Konoha: The Soul King from the Uchiha Clan

"Heh...run?"

"Unless you can escape to another world, no matter where you are in this world, I can find you."

Uchiha Gen's tone was very calm, yet it contained unparalleled confidence.

"Besides, I'll only heal your leg when I come to retrieve the Rinnegan. Where can you run to then?"

"Miss Konan is coming back to Konoha with me."

Kidnapping people?

Konan and Nagato, whose composure had just subsided, were suddenly enraged again, their anger surging within them.

"Using Konan to threaten me? Surely you, as the Hokage, wouldn't stoop to such a low level?" Pain said, his face ashen.

Uchiha Gen smiled and said, "Even though you're the Hokage, it's okay to make a fool of yourself once or twice sometimes."

"Don't try to use me to threaten Nagato, or I'd rather die!" Konan said resolutely.

The last time she was captured, Yahiko died and Nagato's leg was crippled. Since then, she has been determined that she would rather die than let Nagato be threatened.

"If Konan dies, I will destroy the Rinnegan immediately," Pain said with a resolute expression.

"I see... then it seems we'll have to try a different approach."

"Although I'm confident I can find you, it would be a bit troublesome if you really ran away, at least it would be a waste of time."

"We should establish a foundation of mutual trust."

Pain asked expressionlessly, "What method?"

Uchiha Gen didn't say it directly, but instead said something else: "The reason I'm willing to talk to you peacefully and show you mercy is mainly because I want you to work for me."

"You are pursuing the path of peace, and so am I."

"However, your path to peace uses terror to intimidate the world and pain to shock people, making them afraid to start wars lightly."

"My path to peace is to unify the entire ninja world—no, the entire world!"

"This world doesn't need ninja villages and countries scattered everywhere; one country is enough."

"First, destroy the ninja villages that refuse to submit, then destroy the nations that refuse to submit!"

"When only Konoha and the Land of Fire remain in the world, the ninja villages and the nation will merge into one, creating a nation that encompasses the entire world."

"I will rule this country!"

"With only one country left, we're all on the same side, so there's no need for us to fight each other to the death."

"Even if there are disputes, the intensity of the struggle can be kept within a very low range."

"With the interconnection of resources across the country, learning from each other's strengths, and complementing each other's weaknesses, and with the assistance of many insightful individuals, I am confident that I will govern this new country better and better..."

"In Konoha, the Hokage is portrayed as righteous and noble, while Danzo leads the Root organization in doing shady and unspeakable things."

"In my mind, the Akatsuki organization is equivalent to my Root!"

"The Akatsuki organization needs to eliminate, for me and for the nation to be born, those stubborn remnants of the old era that are difficult to remove openly!"

Regular armies need to act with legitimacy and solid evidence, while bandits and pirates do not.

"After the birth of the new nation, the Akatsuki organization needs to continue to operate in the shadows to eliminate any destabilizing factors that may affect peace and prosperity."

"Once the new country is stable, you can do whatever you want, but only if you don't violate the rules of the new country."

"As the Akatsuki is my dark side, you must be worried that I will kill them to cover it up afterward."

"Therefore, to put your minds at ease, I will marry Miss Xiao Nan."

"In this way, we'll all be on the same side from now on. As long as you don't tarnish my reputation, I won't do anything to you..."

"In that case, you can rest assured, and I can rest assured too."

"I have feelings for Miss Xiao Nan. This is not just a marriage of convenience. I will not mistreat her in the future. She will have everything that others have."

"This outfit is the same one that Xiao Nan wore back then, brand new, which shows our sincerity!"

Kisame, Juzo, and Mei Terumi all knew what Uchiha Gen was thinking, so they weren't particularly surprised; on the contrary, they felt a surge of excitement...

As for women, Mei Terumi was already mentally prepared and put herself at the back of the list.

Nagato and the others were quite surprised.

Because Uchiha Gen's ideas were far more ruthless and far more extreme than theirs.

Unifying the entire ninja village and the entire world was something even they dared not dream of; the difficulty was simply too great.

However, given the strength that Uchiha Gen displayed today, Nagato and the others did not consider it nonsense.

If even a godlike power that doesn't need the help of tailed beasts can't unify the world, what else can?

After a long silence, Nagato finally said, "The Akatsuki is willing to do its part for peace, but I have no right to make decisions for Konan."

"What do you think, Xiao Nan?"

"Don't worry about anything else, just say so if you don't want to."

