Chapter 246: Uchiha Tatsuhata's Setback
The drizzling rain fell continuously.
The overcast sky matched Konan's mood perfectly.
She stood in the rain, looking up at the oppressively dark sky. This country truly couldn't tolerate any ray of light. Both beams of light in her heart had been extinguished, leaving only her alive in this suffocating, cruel world.
Fortunately, before despair completely swallowed her, she'd encountered new hope.
Footsteps splashing through puddles came from behind.
"Konan, have you learned One's Own Life Reincarnation?"
Konan turned around and saw the tiger-head mask and those crimson eyes.
She looked coldly at the man before her. "Uchiha Tatsuhata, did you bring Nagato's body?"
"Of course."
Tatsuhata nodded, then glanced around. "However, I don't think it's convenient to retrieve Nagato's body here. We should find a cleaner location."
"Follow me."
Konan dropped those words and walked quickly toward a nearby small house.
She pushed open the door.
She saw three weathered wooden plaques hanging on the wall, with Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan's names written below them respectively. All three plaques were white with frog designs.
Konan's eyes dimmed. She turned to face Tatsuhata as he followed her inside. "This should work, shouldn't it?"
Tatsuhata surveyed the surroundings, also seeing the three plaques and names on the wall. He raised an eyebrow. "Wait a moment."
As he spoke, he deftly withdrew a storage scroll from his robes and spread it flat on the floor.
In the next second, he formed hand seals and summoned the two corpses stored in the scroll. Pain's and Nagato's bodies lay side by side on the floor.
Both bodies bore obvious incision marks.
Nagato's corpse needn't be mentioned—it was the only Uzumaki clan member's body Konoha could legally utilize. Moreover, this was an Uzumaki clan member who'd possessed the Rinnegan while alive.
The Interrogation Department researchers wouldn't ignore such precious research material. Though Nagato's teacher was Jiraiya, Nagato had ultimately been Konoha's enemy. Minato had tacitly approved the Interrogation Department's research on Nagato's corpse.
Pain's body was the same, though it received far less attention than Nagato's corpse.
However, both bodies had been preserved extremely well. To have as much research time as possible, the Interrogation Department researchers had used Konoha's most advanced preservation techniques on Nagato and Pain's bodies.
Setting aside Pain's aged corpse, if one ignored the incision and suture marks, Nagato's body still appeared lifelike, as though he'd died only recently.
"Nagato!"
"Yahiko!"
Konan looked at the two familiar faces, her eyes reddening involuntarily. She murmured softly, "Welcome home!"
Tatsuhata stood quietly to the side.
"Tatsuhata, can this forbidden technique truly only resurrect those who died recently?" Konan suddenly asked, reaching out to gently caress Pain's face—or more accurately, Yahiko's corpse.
"That's correct."
Tatsuhata nodded, looking at Konan. "Konan, if you've truly mastered this forbidden technique, you should understand its essence is exchange. One life for another. Using your own life as the price, you fill the recently deceased body with life force, thereby pulling back the dead person who hasn't yet completely fallen into eternal slumber in the Pure Land."
"But those who died too long ago have completely entered eternal rest in the Pure Land. No matter how abundant the life force filling their bodies, it cannot pull their souls back from the Pure Land."
"I advise you not to act rashly. You only have one chance. Honestly, even resurrecting Nagato has slim hope. As for Pain... there's absolutely no possibility of success!"
Tatsuhata earnestly advised.
Konan remained silent for a long while.
Seeing this, Tatsuhata worried about pushing too hard, so he wisely chose silence, quietly waiting for Konan to decide. Though he could try using genjutsu to manipulate Konan, he had no confidence in making her perfectly execute One's Own Life Reincarnation while under control.
It was best if Konan willingly used this forbidden technique herself. Only then could the hope of resurrecting Nagato be maximized.
About seven or eight minutes passed.
Konan took a deep breath and looked up coldly at Tatsuhata. "Stand back. Don't interfere with my technique."
