Shinobi World No. 1, Southern Army Headquarters, an underground secret chamber.
Danzo's single eye gleamed with cold greed in the dim lamplight, fixed on the latest top-secret intelligence from the Land of Rain lying on the table.
The report detailed the core members of Akatsuki, particularly its orange-haired leader Yahiko's "peace mediation" plan, and the thin, red-haired companion at his side named Nagato.
But what seized all of Danzo's attention was the vague description appended to the end of the report, obtained at the cost of an elite Root operative's life deep within Amegakure. Though unclear, it was enough to stop the heart of anyone who understood its significance:
"...When the target (Nagato) experienced intense emotional fluctuations... his eyes... briefly displayed... strange circular ripples... seemingly containing endless cycles of reincarnation... extremely similar to... the Sage of Six Paths' Eye... described in ancient texts... but only for an instant, impossible to confirm..."
The Rinnegan!
The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, the Shinobi World's supreme dōjutsu, with the power to control life, death, and reincarnation! They had actually appeared in some unknown red-haired brat in the Land of Rain?!
Danzo's breathing grew uncontrollably heavy for a moment before he forcibly suppressed it.
His withered fingers gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white.
His heart pounded in his chest, not from fear, but from a searing desire that threatened to erupt-a mixture of extreme greed, wild joy, and cold calculation!
The Rinnegan! If I can obtain them... if I can control this power... Sunagakure's Monster Unit, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze, internal troubles and external threats-all of them will be beneath notice!
I will become the true, undisputed ruler of Konoha, and perhaps even... the ruler of the Shinobi World!
But his many years in the darkness brought