In a brightly lit room, Nagato was slowly adapting to his newly fitted prosthetic limbs. His expression remained unsettled. Although Pain could show him countless scenes through shared vision, it was never the same as experiencing things firsthand.
At the same time, the Hashirama Cells implanted in his body had significantly replenished his life force. The dullness in his red hair had faded, its color regaining much of its former vitality, and even the white strands mixed within had noticeably decreased.
Naruto watched Nagato carefully testing his balance and smiled.
"Senior Brother Nagato," he said, "with your current condition, you should minimize the use of the Rinnegan. Excessive use will continuously consume your life force."
"I understand," Nagato replied, nodding slowly.
Over the past few days, Naruto had been—ahem—patiently reasoning with Nagato.
And in that process, he had explained the origins of the Rinnegan in meticulous detail.
Nagato accepted most of it.
After all, Naruto's explanation was logical and coherent. Who would willingly use their own eyes if doing so constantly shortened their lifespan?
Previously, Nagato had believed that the so-called Eyes of the Sage were simply too powerful for mortals to wield. But after listening to Naruto, a different picture began to emerge.
It felt as though an invisible hand had been pushing events forward all along.
Hanzo's sudden betrayal.
Yahiko's death.
Everything now seemed steeped in conspiracy—steps taken deliberately to force him onto a darker path.
After a long silence, Nagato finally spoke.
"Naruto… is the Rinnegan truly not mine? Was it all part of Uchiha Madara's scheme?"
Naruto's expression turned solemn.
"That's right," he said. "Have you ever seen an Uzumaki naturally awaken the Rinnegan? The Sharingan evolves step by step—into the Mangekyō Sharingan, then the Eternal Mangekyō, and finally the Rinnegan. This traces back to the origins of the Senju and Uchiha clans."
"The Rinnegan is the eye of the Sage of Six Paths. The Sharingan, meanwhile, belongs to his descendants. The Senju and the Uchiha are the Sage's direct bloodlines."
"The Sage of Six Paths had two sons—Indra and Ashura. Ashura inherited the Sage's body, while Indra inherited his eyes."
"The Sage did not pass on his power through ordinary reproduction. Instead, his essence split between his two sons. In that sense, both inherited fragments of his power."
"One could say that the Sharingan is a devolved form of the Rinnegan. That is why it can ultimately evolve back into it. When the powers of Senju and Uchiha merge—creating the power of all things—the Rinnegan is born."
"That… is the true origin of your eyes."
Naruto continued without pause.
"During the battle at the Valley of the End, Uchiha Madara did not truly die at Senju Hashirama's hands. He secretly obtained Hashirama's flesh and implanted it into himself. After years of accumulation, the two powers finally merged—allowing him to awaken the Rinnegan."
"But by the time he succeeded, Madara was already old and nearing death. To secure his revival, he chose you."
"At the same time, he selected another person to act in his place within the shinobi world—someone to monitor you and ensure his plan progressed exactly as intended."
At that moment, Konan spoke up.
"That person… the Masked Man. He was Madara's proxy, wasn't he?"
"Exactly," Naruto replied.
Konan frowned slightly. "Then what was Uchiha Madara's true goal?"
Naruto let out a cold laugh.
"In that regard, he wasn't so different from you. He wanted peace. Having lived through the Warring States Period, Madara understood war more deeply than anyone. He believed only absolute control could create a peaceful world."
"But at the same time, he sought an even greater power—the power of the Sage of Six Paths himself."
"Unfortunately for him," Naruto said mockingly, "he was deceived."
Neither Nagato nor Konan reacted to the sarcasm.
Instead, their thoughts were shaken by something far more disturbing.
If even Uchiha Madara had been manipulated…
Then who stood above him?
"You know Zetsu, don't you?" Naruto said calmly. "More precisely—Black Zetsu."
"What?!"
Nagato's voice thundered through the room.
"Black Zetsu is the true mastermind?!"
Even Konan, far more composed, couldn't hide her shock.
"Black Zetsu's combat ability is mediocre—at best on the level of an average jōnin. His intelligence-gathering skills are impressive, but manipulating everything from the shadows? Is that really possible?"
Naruto smiled faintly.
"Don't underestimate him."
"Black Zetsu… is the brother of the Sage of Six Paths."
That statement once again plunged the two of them into shock.
"The Sage of Six Paths' brother?" Nagato asked in disbelief. "Then doesn't that mean he has lived for over a thousand years?"
"There's nothing strange about that," Naruto replied calmly. "And this is where we must begin—with the origin of the Sage of Six Paths himself."
"The Sage's surname was Ōtsutsuki, and his name was Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo. He had a younger brother named Ōtsutsuki Hamura, and their mother was Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
"Ōtsutsuki… Kaguya?!"
Nagato and Konan exchanged looks, each seeing pure disbelief reflected in the other's eyes.
Naruto then slowly explained the true history of the Sage of Six Paths—the descent of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the birth of Hagoromo and Hamura, and the origins of the Gedo Statue.
By the time he finished, the room had fallen into a heavy silence.
"So that's how it is…" Nagato muttered at last. "The Gedo Statue is actually the shell of the Ten-Tails—the husk left behind after the Divine Tree was separated from it."
"And all this time…" His expression twisted into a bitter smile. "They were using us."
"So the Masked Man and Uchiha Madara were never aiming for peace at all—their true objective was the Ten-Tails."
"How laughable."
A trace of sorrow welled up in Nagato's heart.
His entire life… had been arranged.
"The reason I'm telling you all of this," Naruto said evenly, "is because I want to cooperate with you."
"The members of the Akatsuki are all exceptional individuals. In the wars to come, they'll be needed. They should stand in positions worthy of their talents—not be discarded as meaningless sacrifices."
"The shinobi world has already been marked."
"And the threat it faces isn't limited to the Masked Man or Uchiha Madara."
Once again, Naruto dropped a revelation like a thunderbolt.
Nagato and Konan felt their thoughts reel, as if the ground beneath them had begun to shake.
"I know this is too much to absorb in such a short time," Naruto continued. "Think it over carefully."
With that, he turned and left the room, leaving the two behind in silence.
Naruto had only briefly mentioned Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's origins—but even that was enough.
If what Naruto said was true… then the enemies he spoke of were beings like Ōtsutsuki Kaguya herself—existences beyond the shinobi world.
Naruto didn't dwell on whether their resolve had changed.
The next day, while handling other matters, he received word from Sasuke.
"Sasuke," Naruto said seriously, looking him straight in the eye, "are you truly ready?"
Even though Sasuke had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, Naruto still couldn't help but worry. In the original course of events, Itachi had clearly held back. Even now, despite Sasuke's rapid growth, victory was far from guaranteed.
"I'm ready," Sasuke replied after taking a deep breath. "It's time to end this."
At some point, his three-tomoe Sharingan had already activated, spinning quietly in his eyes.
"Good," Naruto said. "Since you're going, then take this."
There was no room for refusal.
Sasuke looked at Naruto's solemn expression, a warm current flowing through his chest. He knew that if he refused, Naruto would never allow him to face Uchiha Itachi alone.
(End of Chapter)
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