"The Akatsuki organization has essentially collapsed. Most of its members have either been captured or killed.
A group of them was captured by Danzo and interrogated. I've already dealt with those individuals."
"So, Danzo is dead too?"
Nagato clenched his fists, his teeth grinding.
He didn't blame the members of the organization for betraying him, nor did he blame Takuya for eliminating them all.
What he hated was Danzo, that despicable old man, who didn't come directly to face him. Danzo robbed him of the opportunity to avenge his fallen comrades.
"He's dead. That old bastard carved a Four Symbols Seal onto his body, hoping to take me down with him. Unfortunately for him, the seal backfired and claimed his own life."
For someone like Danzo, dying this way was far too easy.
If given the choice, Takuya would have preferred Danzo to cling to life, afraid of death. That way, he could capture him and settle every debt, one by one.
But unfortunately, after several failed attempts to escape and realizing there was no hope of survival, Danzo chose to activate the Four Symbols Seal.
Once the seal was triggered, Danzo's death was inevitable.
"Shinobi from all the major villages have infiltrated various parts of the Land of Rain. It won't be long before they find this place. If you regret your decisions now, there's still time to act."
Nagato now faced two choices. The first was to hand over the Rinnegan and find a place to hide, waiting for everything to blow over before emerging again.
Even with the presence of the seals left on his heart by Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu, he could still live a decent life.
The second option was to wait—wait for the Five Great Shinobi Villages to find him and engage them, further muddying the waters and drawing their attention.
Particularly Iwagakure and Kumogakure. He could use external forces to force out Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu.
The first option was safer, while the second carried significant risks, with the potential for unforeseen consequences at any moment.
Nagato barely considered the options before he slowly raised his head.
"Sensei, do you need these eyes?"
If Takuya said he needed them, Nagato wouldn't hesitate to hand over the Rinnegan.
"These eyes are useless to me."
Takuya shook his head slightly.
He already had the Rinnegan—why covet someone else's?
Besides, if it wasn't his own, using it would feel unnatural and awkward.
Moreover, Takuya needed Uchiha Madara to retrieve the eyes himself.
Takuya wasn't afraid of a resurrected, fully-powered Uchiha Madara. What he feared was an immortal, inexhaustible Madara brought back through Edo Tensei.
Without Naruto and Sasuke, the so-called saviors, Takuya wasn't worried about the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan either.
He believed the Sage of Six Paths and his brother wouldn't stand idly by while their mother was set free, leading to the destruction of the entire shinobi world.
Trapping the shinobi world in an eternal illusion, turning everyone into nourishment for the God Tree—how was that any different from destroying the world outright?
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki wasn't a benevolent being, and neither were the Sage of Six Paths and his brother.
This wasn't just Takuya's bias or a baseless claim.
One only needed to look at the Sage's actions to understand that his intentions were far from pure.
Extracting the nine tailed beasts from his own body and scattering them across the shinobi world. Standing by as his two sons fought each other.
He knew full well that his sons were troublemakers, yet he allowed their chakra to reincarnate endlessly, perpetuating cycles of conflict and slaughter.
In the original story, the Sage claimed he had grown old and lost his strength. Takuya didn't believe such nonsense for a second.
If you were so old and weak, then why, after your death and entry into the Pure Land, were you still alive and kicking?
Pursuing some kind of eternal life, perhaps?
If your strength had truly waned, how were you still able to grant Naruto and Sasuke such massive power boosts?
One received the power of the Sage's body, and the other, an advanced Rinnegan with tomoe—abilities most could only dream of.
If the Sage could do that, then surely his brother could, too, perhaps bestowing someone with the Tenseigan?
What the Sage of Six Paths could do, there was no reason his brother couldn't.
So why should Takuya care about the so-called shinobi world crisis?
At most, he'd protect his loved ones and let Madara wreak havoc. In the end, the heavyweights would have to step in to clean up the mess.
Since that was the case, why bother risking his life? Let their family drama play out among themselves.
"Useless?"
Nagato was taken aback. He knew Takuya didn't value Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan, but there was no need to dismiss it outright.
Takuya patted Nagato on the head and explained, "If it's not your own, using it will be a heavy burden.
Besides, a living Uchiha Madara is far less terrifying than a dead one."
"So the best outcome for these eyes is for them to return to Uchiha Madara."
Rinnegan or not, Takuya already had his own. Why would he covet someone else's? Just to keep it for fun?
Takuya didn't have such peculiar hobbies, nor did he enjoy swapping out his eyes on a whim.
Not to mention, if the eyes weren't his own, just the thought of implanting them into his sockets felt unsettling.
Even if Uchiha Madara reclaimed the Rinnegan and managed to initiate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, he'd still be nothing more than a short-lived Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, with his death all but assured.
A dead Uchiha Madara more terrifying than a living one?
Nagato couldn't quite grasp the meaning of those words.
"Sensei, I've decided to proceed with the plan and force the ones behind this out of hiding."
Having chosen this path, Nagato wouldn't turn back.
Even if it cost him his life, he believed Takuya could ensure his survival.
At worst, he'd lose these eyes that didn't belong to him in the first place.
Even if he went blind, as long as he could live peacefully with Konan and Yahiko, he would be content.
No matter what, the waters were already muddied.
The worst-case scenario was that Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu would retrieve the Rinnegan, declare war on the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and proceed with the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.
At that point, it would become a matter for all five villages to face, not just Konoha alone.
Of course, that was the worst-case scenario. A slightly better outcome would be for the situation to grow even more chaotic, drawing all the villages' attention to Uchiha Madara. This would force Iwagakure and Kumogakure to stop fixating on Konoha.
As for Uchiha Madara and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki? Why should Takuya clean up the mess created by the Sage of Six Paths and his brother?
Nagato intentionally left clues behind. Given the intelligence-gathering capabilities of the other villages, it was only a matter of time before they found him. For now, Takuya could simply sit back and enjoy the show.
Black Zetsu continued to hide in plain sight, diligently executing the tasks assigned by Uchiha Madara.
Unless one already knew the truth, who could have guessed that this shadowy figure was the most terrifying infiltrator in the shinobi world?
Thanks to Black Zetsu's deliberate actions, Orochimaru managed to escape.
Or so Obito believed. To him, Orochimaru, one of Konoha's Sannin, was powerful enough to evade Madara's control.
After all, Madara hadn't chased him into the Land of Rain.
It made sense for the genjutsu's control to weaken over time, didn't it?
Clinging to the hope that he could escape and return to Konoha, Obito continued his grueling training, relentlessly pushing himself to grow stronger and one day break free from Madara's control.
"Huff… huff…"
Drenched in sweat, Obito gasped for air after his intense training.
"Something terrible has happened! Big trouble!"
"..."
Obito, who had just collapsed onto the ground to rest, rolled his eyes in exasperation. By now, he was used to White Zetsu's overly dramatic outbursts.
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01.
DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING