Chapter 594: The Sage of Six Paths Is Real
Roshi kept heading south the entire time.
Although he was unfamiliar with the Land of Rain, his original purpose for coming here had been to meet Sōsuke. There was no way he would not have investigated the location of the Shinobi Sect beforehand.
However, after what happened in Shirakawa Village, Roshi slowed his pace.
Instead of using a ninja's superhuman speed to rush straight to Six Paths City in the south of the Land of Rain, he treated Six Paths City as his final destination and traveled at the leisurely pace of an ordinary wanderer.
This was a completely new experience for Roshi.
In the past, he was either training or carrying out missions. He had never had time to travel.
More importantly, the people here did not look at him with strange eyes. In the village, when he helped drive away rogue ninja, he received sincere gratitude. In the towns, he could eat freely in restaurants, and no one paid him any special attention.
For ordinary people, that kind of life might be unremarkable.
For Roshi, it was a dream he had never managed to attain, even after leaving Iwagakure.
He truly felt that his current life could be called happy.
Even if he still spent every night in the wilderness so as not to disturb the villagers and townsfolk, and even if he could not reveal his real face because of the pursuit from Iwagakure.
"Identity really is a troublesome thing," Roshi sighed inwardly as he set down his chopsticks after lunch.
He was not a simple man. After thinking it over carefully, he understood why.
To the people of the Land of Rain, he was just an unfamiliar wandering ninja with no other special status. That was why they could sincerely thank him, and why he could enjoy the life of an ordinary person.
But in Iwagakure, in the Land of Earth, he was a Jinchūriki. Inside him was a Tailed Beast, a creature symbolizing disaster and destruction.
If the people of Shirakawa Village knew he was a Jinchūriki, would they still have thanked him sincerely? Would they still have invited him into their homes as a guest?
Roshi did not know.
He could not be sure.
"Don't overthink it. Just enjoy the life you have now," the Four Tails said with a hearty laugh.
"Becoming a Jinchūriki was never your choice. If you want to blame someone, blame those who turned us Tailed Beasts into weapons."
At that thought, the Four Tails could not help but feel a little depressed.
They Tailed Beasts had never fought each other. They had never competed for anything. They had only lived quietly in remote corners of the world, never actively provoking ninja, yet they were inexplicably captured and sealed into Jinchūriki.
The Jinchūriki were unwilling, but the Tailed Beasts were unwilling too.
Roshi nodded and got up to pay.
He had only been feeling a little emotional. No matter how he looked at it, his life now was far better than it had ever been in Iwagakure.
Freedom alone made it a hundred times better.
After leaving the restaurant, Roshi casually swept his gaze over the street and noticed several Iwagakure ninja dressed in standard village attire. He paid them no mind and calmly continued south.
Ordinary Iwagakure ninja could not see through his Transformation Technique. As for sensory ninja, they were too rare. Unless his luck was truly awful, he was unlikely to run into one.
Ōnoki could guess that Roshi would never willingly expose his identity as a Jinchūriki, and Roshi likewise knew that Ōnoki would not dare send out a massive number of Iwagakure ninja to search for him openly.
If Iwagakure made too much noise during wartime, the other Great Ninja Villages would definitely investigate. If they discovered a Jinchūriki had escaped, that was the last outcome Ōnoki would want.
Three Iwagakure ninja slowly walked down the street, carefully examining every passerby.
Some of the townspeople felt uncomfortable under their scrutiny, but after seeing the Iwagakure forehead protectors, they all chose to endure it.
How could ordinary civilians afford to provoke ninja?
And not just ordinary ninja, but elite ninja from one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
They also saw Roshi under his Transformation Technique, but because he behaved no differently from any other traveler, they passed over him.
Only when they spotted someone who looked particularly suspicious would they step forward and question them.
Even so, Roshi noticed something odd. The farther south he went, the more Iwagakure ninja he encountered. That immediately made him wary.
"Did they use some kind of secret technique to track me?" Roshi wondered.
There were too many strange secret techniques in the ninja world. Roshi had no idea whether Iwagakure possessed one capable of locating him so precisely.
By afternoon, it was time to eat again, and Roshi had already run out of dry rations. He paid a villager for a meal at their home.
But just as he was about to continue on his way, he noticed a group of Iwagakure ninja confronting two red haired youths not far away. One of them was wearing a Land of Rain forehead protector.
