On the Flying Fortress.
"Nagato was attacked by Jigen?"
The encounter between Haku's group and Konan was learned by Shinji immediately through the 'Jikibi' connection.
Then, he frowned slightly.
In the original timeline, Jigen, or rather Isshiki Otsutsuki, didn't act rashly during the Fourth Great Ninja War. Instead, he chose to continue lying low until he found Kawaki, the 'vessel' capable of withstanding all his chakra, before his activities became frequent.
"Butterfly effect?" Smiling, Shinji thought: "I just thought about looking for him, and he has already started plotting against me, heh!"
Although there was a faint smile on his face, the killing intent in his eyes was undisguised.
Without the Hegemon, the Otsutsuki clan would be the biggest threat to the Ninja World. And compared to the sealed Kaguya Otsutsuki, Isshiki Otsutsuki's threat was obviously greater.
The reason Shinji wasn't anxious to act against Isshiki Otsutsuki, besides the imminent threat of the Hegemon distracting him, was also because he thought Isshiki Otsutsuki wouldn't jump out to stir up trouble at this stage.
Now that Isshiki Otsutsuki brazenly attacked Nagato, the situation was different!
Without alerting Yakumo guarding the fortress and Shion learning magic, Shinji quietly left the fortress.
The Flying Fortress was his secret base, involving too many secrets. Even if Konan wasn't an enemy now, he didn't want the secrets of the Flying Fortress exposed to outsiders, so he obviously couldn't meet Konan inside the Flying Fortress.
In a forest within the Land of Fire.
Swish swish swish...
Accompanied by the sound of breaking wind, Haku, Neji, Kimimaro, and Konan landed in the forest one after another.
At this time, Haku, Neji, and Kimimaro had resumed their attire as Akatsuki members, wearing hooded red cloud cloaks with their respective masks on their faces.
In contrast, Konan, as one of the founders of Akatsuki, only wore a plain robe without the Akatsuki red cloud cloak.
After waiting for a while, Konan asked somewhat anxiously: "Why hasn't 'A' arrived yet?"
Kimimaro glanced over, faintly revealing killing intent.
Neji said: "Watch your tone!"
Haku explained: "We have reported your matter to My Lord, but My Lord has many things to deal with, so please wait patiently."
Konan stopped urging. She knew that in the current Ninja World, there were not many people who could rescue Nagato from Jigen's hands.
The former Akatsuki, which was Obito's group, counted as one. The five great ninja villages combined counted as one. And then there was the Akatsuki headed by 'A' in front of her.
But comparatively speaking, undoubtedly 'A', who won the Fourth Great Ninja War and seized the Ten-Tails, had the greatest assurance!
A moment later, Shinji dressed as Akatsuki 'A' descended from the sky, landing in front of everyone.
"My Lord!"
Haku, Neji, and Kimimaro bowed to Shinji together.
Shinji nodded, then looked at Konan: "What exactly happened?"
Concerning Nagato's safety, Konan held nothing back, recounting everything to Shinji in detail: how Jigen found Nagato, first proposed to deal with 'A' together, and after being refused by Nagato, brazenly attacked Nagato.
Shinji's face darkened after listening.
He originally thought that even if Nagato lost the Rinnegan, with his own strength and Konan's support, he shouldn't have any trouble in the Ninja World.
Unexpectedly, not long after the Fourth Great Ninja War, Nagato met with disaster.
And judging from Konan's description, Isshiki Otsutsuki seemed to have already started making preliminary preparations against him in secret. If not for Nagato's refusal, he might still be kept in the dark until now.
Thinking of this, a sense of crisis arose spontaneously. So he immediately contacted Karin, Mumei, and others investigating Isshiki Otsutsuki everywhere in the Ninja World through 'Jikibi', asking them to assemble immediately and return to the Aerial Fortress.
Shinji let Karin, Mumei, and others investigate Isshiki Otsutsuki originally intending to catch Isshiki Otsutsuki off guard. Now that Isshiki Otsutsuki was not only guarded but even conspiring against him, the situation of Karin, Mumei, and others became dangerous.
Fortunately, Karin and Mumei were strong enough. Isshiki Otsutsuki might be afraid that the commotion would be too big after taking action, unable to end the battle quickly, or perhaps worried about alerting the enemy, so he hadn't acted yet for the time being.
After confirming the safety of Karin, Mumei, and others through 'Jikibi', Shinji asked Konan: "What about Nagato's subordinates?"
Konan shook her head: "After the Rinnegan was taken by you, Nagato and I haven't contacted them again!"
Nagato's Akatsuki was held together by Nagato's super strength and Obito and Black Zetsu's ambitions.
The foundation of everything was Nagato's pair of Rinnegan.
So once Nagato lost that pair of Rinnegan, he lost the ability to control the Akatsuki members.
Precisely considering this point, Nagato and Konan chose to live in seclusion in the Land of Tea.
After Nagato's accident, Konan had also thought of asking Obito for help, but she soon dispelled this idea. Because she knew better than anyone the relationship between Obito and Nagato. Both sides had a pure cooperative relationship, without any affection or bonds.
Nagato now had no utilization value. If Obito and others knew, they might even stand on Jigen's side.
Hearing this, Shinji immediately understood Konan's worry.
If Isshiki Otsutsuki could find Nagato, he could definitely find Obito. Perhaps the two sides had already colluded now.
The remnant forces of Obito posed no threat to the current Shinji, but if they merged with Isshiki Otsutsuki, the situation would be different.
"Isshiki Otsutsuki has been lurking in the Ninja World for so long, the Ninja World has no secrets to him. So he should also know about the Otsutsuki branch family living on the moon. If Toneri Otsutsuki also merged with them, then it would be big trouble!"
Although knowing there were serious disagreements in demands between Isshiki Otsutsuki and Toneri Otsutsuki, and the possibility of merging wasn't high, once the three forces of Isshiki Otsutsuki, Obito, and Toneri Otsutsuki combined, the threat would be too huge, so he must take precautions.
"Looks like I must strike first!"
Shinji quickly made up his mind.
Now Isshiki Otsutsuki couldn't be found, Obito and Zetsu's threat was relatively small. The only one that could be found and posed a relatively large threat was Toneri Otsutsuki on the moon. So instead of waiting for the other party to suddenly attack and cause trouble sometime, he might as well take the initiative to attack.
Moreover, the Giant Tenseigan was also an important strategic resource for the Ninja World. Its value was no less than an ordinary 'Six Paths Level', so it was better to control it in his own hands as soon as possible to feel at ease...