bookbashuk Page 159
Page 159
The Child of Prophecy... This was Jiraiya's life's work.
Minato once believed that he was the child of prophecy that Jiraiya spoke of, and he was indeed full of confidence in himself. However, after seeing Nagato, Minato felt that the child of prophecy that Jiraiya was looking for might not be him.
He wanted to replace Jiraiya and guide Nagato anew.
Minato's tone was gentle, and his posture and appearance when speaking were vaguely similar to those of Yahiko from back then in Nagato's eyes.
At this moment, Nagato couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
When did the road begin to go astray?
That was probably... after Yahiko's death, right?
At this moment, many fragments of time spent with Yahiko flooded Nagato's mind, and Yahiko's dying words echoed in Nagato's mind.
Nagato, kill me!
You and Xiao Nan, you must survive, no matter what!
Because you... are the savior of this world!
If it were you... really...
The moment Minato's figure overlapped with Yahiko's, Yahiko's last words became incredibly clear in Nagato's mind.
He had long forgotten what Yahiko had said before his death, because the moment Yahiko's body led towards Nagato's kunai, his mind went blank, and then endless anger filled his chest.
Looking back now, Yahiko entrusted everything to me...
"A savior... well..."
..................
Chapter 164 An Unexpected Change, Kaguya's Will (Please Subscribe)
Nagato fell silent, turned his head, and his gaze fell on the book "The Tale of Bokugen Shinnin" in Konan's hand.
At this moment, he suddenly became curious about what kind of novel Jiraiya, who had spent his whole life searching for the so-called prophetic child, had written.
Minato's words also reminded Nagato of his past experiences, and Yahiko's dying words, which he had buried deep in his heart, surged back into his mind at this moment.
When a person becomes weak, they tend to have more thoughts without realizing it.
At this moment, Nagato was actually at his weakest physically and most vulnerable psychologically. The main reason why Jiraiya's "talk-no-jutsu" had little effect was because Nagato was still very wary at that time.
When faced with Minato, who had taken the initiative to send Konan back and whose temperament was somewhat similar to Yahiko's, Nagato's wariness was not as strong as before.
With all these factors combined, Nagato's psychological defenses began to crumble.
However, it is obviously impossible to completely win over Nagato and achieve cooperation between them based on these factors alone. The most crucial factor is whether Minato can truly meet Nagato's expectations in subsequent interactions with him.
Nagato, recalling Yahiko's last words, also recalled the original intention of establishing Akatsuki with his comrades.
At first... Yahiko hoped to bring peace to the village through peaceful means, and in fact, Akatsuki did just that in the early stages, and actually made a name for himself, receiving widespread praise, but also bringing about his own demise.
They were ultimately too naive, believing that their leader at the time, Hanzo the Salamander, would accept their new organization.
However, in reality, in order to prevent his authority from being shaken and to prevent Amegakure from slipping out of his control, Hanzo of the Salamander decided to join forces with Danzo of Konoha to wipe out Akatsuki!
However, things are different now. Jiraiya's disciple, Minato Namikaze, is now the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, while Hanzo of the Salamander, the former leader of Amegakure, has long since died at the hands of "Tendo".
Those who hindered Xiao no longer exist.
Nagato still has a choice: continue to work with Madara Uchiha towards the Eye of the Moon, or pick up Yahiko's legacy and lead Akatsuki back to the path it was meant to take.
For a moment, Nagato fell into deep thought.
However, Minato Namikaze's words soon helped him make a decision:
"Nagato, the reason why we Konoha ninja investigated Akatsuki was not because we wanted to be enemies with Amegakure."
"Peace is hard-won, and we all cherish it very much."
"However... when our village's ninjas were investigating a rogue ninja named Uchiha Obito, they found clues related to the rogue ninja that your Akatsuki was protecting."
"That's why our ninjas went into Amegakure to investigate."
"If any misunderstandings occur during this time, I apologize to everyone in Amegakure on behalf of Shinichi and the others."