"Wait, I need to return these eyes to Nagato first."
Tatsuhata stepped forward and placed the Rinnegan in Nagato's empty eye sockets.
Then he decisively retreated, not stopping until he'd withdrawn to the entrance.
Konan moved to Nagato's corpse and looked deeply at this friend's pale, emaciated face. She knelt on both knees, gently placing her hands on Nagato's chest. Following the established pathway, she circulated the chakra in her body. Her palms began glowing with pale green fluorescence, appearing as though she were using the Mystical Palm Technique.
But soon the light gradually deepened.
Her life force began draining, flowing from her body into Nagato's.
Tatsuhata's crimson eyes stared fixedly at the scene before him, observing changes in both Konan and Nagato. Simultaneously, the reanimated Madara's crimson eyes appeared on the ceiling—he too was observing Konan using One's Own Life Reincarnation.
Time passed second by second.
Beneath the tiger mask, Tatsuhata's expression gradually stiffened. Konan's life force was nearly exhausted. Her skin was no longer smooth but covered in wrinkles. Her hair had lost its vibrant color.
Yet Nagato's corpse remained motionless.
Finally, Konan's life reached its end.
She looked at Nagato, who showed no signs of revival, and a helpless smile appeared on her aged face. Her weak, powerless body slowly toppled, leaning against Yahiko's side as she peacefully closed her eyes.
Outside, the drizzling rain continued endlessly.
Inside, the reanimated Madara quietly appeared.
He stood beside Tatsuhata and spoke gravely. "Tatsuhata, your plan appears to have failed!"
"I know."
"Just knowing is meaningless. The key question is what methods remain?"
Tatsuhata remained silent.
Methods? Where were there so many methods?
Just conceiving the plan to teach Konan One's Own Life Reincarnation and have her resurrect Nagato had already exhausted his mental energy. Unfortunately, Nagato had been dead too long, exceeding One's Own Life Reincarnation's effective range. Ultimately, his plan had ended in complete failure.
Seeing Tatsuhata's silence, the reanimated Madara felt extremely annoyed.
However, he also understood that getting angry at Tatsuhata now served no purpose. Though he possessed considerable combat strength in his reanimated form, he ultimately had various shortcomings. He still needed Tatsuhata's assistance to advance the Moon's Eye Plan.
Most importantly, he still had a forbidden technique—extremely risky, best avoided if possible, but if used, it must succeed. When truly desperate, he could still use this move to turn the tide.
So he retained some confidence.
After frowning in thought for a moment, the reanimated Madara spoke. "Why don't you... transplant the Rinnegan, Tatsuhata?"
"And then sacrifice my life to use Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to resurrect you?"
Tatsuhata's gaze turned cold. "I'm sorry, Madara. Though I don't particularly care about my own life or death, I don't trust placing the Moon's Eye Plan in someone else's hands. Unless I've completely failed... don't expect me to resurrect you!"
The reanimated Madara and Tatsuhata locked eyes for several seconds before speaking. "Then prove to me you're capable of advancing the Moon's Eye Plan."
"Watch and see."
After speaking, Tatsuhata walked over, bent down, and extracted the Rinnegan from Nagato's corpse once more. After carefully storing them away, he stared at Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan's bodies for a moment.
He reached out and cut off locks of hair from both Nagato and Konan.
Then he arranged the three corpses neatly in the room.
"A meaningless gesture."
The reanimated Madara snorted coldly, completely disdaining Tatsuhata's actions.
However, he didn't stop Tatsuhata. After failing to resurrect Nagato, these three corpses' greatest value lay in using Reanimation Jutsu. The hair Tatsuhata had cut was already sufficient to serve as the medium for Reanimation Jutsu—no need to take the entire bodies.
After handling everything, Tatsuhata left the small house. As the door closed, a cold wind blew inside, disturbing the three plaques hanging on the wall. They all flipped to show their red sides.
