"I'll treat you for now—just emergency first aid."
Kitazawa stepped forward and reached out. Pale green chakra surged from his palm and spread over Nagato's body.
"I don't understand… why aren't you killing me?"
Nagato felt a little better, and his speech was no longer as broken and halting as before.
"I'm not killing you because you're useful."
Kitazawa paused, then said, "Not just you—there's plenty of value in the other Akatsuki members, too."
"What value?" Nagato asked, confused. "With your strength, do you still need the Akatsuki?"
"I can't do everything myself," Kitazawa replied.
"So what do you want us to do?" Nagato asked thoughtfully.
"The most urgent thing right now is helping me capture Black Zetsu."
Kitazawa wore a faint smile.
"You… actually know Black Zetsu exists?" Nagato couldn't hide his shock.
Zetsu was divided into White Zetsu and Black Zetsu.
But all this time, only White Zetsu had been active. Black Zetsu had never appeared in front of anyone else.
Konan also looked at Kitazawa in surprise.
Even though they already knew a lot about each other, she realized she still didn't understand him well enough.
"I know more than you think."
Kitazawa withdrew his hand. "Your body's fine—your chakra is just severely depleted."
"Is there any way for him to recover?" Konan asked quickly.
"If he severs his connection to the Outer Path Demonic Statue, he can slowly recover," Kitazawa said after a brief moment of thought.
"I can't disconnect," Nagato shook his head. "Not unless I give up the Rinnegan."
"There's another way," Kitazawa added. "Someone with another pair of Rinnegan can seize control of the Demonic Statue."
"That's impossible—there can't be another pair of Rinnegan!" Nagato denied without hesitation. "Those are the Sage of Six Paths' eyes!"
"If they're the Sage of Six Paths' eyes, then how do you have them?" Kitazawa followed up smoothly.
"I don't know." Nagato froze for a moment. "Maybe it's the Sage of Six Paths' mission for me—to bring peace back to the shinobi world."
"You really are… naive," Kitazawa said, looking at him.
But thinking about it carefully, Nagato was tragic, too—he died without ever knowing his Rinnegan came from Uchiha Madara.
"What are you implying?" Nagato frowned.
"I already told you before—those Rinnegan aren't yours," Kitazawa said bluntly.
"That can't be true!" Nagato rejected it on instinct.
If it were true, everything he'd believed in would become a joke—whether it was his self-proclaimed godhood or his dream of world peace.
"The Rinnegan are that powerful—why would anyone be willing to give them to Nagato?" Konan asked calmly.
"If someone was willing to hand over even the Rinnegan to Nagato, then this involves a shocking conspiracy."
Kitazawa looked at Nagato. "The Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique."
The Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique was essentially the only large-scale resurrection jutsu in the original story.
At the cost of the caster's life, it could revive a large number of the dead.
In the original story, Nagato was moved by Naruto's talk-no-jutsu and directly revived everyone in Konoha who had died.
"So you're saying… that person is already dead, and he wants me to use the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive him?" Nagato quickly caught on. "I don't even know him—why is he so sure I'd revive him?"
"Because Black Zetsu can control you," Kitazawa explained.
"It has that kind of power?" Nagato's face filled with doubt.
Konan, on the other hand, believed Kitazawa.
She'd never truly trusted Black Zetsu or Uchiha Madara.
"Then who was the original owner of the Rinnegan?" Konan suddenly asked, a thought clicking into place.
"Uchiha Madara," Kitazawa replied.
"It really was him…?" Konan subconsciously looked at Nagato.
Nagato's expression was uncertain and unsettled.
If what Kitazawa said was true, then some things did start to make sense.
"I know words alone aren't proof," Kitazawa said with a smile. "So I want you to help me put on an act—to lure Black Zetsu out."
This was the two-birds-one-stone solution he'd been aiming for.
First, it would make Nagato learn the truth.
Second, it would give him a chance to capture Black Zetsu—forcing it out of the shadows and into the open.
