In the Land of Rain, after many days of searching, Jiraiya and Minato finally found the Akatsuki Organization's latest hideout, located in a large canyon.
Jiraiya and Minato had also heard during this time that the Akatsuki Organization intended to seize the Rinnegan, and with various shinobi villages sending people, they realized they had fallen into a trap.
However, with the arrow already on the bowstring, they had to act; even if they left the Land of Rain now, it would likely be assumed that they had already seized the Rinnegan.
It might even cause the Four Great Shinobi Villages to target Konoha. If they had truly seized the Rinnegan, it would be one thing, but they hadn't.
Now, they could only occasionally show themselves in the Land of Rain, making the people from the Four Great Shinobi Villages believe that they were also searching for the Akatsuki Organization, and this indeed had an effect.
The Four Great Shinobi Villages had almost turned the Land of Rain upside down, and now only a few places remained to be searched, meaning the Akatsuki Organization couldn't hide for much longer.
They planned to find the Akatsuki Organization first and negotiate with Yahiko to jointly defeat the Four Great Shinobi Villages; both of them believed this was very feasible.
After all, Jiraiya was their teacher, and the basis for cooperation was there, making this the most beneficial approach for both Konoha and the Akatsuki Organization.
Unfortunately, they had no idea that Yahiko had already been corrupted and then fooled. Yahiko might not have been as severely corrupted as Nagato in the original story, but his intelligence didn't increase much due to it.
Yahiko naturally doubted the claim that the so-called Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was the savior goddess, and he naturally tried every means to verify it.
Unfortunately, neither myths nor historical records contained any mention of this matter, so they focused their attention on the tombs of ancient, long-standing families.
It was inevitable that they wouldn't find documentation and mythological legends. One reason was that Otsutsuki Hagoromo deliberately reduced information about his mother to prevent Kaguya's escape.
The second reason was that the humans of that time were merely some'sparks' released by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya after she used Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Their memories were wiped, and coupled with the lack of a mature writing system at the time, human writing during Kaguya's era remained at a primitive level.
Later, they experienced the great war where Hagoromo, Hamura, and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya broke ties, and many people undoubtedly died. Even after the Six Paths Sage's era, there wasn't much progress.
However, Black Zetsu, that old schemer, had been thinking about how to fool people since Kaguya was sealed, so forging historical records and evidence was naturally of paramount importance.
While the Six Paths Sage was alive, he only dared to secretly compile and perfect the altered historical records. Once the Six Paths Sage died, he began to manipulate Indra.
And he naturally left some fragmented records in the tombs of Indra and Ashura, as well as the nobles of that era.
Such fragmented records are sometimes more credible than complete ones. After collecting enough fragmented information, it still couldn't piece together a complete record.
However, humans will fill in the blanks and extrapolate logically. The fragmented information left by Black Zetsu deliberately guided humans to deduce in the direction he desired.
Therefore, as long as you dared to search and dared to fill in the blanks, you would inevitably be fooled by Black Zetsu beyond measure. For authenticity, the fragmented texts on these stone tablets were extremely archaic.
It was like modern people looking at oracle bone script, and the handwriting and recorded information matched the identity of the tomb's owner, meaning it was recorded from the tomb owner's perspective.
Thousands of years passed; perhaps the handwriting would blur, but that ancient feeling of having weathered the ages would make such information even more real.
Yahiko had recently become an archaeologist, and through excavating tombs, the partial fragmented information he collected made him truly believe Black Zetsu's lies.
However, probably only Konan, relying on a woman's intuition, sensed that Black Zetsu had a problem, but she could never find evidence. She also doubted the authenticity of the historical records.
Unfortunately, it was too real; the recorded information showed absolutely no inconsistencies. Konan was also half-convinced, but Yahiko had already been completely fooled.
Yahiko naturally knew that all Five Great Ninja Villages had come to the Land of Rain to find him, and his teacher Jiraiya was among them, all to seize the last Rinnegan.
This was the last Rinnegan in this world, not only a trust and gift from a close friend but also the only hope for saving the world.
Therefore, even if Teacher Jiraiya wanted to seize the Rinnegan for Konoha, Yahiko would personally sever this bond, as this was merely the growing pains before the new world arrived.
Furthermore, in the future, to seize the Nine-Tailed, Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze would inevitably be his enemies. Eliminating them both now was also for future considerations.
So, even if Teacher Jiraiya wasn't here to seize the Rinnegan, he had to make it seem that way, using it as an excuse to eliminate them both.
As for the other Four Great Shinobi Villages, to be honest, he didn't care about them; they were just cannon fodder. Only Konoha could be given a slight bit of attention by him.
Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze knew nothing of his intelligence. Jiraiya only knew him as he was before, and he was no longer the old Yahiko.
And he, through Black Zetsu's intelligence, was very clear about Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze's information, and even Uchiha Rei, who made Black Zetsu feel like facing a great enemy, he still clearly understood her methods.
Thus, with his strength far surpassing theirs, and relying on information asymmetry, he could definitely eliminate them both. Only Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God was a bit troublesome.
However, Black Zetsu, to deal with Uchiha Rei, had long ago researched a spatial barrier specifically designed to counter space-time Ninjutsu.
Whether it was Summoning Technique or Flying Thunder God Technique, they would all be ineffective or suppressed. However, this was only theoretical; now was a very good experimental opportunity.
First, they would use Minato Namikaze as a test subject. If the effect was good, it could be directly used on Uchiha Rei. If the effect was not good, then it would be modified later.
Without Flying Thunder God Technique and Summoning Technique, it could be said that both Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze's strengths would be greatly reduced.
Without Summoning Technique, the toads from Mount Myōboku couldn't come, which meant it was a simple eight against two, with Konan, him, and the Six Paths of Pain. The advantage was on his side.
Without the toads, Jiraiya couldn't enter Sage Mode. His strength would at most be that of an ordinary Kage-level ceiling, unable to reach strong Kage-level.
And without Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato Namikaze, relying only on Body Flicker Technique and Rasengan, truthfully, his strength was just average, perhaps even inferior to Jiraiya.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no possibility of Yahiko losing. After killing Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze, there wouldn't be many threats to him from Konoha.
Perhaps he wouldn't even need to act; Konoha would be defeated in the Third Shinobi World War, and then killing Uchiha Rei and seizing the Nine-Tailed would be a matter of course.
Thinking of this, even the old schemer Black Zetsu felt a long-awaited sense of relief. What Null Organization, what Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, they would all have to obediently submit before his Black Zetsu's schemes.
No one understood schemes and tricks better than him, Ōtsutsuki Black Zetsu. Once his mother was unsealed, she would surely dote on him the most. What Otsutsuki Hagoromo and Hamura, they were merely unfilial sons.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"