Harvesting the Rinnegan

In the underground base, Konan looked at the summoned-back Deva Path Pain, unable to hide the shock on her face.

Ever since Nagato had successfully created the Six Paths of Pain, no matter what opponent they faced, they had crushed them with ease. Even Hanzō the Salamander, known as a demigod, had been someone three of the Six Paths of Pain could take down.

Yet this battle had lasted only a few minutes, and only the Deva Path remained of the Six Paths of Pain. The enemy’s strength was simply unimaginable.

"Who exactly came this time…?" Confusion filled Konan’s eyes as she looked at Nagato.

"It was the Black Shadow Ninja, along with Master Jiraiya." Nagato covered his mouth and coughed twice. "Prepare to evacuate. Master Jiraiya already knows about the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. We can’t stay in the Land of Rain."

For the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to fully unleash its power, it required the strength of all nine tailed beasts, and nearly every tailed beast was the ultimate weapon of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. If the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path were exposed, it was obvious what the Five Great Shinobi Villages would do.

The Akatsuki of today was not the powerful organization it would become ten years later. Aside from Nagato and Konan, all that remained were the mysterious masked man of unknown whereabouts, along with Black Zetsu and White Zetsu. Given Nagato’s current condition, if he truly went to war with the Five Great Shinobi Villages, they could kill him just by dragging things out.

What was more, he had been thoroughly defeated by the Black Shadow Ninja in the battle just now. His spirit had been shaken, and he was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. Naturally, he wanted to retreat.

"Alright, I understand." Konan looked at Nagato with some heartache. Just as she was about to continue speaking, a rumbling sound suddenly came from overhead.

Nagato raised his head in astonishment and saw black mist spreading across the rock ceiling above. In the end, the mist vanished, and sunlight streamed into the underground base.

"Isn’t this Lord Kami of our New World? So this is what you look like." Yota jumped down from above with a grin, landing opposite Nagato and Konan. His sharp gaze fixed on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path behind Nagato.

Konan’s face turned pale, yet she still stood in front of Nagato. However, Nagato behind her spoke up. "Konan, move aside."

Nagato understood Yota’s strength very well. Konan’s Paper Person Technique might possess immense power, no weaker than an ordinary Bloodline Limit, but against the Black Shadow Ninja’s Dark Release, it was utterly meaningless.

Dark Release seemed to be a strange ninjutsu formed from the combination of gravity and space. Any tangible ninjutsu was meaningless before Dark Release, which seemed capable of connecting to infinite space.

Only something at the level of Yin-Yang Release could contend with such a terrifying ninjutsu.

Hearing Nagato’s words, Konan’s body trembled. In the end, she silently stepped back.

Nagato sat in a stone chair, with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path behind him. The Deva Path Pain stood silently at his side, as though guarding him.

Yota carefully examined Nagato. The fiery red hair of the Uzumaki Clan now looked more like dried straw. He was so thin that he was little more than skin and bones, and even his pair of inscrutable Rinnegan gave off a dull, withered impression.

"No matter what you intend to do… let Konan leave." Nagato drew a deep breath and spoke.

"Nagato!" Shock appeared on Konan’s face. Before she could say anything, Nagato, seated in his chair, made a distant gesture with his hand, and she immediately fainted.

Yota was slightly taken aback. "A special application of the Human Path? Konan really had no guard up against you."

"Still, I promised Jiraiya I wouldn’t take your life…"

"Nagato!" An anxious shout suddenly rang out. Another tall figure leaped down from above—it was none other than Jiraiya, the Toad Sage.

However, this time Jiraiya did not stand beside Yota. Instead, he positioned himself in front of him and asked, "What happened to Konan?"

Yota shook his head. "It seems you still don’t trust me. Besides, I didn’t lay a hand on Konan. Nagato did that himself."

Jiraiya gave a bitter smile. "Do you think what you’re about to do puts anyone at ease?"

"I never expected you to feel at ease around me." Yota curled his lip as terrifying black energy suddenly spread out from beneath his feet, instantly enveloping the entire cave.

"Dark Hole!"

"This is bad!" Jiraiya and Nagato’s expressions both changed, but the suction force of the Dark-Dark Fruit was overwhelmingly powerful. By the time they reacted, it was already too late.

The Dark-Dark Fruit required no hand seals, not even the movement of a hand, and produced no Chakra fluctuations whatsoever. It was simply too unexpected. In an instant, it sucked them all into the Dark Space.

"Done!" A smile appeared on Yota’s face. Once inside the Dark Space, they were his to mold as he pleased. Unless they possessed Sun Wukong’s abilities, there was no way they could get out.

"Still, I didn’t see White Zetsu this time. Obito and Black Zetsu aren’t here either… Could they have gone to the Land of Water?"

During this period, the Land of Water should have remained under Obito Uchiha’s control. It was hardly surprising that they had not been found at the Akatsuki base.

Later on, Obito’s genjutsu over the Fourth Mizukage was discovered. After Mei Terumī took power, Obito began appearing with the Akatsuki much more often.

Nagato Uzumaki possessed the Rinnegan and had been in contact with Obito for quite some time. He should have known about White Zetsu’s concealment abilities, and perhaps he had even developed a secret technique to locate White Zetsu. Therefore, the lack of White Zetsu surveillance was perfectly normal.

In other words, Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu still don’t know that I’ve captured Nagato Uzumaki… Perhaps I can do something!

In the underground chamber, Yota looked at the spoils within his Dark Space, his face filled with delight.

"The Sharingan is good, but the Rinnegan is even better! As for my choice… naturally, I’ll take them all!"

"Of course, the most important thing is the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. This is the true God Tree. Even if the Chakra inside has been drained dry, it still holds no shortage of mysteries!"

"This harvest is no less than what I gained two years ago!"

The Munch-Munch Fruit’s alteration ability was incredibly powerful. Yota first fused Fugaku Uchiha’s pair of Mangekyo Sharingan into the Rinnegan. A tomoe actually appeared within the Rinnegan, significantly increasing its ocular power.

After replacing his eyes with the Rinnegan, Yota felt the Chakra within his body resonate with them. The bloodlines of the Senju and Uchiha seemed to be beginning to merge with one another.

"The Rinnegan is the product of combining the Sage Body and Sage Eyes… I never expected it could help me merge my bloodlines too."

"But… the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is troublesome. Even with the Munch-Munch Fruit’s alteration ability, it seems I have no way to fuse it into my body."