"Lure it out?" Nagato was puzzled.
"Under normal circumstances, Black Zetsu would wait until all nine tailed beasts are gathered before controlling you to cast the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique."
Kitazawa paused. "But what if you're about to die right now?"
Nagato immediately understood what kind of "act" Kitazawa meant.
Nothing fancy—during the Akatsuki's assault on Konoha, he would suffer a crushing defeat, or even fake his death.
If his Rinnegan really belonged to Uchiha Madara, then Black Zetsu and "Madara" would never allow the Rinnegan to fall into Kitazawa's hands.
They would definitely appear.
Of course, the "Uchiha Madara" Nagato believed in right now was actually Uchiha Obito.
[Current Mission: Capture Black Zetsu.]
[Mission Reward: 40% Ōtsutsuki bloodline.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's heart leapt with joy when he saw the system mission appear.
Combined with the earlier 50% Ōtsutsuki bloodline reward from absorbing the Akatsuki into Konoha, his Ōtsutsuki bloodline could reach 100%.
Of course, this "Ōtsutsuki bloodline" was actually the Ōtsutsuki bloodline from the moon.
At 100%, he should be equivalent to the brothers Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Ōtsutsuki Hamura.
He was still some distance away from Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—but not that far.
After all, the two of them together had defeated Kaguya.
"After we capture Black Zetsu, we'll talk about everything else," Kitazawa said, coming back to himself.
Nagato nodded in silence.
What happened today hit him too hard—first, being utterly defeated by Kitazawa, and then learning the Rinnegan weren't even his.
"To avoid our act being exposed tomorrow, I'll replenish some of your chakra first."
Kitazawa thought for a moment, then took out the Demon-Slaying Bow.
Sealed inside the Demon-Slaying Bow was the Dragon Vein.
The Dragon Vein had accumulated for a thousand years—so even though Kitazawa had already fired two world-ending arrows, it still contained an enormous amount of chakra.
"Thank you," Nagato said.
At this point, he already believed Kitazawa.
If Kitazawa wanted to kill him, he could do it at any time—there was no need for all this trouble, and certainly no need to point him toward the truth.
"Thank you," Konan said as well, her tone cool as she looked at Kitazawa.
"It's nothing," Kitazawa smiled. "We're each getting what we want."
Konan's heart trembled. She lowered her head.
She was already thinking about how she could repay Kitazawa next.
The Demon-Slaying Bow trembled slightly, and a huge surge of chakra poured into Nagato's body.
His frailty rapidly faded, and he began to recover.
"Besides that, I'm going to set a sealing technique inside your Rinnegan," Kitazawa said.
He was talking about a Transcription Seal.
Simply put, a Transcription Seal meant placing a seal inside the Sharingan and setting a trigger condition—once the condition was met, the seal would activate.
In the original story, Uchiha Itachi implanted Amaterasu into Sasuke's eyes and nearly ambushed Uchiha Obito.
And before the Valley of the End battle, Uchiha Madara implanted Izanagi into his own eyes, allowing him to cheat death.
Kitazawa understood Black Zetsu—but he didn't know how to kill it.
In that case, he would use the fundamental logic of the shinobi world: sealing techniques.
After all, even Ōtsutsuki Kaguya had been sealed.
"When Black Zetsu controls you, the seal in your eyes will activate," Kitazawa added.
Nagato agreed without thinking too much.
Same reason as before—if Kitazawa wanted him dead, he didn't need to go through all this.
Kitazawa put away the Demon-Slaying Bow.
After a brief moment of thought, he carved four sealing techniques into Nagato's eyes.
Five Elements Seal, Four Symbols Seal, Eight Trigrams Seal, and the Self-Curse Binding Seal.
Kitazawa wasn't aiming to seal Black Zetsu completely—he just needed to delay it for a while.
As long as it could be held back, he could arrive in time and stack additional seals.
