Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 170 Nagato Trio

"Um... Jiraiya-sensei, is everything you're saying true?"

"The idea that a toad can predict the future sounds a bit far-fetched."

After listening to Jiraiya's words, Yahiko hesitated for a long time before finally saying this.

There's nothing you can do about it; that's what happens when you lack experience. Even though Yahiko is now an elite Jonin in terms of strength, he's never heard of any summoning beast sages who have lived for thousands of years or anything like predicting the future in dreams.

In Yahiko's eyes, the Rinnegan was already the pinnacle of the ninja world, and the various abilities displayed by the Great Toad Sage were simply like mythology.

Jiraiya choked for a moment, glanced at his apprentice, and couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

It's one thing if other people don't know about Mount Myōboku, but you're my disciple, how come you know nothing about Mount Myōboku?

However, upon closer reflection, Jiraiya realized that this was actually his own fault.

There was no way around it; during those three years of teaching, Jiraiya not only mixed in a lot of his own ideas, but also kept many of his skills hidden—after all, theoretically speaking, Yahiko and the other two were enemies of Konoha. If they became stronger and went to seek revenge on Konoha, then Jiraiya would have truly raised a tiger to cause trouble.

So he taught them the common Five Elements Escape Techniques and some basic training, but he didn't teach them any of the Summoning Techniques and Sage Mode that belonged to Jiraiya's core heritage.

Upon reflection, Jiraiya realized that it was all his fault, which made him both laugh and cry.

However, he wasn't in a hurry. The Great Toad Sage had already given him instructions before he came, so he could be a little bolder.

"Yahiko, it's understandable that you don't believe me. How about this, I'll help the three of you sign the Mount Myōboku contract too! Then you can go to Mount Myōboku to see and learn!"

Jiraiya thumped his chest loudly, and Yahiko, upon hearing this, showed a mixture of surprise and delight on his face.

Even though he didn't know much about Mount Myōboku, Yahiko was well aware that Jiraiya was a powerful ninja who dominated the ninja world with his summoning jutsu. It could be said that the summoning contract was Jiraiya's true teaching.

Although the trio has already forged their own paths through years of trials and tribulations, they could still significantly enhance their strength if they could obtain the inheritance of Mount Myōboku.

Not to mention that Jiraiya was willing to teach summoning techniques, which was actually a very straightforward signal that Yahiko believed in Jiraiya.

"I understand, teacher! I will call Nagato back."

The Akatsuki organization is currently thriving in the Land of Rain, largely thanks to Nagato's strength, which is why Nagato spends most of his time traveling.

After meeting Jiraiya, Yahiko, unsure of his intentions, initially sent some messages to Nagato, asking him to return later. Now that Jiraiya had shown sincerity, Yahiko naturally wanted Nagato to return.

With a slight chuckle, Jiraiya paid no attention to his apprentice's little schemes and directly summoned the Rolling Toad through his summoning beast.

"Come on, Yahiko! Just sign your name on this scroll, and you'll be able to summon the spirit beasts of Mount Myōboku!"

Before long, Nagato, having received the message, arrived at the Akatsuki base with Konan and several other Akatsuki members.

Upon entering, Konan and Nagato, who were slightly nervous, saw Yahiko standing there grinning foolishly.

Beside Yahiko, a group of burly toads were wandering around the base. At first glance, it looked like the cave of some toad monster!

Their teacher, Jiraiya, was sitting on a giant toad's head, smiling as he watched them.

"What... what's going on?"

Even though Konan and Nagato have been through so much and are quite knowledgeable over the years, they still felt a bit dizzy and disoriented in the face of the current situation.

At this moment, Yahiko noticed his two companions, and then calmed down a bit, smiling as he said to them:

"Nagato, Konan, you're back!"

"Yahiko, and Jiraiya-sensei, what's going on? Why are there so many summoning beasts here?"

Konan asked, slightly confused, and Yahiko replied with a grin:

"This is great news! Jiraiya-sensei is going to teach us something new this time..."

