Chapter 43: Escalating Bounties, Nagato's Tragedy, Madara's Reaction, and Kakuzu's Interest
Ōnoki furrowed his brow and issued the final order: "Put Senju Nawaki on the black market bounty list—50 million ryō. And his weapon—20 million ryō."
After the ANBU left the office, Ōnoki thought about how his village lacked young talents capable of shouldering the burden.
He gazed out the window at the village and sighed: How unfair the heavens are. Konoha's talented young generation are practically being born in litters! First there was Uchiha Naraku we haven't dealt with yet, and now there's another Senju Nawaki!
Precisely because of this—even with the strongest internal strife sequence among ninjas—Konoha could still firmly suppress any other ninja village in the world!
...
The war did not stop. The flames of conflict burned ever more fiercely across the soil of the Land of Rain.
At this moment, in a war zone in the Land of Rain, two Konoha chūnin were carrying out a mission. However, after several consecutive days of intense fighting, their stamina was completely exhausted and their rations had long since run out. Facing hunger and fatigue, the two decided to search nearby for food to sustain themselves.
They entered a small wooden house and began eating heartily. This house belonged to Nagato's family.
At that moment, to hide from the unknown intruders, Nagato's parents had taken Nagato and hidden in the corner.
When the two Konoha chūnin arrived, they had no idea there were others inside.
Nagato's father whispered to Nagato: "Don't make a sound. Just quietly leave."
But Nagato was still very young, filled with fear and unease.
At that moment, Nagato accidentally knocked over a vase, producing a crisp sound. The noise immediately alerted the two Konoha chūnin. They rushed toward the adjacent room, determined not to let any potential enemy escape.
When they entered the room, the darkness created a tense atmosphere. One chūnin grappled with Nagato's father, while the other without any hesitation swung his kunai and stabbed Nagato's mother.
Nagato's mother quickly collapsed in front of Nagato. Nagato's father shouted desperately: "Nagato, run! Run!"
Nagato's father continued trying to protect his family, but ultimately fell into a pool of blood.
After calming down, the two Konoha chūnin used the lamplight to observe and finally realized how wrong they had been. They had mistaken civilians for enemies and killed them.
Nagato, witnessing his parents' tragic deaths before his eyes, was overwhelmed with endless sorrow and fear.
The two Konoha chūnin felt deep guilt. They expressed apologies to Nagato, saying they had mistaken his parents for enemies. Even so, Nagato could not accept this reality. He stared wide-eyed, face full of terror at the blood-soaked scene, his body trembling uncontrollably.
In a flash of lightning, Nagato saw the Konoha headbands on their heads.
Already implanted with the Rinnegan by Uchiha Madara, Nagato could no longer suppress his fear. He instinctively activated a sliver of the Rinnegan's power. The Rinnegan force instantly killed the two Konoha ninjas.
Nagato fainted.
...
At the same time, in an unknown underground location, the white-haired former Konoha Madara—Uchiha Madara—was sitting in a chair glaring with his Sharingan.
White Zetsu Obito said: "Lord Madara, Nagato has activated a portion of the Rinnegan's power. And Nagato's parents are dead. Should we continue monitoring their family?"
Uchiha Madara glanced at Obito and replied: "Continue monitoring. Also, any interesting news from the outside lately?"
White Zetsu Obito immediately stood at attention and reported: "Lord Madara, recently a guy named Uchiha Naraku emerged from the Uchiha clan. Uchiha Naraku seems to have awakened a new kekkei genkai that allows him to continuously forge powerful weapons. Previously he forged a weapon that causes endless bleeding once the enemy is cut."
After White Zetsu Obito finished, Uchiha Madara sneered: "The Uchiha clan is really declining—now relying on some other kekkei genkai to make a name for themselves. And through forging, no less! What use is that kind of weapon? If you can't hit anyone, it's all pointless! The Sharingan is the best weapon!"
Obito suddenly continued: "He also forged powerful armor that can immunize against ninjutsu below B-rank. He gave that armor to Senju Nawaki. And two ninja blades. Oh! They like to call them Teigu! One of the blades is covered in powerful curse poison—said to be touch-of-death! The other can control the corpses of people killed by the weapon! Lord Madara, you're so powerful—you can definitely tank that curse poison blade, right?!"
While Obito was smugly thinking he had finally flattered Lord Madara successfully, he completely failed to notice the veins bulging on Madara's forehead.
At this moment, Uchiha Madara was constantly convincing himself: This White Zetsu is a bit special—better not kill him.
Uchiha Madara was silent for a moment before saying: "From now on, finish your sentences! Say the important things first! These things are worthless in front of the Uchiha Mangekyō Sharingan! And he even gave the armor to someone from the Senju clan! Hmph! Little brat Naraku, you'd better not regret this!"
Madara felt both anger and a touch of nostalgia at Naraku forming a bond with Nawaki—almost like: Kid, you're as naive as I once was. You'll definitely suffer for it!
As for experimenting with the curse poison, Uchiha Madara completely ignored Obito's suggestion. After all, the ninja world had plenty of weird things—some even he wasn't certain he could tank safely.
Obito gave a deep bow and said: "Lord Madara! I'll definitely work harder from now on! But... could you tell me what the urge to defecate feels like? I noticed you haven't pooped in several days!"
Hearing this, Uchiha Madara could no longer hold back. Even though he now mostly sustained himself with the Demonic Statue, he still occasionally defecated!
The thought that while he was defecating, a White Zetsu—or possibly a group of them—might be creepily watching...
Uchiha Madara kicked Obito hard. Obito was instantly embedded into the underground wall.
Uchiha Madara still instructed: "From now on, focus on protecting Nagato. Continue monitoring Uchiha Naraku closely!"
While Obito tried to pull his lower body free, he said: "Yes, Lord Madara! But could you tell me what the urge to defecate feels like?!"
Uchiha Madara quickly walked out of the room—he didn't want to argue with an idiot about this!
...
Meanwhile, the legendary bounty hunter who fought and survived against the First Hokage, business expert, and money-hoarding warrior—Kakuzu—was flipping through the black market bounty catalog. When he saw that two kids had suddenly appeared on the list with bounties of 70 million ryō each, his eyes instantly lit up.
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