Traveling through Nagato, from conquering Konan to dominating the ninja world

Xiaonan lowered his eyes and said, "Actually, I made this myself..."

"Eh?" Nagato was stunned. "Konan... did you make this sandwich yourself?"

Xiaonan nodded slightly and said a little embarrassedly: "Well, recently, in order to kill time, I fell in love with reading, so I went to Yuyin Bookstore and found a publication about cooking. I tried to learn how to make a sandwich, but I was a little clumsy. It took me three days to finally get it right."

Oh my god... What is this? Xiaonan actually cooked for me personally! ? And I learned from scratch from a textbook? ?

Isn't this the treatment that only the heroine or hero's sister can enjoy in romance anime? ? ?

"Ahwu~!" Nagato started to eat voraciously.

"Nagato, eat slowly, don't choke..." Konan handed him a glass of water.

"Slurp~Slurp~!" Nagato didn't even let go of the salad dressing on the corner of his mouth and licked it all clean with his tongue.

"You really are..." Xiaonan felt embarrassed by his overly positive attitude.

But although she was only interested in cooking on a whim, she also gained great satisfaction from Nagato's reaction.

The sandwich is a bit too unnutritious. I will go to the bookstore later and buy more books about cooking. I want to make soup for Nagato myself!

The happy breakfast time ended just like that.

Nagato said, "I'm going to the underground base."

Konan said, “I’m going to Kakuzu’s place and will check on the internal affairs of Yugakure.

Nagato said, "Do you want Perrin to join you?"

Xiaonan turned his gaze towards the dark room.

"For now, let's not use it."

Pain's Six Paths also requires a large amount of chakra to maintain, which is not energy-efficient in daily life.

In the original work, Nagato had to borrow Pain's help because of the limitations of his own physical functions.

But most of the time, he only used one body. The rest of his bodies were in a dormant state in a specially made coffin and would only be activated when needed.

Today, Nagato is in good health and full of energy, but that doesn't mean he will waste chakra without limit, so he also activated the special coffin to give Pain a break from time to time.

Of course, this consideration is not only for energy saving.

It is better to consider the long-term growth of strength.

No matter how powerful Pain is, he is ultimately just a technique used by Nagato Rinnegan!

The essence is the core!

Without Pain, Nagato neglected the growth of his own abilities. These days, apart from meeting Orochimaru and Kabuto, paying attention to Kaede's growth, and accompanying Konan, he spent the rest of his time practicing hard.

"Whoosh!"

Nagato flashed out from the underground base.

Orochimaru was sitting in front of the instrument, monitoring Kaede's fetal heart rate.

"Oh, Nagato-kun, you're here so early in the morning~."

Changmen looked around and asked, "Where is Dou? Why did you do the fetal heart rate monitoring work yourself today?"

Orochimaru smiled and said, "Kabuto hasn't been getting enough sleep lately. He went to catch up on his sleep under my strict orders."

Nagato came to Orochimaru's side and looked at the dark circles of pigment around his eyes: "Look carefully, you have dark circles too, have you not been sleeping lately?"

“Well, this is also in the service of new achievements.”

[Transfer station for world-weary novels 4 ㈦ 1 ㈨ э ④]

Orochimaru opened the drawer and took out a medicine bottle, "The special medicine that Nagato-kun mentioned before, with the help of Kabuto, I have developed it. Here."

Nagato was surprised: "So fast?"

Orochimaru said: "Yes, in drug development, the most time-consuming stage is clinical drug testing, which requires obtaining a large number of test subjects and conducting periodic observations."

"In order to shorten the process, I tested the medicine myself this time."

"You tested the drug on yourself? Without any test subjects?"

"Yes. After all, the person who is going to take this medicine is very important to Nagato-kun, so we can't be careless at all. It would be safer for me to try the medicine myself and feel its effect."

Nagato clenched the medicine bottle: "Then, what are the effects and side effects?"

Orochimaru said: "The effect is outstanding. This medicine successfully suppressed the 'drowsiness' reflex in the brain's nerve center. The side effect is that the body's immunity will be reduced to a certain extent."

"The longer the medication period is, the more this will be reflected."

"But after stopping the medication, it will recover."

