The white light faded, and the Pokémon Egg vanished without a trace, leaving only the soft cushion Nagato used to support the egg.
Of course, this wasn't because Mokgetsu gave Nagato a fake Pokémon Egg.
Sensing the gaze and slight chill from behind, Nagato turned to look back.
In his sight was a cloud of purple smoke, and in the center was a large black orb, with white eyes and a mouth with fangs.
When Nagato looked at the black orb, those big white eyes looked back at him curiously.
Upon seeing Gastly, Nagato instinctively took half a step back.
Though he usually doesn't judge by appearances, the unknown entity in front of him didn't look like something from the mortal world.
Nagato felt that anyone who suddenly saw a black orb with eyes and a mouth, surrounded by purple smoke, approaching their face would instinctively step back.
Only retreating half a step indicated his strong confidence in his own power.
"Kokohe!"
Gastly smiled warmly and greeted Nagato, feeling an inexplicable closeness to him.
Of course, this friendliness was merely Gastly's own perspective, while in Nagato's view, it appeared as a mysterious, bizarre laugh coming from the black orb surrounded by purple smoke.
"Is this a Ninja Beast?" Nagato fell into contemplation.
The Ninja Beast Egg hatched, and then Gastly appeared in the Cultivation Room. Logically, Gastly was the newly hatched Ninja Beast.
Nagato had seen odd-looking Summoning Beasts before, but none as strange as Gastly.
To speak impolitely, compared to a Ninja Beast, he felt Gastly seemed more like a legendary oddity.
"No doubt, it is one, though a bit peculiar," Mokgetsu entered the Cultivation Room and said.
Mokgetsu hadn't expected Nagato's Pokémon to be Gastly.
He thought it might be Eevee or something, given Nagato's diverse attributes.
However, in terms of battle, Gastly was indeed a good match for Nagato.
Currently, the only shortcoming Nagato could be said to have is Taijutsu, and Gastly possesses a strong stealth ability to protect Nagato by staying near him.
"Yeehee!"
Upon hearing Mokgetsu praise it as unique, Gastly immediately burst into laughter, floating around Nagato.
Since Gastly was indeed a Ninja Beast, Nagato didn't hesitate to form a contract with it.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, can I take it out, or should it continue to stay in the Cultivation Room for now?" Nagato asked Mokgetsu.
Gastly's egg had been in the Cultivation Room without windows since Mokgetsu handed it to Nagato, and Nagato wanted to take Gastly out for a walk.
"You can, no need for it to stay here any longer." Mokgetsu replied.
Gastly's abilities and appearance starkly contrasted with Obito and the others' Pokémon, so no one would associate Gastly with their Pokémon.
If Gastly evolved, there might be a connection, but it couldn't be used to equate Sosuke and Habu Mokgetsu.
Even if Uchiha Madara or Black Zetsu realized Mokgetsu was Sosuke, Mokgetsu wouldn't mind.
Initially, he hid his identity to avoid interference from Uchiha Madara in taking Nagato as his disciple.
Now that he succeeded in taking Nagato as his disciple and establishing a good mentor-disciple relationship, he didn't worry about Uchiha Madara causing trouble.
This was why Mokgetsu quickly revealed everything to Nagato after taking him as his disciple, as otherwise, Uchiha Madara might exploit this fact to deceive Nagato.
The current situation was very advantageous for Mokgetsu; even if Uchiha Madara knew his identity, besides resorting to his own forces to cause trouble, he couldn't do anything else.
Publishing Mokgetsu's identity to alert other nations about Konoha and Ninja Sect to cause trouble for Mokgetsu? Uchiha Madara wouldn't succeed.
If Uchiha Madara instructed White Zetsu to spread the news, no one would believe it.
The conspiracy theory that Blazing Sun Mokgetsu is Ninja Master Sosuke planned by Rain Village seemed more credible than the idea that Sosuke is allied with Konoha.
Uchiha Madara simply couldn't play the media game against Mokgetsu.
Within Konoha, Mokgetsu was considered the second-in-command of Root, fully trusted by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
In the Land of Rain, Mokgetsu was a highly regarded Ninja Master who, besides his Ninja Sect, could mobilize the Rain Ninja's power by consulting with Hanzo.
Uchiha Madara could disrupt the already chaotic situation further through his arrangements, but when it came to a tangible mobilized force, he was far inferior to Mokgetsu.
After all, Uchiha Madara had been feigning death for decades, and the villages had changed from the First to the Third Shadow generations, with the Hidden Sand already appointing the Fourth Kazekage.
Nagato nodded and left, with Gastly floating behind him, leaving the Cultivation Room together.
Seeing Nagato leave, Mokgetsu took out his own Pokémon Egg and looked at it.
Although obtained at the same time, Mokgetsu's Pokémon Egg still showed no signs of hatching.
"Nagato." Yahiko, who was about to take a stroll, saw Nagato and greeted him with a smile.
But Yahiko's smile quickly turned serious as he saw a mysterious figure shrouded in purple smoke slowly rise behind Nagato.
"Nagato, be careful!" Yahiko shouted and quickly dashed towards Nagato.
Nagato sensed and found only Gastly behind him, revealing a puzzled expression.
Then Nagato thought carefully and realized that given Gastly's appearance, maybe Yahiko was referring to Gastly.
"It's okay, Yahiko, no need to worry," Nagato reassured confidently.