Chapter 166: Nagato Has No Path of Retreat
Land of Water. Kirigakure.
On a main street, clamorous hawking sounds drifted over from time to time.
Since the conclusion of the four great ninja villages' attack on Konoha, Kirigakure had ushered in its second flourishing scene.
As for the first, naturally that was the time of Kato's contribution.
And this time, naturally it was because the entirety of Konoha had suffered heavy damage, while the other three great ninja villages had suffered varying degrees of losses.
Only Kirigakure had not only displayed its power to the entire ninja world, but had also suffered the least losses among the four great ninja villages.
With such a situation appearing, Kirigakure naturally became the first choice for those commoners or wealthy merchants planning to commission missions.
After all, Konoha, currently the strongest, practically no longer had the ability to take on missions. Such a large quantity of commissioned missions would naturally be divided among the other four great ninja villages.
And as the greatest beneficiary of this war, Kirigakure had practically taken on two-thirds of the missions originally commissioned to Konoha.
Even a portion of the commissioned missions from the other three great ninja villages had been drawn to Kirigakure.
On the bustling street.
Yuto raised his eyebrows, looking at Haruna, who had been following behind him the whole time, and asked curiously.
"Where is your elder sister?"
Haruna spoke with a giggle.
"Elder sister naturally went to train."
"Oh, so that means you snuck out."
A trace of realization flashed across Yuto's face.
"I didn't sneak out. Haruna walked out openly and aboveboard."
Haruna pouted her lips, speaking with a tone of dissatisfaction.
Seeing the expression on Haruna's face, Yuto couldn't help but reveal a smile on his face, chuckling lightly.
In the entirety of Kirigakure, the only one who knew him and dared to speak to him so casually was probably Haruna.
"Today I'm treating. Eat whatever you want."
Yuto reached out and patted Haruna's small head, speaking with a light laugh.
"Really!"
Haruna's eyes brightened, an expression of pleasant surprise appearing on her face.
Haruna, who had originally been following behind Yuto, directly ran to stand in front of him, her eyes shining as she sized up the hawking sounds everywhere on the street.
Yuto put both hands in his pockets, following behind Haruna with a leisurely expression.
Although the street was filled with clamorous noise, in Yuto's ears, he heard a trace of peace.
Unfortunately, this kind of peace probably wouldn't last long.
In the history of the entire ninja world, war was the primary tone.
As for so-called friendship, bonds, and so on—they merely served to set off the contrast of war.
Yuto raised his head and casually sized up the flourishing street ahead, as well as the scene of carts large and small pulling goods.
At this moment, a figure with light blue short hair suddenly appeared in Yuto's field of vision.
As soon as this figure appeared, she directly walked toward Yuto.
Konan walked up to Yuto with a somewhat calm expression. Seeing Yuto in a slight daze, she spoke softly.
"What, after just one day of not seeing each other, does Lord Yuto no longer recognize me?"
As Konan's voice rang out, Yuto returned to his senses, a trace of surprise passing through his eyes as he looked at Konan before him, whose attire was somewhat stunning.
At this moment, Konan had already changed out of the black cloak with red clouds that she usually wore, which gave people a feeling of heaviness and oppression.
She had changed into a light blue kimono. This kimono was very ordinary, but worn on Konan's body, it gave people a stunning feeling.
"It's just somewhat unexpected that you would change out of that cloak."
Yuto shook his head and spoke softly.
"After all, this is your Kirigakure, Lord Yuto. Although you have already given prior orders, that cloak is ultimately too eye-catching."
Konan's eyes flickered slightly as she spoke softly.
At this moment, Haruna ran over from the side, opening her large eyes to look at Konan and letting out a light cry.
"Wow! Such a beautiful big sister."
Hearing Haruna's voice, Konan couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, a trace of red rapidly flashing across her face.
"This little girl is?"
Konan squatted down slightly and rubbed Haruna's head, speaking softly.
"That girl Ringo Ameyuri's younger sister. A total foodie."
Yuto shrugged casually, speaking helplessly.