"Alright—let's end it here for today. See you in Konoha."
Kitazawa glanced at Konan as he spoke.
"We'll depart tomorrow," Nagato said after thinking it over. "We'll reach Konoha the morning after—by the morning of the day after tomorrow."
"I'll have people intercept you before the Forest of Death," Kitazawa said casually.
He would handle Nagato personally, while his students dealt with the rest of the Akatsuki members.
But besides Nagato, there was another key target—Uchiha Obito.
Kitazawa planned to settle him in the same operation.
Even though Izanagi and Kamui were troublesome, once you knew the intel, it was manageable.
[Current Mission: Capture Uchiha Obito.]
[Mission Reward: Kamui.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa couldn't help but grin.
Kamui was a great prize.
Of course he'd accept.
After absorbing the Dragon Vein's chakra, Nagato returned to his pre-battle condition.
He said a few words to Kitazawa, then left with Konan.
[Current Mission: Defeat Nagato.]
[Mission Reward: Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan upgrades to Rinnegan.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa stood where he was as a flood of information surged into his mind.
In an instant, he mastered the Rinnegan and the ocular techniques it brought—
Shinra Tensei, Banshō Ten'in, Chibaku Tensei, Sealing Technique Absorption, the Soul-Absorption Technique, and the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, among others.
At the same time, he vaguely sensed the location of the Outer Path Demonic Statue.
Kitazawa felt that if he used a summoning technique, he could call it forth.
The only pity was that this pair of Rinnegan didn't have a unique, exclusive ocular technique of its own.
Madara's Rinnegan-exclusive technique was Limbo: Border Jail, and Sasuke's was Amenotejikara.
Kitazawa guessed it was like Mangekyō techniques—something he could obtain through the quest system.
By that logic, resurrecting Uchiha Madara with Edo Tensei would most likely trigger a system mission for Limbo: Border Jail.
That said, it was only a guess.
He wouldn't know until it happened.
Kitazawa raised a hand and looked at a tree not far away.
Banshō Ten'in!
With a casual wave, the tree ripped out of the ground and flew into his grasp.
Shinra Tensei!
An invisible repulsive force burst outward, and the tree was instantly blasted away.
Kitazawa nodded slightly.
The Rinnegan's abilities were pretty solid.
Most importantly, they were extremely comprehensive—combat, defense, support, interrogation, resurrection… everything.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
Kitazawa returned to the Demon's Sand Desert.
The Outer Path Demonic Statue was gone, leaving behind only a desert riddled with devastation.
Kitazawa repaired the desert briefly, then returned to Konoha.
His goal was simple: delay the chance of anyone discovering the truth.
He only needed to drag things out for two days.
Fortunately, neither Black Zetsu nor White Zetsu had shown up in that battle, so it wouldn't affect his plan.
Kitazawa sat in the Hokage's chair and fell into thought.
Because of him, the Akatsuki had already lost quite a few members—
Uchiha Itachi, Kakuzu, Sasori, Hidan, and others.
But since the Demonic Statue could absorb seven tailed beasts, it meant the Akatsuki had recruited again and filled back up to ten people.
After all, the Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals required ten people working together to speed it up.
Kitazawa wasn't very familiar with the new recruits—but if the Akatsuki chose them, they had to be at least elite jōnin-level.
Still, the core focus remained Nagato, Zetsu, Uchiha Obito, and Konan.
Konan would likely protect Nagato's true body.
He could ask her about it later.
Zetsu—the combination of White Zetsu and Black Zetsu—wouldn't show itself unless it was the final critical moment.
As for Uchiha Obito, that was harder to predict.
Other than those four, that left only six Akatsuki members.
Kitazawa planned to pick six people from the Advanced Class graduates to face them.
It was a great chance to build fame.
His three students—Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Hyūga Hinata—would go.
The remaining three had to be strong as well.
After thinking it over, he decided on Kurama Yakumo, Hyūga Neji, and Aburame Shino.
