Linto picked up a roasted rabbit leg and threw it over.
Konan caught it, but didn't eat it. Her eyes were wary as she repeated:
"What did you do to me?"
"I just want to have a peaceful talk with you."
Linto read Konan's memories and learned about her past with Nagato, as well as her connection with Jiraiya.
A group of children who lived in a war-torn area, who grew up and yearned to create peace with their own hands, to challenge the rules of the world. That was brave.
But also, it would face pressure from the rules.
Hanzō of the Salamander, who forced Yahiko to his death, the masked man who misled their plans, the different thoughts of the members within the group...
All of the above are byproducts of the "world's rules".
"...Your original goal is being twisted, heading towards another hell."
Konan pursed her lips tightly: "What do you understand?! You're a young Uchiha master living in Konoha. You don't know how miserable the civilians of those weak countries are during war."
"I know."
Linto said calmly: "I haven't personally participated in war, but history will remember all the sorrow and pain."
"His...tory?"
Konan couldn't understand.
This world has always been very vague about "history".
The ninja school and the various clans deliberately erased much of history. Because of this, the village, the clans, the ninja, seemingly evolve and grow through generations, but are merely killing the same opponents and making the same mistakes.
Linto waved his hand.
"It's okay, there's no need to rush to understand. I won't try to convince you with just a few words. Once people are adults, their core beliefs cannot be easily shaken."
"For the next period of time, I'll be seeing some people and doing some things. You can just follow me for now."
Konan clenched her fists.
Linto really treated her like a prisoner. What was worse, even though her Chakra was full, she couldn't bring herself to escape or attack Linto.
"Don't worry, all expenses paid."
He tore off another rabbit leg. Under the slightly charred skin was rabbit meat dripping with oil, and a rich meaty aroma wafted out. Linto took out a small box of spices and sprinkled a little on it.
"Want some?" Linto asked.
Konan's eyes were about to burst into flames: "What are you trying to do to me?"
Linto threw the small spice box over, not hiding his thoughts, and said bluntly: "I hope that, after experiencing some things, your ideas can change, and you can become a bridge for me to communicate with Nagato."
Nagato was the first person Linto had met since arriving in the Hokage world who wasn't just rebelling against a certain person or organization, but against the entire world's rules.
Linto wanted to have a good talk with Nagato.
But Nagato wasn't ready now.
From Konan's memories, it was clear that Yahiko's death, plus the masked man's deception, had made Nagato increasingly stubborn.
Linto needed an intermediary to stand by his side.
"You actually know about Nagato!"
Konan realized.
People all over the world knew Pain and Konan, but with their deliberate concealment, not many people remembered Nagato's name anymore.
Linto's tone clearly indicated he knew that Nagato was the mastermind behind Akatsuki.
"I know far more than you do," Linto said.
Konan stared intently at Linto. After a moment, she asked again: "Why do you think I would help you?"
Linto shrugged: "Who knows?"
Konan thought the man in front of her must be crazy.
Who did Linto think she was?
He wanted to permanently control her with just a genjutsu?
Wasn't Linto afraid that she would find a loophole in the genjutsu and take the opportunity to kill him?
Oh right...
Konan remembered Linto's almost immortal body.
"Tsk!"
Konan, who had always been gentle, rarely clicked her tongue.
However, the feeling of hunger appeared. Escaping or assassinating would require enough strength. Konan stopped talking to the crazy man, sprinkled the seasoning on the roasted meat, and ate it in small bites.
After eating silently for a while, Konan looked up again and asked seriously:
"What is your real purpose?"
Linto thought for a moment and raised the rabbit leg he had finished eating.
"In the past, when I caught a rabbit, I didn't know how to prepare it at all. A child taught me how to handle the fur and internal organs, how to roast the meat, when to brush on oil, and when to sprinkle seasoning."
Linto threw the bones into the fire.
"He was a good person, polite, caring, and protective of the weak."
"But his whole family died."
"He's about to die too."
