"Nagato, don't believe what he says!"
Konan stood in front of Nagato, trying to separate him from the Masked Man, using her actions to show her opposition to cooperating with him.
Not long ago, Yahiko had died due to the conspiracy of Hanzō of the Salamander, and the first generation of the Akatsuki was wiped out. This was the lowest point of her life.
However, a Masked Man suddenly found them, expressing his desire to cooperate with Nagato and proposing a plan called the "Tailed Beast Weapon," claiming it could bring peace to the Ninja World.
Konan didn't believe a word the Masked Man said. This man hiding under a mask exuded the aura of a conspirator from head to toe; he definitely wanted to use Nagato to achieve his own goals.
But Nagato seemed bewitched by him. Facing the Masked Man's nonsense, he didn't say a word, which made Konan anxiously try to persuade him. Nagato was the only person she cared about in this world, and she didn't want anything to happen to him.
However, Nagato's thoughts were different from Konan's. Killing his best friend with his own hands had caused immense trauma to his soul. At this moment, he needed a goal to fill the void in his heart.
The arrival of the Masked Man was like someone offering a pillow right when he was getting sleepy. He wasn't interested in the Masked Man's schemes or calculations, but the Masked Man's words provided a direction for the path he would take in the future.
He couldn't just sink into despair because of Yahiko's death. He had to inherit Yahiko's will and create peace for this war-torn Ninja World.
"I agree to cooperate with you," Nagato said in a flat tone.
"Nagato!"
Konan turned around in disbelief to look at Nagato. He looked back at her with a wooden expression, his Rinnegan filled with dead silence.
The words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat. Konan's body trembled slightly; she felt a sharp pain in her heart. She opened her mouth but said nothing. She couldn't bear to refute Nagato's ideas anymore.
"Konan, I will inherit Yahiko's will and create a peaceful Ninja World. But I won't be as naive as Yahiko. His path was wrong; it is impossible for people to understand each other. I will rebuild the Akatsuki. The new Akatsuki will no longer beg others to sit down and negotiate but will use absolute force to compel nations not to wage war... For this, I need to build the Tailed Beast Weapon."
After speaking, Nagato looked at Konan again. One of his eyes was covered by his bangs, making his expression hard to read.
"Konan, will you still support me?"
"Of course! No matter what you do, I will support you!"
Konan's expression was firm. Even if Nagato asked her to climb a mountain of swords or plunge into a sea of fire, she would do it without hesitation.
Nagato lowered his head and said softly, "Thank you."
"Since you've agreed, our cooperation is established. Let me introduce someone to you. His name is Zetsu."
The Masked Man spoke in a muffled voice. From the shadows behind him, a man with a head resembling a pitcher plant walked out.
"Hello there."
Zetsu had a face that was half black and half white, and each half had its own mind. At this moment, it was White Zetsu greeting Konan and Nagato.
Konan and Nagato weren't frightened by his strange appearance; they just continued to look at the Masked Man, waiting for his explanation.
"Zetsu has excellent intelligence-gathering abilities. If you have any intelligence needs, you can use him directly... Now that the important matters have been discussed, it's about time I left."
After the Masked Man finished speaking, the space around his body distorted, as if a vortex appeared and sucked his body into it.
"Wait! We still don't know who you are!" Konan hurriedly asked him.
As if expecting this question, the Masked Man revealed the scarlet Sharingan under his mask.
"My name is Uchiha Madara."
After saying that, his figure completely disappeared with the vortex.
"Uchiha Madara? Could he be that legendary..." Konan looked shocked.
"It's okay, Konan. No matter who he is, he isn't worth mentioning in front of these eyes."
Nagato's expression was calm. He had awakened the power of the Rinnegan, and his strength had increased by leaps and bounds. Even if the Masked Man was Uchiha Madara and wanted to use him, he wasn't afraid.