As they spoke, Minato Namikaze, the Hokage of Konoha, actually bowed slightly to Nagato and Konan. This humble posture brought Nagato back to his senses, and he turned his attention back to Minato. Konan, upon hearing this, frowned and, before Nagato could speak, interjected:
"A rogue ninja from Konoha? Uchiha Obito?"
"There is no such member as the Fourth Hokage in our Akatsuki!"
Although Akatsuki was indeed harboring some rogue ninja, Konan maintained an attitude of either doing something or not doing it. To her, Minato's words were utterly baseless and unfounded accusations.
"No?"
"No, no, Shinichi's investigation won't be wrong."
"Furthermore, according to the report, he had recently fought with Obito in Amegakure."
"Hmm... he's a one-eyed man wearing an orange spiral mask who has excellent space-time ninjutsu."
Minato didn't believe Konan would lie to him under these circumstances. He could clearly sense that his sincerity had actually lowered their guard somewhat. There was no reason for them to hide this information from him.
"!!!"
"???"
Upon hearing Minato's description, Konan and Nagato exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.
After a brief hesitation, Nagato's expression darkened, and he spoke in a low voice:
"The man you're talking about... is his name Uchiha Obito?!"
"Shouldn't it be called... Uchiha Madara?"
At that moment, Nagato felt a surge of anger brewing within him; he vaguely sensed something. That man... had actually impersonated them and deceived them?!
Obito Uchiha... Madara Uchiha...
Although they are both from the Uchiha clan and their names are different, the meanings behind these two names are completely different.
More importantly, the fact that the guy contacted him while hiding his identity meant that he was an untrustworthy person. Although he didn't know the other party's intentions for the time being, Nagato had already realized that he seemed to have been deceived and used as a pawn in the charge.
No wonder... the guy who could fight the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, didn't dare to show his true face.
That's it!
Considering that the other party was hiding their identity while contacting her, Nagato had reason to suspect that the other party might be doing something behind her back.
Could the Eye of the Moon Project... also be...?
Nagato stared intently at Minato, waiting for an answer from him.
"Uchiha Madara?"
"It can't be Madara Uchiha. There's no doubt that the masked man is Obito Uchiha."
"There was another person with him, a strange guy, half black and half white, who seemed to have two personalities. He should also be a member of your Akatsuki organization."
Although Minato's description wasn't detailed, both Nagato and Konan immediately thought of Zetsu. This person had appeared with the guy who called himself Uchiha Madara.
Konan had always been wary of the two mysterious people, and when she realized that "Uchiha Madara" was actually an imposter, she immediately regarded them as enemies with ulterior motives.
"Nagato..."
Sensing an impending conspiracy, Konan looked up at Nagato, her brow furrowed with worry.
“Hehe…Hehehe…”
Nagato suddenly let out a soft laugh, as if mocking his own naiveté and how easily he had been deceived.
However, at that moment, a ripple suddenly appeared on the ground of the Gedo Mazo, and Zetsu slowly emerged from the Mazo's body, revealing his head:
Hello~~~~
"Is it not disturbing you?"
Zetsu's sudden appearance caught everyone off guard. His appearance was so silent that Minato's pupils constricted, and he quickly grabbed a kunai, ready for battle.
Nagato's eyes widened in surprise, seemingly not expecting that the other party could appear inside the body of the Gedo Mazo in such a way.
Although the golem's mouth is now open, the way it appears is quite unusual.
The golem's body is connected to Nagato, and the golem is not a so-called "stone statue," but the shell of some kind of life form. In Nagato's limited understanding, the golem can be said to be indestructible.
The fact that Zetsu could actually move inside the golem's body... this guy...
"Absolute... what exactly are you?!"
Nagato's heart sank, and she asked in a low voice, "Does the fact that the other party appeared at this time mean that I have actually been under their surveillance all along?"
Even the Rinnegan didn't detect the other party's spying!
How can it be? !
The more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became. At this moment, Nagato was also full of vigilance towards Zetsu.
“Hehehe…”
There was no answer, no regard for Minato, but he turned and looked up at Nagato, who was suspended in mid-air, and suddenly asked:
"Nagato, have you been persuaded by this guy?"