully:
We have never been able to find Nagato and Konan's whereabouts.
Amegakure is still in chaos, and there is no indication that the two have reappeared.
"... Yeah."
He responded softly, a thought flashing in his eyes, but he didn't press the matter further.
After a moment, he spoke again:
"Hoshino, send more people to Nagato and Konan's side and keep a close watch on them."
As for the others... Raiga Kurosuki can continue to be kept an eye on, while the investigation of the other two can be appropriately reduced.
We don't have enough manpower right now to deploy so many lines at the same time.
Finding Nagato and Konan is the most important thing right now.
He paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to Ying:
"Ying, you will continue to be in charge of mental health examinations within the country."
The scope can be appropriately narrowed, focusing on Inari City and its surrounding core areas.
As for the outer perimeter, the Wind Fuma Clan can patrol it periodically.
"Yes!"
The two responded in unison, their voices echoing briefly in the spacious, almost empty hall before gradually fading away.
"Alright, that concludes this report."
Kou Chao waved to the two men and smiled, saying:
"You've all worked hard. If there's nothing else, go back and get some rest."
I'll need to continue relying on everyone in the days to come.
Natsuhiboshi and Ying nodded, bowed deeply to Kou solemnly, then turned and walked out of the main hall's main entrance, disappearing beyond the long staircase.
In the vast hall, only Kou remained.
"So, they still couldn't find... Nagato and Konan's whereabouts."
He muttered to himself, his deep black eyes, which had initially maintained a degree of relaxation, slowly darkened in the shadows of the hall, softened by the morning light.
Five days ago, after learning of Orochimaru's disappearance, he immediately pulled out a Black Receivers from Pain's Deva Path, attempting to trace the Chakra within it to pinpoint Nagato's location.
That day, he was prepared to set off overnight and retrieve the Rinnegan in the shortest possible time.
But what happened next thwarted his plans.
I perceived it, but received no feedback.
The connection between Pain and Nagato was severed.
After the initial shock and disorientation, Kou quickly calmed down and deduced two possibilities.
Firstly, Nagato deliberately severed the connection with this Deva Path Pain, creating a new Six Paths of Pain.
However, this probability is almost negligible.
No one understood better than him what the Deva Path truly meant to Nagato and Konan.
As long as Nagato is alive, he would never willingly abandon the Deva Path.
Moreover, after his battle with Nagato, Nagato's physical body must have been extremely weak, with very little Chakra left.
In the short term, he simply wouldn't have the resources to replace the Six Paths of Pain.
What remains is the possibility that Kou least wants to confirm, yet is becoming increasingly clear.
Nagato... is dead.
Someone beat me to it and stole the Rinnegan!