Is it a decrease in immunity? If this is the only side effect, it is not bad.

Nagato asked, "How about drug resistance?"

Orochimaru smiled: "Nagato-kun, you really know a lot~, drug resistance does exist, that is, as the period of taking the drug becomes longer, the body develops tolerance, thereby reducing the efficacy of the drug..."

"All drugs are like this, so... if Xiaonan is to survive the second half of her training in "Nightmarish Higanbana", she can't just rely on drugs. Nagato-kun, your encouragement and companionship are also essential~."

"I see." Nagato put the medicine bottle in his arms and said sincerely, "Thank you, Orochimaru, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do additional research."

"It's the same with you. Thanks to Nagato-kun, my progress in the search for the truth is at least ten years ahead."

After Orochimaru finished speaking with a smile, he changed the subject: "Nagato-kun, come to see me today."

Nagato said: "I have already mastered the Earth Grudge Technique, and I am ready to start with the Yin Release Chakra Meridians!"

It is not difficult to seize a Yin-tun Chakra meridian, but the difficulty lies in that this meridian must be perfectly compatible with Nagato's own 'Yang, Water, Earth, Wind, Thunder, and Fire'.

Therefore, it is best for the person whose power is taken away to be born with chakra meridians with the seven attributes of 'yin, yang, water, fire, earth, wind, and thunder'.

In this way, the 'yin' that is separated out separately can be perfectly compatible with the other six meridians.

Looking at all the ninjas, there are only a few who meet the requirements.

Orochimaru's eyes flickered: "Oh? So, Nagato-kun, you already have a candidate."

Nagato said in a low voice: "Yes, you are not unfamiliar with this person, so I still need to ask for your opinion."

Orochimaru's eyes flickered: "Nagato-kun, what you said, could it be..."

Nagato said: "Yes, he is..."

Chapter 98 If, it's for you...

"The Third Hokage, Hiruzen, your teacher!"

As Nagato finished speaking, Orochimaru's vertical eyes trembled slightly.

"Is that so?" He then slowly stood up and said, "Can you walk with me outside, Nagato-kun?"

"Okay." Nagato followed Orochimaru's footsteps and came to the outside of the base.

Under the eaves of the attic, Orochimaru held the railing, looking at the rainy street below, holding an umbrella in the rain, and the bustling crowd. He vaguely remembered the time when the once-young and handsome teacher Sarutobi took the young him, Jiraiya, and Tsunade to play and relax after the mission was completed.

It was also a rainy day, a rainy day in Konoha.

"Since Nagato-kun asked me what I think, you must be certain that deep down in my heart, I still have feelings for Konoha and my former teacher, right?"

"Do you want to hear my true feelings?" Nagato walked up to Orochimaru and stood side by side with him.

Orochimaru glanced sideways and said, "Go ahead."

Nagato stretched out his hand to catch the raindrops falling from the eaves, and said calmly with a thoughtful look in his eyes: "I used force and half-coercion to win you over to my side."

"Even if you get the truth from me, but... the ultimate beneficiary of your truth is still me."

"No matter how high-sounding your words are, you still look like a tool, right?"

Orochimaru showed a smile that was completely different from his usual one: "Nagato-kun, you're really straightforward... Well, it's not bad, please continue."

Nagato said: "But I don't want this. I want to treat the people around me sincerely. So, I want to understand your true thoughts and your most urgent needs, so that in this relationship, you can also get what you really want, not just empty truths."

Nagato withdrew his hand.

"So, please tell me, at this moment, what do you think about Konoha and your teacher, the Third Hokage."

Orochimaru lowered his eyes.

Politeness and intelligence are his masks, especially when dealing with overwhelmingly powerful people.

He had never thought that there would come a day when he would take off the mask and tell Nagato his true feelings.

Nagato-kun...you really are a very special person.

"Well, now that it's come to this, I'll let you know my true thoughts, Nagato-kun."

The sound of rain gradually faded away in his mind.

"I have mixed feelings towards Konoha. It's the hometown where I spent my youth and has irreplaceable memories. But at the same time, Konoha is also a cage that binds me."

"During this journey, I have seen death and separation, which made me deeply feel how fragile life is. Those precious things that I once wanted to keep have all decayed and disappeared under the ravages of time."

