Konan asked, "Nagato, why did you leave a Phantom Dragon here?"
Nagato said, "That's a long story. Naruto, can you use the Preta Path now?"
Naruto said, "I can~."
Nagato said, "Absorb this Phantom Dragon, and you'll understand everything!"
"All right..."
Naruto raised his hand and absorbed Nagato's Phantom Dragon with the Preta Path!
Immediately, Nagato's memories of being forced to fight Sasuke after his Impure World Reincarnation flooded Naruto's mind!
Naruto understood at once. "So that's what happened!"
Bzz!
Nagato's Phantom Dragon appeared within Naruto's mental world. "Naruto, I've shared my sensory perception with you. Follow the connection between this Phantom Dragon and my actual body, and you'll find Kabuto Yakushi. But he controls a great many people brought back through Impure World Reincarnation. You and Konan must be careful!"
"Yeah, I will..."
Naruto and Konan set off again, heading for Kabuto Yakushi's true hiding place!
Along the way, their mental conversation also cleared up the doubts in Nagato's heart.
"I see. So that's why you transplanted my eyes, then left Konoha for Amegakure?"
"The masked man who had been guiding my actions all along wasn't Madara Uchiha, but an Uchiha named Obito. After my death, he came to Amegakure to take Madara's Rinnegan, and Konan lost her life because of it..."
"But your actions changed all those terrible outcomes. Konan survived, and you even brought back Master Jiraiya, whom I killed..."
Naruto said apologetically, "I'm really sorry, Nagato. When I stood before you back then, my soul had only just traveled through time, and I hadn't fully figured out what was happening. It was hard to explain everything to you..."
Nagato said, "That's only natural..."
Naruto said, "The path I'm taking is the complete opposite of the promise you heard. Don't you blame me?"
Nagato said, "There's no