Roshi would intervene without hesitation if rogue ninja were robbing villagers.
But conflicts between ninja were another matter. Roshi generally had no interest in involving himself in those.
Ninja who cruelly killed civilians and stole their possessions were, in his eyes, scum who deserved whatever came to them.
Conflicts between ninja, on the other hand, could arise for countless reasons. It could be a matter of village interests, a mission dispute, or a private grudge.
In such situations, stepping in blindly could easily turn a good deed into a foolish one.
Besides, ninja were not weak civilians in need of protection. They were equals.
Roshi was not some righteous hero who felt obligated to mediate every dispute he saw.
He had intended to change direction and avoid the trouble, but then he remembered his experiences in the Land of Rain over the past few days.
Twice already, after helping villagers and refusing payment, he had been mistaken for a ninja of the Shinobi Sect.
That made him especially curious about the Shinobi Sect. The red haired youth did not look like an Amegakure ninja, so there was a real possibility that he belonged to the Shinobi Sect.
"I'll listen first," Roshi thought.
To avoid being noticed, he found an empty corner and used Earth Release to slip underground, quietly approaching Nagato and the others.
"Your actions are already affecting the lives of the people of the Land of Rain. The Shinobi Sect demands an explanation from Iwagakure," Nagato said coldly as he looked at the Iwagakure ninja before him.
Although Iwagakure had not made any large scale move, for the Shinobi Sect, which was working tirelessly to establish peace and order in the Land of Rain, even these smaller actions were especially glaring.
"Nagato, we have no comment. You are a ninja too, so you should understand. Revealing mission details would be an act of betrayal against the village," the leading Iwagakure Jōnin replied in a low voice.
They were not a squad specifically dispatched by Ōnoki to search the Land of Rain for Roshi. They were Iwagakure ninja who had been entrusted to the Shinobi Sect for training.
Since they had spent some time under the Shinobi Sect's instruction, they were already somewhat familiar with Nagato, which was why their tone was not threatening. They were simply stating their predicament.
More than anything else, if a conflict broke out here, they knew they would not win. Nagato was no ordinary opponent. He was a powerful ninja famed throughout the world as the greatest genius of his generation.
"You don't need to answer immediately. You can carry the Shinobi Sect's message back to Iwagakure."
"The Shinobi Sect and Iwagakure have an agreement regarding ninja training, and you are one of the beneficiaries of that agreement. You understand better than most how seriously the Shinobi Sect treats cooperation. We also hope this matter does not damage the relationship between our two sides," Nagato continued.
The upper echelons of the Shinobi Sect had already discussed the issue. If Iwagakure refused to provide a reasonable explanation and kept disrupting the stability of the Land of Rain, then the Shinobi Sect would terminate their cooperation.
Nagato strongly supported that decision.
The Shinobi Sect had worked far too hard to bring peace and order to the Land of Rain. If they bowed their heads simply because the other side was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, then all their past effort would become meaningless.
The smaller villages already no longer dared to provoke the Land of Rain. The true reason the Land of Rain had suffered so much was because the Five Great Nations used it as a battlefield for their struggles.
If they tolerated Iwagakure now, then later they would have to tolerate Konoha, and after that Sunagakure. If they kept yielding like that, where would the peace and stability of the Land of Rain remain?
"So the village actually has this kind of cooperation with the Shinobi Sect," Roshi thought, somewhat surprised as he listened underground.
No wonder the farther south he walked, the more Iwagakure ninja he saw.
Roshi immediately guessed that Ōnoki had probably ordered those Iwagakure ninja undergoing training in the Shinobi Sect to help search for him.
If Roshi were Ōnoki, he would likely do the same. Losing a month of training was a far smaller problem than losing a Jinchūriki.
"I will report the Shinobi Sect's message to my superiors," the leading Iwagakure Jōnin said at last.
Now that the Shinobi Sect had intervened, he truly had no choice but to report the matter.
On one hand, the Shinobi Sect had a formal cooperative relationship with Iwagakure.
On the other hand, the Shinobi Sect's high level combat power was not weak. While they might not be able to threaten Iwagakure within the Land of Earth, they could definitely create serious trouble for Iwagakure inside the Land of Rain.
