[Amegakure]
The sky, rarely seen clear, had just cleared up, and a pair of gigantic wings swiftly swept across the sky.
Konan flitted between several tall towers and silently disappeared into one of them.
Paper-transformed Konan passed through the passage inside the tower.
After turning a long way, she finally drifted into an underground stone room.
Nagato, standing on the wooden cart, slowly opened his eyes, "An accident happened?"
Nagato's body was very frail, with his back full of black receivers. He was constantly supplying energy to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
He could not lie down. With his crippled legs, only by fixing himself on the wooden cart could he stand steadily.
With his body being so weak, security had become the biggest problem.
Konan hadn't even met with Pain and had come directly to him. Something major must have happened.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The sound of paper fluttering arose.
All the paper gradually condensed into Konan's appearance.
Konan steadied her mind, "We have learned the identity of the masked man."
She took out the book given to her by Rengoku and handed it to Nagato.
"In terms of appearance, personality, and behavior, there is not a single match between the masked man and Uchiha Madara."
Nagato withdrew his hand from the wooden cart and flipped through the book seriously.
He, Konan, and Yahiko had wandered outside since childhood, crawling and struggling through many hardships. They knew that even if someone's appearance changed, it was still hard for personality traits to change.
This Uchiha book completely recorded Madara's life.
Madara had a very distinct personality trait, arrogant and unruly.
Let alone being injured, even if he were disfigured, he would never wear a mask.
Furthermore, behavioral patterns, speech patterns, none of them matched.
Nagato read carefully, not skipping a single page.
Konan took this time to narrate the situation in Konoha Village and everything that happened that night in detail.
Nagato usually controlled the Six Paths and could multitask in six ways. Now, reading the materials while listening to Konan, he still managed fine.
Because Nagato had already suspected the masked man's identity a long time ago, now that he knew he wasn't Madara, he wasn't too surprised.
But upon hearing that Kyusuke and Daibutsu were killed by Tobi, Nagato's heart still tightened.
When Nagato heard that the Rinnegan was not his, and that there was a backdoor planted in it, his hand trembled, and the book dropped to the ground.
"Impossible!", Nagato's skeletal face twisted.
The Rinnegan was what he relied on to survive, the cornerstone to realizing peace.
And now Rengoku said there was a problem with the Rinnegan.
How could Nagato believe that?
"Should we try it, Nagato," Seeing Nagato like this, Konan felt extremely distressed.
She, Nagato, and Yahiko had grown up together, already like family.
Nagato had poured so much blood and effort for Yahiko's dream.
All this suffering, turned out to be part of a conspiracy.
Nagato didn't want to believe it, didn't dare believe it.
But after all, he had experienced so many great storms.
After his emotions gradually stabilized, Nagato still rationally spoke one word, "Try."
No matter how cruel it was, there were things that must be faced.
"Then I'll go prepare," Konan sighed and turned to prepare.
Nagato didn't reply, only closed his eyes.
Back then, Konan often treated wounds for Nagato and Yahiko. After Nagato got injured, she became even more of a long-term caretaker.
For minor surgeries like removing eyes, Konan could handle them.
Konan soon brought the necessary items.
She looked at the closed-eyed Nagato and didn't speak for a moment.
Nagato's chest rose and fell a few times before he slowly opened his eyes, "Go ahead."
Konan nodded and brought the scalpel close to Nagato's eye.
Nagato suddenly tilted his head back, "Wait a moment."
"You better use a paper clone."
Konan froze for a moment, then nodded. Numerous papers flew out from her body and gathered into another Konan.
The paper clone took the scalpel from Konan and came before Nagato.
Nagato's eyes were bloodshot. He stared, "Do it!"
The paper clone had no emotions, and the scalpel immediately slashed downward.
But just as the scalpel touched the eye, Nagato's eye power suddenly erupted uncontrollably.
Shinra Tensei!
A massive repulsive force exploded.
BANG!
The paper clone was instantly blasted into a pile of scrap paper.
The distant Konan had already been on guard. When the repulsion swept over, Konan had already retreated in advance.
The walls of the entire underground room began to press outward wildly.
Some areas were directly shattered, and then a lot of water poured in.
Nagato's expression turned blank and fearful.
He couldn't help reaching for the Rinnegan, but halfway through, Nagato's arm, as if nailed, was stuck mid-air, unable to move.
"It's actually true! HOW CAN IT BE! HOW CAN IT BE!"
Nagato roared, his face full of disbelief.
This underground room was underwater. Now, due to the explosion of Shinra Tensei, the walls were broken.
Water had already started pouring in continuously.
The lower end of Nagato's wooden cart was quickly submerged.
Konan used paper to form wings and flew to Nagato's side.
"Nagato! Let's get out of here first."
"Since Uchiha Rengoku knows this much, he must have other ways."
Nagato's face was twisted, obviously extremely furious.
When the water had reached his knees, Nagato finally suppressed the anger and pain in his heart.
He withdrew both hands and grabbed onto Konan.
Konan also flapped her wings and directly carried Nagato upward toward the tall tower's mid-air space.
Flying up several dozen meters through the wind vent, they finally stopped.
Nagato's wooden cart had already been submerged below.
Now he leaned on the wind vent, unable even to stand.
Konan reached out and supported Nagato. Nagato's expression was gloomy and uncertain, and he said nothing.
After a while, Pain had already leapt up from below the tower.
The other five bodies were maintaining alert down below.
Konan looked at Yahiko's face, thinking how he and Nagato had worked so many years, only to end up as part of a conspiracy.
For a moment, emotions surged, and her eyes reddened slightly.
Pain took Nagato's body from Konan. At this time, Nagato closed his eyes and spoke through Pain.
Pain's voice became cold and hard, his emotion also much stronger, "Since Rengoku wants to cooperate with us, I'll go meet him in person."
Konan asked, "Then should we bring the corpses of Kyusuke and Daibutsu?"
Pain slightly shook his head, "There's no need anymore. Everything about the Rinnegan is true."
"The incident where Tobi ambushed Kyusuke and the others must also be true."
Konan looked at Nagato, who had closed his eyes, and also understood Nagato's meaning.
He didn't know how to face those former comrades anymore.
After all, Nagato and Konan had already embarked on a completely different path from the one Yahiko once walked.
Konan responded, "Then I'll make preparations. You can't travel long distances like this."
Pain looked toward the once-clear sky outside. Now the sky had already turned thick with dark clouds.
It was raining again.
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