Hearing Yuto's words, Haruna immediately pouted her lips, just about to open her mouth to say something.
Suddenly, Haruna saw Yuto with a proud expression on his face, pointing at the wallet at his waist.
Seeing Yuto's action, Haruna quickly closed her mouth, a wronged expression appearing on her small face.
Seeing this scene before her eyes, Konan suddenly felt it was somewhat amusing.
Especially the casual expression on Yuto's face before her—it was completely different from the expression on his face when he met Uchiha Madara.
At this moment, Yuto gave people a feeling of being extremely easy-going.
Haruna spoke in a small mutter.
"Stingy."
After speaking, Haruna obediently began eating the things in both her hands, while her gaze continued to look toward the direction of the street snacks.
The corner of Yuto's mouth curved up, a satisfied expression on his face as he walked forward along the direction of the crowd, as if taking a stroll.
Seeing Yuto's movement, Konan's expression paused, then she hurriedly stood up to follow.
Sensing Konan following behind, a sharp light flashed through Yuto's eyes.
He had originally thought it was a chance encounter with Konan, but looking at it now, it was probably intentional.
"Thank you, Lord Yuto, for those eyes."
Konan followed beside Yuto, a grateful expression on her face.
"I've already said before, no need to thank me. I do things with my own purposes. It looks like Nagato's surgery was very successful."
Yuto shook his head lightly, speaking with a flat voice.
With the Uzumaki clan's constitution, there basically wouldn't be any problems.
Konan nodded her head, silent for a moment, then spoke softly.
"Lord Yuto, I would like to ask about the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan."
"Oh, looks like Nagato had you ask."
Yuto raised his eyebrows, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Konan did not speak, neither admitting nor denying it.
"The key to this matter lies in Uchiha Itachi's younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke. As long as his eyes can evolve into the Mangekyo Sharingan, you presumably know what to do next."
"As for whether or not you can seize those eyes from Uchiha Sasuke's body, that depends on whether Nagato has the ability."
Yuto spoke with a flat voice.
As expected!
Hearing Yuto's words, Konan's face carried a trace of understanding. She bit her teeth slightly and continued speaking softly.
"What if Nagato loses?"
Walking as if on a stroll, Yuto suddenly stopped. He turned his head and looked at Konan before him with indifferent eyes.
Seeing Yuto's expression, Konan's heart trembled slightly deep inside.
"You seem to have misunderstood something. When Nagato made this choice, he already had no path of retreat."
"And there are only two results. Either Uchiha Sasuke retrieves Uchiha Itachi's eyes, or Nagato succeeds. The loser faces only one result—death."
Yuto's indifferent voice fell into Konan's ears.
A trace of pallor appeared on Konan's face. She understood the meaning of Yuto's words.
Konan was clearer than anyone what burdens Nagato was currently carrying on his body.
Nagato already had no path of retreat. Or rather, Nagato simply didn't need a path of retreat!
What truly made Konan worried wasn't Uchiha Sasuke, but Uchiha Madara. That was the true concern in Konan's heart.
"Big sister, here!"
At this moment, Haruna's voice came from the side.
One could see that in Haruna's hand was a skewer of grilled dried fish, which she directly handed to Konan.
After giving the grilled dried fish to Konan, Haruna also smilingly handed the fish ball in her hand to Yuto.
"Oh, since when were you so sensible?"
Yuto received the fish ball, his eyes brightening as he spoke to Haruna with a smile.
"Haruna has always been sensible!"
Haruna curled her lips, turned her head to blink at Konan, then immediately ran toward the front of the street.
Konan looked at the grilled dried fish in her hand, then couldn't help but raise her head to look at Yuto.
"Don't look at me. Just eat."
Yuto chewed the fish ball in his hand, speaking casually.
The originally slightly tense atmosphere just now instantly vanished without a trace along with Haruna's actions.
"If you're worried about Uchiha Madara, you can rest assured."
At the same time, a somewhat indistinct voice passed into Konan's ears, causing Konan's heart to relax uncontrollably.
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