In truth, the Jōnin himself had a fairly positive impression of the Shinobi Sect and hoped the cooperation would continue.
The quality of their instruction was extremely high. He had genuinely felt his strength improve during his time there.
But this matter was too important. A mere Jōnin like him had no authority to make such a decision.
After that, the Iwagakure ninja turned and left.
Roshi had originally intended to wait for Nagato and the others to go, then emerge from the ground.
But for some reason, Nagato stayed exactly where he was and did not move at all, even after ten full minutes had passed.
"Come out. There's no need to hide," Nagato said calmly to the ground beneath him.
Nagato possessed extremely powerful sensory abilities. He had already sensed an unfamiliar chakra nearby, one strong enough that he had never encountered anything like it before.
The moment Roshi used Earth Release to approach, Nagato's vigilance instantly rose to its peak, and he had been ready to act at any moment.
If the Iwagakure ninja had not still been present, Nagato would have attacked already rather than risk an unexpected development.
Roshi, who had been preparing to leave through a different route underground, was somewhat surprised.
"He found me? Is he a sensory ninja?"
After a brief moment of thought, Roshi burst straight out of the earth and landed five meters away from Nagato.
The Iwagakure ninja had already been gone for ten minutes. At a ninja's speed, they would be far away by now, so he no longer needed to worry about being seen.
Besides, his purpose in coming to the Land of Rain had been to meet Sōsuke. If he was going to meet Sōsuke anyway, then encountering a member of the Shinobi Sect was unavoidable.
Roshi observed Nagato and Sasori, while Nagato stared at Roshi with his Rinnegan.
Under the gaze of the Rinnegan, Roshi's Transformation Technique was useless. Nagato immediately saw his true appearance.
"Such powerful chakra. No, this feels different from normal chakra. Is this really his chakra?" Nagato wondered inwardly, shocked.
This was the first time he had ever seen so much chakra concentrated in one person.
Nagato took half a step forward and shielded Sasori behind him.
Sasori was still under a seal and could not use chakra, so he needed protection.
Sasori, for his part, was very self aware and immediately stepped back another two paces.
Nagato's attitude had shifted from holding him back to protect him. That alone made it obvious that the man before them was no simple opponent.
"Those eyes!" the Four Tails suddenly exclaimed in Roshi's mind, his voice filled with shock.
He had just seen a pair of eyes identical to Hagoromo's on Nagato's face.
"What's so special about his eyes? They do look different from ordinary eyes," Roshi asked, confused.
As far as special eyes went, the only ones he knew were Konoha's Byakugan and Sharingan.
"They are exactly the same as the Sage of Six Paths' eyes," the Four Tails replied.
"The Sage of Six Paths? You've actually seen the Sage of Six Paths? I thought he was just a myth," Roshi said, startled.
There were countless legends surrounding the Sage of Six Paths, and one of the most famous was the creation myth that claimed the entire ninja world had been created by him.
Compared to ordinary people, ninja were indeed like superhumans, but even the strongest ninja had limits. Even a Tailed Beast Ball, with all its terrifying destructive power, could at most level a mountain.
Creation was even harder than destruction. That was why Roshi had always believed the Sage of Six Paths was nothing more than a mythical figure.
"Of course I have. I lived with the Sage of Six Paths for a time," the Four Tails said, shaking his head.
For a being as long lived as the Four Tails, the time he spent with the Sage had actually been very short. Yet that memory had been so precious that he still remembered it with perfect clarity.
To him, that brief period mattered more than the countless centuries he had spent wandering alone.
Seeing the expression on the Four Tails' face, one Roshi had never seen before, Roshi suddenly realized something.
The Four Tails understood him far more than he understood the Four Tails.
Which made sense.
Until that great battle, Roshi had not even been willing to call the Four Tails by its name.
"Who are you? Why did you come to the Land of Rain, and why were you eavesdropping on my conversation with the Iwagakure ninja?" Nagato asked sharply, staring at Roshi.
Even without fighting him, Nagato already knew from his chakra alone that the man before him was no ordinary enemy.
And given the current state of the ninja world, Nagato instinctively connected Roshi to Iwagakure's recent activities in the Land of Rain.
"Could he be a powerful individual from one of the Great Ninja Villages? Are they planning to turn the Land of Rain into a battlefield again?" Nagato's expression grew even more serious.