He turned his gaze to Zetsu and said, "Since you were introduced by Madara, I won't doubt your ability. Go and investigate the information on powerful rogue ninjas in the Ninja World for me. I need to recruit them into the Akatsuki."
"Okay, Leader." Zetsu chuckled lightly, then sank into the ground.
Nagato watched with his Rinnegan for a while. Finding nothing unusual, he said to Konan, "Konan, please bring some corpses over. It's inconvenient for me to move right now, so I need to create some puppets to utilize the power of the Rinnegan."
"Okay."
Konan couldn't bear to look at Nagato, knowing his legs were crippled because he saved her. Her body turned into a cloud of paper and flew out, but within moments, she flew back.
"Nagato, there's movement in the Skyscreen above!"
...
At this time, it wasn't just Konan and Nagato in the Ninja World paying attention to the changes in the Skyscreen. The Third and Fourth Hokage of Konoha, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa of Sunagakure, the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki of Iwagakure, the A-B Combo of Kumogakure, the Fourth Mizukage Yagura of Kirigakure...
And many other figures, big and small, across the Ninja World, all coincidentally put down their work and looked up at the Skyscreen.
The Skyscreen had been in this world for some time, and people had gradually gotten used to its existence in the sky. However, they had never seen a change like this before.
"The existence of the Skyscreen is a fact, but we don't know if it's good or bad for the village."
Old men like the Third Hokage and the Third Tsuchikage worried in their hearts, while more ignorant people were simply curious about it.
Finally, under the gaze of everyone, an image appeared on the Skyscreen.
First to appear on the Skyscreen was a young man with black hair and black eyes. His gaze was locked forward, looking into the distance. His identity was immediately guessed by everyone in the Ninja World due to the fan crest on his back.
"It's an Uchiha!"
...
**Uchiha Clan Grounds**
Uchiha Fugaku was sitting with his wife and son, watching the movement of the Skyscreen.
When the young Uchiha appeared on the Skyscreen, Uchiha Fugaku's heart stirred. He had a feeling that this young man seemed to have a great connection with him.
"What's wrong, Father? Do you know this person?"
Uchiha Fugaku's unusual reaction naturally couldn't escape the keen eyes of Uchiha Itachi, who couldn't help but ask immediately.
Uchiha Fugaku shook his head and didn't speak.
...
**[On the Skyscreen, as the scene extended, a pink-haired girl appeared beside the black-haired young man. Everyone saw that they were currently standing on an island.**
**The island was uninhabited but had many abandoned buildings. Ninjas could recognize at a glance that these buildings were constructed according to the specifications of a ninja base.**
**Clearly, a ninja had transformed a deserted island into a base.**
**"Is this the place where Sasuke-kun once trained?"**
**The pink-haired girl spoke. She looked around at the surrounding buildings, her eyes full of curiosity.**
**"Yes. If Orochimaru hadn't brought me here back then, I wouldn't have been able to discover the secret hidden at the bottom of this sea."**
**The black-haired young man gazed at the distant sea surface, seemingly lamenting the wonders of fate.**
**After a long while, he said to the girl beside him, "Sakura, you stay here and wait. I need to go down and confirm it again."**
**"Okay."**
**The pink-haired girl, Sakura, nodded obediently.**
**Sasuke closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his originally black pupils had turned into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan with a red and black six-pointed star pattern!**
**Immediately after, a large amount of purple chakra appeared around his body. This chakra quickly condensed into bones and flesh, then rose from the ground! Instantly, it transformed into a chakra giant over two hundred meters tall, clad in armor!**
**Sasuke's body was now lifted into the pentagonal crystal on the forehead of the chakra giant. He controlled the chakra giant to step forward, instantly whipping up a hurricane on the beach.**
**Sakura gathered her hair, seemingly accustomed to this scene. She watched the purple giant step into the sea step by step. Watching the seawater submerge the giant's calves, waist, until the giant completely disappeared into it, she still did not withdraw her gaze.]**