Inside the grotto, the light was dim. Nagato sat cross-legged on a stone bed. The three black tomoe slowly spinning in the dark red depths of his newly awakened eyes gradually faded, returning them to their ordinary violet color, tinged with fatigue.
After several days of adjustment and Toyotomi Yinglang's guidance, he had gained basic control over his new Sharingan. Although its ocular power was still weak and he could only keep it active briefly, the feeling of complete, effortless control over something that belonged entirely to him was something the Rinnegan had never given him.
Yet the brief reassurance that came from controlling his power was soon submerged beneath deeper questions and cold reality.
Ever since he had learned the truth about the "Pure Land Pasture," the possible contingency hidden in the Rinnegan, and the invisible hand manipulating the Shinobi World from behind the scenes, one enormous question had lingered in his mind.
He raised his head and looked toward Toyotomi Yinglang, who stood quietly near the grotto's entrance, seemingly watching the unending curtain of rain outside. After a moment's hesitation, he finally asked the question that had been circling in his mind for so long. "Mr. Yinglang... there's something else I don't understand."
Toyotomi Yinglang did not turn around. He merely gave a quiet "Mm," signaling for him to continue.
"The Sage of Six Paths... if he possesses such tremendous power that he can create the Pure Land, establish reincarnation, and perhaps even treat the entire Shinobi World as a pasture... then why does he keep hiding in the Pure Land? If he really is the mastermind behind all this, as the Evil God said, why doesn't he simply descend upon the Shinobi World and rule everything as a god? Wouldn't that be simpler and more direct? Why