Shinobi World No. 1.
Konoha Year 43, autumn.
Sunagakure, Sandcastle Base.
Late at night.
The lights in the Training Ground had gone out, leaving only a few Chakra lamps casting a dim yellow glow in the corridor. Nagato had not gone to sleep. He sat cross-legged in his room, holding a dark purple Soul Yin Stone, his eyes closed in concentration. Pure Spiritual Energy flowed from the stone, slowly replenishing the Eye Power he had expended during the day. Ever since he had obtained the Soul Yin Stone, his cultivation had progressed several times faster. Shadow Devouring Extraction's Servant Space already held hundreds of Shadow Servants, and both the range and frequency of his Shadow Instantaneous Movement had greatly increased.
But he still felt it was not enough.
He recalled what Toyotomi Yinglang had said during the day-"Disciples aren't tools, nor are they pawns. Disciples are a legacy." Legacy. The word was unfamiliar to him. In the Land of Rain, he had been a war orphan, Jiraiya's disciple, the "Child of Prophecy"-but those identities had all been given to him by others. His Rinnegan had been transplanted by someone else, his mission had been bestowed by someone else, and even the name "Nagato" was something others called him. He had never lived for himself. Not until he met Toyotomi Yinglang.
"Teacher..."
He murmured the name, an indescribably complex feeling rising in his heart. That man had given him a choice, given him power, given him freedom. Although that freedom still existed within a certain framework. But at least he had chosen it himself.
"Nagato, still awake?"
A calm voice came from the doorway.
Nagato opened his eyes and saw Toyotomi Yinglang standing in the doorway with a cup of hot tea in his hand. He wore that moon-white Kariginu, his