After the explanation, Konan and Nagato looked at each other, somewhat skeptical of Jiraiya's words.

However, in any case, Jiraiya's inheritance of the Summoning Scroll from Mount Myōboku was definitely an unexpected surprise. Nagato was still confident that even without this Summoning Scroll, it wouldn't affect his future development much, but for Konan and Yahiko, the inheritance of this Summoning Scroll was of paramount importance.

Although Akatsuki is an organization that yearns for peace and seeks to resolve issues through dialogue, the three members of the organization, having been in the ninja world for so long, have long understood the importance of strength—the so-called resolution of issues through dialogue is often based on the premise that the opponent cannot defeat you.

With the Rinnegan and his own talent, Nagato has already reached the Kage level. While Konan and Yahiko are also talented, they are still far inferior to Nagato. Nagato is very willing to help them improve their strength.

"Jiraiya-sensei, so you called me here this time hoping I could help you deal with that Uchiha?"

"That's right, Nagato. The Rinnegan is the foremost of the three great dojutsu. If you want to deal with the Sharingan, you'll naturally have to rely on your Rinnegan."

Jiraiya nodded, affirming Nagato's idea. In fact, this was also a suggestion given to him by the Great Toad Sage: they needed to unite all their forces to fight against Uchiha Tou.

"Furthermore... Nagato, while ordinary summoning beasts may not be able to enhance your power, the Sage Mode unique to Mount Myōboku can definitely greatly increase your strength and even allow you to better develop the power of the Rinnegan."

"The Rinnegan is simply too powerful. If I'm not mistaken, even with the chakra and life force of your Uzumaki clan, it would be extremely difficult to sustain the Rinnegan in battle."

"However, if you can use Sage Mode, the chakra that is fused with natural energy can better unleash the power of the Rinnegan and reduce the backlash from the Rinnegan on your body."

Upon hearing this, Nagato abruptly raised his head. In fact, Jiraiya was right. Even without summoning the Gedo Mazo, the Rinnegan was still a huge burden for Nagato.

Just by looking at Nagato's slightly thin body, you can see how much the Rinnegan was pushing him. On a normal day, just nurturing the Rinnegan already took up more than 80% of Nagato's chakra, and in battle, it almost required Nagato to risk his life to fight!

Basically, every time Nagato uses the Rinnegan, he loses anywhere from a few days to a few months of his lifespan. Fortunately, he is already strong enough that he doesn't need to use the Rinnegan too often, otherwise he would probably be completely drained by now.

"If what Jiraiya-sensei said is true, and Sage Mode can reduce the burden on the Rinnegan, then with my strength, I can easily handle any opponent!"

Nagato could sense that there was still endless and terrifying power hidden in his Rinnegan, but with his body, unless he really sacrificed ten or twenty years of his lifespan, he simply could not bear it or tap into this potential.

If Nagato were to fully develop the power of the Rinnegan, he was confident that he could overthrow the five great ninja villages on his own, and follow the example of the First Hokage to set rules for these villages!

Seeing that Nagato had finally taken an interest, Jiraiya smiled.

Just as the four of them were chatting happily, a dark glint flashed in the eyes of one of the Akatsuki members who had followed Nagato and Konan in:

"Jiraiya has also come to Nagato's aid? What kind of future did that giant toad foretell?"

"However, this is indeed a very good opportunity. The Uchiha junior who attacked Madara Uchiha back then should be Uchiha Touu. Madara Uchiha is alright; since he already gave the Rinnegan to Nagato, his death is no big deal. But the Gedo Mazo must be retrieved!"

The half-crippled mastermind was unaware that Uchiha Touka had already completely devoured the Gedo Mazo and refined it into his own body. In fact, even the Otsutsuki clan could only seal the Divine Tree into their own bodies at most; complete refinement was almost impossible. Naturally, he couldn't imagine that a mere Uchiha could do such a thing.

At this point, the identity of the mastermind behind it all becomes clear: it is none other than Black Zetsu, who survived by cutting off his tail at the hands of Uchiha Hiu.

