"Nagato! In your current condition, using this will—"
"Enough, Konan." Nagato: "For someone who killed Jiraiya-sensei with my own hands, this is probably the best way to atone."
He spoke as if delivering his last words: "Konan, stay away from Madara and Black Zetsu from now on. Don't let them find you. Live well."
"Nagato..." Konan knew him too well. She saw the resolve to die in his eyes.
Naruto: "Who are Madara and Black Zetsu? And what is this Gedo Art: Rinne Rebirth Technique?"
At that moment...
In Konoha, Yahiko and Jiraiya—both reanimated by the Edo Tensei—froze upon hearing Nagato intended to use the Gedo Art: Rinne Rebirth.
They were stunned.
They didn't know what this technique entailed, but from Konan's tone, it was clear Nagato's physical state was dire.
For ninja, severe injuries were commonplace.
Whatever had Konan so emotionally shaken must be life-threatening.
Hashirama Senju likewise disapproved of this unknown youth's actions. The Uzumaki clan had already been annihilated in this era—were the few remaining bloodlines to wither away one by one?
"Katsuyu!" In desperation, Yahiko grabbed the slug sage who had delivered their message.
His rough handling provoked Katsuyu to emit a high-pitched, girlish squeak.
But Yahiko couldn't spare a thought for that now. "Please contact Nagato! Quickly! I beg you! It'd be best if you could speak directly to him using my voice!"
"Mm." The slug girl's voice murmured softly in agreement.
At that moment, Nagato was squeezing every last bit of chakra from himself. To activate such a powerful technique as the Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth would drain even the chakra left after his death.
"Hey!" Naruto tried to stop him.
A hand clad in a black glove appeared out of thin air, pressing down on his shoulder.
"Don't stop him."
Naruto turned his head. This person was...
The masked man from Akatsuki?!!
No, Grandma had said this was Obito Uchiha!
His sudden appearance actually slowed Nagato's execution of the Gedo Art: Samsara of Rinne Rebirth.
The reason was simple: fear that the masked man would kill Konan afterward.
"Tsk."
The adult Obito Uchiha noticed this too. Just as he was about to advise Naruto not to cause trouble, he wanted him to revive Kakashi and the others with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. As long as Konan didn't actively provoke him, he certainly wouldn't go out of his way to kill her.
At this moment, the slugs on Naruto's body became another powerful backstab for Obito Uchiha, following his own betrayal!
"Nagato! Can you hear me? Answer me!!"
To make sure Nagato and Konan didn't think Konoha was indifferent to them, Katsuyu deliberately transmitted Yahiko's voice to Naruto and Nagato's side.
It had instinctively developed the ability to communicate through the "phone slug."
Hearing Yahiko's voice, Nagato and Konan froze instantly.
"Damn it!" Obito Uchiha never imagined that slug could possess such power. If only he had known, he should've placed Yahiko in the Kamui Dimension before coming over!
It's always this bastard, the one messing with Nagato's mind!
"You misheard. That's not Pain, it's Konoha's Second Hokage." To distract Nagato, Obito Uchiha blurted out a lie.
His voice was also transmitted to Konoha.
Tobirama Senju: "What does this have to do with me?! I never said a single word!!"
Katsuyu faithfully relayed the message.
"......" Adult Obito: "Our Second Hokage of Konoha has a bit of a split personality."
"You're the one with a split personality! You have a split personality all over the world!!" Tobirama: "No, it's all the yous across every world that have split personalities!"
Nagato recalled the Masked Man, "...."
Indeed.
Konan recalled Masked Man Ato, "......"
Indeed.
Naruto remembered the first time he met the masked man, how he'd clown around, entertaining them with endless antics, "...."
Indeed.
Obito Uchiha: Speechless.
"Calm down, let's not stoop to the level of juniors, okay?"
Hashirama desperately tried to placate Tobirama, who was on the verge of losing his temper.
Tobirama Senju's patience with this peculiar Uchiha was nearly at its limit. His face darkened, and after a sharp "Hmph!", he stood there silently, seething.
Just then, a voice they'd never heard before came from the other side of the slug.
"?"
Yahiko couldn't care less about the awkwardness now. He addressed Nagato through the slug: "Nagato! Why didn't you listen to me? Who told you to hang out with that lunatic again! I told you he had ulterior motives! He's definitely after your Rinnegan! Why won't you listen?!!"
Adult Obito Uchiha: "..."
I think you're scolding me, and I have proof.
Yahiko: "And Konan, how can you indulge him in everything? Nagato isn't a child anymore! When his thinking becomes extreme, he needs to be disciplined—scolded and punished!"
"Yahiko......" A woman's voice, slightly choked with emotion, came from over there.
