Konoha: The Soul King from the Uchiha Clan

"Alright, now that everyone's happy, let's get down to business."

"Besides the Nine-Tails and the One-Tail, I want you to capture as many other tailed beasts as possible to weaken the fighting power of Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure."

Pain nodded solemnly: "Yes."

"But don't force it, just go with the flow."

"Even if the three great ninja villages still possess tailed beasts, they won't be able to cause any trouble..."

"Yes."

"How are things going with the Four-Tails and Six-Tails Jinchuriki you captured?"

"Because the plan was to seal him into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path all at once, and now that we are short of people, he is still imprisoned."

To extract the Tailed Beast from its Jinchuriki and seal it into the Gedo Mazo, neither Nagato nor Obito can do it alone; they must combine their strength to perform the Illusionary Dragon Nine Seals.

"Take me to see it."

"Yes, please follow me."

After Pain finished speaking, he turned around and told me to leap out...

"Wait a minute, let's go together. You can give us directions."

With a flick of his sleeve, Uchiha Genichi caused the vast amount of water vapor in the air to rapidly converge, transforming into a white cloud about ten meters in diameter, constantly changing shape, one foot off the ground.

With a flash, Uchiha Gen leaped into the middle of the cloud. Seeing this, the others followed suit and jumped onto the cloud, their eyes filled with surprise.

The seemingly delicate cloud lifted everyone up and slowly drifted into the sky, the astonishment in their eyes growing ever stronger...

Finally, unable to contain her curiosity, Mei Terumi took Gen Uchiha's arm and softly asked, "What kind of water-style technique is this?"

"Husband, did you create this yourself?"

"This is not ninjutsu, but a spell cast after controlling natural energy."

"What is magic?"

"Ninjutsu uses chakra, sage techniques use chakra plus natural energy, and magic uses only natural energy."

"The spell looks amazing; ninjutsu couldn't achieve such an effect..."

As Mei Terumi spoke, she joyfully reached out to touch the raindrops falling from the sky.

"It depends on how much natural energy one controls. If one doesn't control enough, its power may not necessarily be stronger than ninjutsu or sage techniques."

"However, magic is generally more powerful and has greater potential than ninjutsu."

"Because ninjutsu usually only comes from one's own power, while magic can come from one's own power and can also be enhanced by the power of heaven and earth."

"My lord, may I learn?"

"That's difficult, but I can teach you when I have time."

"Uh-huh……"

Mei Terumi nodded happily, wrapping her arms tightly around Gen Uchiha's arms as if she were sinking into a marshmallow.

Xiao Nan glanced at the scene, while the others kept their eyes straight ahead, as if they hadn't seen anything.

After a while, the group entered Rain Village, a place with towering buildings, crisscrossing pipes, and graffiti, reminiscent of cyberpunk. They went straight to the top of the tallest building.

As Pain jumped into the high-rise building, he arrived at a large hall. Everyone took their seats, and Pain personally went to the secret room to extract the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Rōshi, and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata.

Both men were covered in wounds and were unconscious, with Pain carrying one in each hand.

"Pry open their eyelids."

Uchiha Gen sat in the main seat that belonged to Pain, leaning back in his chair and casually crossing his legs.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Nan immediately got up to help. The two of them pried open Lao Zi and Yu Gao's eyelids, one on each side, revealing bloodshot eyes...

With a thought, Uchiha Gen's dark eyes transformed into the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. His eyes swept from left to right, and his incredibly powerful eye power directly controlled the Jinchūriki and the tailed beast within him.

"Alright, from now on they will become Akatsuki's henchmen. We'll treat their injuries and make sure they're well-fed."

"Take him away."

"Yes," Pain replied.

After a moment, Pain returned and sat down on the left, opposite Konan.

"It's almost noon. Let's have lunch together before I head back to Konoha. I'll let you know if there are any missions later."

"You two have never been to Konoha, have you? Want to go have some fun?"

Uchiha Gen looked at Terumi Mei and Konan.

"Okay." Terumi Mei said with a smile.

Konan didn't answer directly. She first looked at Pain, and seeing Pain nod, she then agreed as well.

We ate lunch together, and the atmosphere was alright, except for two people who were just watching everyone else eat.

One is Pain, who is a corpse, and the other is Sasori, who transformed himself into a puppet. Kakuzu, who possesses the Earth Grudge Technique, is able to eat.

After finishing their meal, Uchiha Gen didn't linger and took Terumi Mei and Konan, who had changed their clothes, back to Konoha.

Subsequently, every so often, Uchiha Gen would take Konan to Konoha or other places to travel and spend time alone with her, and the two quickly grew closer.

That night, on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire, a wild beach, rarely visited by humans, was ablaze with flames...

Tonight, the sky is clear and bright, with countless stars shining brightly. The full moon hangs over the sea, its bright and clear light reflecting off the water and creating countless points of light. The beach and the forest behind it are covered with a thin layer of silver gauze.

The cool, moist, and slightly fishy sea breeze made the campfire flicker. On the beach sat a tent that looked like a small house, illuminated by an orange light, giving a sense of safety and warmth in this desolate wilderness.

Beside the campfire, two figures sat together, each grilling four skewers of fish, surrounded by two bottles of red wine, two bottles of purified water, and various condiments.

Both figures were dressed in black robes with red clouds. Who else could they be but Uchiha Gen and Konan?

The two chatted idly while tending to the sizzling grilled fish, occasionally sprinkling seasonings on it. The enticing aroma wafted far and wide on the sea breeze...

After a while, the grilled fish was ready. At Uchiha Gen's request, the two exchanged two skewers each, and then chatted while eating the fish.

With grilled fish, red wine, and a tent, Xiao Nan had a premonition of what was going to happen tonight, and therefore felt a little uneasy and nervous.

Grilled fish is Xiao Nan's favorite food.

Gen Uchiha noticed Konan's unease and began to soothe her by mentioning the days when Jiraiya taught the three of them.

Konan recounted her happiest days to Uchiha Gen, who responded with laughter, gradually dispelling Konan's anxiety and nervousness...

Before we knew it, we had almost finished the four grilled fish and drunk most of the bottle of strong red wine. With the sea breeze blowing on us, the effects of the alcohol kicked in immediately.

Xiao Nan's sickle was rosy red, glistening in the firelight. Her once clear eyes became hazy, her pupils seemingly covered with a layer of water, reflecting the firelight and shining brightly.

Uchiha Gen showed no mercy, reaching out to grab Konan's left hand. Konan glanced at him sideways, then turned her head as if nothing had happened, picking up the bottle and taking a small sip.

Seeing this, Uchiha Gen put down the nearly empty wine bottle, adjusted his body, reached out and lifted Konan up around the waist, and kissed her flesh-colored lips stained with red wine.

With a thud, the bottle in Xiao Nan's hand fell onto the beach. Her eyes were wide open, and her whole body was visibly stiff, but she showed no intention of resisting.

Although Konan didn't say it, she was quite satisfied that Uchiha Gen wasn't in a hurry to get closer to her, and that it took her two or three months.

This shows that Uchiha Gen at least had some respect for him, rather than treating him as a plaything.

Then, Uchiha Gen carried Konan into the orange tent...

(End of this chapter)