Back then, Uchiha Touyu took advantage of Madara's old age and weakness, launching a surprise attack that wiped out Madara, the Gedo Mazo, and White Zetsu. Only Black Zetsu escaped with his superior nature.

After escaping, Black Zetsu spent a long time recovering. Not daring to cause trouble for Uchiha Tou, he went to Nagato, the host of the Rinnegan, to see if he could influence Nagato to take back the Gedo Mazo.

When Nagato defeated Madara Uchiha, his strength wasn't actually beyond the ceiling of the ninja world. Madara was simply old and weak and had lost his Rinnegan, which is why he was easily defeated by Nagato. So, in Black Zetsu's eyes, Nagato actually had a chance to defeat Nagato.

Although Black Zetsu has gained Nagato's trust through its disguised identity, it is not yet powerful enough to truly influence Nagato. Moreover, out of fear of Uchiha Hiu's strength, it dares not act recklessly as it did in the original story, causing Nagato's body to collapse.

Even if we consider the strength of Uchiha Hiyu when he killed Uchiha Madara, Nagato would still need to develop the power of the Rinnegan to a certain level in order to win. If Nagato's body were to collapse at that point, he would have no chance of defeating Uchiha Hiyu.

However, Jiraiya has now come knocking on Nagato's door, spouting some kind of prophecy about destroying the world and asking for his help. He's even offering to provide Nagato with the training methods for Sage Mode...

Black Zetsu now felt that his luck had finally turned around. After Nagato learned Sage Mode, he would find a way to help him and provide him with some of the Yin-Yang Release and Rinnegan research materials that Madara Uchiha had used. Then, dealing with Tou Uchiha would be a piece of cake.

As for Uchiha Tou's prophecy of destroying the world, it also made Black Zetsu's mind wander: Could it be that this guy has already discovered the true use of the Gedo Mazo and wants to transform the Gedo Mazo back into the Divine Tree?

If Nagato is really no good, maybe we can try teaming up with this guy and see if we can use him to rescue Mom?

For Black Zetsu, his only goal was to rescue his mother. As for whether it was Nagato or Uchiha Tou who became his mother's host, that was completely irrelevant.

However, he definitely still thinks Nagato is easier to fool... As for Uchiha Tou, this ruthless, selfish, and untrustworthy Uchiha is much harder to fool than the average Uchiha. Black Zetsu doesn't want to run into Uchiha Tou unless he has no other choice.

The most terrifying thing is that Uchiha Tou really has the means to deal with Black Zetsu! Black Zetsu has already sensed that part of his body has completely disappeared without a trace, rather than being sealed or teleported to some other space.

"Let's see just how much Nagato can be strengthened. With the Sage Body of the Uzumaki clan and the power of the Rinnegan, if he also learns Sage Mode, Nagato's strength might not be inferior to Madara Uchiha without the Rinnegan, or even Hashirama Senju back then."

While Black Zetsu was pondering, Nagato and Konan had already signed a contract with Mount Myōboku. Just as Nagato pressed his handprint on the contract, there was a loud bang, and he turned into a wisp of white smoke, disappearing without a trace.

"Nagato!! What's going on?! Jiraiya-sensei! Where did Nagato go?!"

When Yahiko and Konan saw Nagato disappear, they looked at Jiraiya with a mixture of shock and anger. If Jiraiya didn't give them an answer, it seemed they were about to take action.

"Wait... Nagato must have been sent to Mount Myōboku by reverse summoning. It seems that the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku values ​​Nagato highly."

Jiraiya quickly waved his hand and spoke, seeing that Yahiko and Konan were still wary, he simply said:

"If you're worried, I'll take you to Mount Myōboku!"

After saying that, Jiraiya then said to the toad:

"You go back to Mount Myōboku first, and then you can send us all over there by spirit communication!"

"Understood, Jiraiya-sama."

The toad slowly spoke, and with a bang, it too turned into white mist and disappeared. A moment later, there were three more bangs, and Jiraiya, Konan, and Yahiko were all teleported to Mount Myōboku.

(End of this chapter)