This was one of the ninja's intelligence transmission methods.
The plaques had two sides—white and red. The red side meant the person was home, while white indicated they'd gone out.
At this moment, the three swaying red plaques stabilized. The three children who'd spent their happiest days here had returned and now enjoyed eternal rest in this place.
Outside, Tatsuhata continued forward through the rain.
His mind was a jumbled mess without any clear plan. But he vaguely felt the path ahead wasn't truly a dead end without options. Hidden possibilities he hadn't discovered remained.
One of them was Orochimaru.
He planned to find Orochimaru. Though unlike last time, when he'd sought Orochimaru with the clear purpose of obtaining Reanimation Jutsu, this time he had absolutely no leads.
But trying couldn't hurt, could it?
Konoha Village.
Ritsu didn't know Tatsuhata's plan had failed. He still carefully guarded against attacks Tatsuhata might launch at any moment, praying Tatsuhata would wait a bit longer before causing trouble.
Through his unrelenting efforts, his Heavenly Transfer Technique research had made progress.
His talent for Lightning Release techniques wasn't bad. Perhaps not top-tier, but the type where effort could compensate for shortcomings—not so hopeless that any amount of work would prove meaningless.
Just as his research was entering its most productive phase, Jiraiya returned to the village.
The white-haired man stood quietly in Konoha's cemetery, before the joint grave of the Fourth Hokage couple. The stone monument displayed a photograph of them together.
Jiraiya's face was filled with pain, confusion, and helplessness.
He stood motionless like a wooden statue.
Soon, Hiruko arrived after hearing the news.
He came to Jiraiya's side. "Jiraiya, you're finally back. Right now the village is like a group of dragons without a head, just waiting for you to return and take charge."
Jiraiya didn't respond.
"Jiraiya?"
"You want me to take charge?"
A self-mocking smile appeared on Jiraiya's face. "Hiruko, do you think someone like me, who couldn't even protect his own student, is qualified to take charge of the village?"
Hiruko's brow immediately furrowed. "Jiraiya, Minato's death isn't your fault."
"But I didn't arrive when he needed help."
"That's not your fault either. The one at fault is Uchiha Tatsuhata, who caused all this. He's the culprit behind this tragedy. Besides you, no one else in the village can take charge."
"Sensei Sarutobi..."
"That's impossible."
Before Jiraiya could finish, Hiruko decisively shook his head.
He wouldn't agree to let Sarutobi Hiruzen make a comeback. If Hiruzen regained power, neither Ritsu nor the Hyuga clan would have good outcomes.
Moreover, from a public-minded perspective, the aged and declining Hiruzen simply didn't possess the ability to support the overall situation. The Third's strength couldn't withstand Tatsuhata's attacks. If the Third returned to power, it would inevitably bring internal strife to Konoha. By then, even without Tatsuhata acting, Konoha would tear itself apart in bloodshed!
Jiraiya fell silent.
Hiruko's expression softened slightly. "Jiraiya, the Third should enjoy his retirement peacefully at home. No need to trouble him with village affairs anymore. Only you can shoulder this burden."
"It's not only me. Don't forget about Tsunade."
Jiraiya still looked resistant.
Hiruko felt somewhat helpless. He said with distress, "Tsunade is certainly capable too, but the problem is she's completely unwilling to even return to the village once."
"I'm not suitable."
After two seconds of silence, Jiraiya still shook his head. "I'm destined to drift through life. The Hokage position has no connection with me. Hiruko, stop trying to persuade me. I absolutely will not inherit the Hokage position. Rather than waste time on me, you should figure out how to communicate with Tsunade!"
Hiruko's eyes widened. "Jiraiya, don't you care about the village's safety?"
"I'm willing to die for the village, but that doesn't mean I should assume the Hokage position. I know my own capabilities better than anyone. Someone like me isn't qualified to serve as Hokage. Even if you forcibly push me into the position, that would be a true disaster for the village!"