When Jiraiya first took Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato in as his students, he had believed that Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, was the Child of Prophecy the Great Toad Sage had spoken of, the one who would someday save the shinobi world.
In truth, however, Yahiko had always been the backbone of the trio. He had founded the Akatsuki and defined its mission.
Even years after Yahiko's death, Nagato had continued to uphold his will, hoping to create a world without war, where peace would last forever.
But compared with the idealistic Yahiko, Nagato was colder and more obsessive.
To achieve his ideal peace, he had taken the initiative to attack the Five Great Shinobi Villages that controlled the tailed beasts, reigniting the flames of war.
Of course, that was the old Nagato. After his collaborator ambushed him and stole his Rinnegan, Nagato had fallen from his lofty pedestal and become an ordinary ninja again.
Their eyes met. Nagato sought Konan's opinion, but she looked just as lost as he was.
Konan rarely had opinions of her own. In the past, she had followed Yahiko's lead; now, she followed Nagato's.
Seeing her like this, Nagato sighed inwardly. Without his Rinnegan, was he any different?
At that moment, they missed Yahiko desperately. They wanted him back by their side, guiding them once more down the path toward the future.
"How are you going to revive Yahiko?"
"Are you planning to use Rinne Rebirth? I know that technique too, but it can't revive Yahiko when he's been dead for so many years..."
And so Nagato voiced his doubts.
This had also been his greatest regret over the years. By the time he had mastered Rinne Rebirth, Yahiko could no longer be revived.
Although Rinne Rebirth could reverse life and death, the person