The Konoha ninjas were all staring wide-eyed.
That's it?!
The leader of Akatsuki?!!
The big boss who nearly destroyed Konoha and made the entire Ninja World suffer?
Hearing Konan's voice, Yahiko's tone softened, and he sighed heavily.
"Come back safely. Jiraiya and I will be waiting here."
With that, he unilaterally refused any further communication. Based on his previous understanding of Nagato, the angrier you made him feel, the more timidly he'd try to figure out where he went wrong—and once he understood, he would come to apologize on his own.
But he had overlooked the Obito Uchiha on the other side.
"Both Yahiko and Jiraiya are Edo Tensei Reincarnations. What good would it do to return and see them one last time, only to make them utterly disappointed in you?"
Amidst Naruto's shocked expression, the masked man from his memories declared, "Better to quickly atone for your sins and place the hope for peace in Naruto Uzumaki. I've come to terms with it—what are you still holding onto?"
"Just use the Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth to revive everyone in Konoha. It would be atonement, and it would bring back Yahiko and Jiraiya. Kill two birds with one stone."
Revival...
The Pervy Sage? And Kakashi-sensei?!!
Is that really possible?!
Shocked, Naruto's blue eyes silently fixed on the masked man, his inner anticipation reaching its peak!
"What is your purpose?" Konan stared at the orange-yellow mask of the man before her.
In truth, while Pain battled Naruto, she hadn't been idle. Using the Paper Clone Technique, she'd infiltrated Konoha, disguised as a Konoha ninja, to gather intelligence on a man named Obito Uchiha.
Ask, and you'll be shocked.
The childhood friend of Konoha's elite jōnin Kakashi, the student of the Fourth Hokage, the most eccentric Uchiha in Uchiha history.
He loves life, loves Konoha, enthusiastically helps elderly people cross the street, and dreams of becoming Hokage.
Doing the math, Konan thought—the Nine-Tails Incident sixteen years ago—saying this guy had nothing to do with it? She'd never believe it!
"Speaking of killing your master, you're no slouch yourself, are you?" she retorted. "The Nine-Tails Incident sixteen years ago—you had nothing to do with that? The death of Konohagakure's Fourth Hokage—you had no part in that?"
Naruto: "!!!!"
Adult Obito: "...."
The most venomous heart is that of a woman—this betrayal was truly brutal!
"Rest assured, I have my own way to atone! You just mind your own business."
Konan wanted to continue sparring with the masked man, but Nagato was clearly exhausted—both physically and spiritually.
He informed Konan of his decision: "I will revive Jiraiya-sensei and Yahiko. Looking back, my life went off course the moment I lost Yahiko. Jiraiya-sensei's book had Naruto as its protagonist. Neither Pain nor Nagato are the most cherished chapters in that book anymore."
After speaking, Nagato turned to the adult Obito Uchiha: "Can you guarantee you'll never take action against Akatsuki, Konan, or Amegakure again?"
"I guarantee it. Everything is already arranged."
"Alright..."
Nagato clenched his fists. "I'll trust you one last time."
After a pause, he added: "Or rather, I choose to trust Jiraiya-sensei's judgment."
"Naruto Uzumaki, the Child of the Prophecy... without a doubt..."
"It's you."
"You must bring peace to this Ninja World."
"Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth!!"
Konan's eyes betrayed profound sorrow.
Nagato's hair visibly turned from red to white!
Katsuyu: "Truly a member of the Uzumaki Clan!"
"What does that mean?" Naruto looked at the current situation, feeling a bit at a loss.
Nagato spoke gravely, "It's always been like this. When my chakra is severely depleted, my hair turns white. Once it recovers, my hair returns to normal. But this time, the depletion was too severe—it won't go back."
Katsuyu: "This is a symbol of the Uzumaki clan's purer bloodline. The Uzumaki and Senju clans are closely related, so as Tsunade-sama's summoning beast, I know this well."
"Members of the pure-blooded clan all have red hair. When chakra is excessively depleted, their hair turns white. As chakra recovers, the hair color also returns. This was true for Tsunade-sama's grandmother, Lady Mito Uzumaki, and for your mother, Kushina Uzumaki."
Nagato slightly smiled, "Naruto Uzumaki…"
"We are... it's a shame that we finally found a living relative, only to have to shed our enemy identities at the very end. Now, we can only talk as clan members, as brothers, in the Pure Land."
Naruto was utterly confused...
"What the hell just happened?!"
Katsuyu: "Konoha! Everyone from Konoha has been resurrected!"
"Jiraiya, Yahiko, and..."
"Even the First Hokage-sama, Second Hokage-sama, and Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze... all resurrected!"