"Mr. Xuan, if Xiao Nan is unwilling, please don't force her. I'm willing to let you place a spell on her vital points."

"If I do anything improper, you can lock onto me anytime and take my life. What do you say?"

Uchiha Gen smiled and nodded slightly: "The two of you have a deep friendship and a bond that runs deep. I admire you."

"I will not force you; I will do as you say."

Xiao Nan shook her head and said expressionlessly, "There's no need for that. I'm willing."

"Konan, have you thought this through?" Pain asked with a serious expression.

Xiao Nan smiled faintly and said, "Yes, I've thought it through."

"I'm already thirty years old this year. I originally planned to stay by your side and grow old alone, but given the circumstances, I guess I'll just have to marry you."

"Speaking of which, given Mr. Xuan's strength, status, position, reputation, family background, and connections, I, this wild girl, am far above my station."

Although Konan's tone was nonchalant and even self-deprecating, Nagato sensed the resistance in Konan's heart.

Indeed, the three of them grew up together since childhood, and now that they are suddenly separated, how can they bear to part?

He was actually reluctant to part with it too.

At this moment, Nagato deeply regretted that his power was not strong enough...

"hehe……"

Uchiha Gen chuckled lightly, "Miss Konan's words sound like a farewell between life and death?"

"I'm not keeping you as a caged canary. My women aren't caged canaries; they can all do what they want."

"I'll bring you back to Konoha when I miss you, and you can continue to stay in Akatsuki at other times."

"You are quite strong, and you are Nagato's right-hand man. The Akatsuki needs you, and Nagato needs you too."

"Even if you're going to stay with me for a long time, it will be when Nagato resumes operations and the world is unified and at peace."

"If you want to see old friends then, you can either go to Nagato or Nagato can come to you."

"Oh, by the way, you can go see Jiraiya-senpai together sometime; I'm sure he'll be very happy."

Um... not necessarily.

It's one thing for his beloved to be with him, but now that his own female disciple has also chosen him, he'll probably be furious...

Fortunately, Jiraiya couldn't beat him, and Jiraiya wasn't the type to resort to any means to retaliate for personal reasons, so there wasn't much to worry about.

It was precisely because Jiraiya had his bottom line that he didn't intend to eliminate him completely; otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed someone as powerful as Jiraiya to live...

Upon hearing this, Pain's face lit up with surprise, clearly not expecting the domineering Uchiha Gen to have such a generous, considerate, and understanding side.

Xiao Nan's cold face instantly broke into a smile, as if ice and snow were melting, or spring rain was falling, giving people a truly stunning feeling...

"Thank you." The cold tone softened considerably.

"Haha...you're welcome."

"Although I can be a bit domineering in some ways, I'm very good to my own people, and you'll see that later."

Kisame raised his hand, grinned, and said, "I can testify to that. Not only did I learn the Second Hokage's Water Release ninjutsu from you, sir, but I also found a wife."

Juzo raised his hand, grinned, and said, "I can also testify that although I didn't find a wife, I did learn the Second Hokage's Water Release ninjutsu."

With her arms crossed, Terumi Mei rolled her eyes at Kisame and Juzo, and chuckled, "What kind of testimony can you two provide?"

"You two grown men, it should be me who testifies."

"Xiao Nan and I are both women, close in age, and now have the same status. From now on, we will be true best friends."

"My husband has quite a few women, so my sister and I must work together from now on."

Xiao Nan's fair face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head without saying a word.

Although a rift has formed between the two women this time, Mei Terumi and Minami used to get along very well, so this situation can be repaired sooner or later.

After the three of them cracked jokes, the atmosphere at the scene improved considerably.

Uchiha Gen looked at Sasori and Deidara and asked, "What are you two thinking?"

Scorpion said expressionlessly, "Does it matter what we think?"

"If we have other ideas, is it possible for us to leave this mansion alive?"

Damn, the leader they served and the invading enemy have become one, what are those two old subjects supposed to do now?

They can't even make a ripple...

Deidara waved his hand dismissively and said, "As long as I can continue to pursue art, it doesn't matter."

Uchiha Gen nodded slightly: "As long as you don't carry out terrorist attacks in the future, just use the art of explosions on the enemies who are against the new country."

"If you perform well, I can take your artistic skills to the next level."

Deidara asked with a hint of skepticism, "You also understand the art of explosions?"

Uchiha Gen smiled dismissively. Who do you think you are?