Of course, if they wanted to build fame, they needed an audience.
And since the battlefield was set outside the Forest of Death, Konoha's shinobi couldn't possibly ignore it.
He planned to bring some jōnin and set up defenses in the Forest of Death following standard tactics.
With that in mind, Kitazawa took out a blank scroll.
He picked up a brush and wrote down the names of quite a few jōnin.
"Haru."
After finishing, he called out.
"Hokage-sama."
Haru walked in.
"Go notify the jōnin on this scroll. Have them come to my office for a meeting in half an hour."
Kitazawa handed her the scroll.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Haru took the scroll, turned, and left.
Kitazawa tapped the tabletop and suddenly thought of a way to pinpoint Uchiha Obito's location—
Namikaze Minato.
Minato had once left a Flying Thunder God mark on Obito.
And Flying Thunder God marks were permanent.
Kitazawa could use Minato to locate Obito.
Just so happened, a fragment of Minato's will still existed inside Naruto's sealing space.
Back then, Kitazawa only meant to help Naruto—he hadn't expected this extra use.
Half an hour passed quickly.
A knock sounded.
"Come in."
Kitazawa lifted his gaze toward the door.
Jiraiya, Uchiha Fugaku, Hyūga Hiashi, Nara Shikaku, Hatake Kakashi, and Shizune filed in.
"I just received intel," Kitazawa said bluntly. "The day after tomorrow, the Akatsuki will arrive at Konoha."
Everyone's expressions changed.
They had no idea Kitazawa had already defeated Nagato.
And before this, the Akatsuki had beaten formidable powers like Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
Hearing that the Akatsuki would attack Konoha so soon naturally shook them.
"Is Nagato leading them?" Jiraiya took a deep breath and asked.
"He is," Kitazawa nodded.
"Then I'll go meet him," Jiraiya said without hesitation.
"At this point, talking probably won't be enough."
Kitazawa paused. "My plan is to lead a team and stop them before the Forest of Death."
"But…" Jiraiya hesitated.
He was worried the Akatsuki were simply too strong.
Even Kumogakure and Iwagakure had suffered losses—jinchūriki and tailed beasts had been taken.
"Fight first," Kitazawa said casually. "If we win, we can talk about anything. If we lose, then you step in."
"…Alright." Jiraiya thought it over and agreed.
Kitazawa's point was reasonable.
"Your mission is to set up defenses inside the Forest of Death," Kitazawa ordered.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Fugaku and the others responded gravely.
Kitazawa didn't explain further.
They didn't know the full situation—after the Akatsuki were defeated, the impression would be even stronger, which would help Sasuke and the others build their reputation.
"Go prepare," Kitazawa said in a deep voice. "Whether you live or die depends on the battle the day after tomorrow."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Fugaku and the others turned and left.
Kitazawa used the Flying Thunder God and arrived at Training Ground One.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Hinata lit up with a smile when she saw him.
Naruto and Sasuke also hurried over.
"The day after tomorrow at 8:00 a.m., be at my office on time. I have a mission for you."
"Awesome!" Naruto immediately got excited. "Finally—we get to go on a mission!"
"Hinata and Sasuke, you two keep training."
After they left, Kitazawa continued, "Naruto, I need to meet your parents."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and placed it in front of Naruto's forehead.
With a thought, Kitazawa sank his consciousness into the sealing space.
Once he steadied himself, he saw Kurama and Uzumaki Kushina playing Yu-Gi-Oh.
"Fourth Hokage-sama."
Kitazawa looked toward Namikaze Minato, who was watching as a spectator.
"Kitazawa." Minato asked curiously, "What do you need?"
"Do you remember that mysterious masked man from back then?" Kitazawa asked.
"Of course." Minato paused, then frowned. "Has he shown up again?"
"He's joined the Akatsuki," Kitazawa explained briefly.
"I see." Minato asked, "What do you need me to do?"
