Chapter 152: Please Begin Your Performance
"Lady Katsuyu, how long have I been unconscious?"
Masahiko confirmed his surroundings and, feeling somewhat relieved, spoke up.
"One month, Lord Masahiko."
Masahiko frowned. This coma lasted much longer than he had imagined, but it was still okay; at least it wasn't ten or more years...
"One month? That's fine then..." Masahiko muttered. "Thank you for your hard work, Lady Katsuyu."
Without Masahiko's chakra support, even just maintaining his life functions must have consumed a lot of Katsuyu's energy.
After dispelling the Katsuyu summon, Masahiko stood up. With a casual wave, he deactivated the barrier of the Four Red Yang Formation and walked out of the cave.
"Is it night? It must be late..."
Masahiko looked at the sky and frowned slightly.
"Doesn't matter. I'll go check on Konoha first."
According to his original plan, he should have gone to retrieve Madara Uchiha's Rinnegan first. However, the two consecutive vivid dreams made him unsure if he was still dreaming. He decided to verify reality first.
Familiar with the route, flying from here to Konoha for the second time took significantly less time.
"Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen..." Masahiko counted the heads on the Hokage Rock and breathed a sigh of relief. The timeline shouldn't have any major issues this time.
Once bitten by a snake, twice shy of a rope. Even though Katsuyu had told him only a month had passed, Masahiko was still worried.
"Hmm?" Sensing slightly, Masahiko noticed that Konoha looked somewhat dilapidated, as if it had gone through a major battle.
"What the hell? Did the Nine-Tails go berserk again?" Masahiko immediately thought of this possibility. Muttering to himself, he walked through the main gate as usual, and the two familiar gatekeepers didn't "notice" him.
Walking into Konoha, he found a large number of damaged houses, and some places even bore traces of battle.
Listening to the people around him talk, Masahiko frowned. "Five powerful enemies invaded, and Mito repelled them?"
Hearing the discussions of some villagers, Masahiko gradually understood the sequence of events.
"The current Konoha can be invaded by just five people? And it required Mito to personally intervene?" Masahiko became even more puzzled and walked quickly toward the Senju clan grounds.
"This is too exaggerated..." Arriving at the Senju compound, the originally prosperous and massive estate had become dilapidated. Several somewhat familiar Senju clansmen were rebuilding.
Sensing slightly, Masahiko frowned.
"Mito isn't here?"
Masahiko felt helpless. He wanted to return without causing a commotion, but it seemed impossible now.
"Mind's Eye of the Kagura!"
The Konoha alarm sounded as Masahiko located Mito's chakra signature.
"In the hospital? Did Mito get injured..." Masahiko muttered and rushed toward the hospital.
Just after he left, several Anbu appeared on the scene, followed by Hiruzen.
Looking around, Hiruzen pondered for a moment, then waved for the Anbu to retreat.
"It should be Elder Masahiko returning."
In the Konoha Hospital, Masahiko once again saw Mito and Tsunade, as well as Nawaki lying on a hospital bed.
"Great-Uncle, you're back..."
Mito spoke slowly. Her originally youthful face had turned into that of a middle-aged woman.
Tsunade was also delighted, but before she could speak, Masahiko asked in confusion.
"You used so much chakra? What exactly happened? Who invaded?"
Mito shook her head. "I don't know either. Five very strange people, wearing black cloaks with red clouds..."
Masahiko was startled. "Akatsuki?"
"How is that possible? What time is this? Where did Akatsuki come from?"
Mito continued, "The five weirdos seemed to have the legendary Rinnegan. Their vision was linked, and they didn't seem to be living humans. I felt like someone was controlling them from behind."
Masahiko's expression became even stranger.
"Six Paths of Pain? I clearly just sent little Nagato to the Whirlpool. Where did the Six Paths of Pain come from?"
Masahiko sighed and cursed loudly: "Black Zetsu, are you never done?"
"Genjutsu: Release!"
...
Ten minutes passed. Mito and Tsunade watched blankly as Masahiko continuously tried to dispel genjutsu against the air.
Mito felt she understood Masahiko well enough, but this time she was still surprised.
"Genjutsu: Release!"
The scene before him still didn't shatter. Masahiko muttered, "Damn it, I can't break it..."
Looking at Mito opposite him again, he sighed. "Please begin your performance!"
He stopped trying to dispel the genjutsu repeatedly and instead waited quietly to see what Mito would say.
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Hiruzen walked in.
"Lord Masahiko, it really is you."
Masahiko nodded. "Please begin your group performance."
Hiruzen was stunned and looked at Mito, who also shook her head, indicating her confusion.
"Great-Great-Grandpa, what's wrong with you?" Tsunade asked in confusion.
Masahiko sighed again. "Alright, please begin the performance of the three of you."
The inexplicable words left the three opposite him baffled, and they looked at each other speechlessly.
After a long while, Hiruzen spoke, "Tsunade, how is Nawaki?"
Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head. "There are no major problems anymore."
After that, the three decided to temporarily ignore Masahiko and started discussing among themselves.
Masahiko listened quietly. After a while, his heart grew stranger and stranger. There were no flaws in their conversation; he felt he might have misunderstood something.
Masahiko looked at his status bar. Yin Release Level 9 was displayed brightly there.
Yin Attribute (Fusable 1/7)
LV9 (5,000,000/10,000,000)
"Impossible. It shouldn't be unable to break Black Zetsu's influence like this? And the system notification clearly flashed earlier that Black Zetsu was successfully sealed by me..."
"It seems someone obtained Madara's Rinnegan. To be able to use it proficiently after only a month?"
Masahiko suddenly looked up; the three had finished their discussion.
Hiruzen glanced at Masahiko again, hesitated, then said, "Elder Masahiko, I'll be going first. I'm going to check on Orochimaru."
After Hiruzen left, Masahiko frowned at the two women and asked in confusion.
"Why go see Orochimaru? Was he injured too?"
Tsunade shook her head, looking bitter. "Orochimaru is fine, but his parents..."
Masahiko paused. Did Orochimaru's parents still die?
Mito spoke up: "Great-Uncle, the five people who attacked Konoha initially split up. Three attacked Uchiha Kagami, one attacked Orochimaru's parents, and the other attacked Nawaki. Both Kagami and Nawaki were only injured, but..."
Masahiko was startled, feeling like he had a clue. "These specific people?"
"Did you kill the five attackers?" Masahiko wanted to see from the corpses if they were similar to the Six Paths of Pain.
"No. Halfway through the battle, they suddenly disappeared, as if they were reverse summoned. That's why I felt they weren't living people."
"It really is the Six Paths of Pain!"
Masahiko sighed inwardly. "Who exactly got Madara's Rinnegan? This is troublesome..."