Linto met Konan's gaze and said with a smile: "You ask me what I want to do? I just don't want such heartbreaking things to keep happening over and over again."
Konan stared blankly at Linto, only feeling that the gaze conveyed through their eye contact...
Was extremely heavy.
Linto shook his head and looked away.
Becoming a prisoner wasn't something to be happy about, especially since Konan had been written with 'commands' by Linto. This sense of conflict between self-will and commands was very uncomfortable.
Linto decided to give Konan some time to digest it herself.
He opened the system interface to sort out his gains.
First of all, the soul fragments.
After drawing White Snake, Linto had 1090 soul fragments remaining.
Killing Orochimaru gave him 600 fragments.
Defeating Konan gave him 870 fragments.
Plus the scattered ninja from the Hidden Sound Village, Linto had a total of:
2680 fragments.
Linto took stock of the stands he had.
Upgrading Star Platinum from level three to level four required 2000 soul fragments, but he had gained a lot of experience points from drawing cards earlier, and now only needed 1730 soul fragments to complete the upgrade.
Linto didn't hesitate and continued to upgrade Star Platinum.
The light of the soul fragments fell on Star Platinum, making it more solid, with a faint starlight radiating from its eyes.
Everything in the world turned into slow motion in those eyes.
From now on, even if tens of thousands of attacks rained down at once, Star Platinum could capture them one by one with those eyes and smash them all to pieces with its fists.
"Slow motion... Could it be that this is a prerequisite for Star Platinum to have 'time stop'?"
In the JOJO series of animations, it was also time stop.
"The World" seemed to stop the operation of time by using the gears it represented.
Star Platinum was more like using its incomparably dynamic vision and speed to surpass the constraints of time.
The two abilities had the same form of expression, but the principles were very different.
After Star Platinum was upgraded to level four, the next upgrade required 4000 soul fragments.
Linto was looking forward to what kind of changes it would undergo when it truly reached level five, and whether it would have the opportunity to master "time".
With 950 fragments left, Linto decided to spend 400 fragments to upgrade White Snake to level two first.
After being upgraded to level two, White Snake's speed of drawing discs and casting illusions became a bit faster. It put one hand on its hip, gave Linto a thumbs up, and said:
"Yo, you have good taste. Upgrading me is the right thing to do."
It even wanted to chat with Linto about everyday things, but considering Konan was still there, Linto gave White Snake a look, indicating that they could talk later, and dismissed it.
Linto's current stand setup:
Star Platinum (Five Stars) - Level Four.
White Snake (Five Stars) - Level Two.
Aerosmith (Five Stars) - Level Two.
Hermit Purple (Four Stars) - Level One.
Catch the Rainbow (Four Stars) - Level One.
Close combat, long range, scouting, illusion, all covered. For a stand user, Linto had also solved the biggest weakness, the frailty of the user.
In fact, from a straightforward combat power perspective, apart from Star Platinum, the other stands were weaker than Linto himself.
Linto clenched his fists.
Even when not in a combat state, natural energy and Ripple continued to improve Linto's physical strength twenty-four hours a day.
With full effort, he could break free from the limits of gravity and have the ability to fly.
Linto even felt that eating and drinking were just habitual behaviors. He didn't need to eat at all, he only needed to breathe and bask in the sun to meet his physical needs.
"Self-cultivation... Flying... Bigu..."
Linto scratched his head: "This Ripple Breathing Technique... is really immortal cultivation?"
"Hey!"
Konan interrupted Linto's exclamation.
Linto took an orange out of his backpack and threw it over: "Have you digested it yourself?"
"You said you would take me to see some people and experience some things... Where are you taking me?"
"It's hard to say about later, but I can tell you the first stop."
Linto said: "I'm going to Konoha to save people."
"Konoha?" Konan stood up: "You dare to go to Konoha? Aren't you afraid?"
Linto shook his head slightly:
"They should be afraid."
---
You can read 50 Chapters ahead on my
pat reon.com/GMadman