Meeting

"Old man, I..." Jiraiya looked up, and upon seeing the furious expression on Sarutobi Hiruzen, he couldn't help but shudder.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was truly terrifying when he was angry.

Sarutobi Hiruzen said in a deep voice, "You had best explain the situation clearly. The Rinnegan is the legendary eye of the Sage of Six Paths. To a certain extent, this suggests that the myths and legends regarding the Sage of Six Paths may not be false. No one knows just how far someone possessing these eyes might go in the future!"

"Hiruzen, the matter of the Rinnegan also involves the so-called Uchiha Madara. We must get to the bottom of this, otherwise, we are far too passive." Danzo narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Jounin Ming." Jiraiya glanced at Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen, then turned his head to look at Uchiha Akira, who was standing beside Uchiha Fugaku. With a look of unease on his face, he asked, "Is the leader of the Akatsuki truly named Nagato?"

"It is indeed Nagato." Uchiha Akira nodded and said, "The person who calls himself Uchiha Madara did indeed say so."

Upon hearing Uchiha Akira's words, Jiraiya slumped dejectedly into his seat, his entire demeanor turning lifeless.

Bang!

Sarutobi Hiruzen, his eyes seemingly spitting fire, slammed his hand onto the table, leaving a palm print branded into the thick solid wood.

"Jiraiya, you had best explain this clearly. Although I am old, cleaning up my own house is still an easy task." Sarutobi Hiruzen stared coldly at Jiraiya.

The people present showed no particular expression, merely waiting quietly for the situation to unfold.

Jiraiya let out a long sigh, leaning powerlessly against the table as he began to recount, "During the Second Ninja World War, after Orochimaru, Tsunade, and I fought against Hanzo, three children..."

Hearing Jiraiya's account, those present revealed strange expressions, momentarily at a loss for words.

There were simply too many points of contention; they didn't know where to begin.

Upon hearing Jiraiya's story, Orochimaru immediately recalled the events of those years.

Although that incident was trivial in his memory, as a powerful ninja, he still remembered it.

"Heh..." Orochimaru chuckled softly, whispering, "I suggested killing those three children back then. If we had killed them, there wouldn't be so many problems now."

"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya glared at Orochimaru in anger upon hearing his words.

"Jiraiya, why didn't you bring them back to Konoha?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was icy, his eyes filled with deep confusion.

"You clearly knew that all three of them were rare geniuses, and one of them even possessed the legendary Kekkei Genkai of the Rinnegan. Why did you let them grow up freely in the Land of Rain!?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was frustrated by his lack of success, the anger in his heart nearly setting him ablaze.

"Is it because of the so-called prophecy? The prophecy of the Child of Prophecy?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was cold as he questioned:

"Now, let me see how your prophecy from Mount Myoboku comes to pass! He has joined forces with the person who calls himself Uchiha Madara! Who is Uchiha Madara? You should know that yourself!

"Does your prophecy of the Child of Prophecy bringing peace to the world mean that the so-called Child of Prophecy will kill everyone, and with no one left, there will naturally be peace? Is that what you meant?"

His heart ached so much he could barely breathe. The Rinnegan!

This was the legendary eye of the Sage of Six Paths. If one possessed even one or two-tenths of the power of the Sage of Six Paths, it would be a divine power capable of sweeping across the ninja world.

Originally, there was a high probability that this power could have belonged to Konoha, but now it stood in opposition to them.

"Teacher..." Jiraiya's mouth opened and moved, but he could not say a word.

Nagato's hostility toward Konoha had become an established fact; this could not be changed.

"Put aside your thoughts of correcting your own mistakes." Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to see through Jiraiya's mind and said coldly, "Not to mention whether you are a match for your own good student, even if you could defeat him, don't forget there is still a so-called Uchiha Madara!"

"Teacher, I..." Jiraiya slumped powerlessly on the table, looking utterly dejected.

"It's truly disgraceful!" Utatane Koharu glared at Jiraiya and looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Hiruzen, how should we handle this matter now?"

"My suggestion is to assemble a large number of experts immediately and nip the danger in the bud." At this moment, Danzo spoke up.

He said, "While the owner of the Rinnegan is still young and has not truly grown, we still have a chance to eliminate him. If he truly unearths the power of the Rinnegan, Konoha may not necessarily be able to deal with him."

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not commit to this, instead looking at Jiraiya and asking in a deep voice, "How much do you know about the Rinnegan? What kind of abilities do those eyes possess?"

"I..." Jiraiya was suddenly at a loss for words. After struggling for a long time, he sheepishly said, "I actually don't know what abilities the Rinnegan possesses!"

Once these words were spoken, everyone in the conference room felt a sense of absurdity.

Having spent three years together, and even serving as their teacher responsible for teaching them ninjutsu, he actually didn't know the abilities of the Rinnegan.

Was this not a bit ridiculous?

Of course, those present would certainly not voice such thoughts, merely keeping them to themselves.

After all, Jiraiya was one of the Sannin, held a high status in Konoha, and was Sarutobi Hiruzen's disciple; such thoughts were best kept internal.

"You don't know?" Sarutobi Hiruzen really wanted to walk over and slap Jiraiya. What kind of talk was this?

Jiraiya lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry, Teacher, I really don't know."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and looked at Uchiha Akira, who was beside Uchiha Fugaku:

"Jounin Ming, you are one of the only two people present who has fought against the Rinnegan. What is your take on it?"

Uchiha Akira said in a deep voice, "Undoubtedly, the Rinnegan is superior to the Mangekyō Sharingan of our Uchiha Clan. Its vast ocular power is incomparable to the Sharingan."

"Jounin Kaoru, what is your opinion?" Utatane Koharu looked at Hyuga Kaoru, who was beside Hyuga Hiashi.

"My strength cannot accurately perceive the boundaries of the opponent's ocular power. If the one I fought was merely a puppet, then even that puppet's ocular power far exceeded my Byakugan." Hyuga Kaoru stated calmly.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a look, and then Mitokado Homura looked at Uchiha Akira with a serious expression:

"Do you mean that if the owner of the Rinnegan grows up successfully, his upper limit would be even higher than that of Uchiha Madara back in the day?"

"It is possible!" Uchiha Akira nodded.

No one present doubted Uchiha Akira's words; as a clan possessing a bloodline limit ocular technique, they were the professionals when it came to ocular power.

As soon as these words were spoken, a small wave of discussion rippled through the conference room.

Who was Uchiha Madara? Although those present did not know his true strength, they understood that his power was on a completely different dimension from the ninjas of the current era!

Throughout the long history of the ninja world, only two people had ever possessed such strength: one was the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, and the other was Uchiha Madara.

"Then what is your take on this so-called Uchiha Madara? How is his strength?" Sarutobi Hiruzen rubbed his throbbing temples and looked toward Uchiha Akira.