Feng Yao's figure seemed to overlap with Yahiko's.
How long had it been?
How long had it been since their blood had boiled like this?
The last time seemed to have been when they were still with Yahiko.
Back then, they had been homeless and just as lost. Then Yahiko had appeared, proclaiming his ideals and ambitions.
And now, this man named Feng Yao had appeared just as Yahiko had back then, proclaiming his ideals and ambitions.
Perhaps this time, Feng Yao was right?
The same thought rose in Nagato's and Konan's hearts.
"Then..." Nagato fell silent for a moment. "What should we do...?"
Konan also looked over hopefully.
The wariness from before was already gone from her eyes.
Feng Yao smiled.
Talk-no-jutsu worked!
"The first step is to break old ways of thinking, starting with our Land of Rain!"
"And the first step toward that is education!"
The devastation of the Second Shinobi World War and the Third Shinobi World War had left the Land of Rain's daimyo a ruler in name only, and that daimyo had been killed by Hanzō.
The Land of Rain's daimyo had already become a ruler in name only, and that daimyo had been killed by Hanzō.
The country's nobles had also moved away one after another. If they stayed, they might be killed any day without ever seeing it coming.
The current Amegakure was also the Land of Rain's original capital, Rain City.
That was also one of the reasons Feng Yao had chosen Amegakure.
Here, his chances of unifying the Shinobi World were extremely high, and the obstacles were minimal.
"Education?"
Konan was puzzled.
"That's right. Ideas are the product of education. Even if we can unify the Shinobi World through overwhelming power in the future, without a stable ideological foundation, it will still be a castle in the air."
"My idea is to start with Amegakure, broaden people's thinking, and cultivate talent!"
"All right. I'll leave Amegakure to you. I can hand Akatsuki over to you as well. I hope you won't disappoint me." After a long silence, Nagato gave Feng Yao a searching look.
Konan's gaze was also complicated.
Amegakure and Akatsuki were the fruits of their painstaking efforts, yet now they were handing them over to someone they had known for barely a few days.
"What next? What should Akatsuki do?"
Feng Yao pondered, then looked at Nagato and Konan. "Carry on as usual. You've seen the future too. Power is the foundation of everything. For now, keep getting stronger and building up our strength."
Nagato and Konan nodded.
Leaving Black Zetsu and Obito aside, there were Madara Uchiha and Kaguya Otsutsuki in the future, and the Otsutsuki invasion further down the line.
All of them were swords hanging over their heads.
"What about Obito?"
Konan certainly remembered him plunging his hand into her chest in the future.
She would settle that score no matter what!
"Obito?"
Feng Yao gave a disdainful smile. "I've taken his Mangekyo. He's only alive now thanks to Black Zetsu's help. He won't be running around for much longer."
Konan nodded at that. "When you're going to kill him, remember to bring me along."
The corner of Feng Yao's mouth twitched.
Women really do hold grudges.
"All right. I trust you, Feng Yao." Nagato's gaze was gentle, the gloom from before actually gone.
His face was still pale, though, a result of his dwindling life force.
Feng Yao nodded.
He sincerely hoped Nagato could become an asset to him in the future.
Looking at Nagato, even the Uzumaki Clan's special constitution had been depleted to this state, and he was someone of exceptional talent even among the Uzumaki Clan.
It was easy to imagine how terrifying the Rinnegan was.
Once Orochimaru perfected his research on Hashirama cells, Nagato could consider having them implanted.
Hashirama cells had the terrifying ability to replenish life force automatically. Perhaps they would help Nagato recover.
"Hmm, it looks like some rats have arrived."
Through the Rain Tiger at Will Technique, Nagato sensed strangers entering the Land of Rain.
The newcomers had lightning-nature chakra.
One of them had an exceptionally vast amount of chakra.
Nagato told Feng Yao what he had sensed.
Feng Yao immediately knew which village they were from. "Probably those Kumogakure fellows. They place a lot of importance on Kekkei Genkai."
"As for the one with so much chakra, that should be a Jinchūriki. Most likely the Two-Tails' or the Eight-Tails'."
Nagato nodded at that.
"Leave those fellows to me."
"All right." Nagato nodded.
Feng Yao used Kamui and left.
Only Nagato, Konan, and Deva Path Pain remained.
"Nagato, about what Feng Yao said..." Konan hesitated.
Konan was afraid. What if that future was false, a means for Feng Yao to gain their trust and seize Amegakure and Akatsuki?
Over the years of governing Amegakure, Konan had also learned quite a bit about politics.
Yet her intuition told her that future was absolutely real.
It left Konan conflicted, her feelings tangled to the extreme.
Nagato was silent.
He felt exactly the same.
Yet everything Feng Yao did seemed to say: trust me.
Besides, even if they did not trust him, someone of Feng Yao's strength could seize everything by force. Why go to such lengths to deceive them?
Nagato could sense that even at his peak, he and the Six Paths of Pain might be no match for Feng Yao.
And with everything the future held, Nagato truly could not think of a way out.
Instinctively, Nagato followed his heart, and he actually felt a sense of release.
"Konan, don't you think Feng Yao is a lot like Yahiko?"
Konan paused at his words.
Yes, Feng Yao was a lot like Yahiko.
Just as confident.
The difference was that Feng Yao possessed tremendous strength.
He also seemed to see this world more clearly.
"He is..." Konan's gaze was complicated.
"Yes. That's why I chose to trust him!" Nagato's gaze was deep.
Besides, the facts also proved that his so-called future goal of achieving peace by making the world feel pain was unrealistic.
On the contrary, it would only worsen the chaos.
Feng Yao's earlier analysis had also proved that.
"Still, we should keep the necessary watch on him. Konan, serve as his deputy and see how he does things."
"All right," Konan answered with a nod.
She also wanted to see whether what Feng Yao had said was true or false.
Elsewhere.
Darui led Yugito and more than a dozen Kumogakure elites as they slipped into the Land of Rain.
Rain dripped onto them.
What they did not know was that the moment they entered the Land of Rain and touched the rain, they had already been exposed.
They had already been exposed to Nagato's senses.
This was the Rain Tiger at Will Technique.
Truly terrifying!
"Tch, the rain in this Land of Rain is way too heavy!" Darui complained.
"Amegakure's rain is too strong, Darui's too weak to play along," Killer B said, wearing sunglasses.
"Ah, Lord Killer B, that rap of yours..." Darui said helplessly.
The next instant, Killer B changed his movements. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes sharpened, and he hurled the throwing knives at his waist straight at Darui!
"Watch out!" His voice no longer had its rapping cadence and had turned serious!
Darui noticed instantly. Drawing on years of experience as a ninja, he reacted at once and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the spot!
The person behind Darui was none other than Feng Yao.
The several shuriken Killer B had thrown passed through Feng Yao and buried themselves deep in the trees!
Intangibility!
"Lord Darui!"
"Lord Killer B!"
Dozens of teammates behind them immediately rushed forward and surrounded him.
"Be careful! This guy is strong!" Killer B shouted, his expression utterly grave.
The Eight-Tails, Gyuki, inside him was telling him that this person felt terrifying.
"Killer B, retreat now! This person is terrifying!" Gyuki said gravely within Killer B's mindscape.
Tailed Beasts had terrifying sensory abilities. This person's chakra and oppressive presence actually reminded him of someone-Madara Uchiha.
Killer B was even more shocked.
Who was Gyuki, the Eight-Tails?
Even the Third Raikage, who had broken off one of his horns back then, had never received such an appraisal from him!
Before you continue