Chapter 86 — Jiraiya: "Orochimaru is getting way too scary, I'm running for my life."
Nagato was surprised—
just… not particularly happy.
Because seeing those two women standing one on each side of Uchiha Yujiro,
he instantly knew:
They were already fully "Yujiro-faction."
Pakura was still somewhat reserved,
but Mei Terumī?
That woman practically switched to clingy girlfriend mode,
pressing right up against Yujiro.
Just look at Tsunade—
she was so angry she was nearly activating Byakugō Mode on the spot.
---
Yujiro clapped his hands:
"Anyway, that's my report.
Nagato, how've you been lately?"
If Nagato had to be honest—
not great.
He felt like everything was slipping out of his control.
Yes, he'd killed the "invincible" Hanzō and avenged Yahiko.
Yes, even Danzō had been wiped out.
Yes, he had secured Amegakure as a base of operations.
On paper, the mission was beyond complete.
But instead of satisfaction,
anxiety and emptiness only grew deeper.
Because this wasn't the Akatsuki he once knew.
He used to be a pure avatar of vengeance,
a messenger of pain—
clear goals, absolute strength,
marching unwaveringly toward the "righteous destruction" he believed in.
Now?
He was lost.
He'd lost control of the Akatsuki.
Worse, he had no idea where Yujiro planned to take it.
For months, Nagato gathered every scrap of intel he could on Uchiha Yujiro.
But the more he learned,
the more utterly confused he became.
If all the intel was true, then—
Uchiha Yujiro was simultaneously:
a cold-blooded sword demon,
an arrogant lunatic Uchiha,
a cunning, heartless capitalist,
a philanthropic orphanage sponsor,
a notorious cat-exploiting scumbag,
a superwomanizing playboy,
the "man behind Minato,"
the son-in-law of the Senju clan…
And adding Nagato's own intel:
commander of Akatsuki,
the greatest schemer in the shinobi world,
the shadow ruler of Amegakure,
a terrifying super-Kage-level powerhouse.
All that combined—
he could practically tell the joke:
"My house is small.
I can't fit all this man's titles inside."
What kind of person had a political background this messy?
Was he even human???
Nagato was on the verge of existential collapse.
---
In desperation, he even turned to Jiraiya:
"Sensei… can I trust that man?"
But what the hell was Jiraiya supposed to say?
He barely knew Yujiro himself!
But he also couldn't just tell Nagato,
"Hell if I know."
So he went with the classic nonsense mentor line:
"You must… trust your heart to guide you."
Jiraiya didn't believe a word of it either.
Because frankly—
he had bigger problems.
Nagato had his brothers.
Jiraiya had his troublesome childhood friend.
Recently…
Orochimaru had become extremely concerning.
---
Thanks to the supply lines, the Uchiha-funded caravans,
and Yujiro's absurd amount of money,
Orochimaru's new laboratory had been built in record time.
With Kabuto, Anko, and a team of assistants joining,
his research efficiency skyrocketed.
Every day, the lab echoed with:
"Kukukukukuku—"
to the point that even Rain ninja avoided it like plague.
Jiraiya suspected Orochimaru had snuck back into Konoha
and stolen several terrifying forbidden scrolls—
things like Edo Tensei, and… Edo Tensei, and maybe even… more Edo Tensei.
But that wasn't the worst part.
No—
the worst part was:
Orochimaru seemed to have awakened…
his inner woman.
Ever since he began working with Yujiro, his mental state had stabilized—
Jiraiya knew that.
But recently, Orochimaru had started doing the unthinkable:
He was discussing fashion coordination
and new cosmetic products
with Konan.
Jiraiya nearly had a heart attack.
Then came the final straw.
From an upgraded version of Edo Tensei, Orochimaru developed a technique that Jiraiya personally witnessed:
An old person goes in—
a young one comes out.
A dead one goes in—
a living one comes out.
A man goes in—
a woman comes out.
Jiraiya's soul left his body right then and there.
If Yujiro had been here, he would've recognized it instantly:
"Eh? Isn't that Living Corpse Reincarnation?
You already reverse-engineered it?
As expected of you."
Then he would've given Orochimaru a big thumbs-up.
But Jiraiya didn't know that.
Jiraiya: "What the actual—?!"
Watching that scene, his whole body went numb.
He worried that one day he might wake up tied to Orochimaru's operating table—
struggle uselessly—
get knocked out by anesthesia—
and when he opened his eyes again…
Orochimaru would be smiling gently:
"You're awake.
The operation was a success.
You're a girl now."
Absolutely not.
For the sake of his lower half's happiness—
He had to run. Immediately.
So, the next morning, Nagato sadly discovered…
Jiraiya had fled the village.
In his room was only a single note:
"I must travel the world to search for truth—and do field research.
I can no longer stay here.
Await my good news.
—Jiraiya"
Nagato stared at the paper, wind blowing through his hair.
He couldn't take this anymore.
He wanted to run too.
Thankfully, at that moment—
Yujiro finally arrived.
---
"Looks like everything's going great."
As Akatsuki's de facto leader,
Yujiro happily inspected the newly rebuilt Amegakure.
He saw paved roads, massive moisture-proof warehouses,
and a fully staffed logistics hub for large freight convoys.
With this infrastructure, Konoha's transport teams could slap a "Rain Country" label onto their goods,
detour around major nations' trade blockades,
and dump products worldwide—
at extremely profitable margins.
And Rain Country, as the new continental trade hub,
rose to a status on par with Earth's Malacca, Singapore, Gibraltar.
They were basically pumping money out of the air.
Ame's people were living better than they ever imagined:
Drink soy milk? Sure.
Prefer tofu pudding? No problem.
Want red sugar? Add it.
Want white sugar? Also add it.
Some Ame shinobi even committed the ultimate blasphemy:
adding sugar to tofu pudding—
and nobody beat them to death.
That's how rich a transportation hub gets.
If Nagato were just a normal ninja without lofty ideals,
he would be completely satisfied by now.
Yujiro, despite being Akatsuki's "Second Leader,"
spent most of his time in Konoha.
So Rain Village's day-to-day operations?
All under Nagato's control.
He was basically the uncrowned ruler of Amegakure.
This was a position Shimura Danzō dreamed of his entire life
and never attained.
Even if Nagato had a bit more ambition,
logically he should be preparing to compete with Yujiro for power—
just like the now-dead Danzō once tried.
But Nagato wasn't like that.
Yes, he acted strangely sometimes—
mostly because the man had read zero political theory books
and lacked the knowledge needed for stable leadership.
But fundamentally—
Nagato was an idealist.
Right now, he was stuck between a collapsing ideology
and an overwhelming reality.
And he desperately needed an answer—
even if that answer came from the very man he didn't trust:
Uchiha Yujiro.