The art of explosion—who in their past life didn't know some things? Perhaps you can't make it yourself in this world, but imitation is no problem.

"Give me some exploding clay."

"What are you going to do?"

Deidara looked confused, but his hands didn't slow down at all. He took out about two ounces of explosive clay from his waist pouch and handed it over.

"Watch closely."

With a flick of his sleeve, Uchiha Gen sent two ounces of explosive clay soaring into the air and hovering there. With another flick of his sleeve, a surge of blue chakra merged into the explosive clay…

The exploding clay stretched and deformed in the chakra energy, transforming into a lifelike white Deidara about an inch tall.

"Did you feel anything?"

Deidara looked uncertain and said, "It seems like there's an energy different from chakra being integrated into my chakra..."

"That's natural energy; when combined with chakra, it becomes Sage Chakra."

As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Gen flicked his sleeve upwards, and Mini Deidara shot into the sky...

Two hundred meters in the air, the mini Deidara burst forth with dazzling white light and exploded with a thunderous roar, the echo reverberating. Reaching a height of twenty meters, Deidara, composed of white light, appeared in the void...

Moreover, he was laughing wildly with his head held high, looking smug and arrogant. The white light directly annihilated the rain within its range, and the actual shockwave swept out in all directions, with considerable wind force even after hitting the ground.

Seeing "himself" in the sky, Deidara murmured to himself with a look of fascination, "So powerful, and so beautiful..."

"Art, oh art, absolutely wonderful art!"

While Patrick Star's self-destruction was far more powerful, it wasn't as lifelike as the enlarged version of Deidara created by Gen Uchiha.

Uchiha Gen smiled and said, "Want to learn?"

Deidara lowered his head to look at Uchiha Gen, his eyes burning with fervor, and nodded like a chick pecking at rice, saying, "I want to learn, I want to learn, of course I want to learn!"

"Sage Chakra can amplify the power of your art explosion by several times, or even more than ten times."

"Although it's difficult to learn, it's okay. If you can't learn the full version, you can learn the simplified version."

"As for how to shape your body, if you perform well, I'll teach you later."

Deidara nodded emphatically, "Just watch how I perform. I will blast all those who oppose you to pieces!"

"I'll wait and see."

Uchiha Gen nodded slightly, then looked at Sasori: "If you behave well, I can resurrect your parents in the future, so that you can feel the warmth of family again."

"How is it?"

Compared to eternal art, Sasori actually valued his parents more, otherwise he wouldn't have died at the hands of Chiyo and Sakura.

Scorpion's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, but he remained skeptical, asking, "They've been dead for so many years, how could they possibly be resurrected?"

"It's not a big problem, unless their souls cease to exist."

Hmm... In his memory, he did not devour the souls of his scorpion parents in the Pure Land.

Scorpion's expression turned serious as he said, "In that case, I will serve you."

"very good."

Although he can use force to coerce, initiative is what motivates people to do things to the best of their ability.

Then Uchiha Gen looked at Nagato and Konan: "The time has come, and I can also revive Yahiko."

"This is a gift for you."

With the Rinnegan, reviving a few people is not a difficult task for him.

He installed the Rinnegan on his specially made clone, infused it with some power, and a wisp of his soul.

If there is a corpse, use the corpse; if there is no corpse, use the Impure Earth Reincarnation technique; finally, use the Outer Path Reincarnation and Rebirth Technique.

Since Nagato and Obito could comprehend the Outer Path of Samsara, it wouldn't be difficult for him to grasp it either.

If he could refine his essence and merge with the Dao as he envisioned, then resurrecting a few people would be even simpler.

Nagato and Konan were overjoyed upon hearing this, nodding emphatically, their hearts brimming with passion and their bodies boiling with excitement, wishing they could start a big battle right now!

Kakuzu coughed lightly and said, "Ahem... Lord Gen, where's mine?"

"I have always stood firmly on your side."

Pshaw, you've always been on the money side.

However, for a boss who is not short of money and is not stingy with money, Kakuzu is simply the best employee who is most satisfying!

What's wrong with people who don't want any fancy stuff and just want to make money diligently?

They work hard, work themselves to the bone to make money, and have five lives—they're practically born to be beasts of burden!

Uchiha Gen hesitated for a moment, then said, "As for you..."

"How about adding more money?"

"Lord Xuan, you are truly wise."

"I'll pay more!"

Kakuzu's eyes practically lit up with a smile when he heard about the extra money.

(End of this chapter)