"Did you leave a Flying Thunder God mark on him back then?"
Kitazawa got to the point. "If you did, can you sense his location?"
"I can sense it, but I'm not in my real body right now—there's a range limit," Minato replied. "If he's near me, I can confirm his position."
"That's enough. The day after tomorrow morning, he'll come to Konoha. When the time comes, I'll need you to confirm his location," Kitazawa said with a nod.
"No problem." Minato agreed instantly.
Setting aside the fact that the masked man was the reason he and Kushina died—
The Akatsuki's target was Naruto. Minato wouldn't stand by.
After the conversation ended, Kitazawa withdrew from the sealing space.
He told Naruto to keep training, then went to find Kurama Yakumo, Hyūga Neji, and Aburame Shino.
Just like with Sasuke and the others, he told them to report to his office the day after tomorrow morning.
A knock sounded.
"Come in," Kitazawa said.
He looked up toward the door.
"Kitazawa."
Yūhi Kurenai hurried to him and asked anxiously, "Is the Akatsuki coming?"
"Why do you say that?" Kitazawa patted his thigh and asked.
"I noticed Shizune and the others moving around," Kurenai said.
She sat on his lap, her graceful body leaning into his embrace.
"They'll reach Konoha the morning after tomorrow," Kitazawa said with a smile, resting his hand on her thigh. "There's nothing to worry about."
"You say that, but…" Kurenai subconsciously grabbed his wrist.
She was very satisfied with her life now, so she didn't want anything to change.
Especially Kitazawa—he couldn't be allowed to get hurt.
"Today, I met Nagato," Kitazawa said after thinking for a moment, then told her what happened.
He swapped "capturing Black Zetsu" for "capturing the mysterious masked man."
Explaining Black Zetsu would be too much trouble.
And she already knew about the masked man.
Kurenai's eyes widened when she heard it.
She thought it was the Akatsuki attacking Konoha—who would've guessed it was Konoha working with the Akatsuki to flush out the mysterious masked man?
"So? Do you believe in my strength now?" Kitazawa raised his hand and patted her butt, asking.
"I've always believed in you," Kurenai let out a muffled hum, twisting her soft, sexy body.
"Are you free right now?" Kitazawa's gaze fell to the snowy-white skin at her collar.
"I am—"
Kurenai had just answered when she suddenly cried out.
Kitazawa stood up and placed her on the Hokage's desk.
"Wait!" Kurenai realized what he was about to do and hurriedly said, "Let's first… mmph—"
Her lips were sealed.
Her body softened, and the kiss left her weak.
After a long while, their lips parted.
Kurenai took a breath, her lips gleaming with a captivating sheen.
She shot Kitazawa a glare—knowing she couldn't stop him—then raised her long, pale legs.
Kitazawa stepped forward and held her legs up.
Kurenai rolled her hips, reached up, and looped her arms around his neck.
Her eyes turned hazy, her gaze syrupy and seductive, her whole body radiating heat.
Kitazawa tightened his grip on her smooth thighs, admiring her split.
As expected of a kunoichi.
That flexibility was on another level.
But she still had the same old problem.
Two hours later, Kitazawa carried the sleeping Kurenai home.
He laid her on the bed, closed the door, and used the Flying Thunder God.
"Konan."
Kitazawa appeared in Konan's room and asked, "Have Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu noticed anything?"
"So far, everything's normal," Konan replied.
"Good." Kitazawa nodded, then asked, "What's your plan for the battle the day after tomorrow?"
"I'm going to stay by Nagato," Konan said.
"Same as I thought." Kitazawa patted her head.
"When the time comes, I'll locate Nagato's true body. You need to pretend to draw me away."
"I understand." Konan immediately got it.
With both her and Kitazawa away from Nagato—and Nagato heavily injured—Black Zetsu definitely wouldn't miss that opportunity.
"Give this to Nagato."
Kitazawa took out a Flying Thunder God kunai and said.
~~~
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