If matters had really developed that far, then it would be terrible news for both the Shinobi Sect and the Land of Rain.
Nagato's words pulled Roshi out of his thoughts about the Four Tails.
After a moment, Roshi spoke.
"You are Nagato? Sōsuke's disciple?"
Among all the Shinobi Sect members Roshi knew of, there were only three.
The first was, naturally, Ninja Master Sōsuke himself, the man Roshi had come to meet.
The second was Kakuzu.
The third was Nagato.
Nagato had become famous throughout the ninja world because of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament. Even though Roshi did not care much for that kind of information, he had still heard about him.
"I am," Nagato replied.
At the same time, he silently adjusted his breathing and brought his body to its peak state.
"You don't need to know my name. You only need to know that I bear no ill will. I came to the Land of Rain solely because I wanted to meet your teacher, Sōsuke, once," Roshi said, choosing to conceal his identity.
Based on what he had seen on his journey, the Shinobi Sect seemed to be a very good force.
But that alone was not enough for Roshi to lower his guard completely, especially after discovering that the Shinobi Sect and Iwagakure had a cooperative relationship.
If Iwagakure and the Shinobi Sect were working together to trap him, then he would be in real danger.
"You want to meet Teacher Sōsuke?" Nagato looked at Roshi with obvious suspicion.
To him, this sounded very much like a Great Ninja Village attempting a decapitation strike against Mugetsu in order to cripple the Shinobi Sect.
"That's right. If Sōsuke is willing to see me, then we'll meet. If he isn't, then tell me clearly, and I'll simply go elsewhere," Roshi said.
He knew his request was excessive.
He was asking for a meeting while refusing to reveal his identity.
But Roshi had no choice. The risk of exposing his identity was simply too great.
"If you refuse to tell me your name, then at least tell me which village or faction you belong to," Nagato pressed, trying to draw out more information.
"I don't belong to any ninja force," Roshi answered.
Nagato stared at him, trying to judge whether he was lying from the expression on his face.
He failed.
"Can't tell…" Nagato sighed inwardly.
As expected, that sort of thing was not his strength.
"Whether you agree or refuse, once you have an answer, you can find me in this village," Roshi said.
He intended to leave behind a Shadow Clone there so communication would remain possible.
Nagato nodded, then left with Sasori.
Roshi had clearly shown no desire to fight, and Nagato could not attack him outright based on suspicion alone.
"Sasori, do you think he was lying?" Nagato asked while they walked.
"Which answer gets me a higher score?" Sasori countered.
"The correct one."
"Then I don't know."
Nagato had at least traveled the world with Yahiko and gained some experience. Sasori, on the other hand, had lived alone for far too long after losing his parents. Reading people was not something he excelled at.
"Your teacher is strong enough. Just meet him and be done with it. Maybe that guy is actually an admirer of your teacher and will join the Shinobi Sect after meeting him," Sasori said casually.
In truth, Sasori rather hoped Sōsuke would meet with some kind of accident. Many sealing techniques lost their effectiveness after the death of the one who cast them.
If Sōsuke died in an assassination, Sasori would not need to wait even a year. He could seize the chance to retrieve his puppets and continue his revenge immediately.
"Even if Teacher is strong, that doesn't mean enemies will challenge him one on one. They could also send elite squads to surround and kill him," Nagato said, shaking his head. Too many powerful ninja in history had died that way.
A ninja's strength depended on chakra. No matter how strong Mugetsu was, if he failed to eliminate all his enemies before his chakra ran dry, then even he would be in danger.
In the end, Nagato made no final judgment. He simply returned to the Shinobi Sect and reported everything to Mugetsu, leaving the decision to him.
Mugetsu always encouraged him to think independently and act proactively, but Nagato knew his current ability still fell short. In a matter this important, he could not allow his own judgment to influence Mugetsu recklessly.
"He wants to meet me. He has immense chakra. Iwagakure is moving in ways we don't understand…"
After piecing all the clues together, an answer gradually surfaced in Mugetsu's mind.
"Describe his appearance," Mugetsu said to Nagato.
"His hair is reddish and tied into a high ponytail. He has a very thick beard, and he looks to be around thirty years old," Nagato replied after recalling the details.
At that point, Mugetsu was completely certain of who Nagato had encountered.
"Teacher Mugetsu, will you see him?"
.....
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