"I want to change something, but I find that my power is too small. Even if I am called the legendary Sannin, I cannot escape the sorrow of being a ninja with flesh and blood. This body will tremble and wail due to injury and bleeding, and will become useless due to illness and aging."

"This reality made me feel empty and desperate. I couldn't let my life end like this. One day, I finally made up my mind. I want to uncover the truth of everything in the world. I want to get closer to the sun called truth!"

"I want to gain eternal life and understand all the truths in the world! Then, with the fruits of truth, I will completely change the realities that once made me powerless!"

"I know very well that I am an outlier. No one around me can understand my thoughts, including my companions and mentor. In other words, the bond between companions and Konoha's Will of Fire, the things that I used to regard as my guiding principles, will become stumbling blocks on my future path."

"So, I decided to defect from Konoha."

Having said that, Orochimaru revealed a helpless smile.

"Speaking of which, Nagato-kun, your teacher, Jiraiya, always seemed to think that I betrayed the village out of hatred because Konoha took my parents' lives."

"It's not such a superficial reason."

“Because no one is wrong.”

"It is not wrong for the countries and villages that started the war to fight for the interests of survival."

"My parents did nothing wrong in volunteering to fight and die in order to protect their homeland."

"And the enemy ninjas who killed my parents in order to protect their homeland were also not wrong."

"It is precisely because I realize that no one is wrong that I am not controlled by hatred."

"But I have to admit that I have never been able to completely let go of the village, Hiruzen-sensei, and my former companions from the bottom of my heart... Even though I defected from Konoha, Konoha is still a cage that restricts my progress."

"So, Nagato-kun, let me tell you the truth. I plan to destroy Konoha one day, and I even have a blueprint for the plan."

"If you hadn't found me at the Tiandi Bridge with the help of Scorpion, I would have planned to establish a ninja village in the Land of Rice. I would have trained a group of warriors who could assist me in completing this mission. When the time is right, I would have destroyed Konoha in one fell swoop and cut off all the ties that bound me. In this way, I would have no scruples and would have walked on a lonely road that belongs only to me!"

"This thought, even now that Nagato-kun and I are getting along quite well, is still surging strongly in my heart."

"But at the same time, along with this goal, new questions are constantly entangled in my heart. If I really achieve my goal... can I really let go of my obsession with the past and move forward as I want?"

Orochimaru took his hands off the railing, turned to face Nagato, and spoke in a serious tone.

"So, Nagato-kun, let's get back to the original question. I can't simply say, go ahead and do it to Sarutobi-sensei. I don't care if he lives or dies! I can't persuade you to choose someone else and become the kind of person who is bound by shackles again."

"Humans are such limited creatures. If you don't experience it yourself, you can't see your true thoughts... Perhaps, only when you really kill the teacher, I can make a decision."

Orochimaru laughed at himself: "When that time comes, I won't be qualified to choose."

"Not necessarily." Nagato looked Orochimaru in the face. "To perfect the Earth Grudge Technique, one does not necessarily have to take the target's heart."

"I can only remove one of his Yin-Tsuku Chakra meridians, but the problem is the trade-offs. If I only remove one of his Chakra meridians, it means I will keep him alive, which will leave hidden dangers for me in the future."

"To me, this is not a pleasing option, so my original plan was to take the heart of the Third Hokage."

"But... Orochimaru, if it's for you, I'm willing to take the corresponding risks."

Under Orochimaru's complicated gaze, Nagato smiled as if in the spring breeze: "So, please try to confirm your heart at that time. The life of the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, will depend on your thoughts."

Chapter 99: The Conspiracy Begins

Nagato and Orochimaru returned to the underground and walked through the long corridor towards the experimental base.

Orochimaru asked, "Are you still planning to start your actions against Sarutobi-sensei in Konoha?"

Nagato shook his head, "No. The previous actions have caused all the major clans to increase their defenses. Jiraiya-sensei must be in the village as well. Count Danzo among them. There are at least six Hokage-level fighters in the village. Our hopes of success are slim."

"So, the correct idea is to take action when Sarutobi Hiruzen leaves Konoha."