"Cough cough... Sorry, Konan."
The recent battle had consumed too much of Nagato's energy, and his old injuries had resurfaced, leaving him unable to offer much help.
As the Sage Art: Water Style: Rain Slash, which weakened chakra, continued to fall, and with Gensou closing in from behind, Nagato let out a deep sigh. It was too late for Konan to escape now.
Konan didn't mind. She continued holding up the paper umbrella, refusing to give up on taking Nagato with her.
However, it wasn't long before she saw someone quietly standing in front of them, and she fell silent.
Nagato, who had also seen this, coughed a few times and calmly said, "Konan, put me down."
This time, Konan agreed.
Gensou stood in front of them, observing the pair.
Konan, known for her six billion explosive tags that would make even Kakuzu cry, was someone who needed no introduction.
Nagato, however, looked frail and emaciated, a consequence of the backstabbing incident caused by Danzo years ago, which had left him with lingering physical ailments.
Who says Danzo only messes with his own people?
Look! Didn't he cause trouble for outsiders as well?
To think that the leader of the Akatsuki, who possessed the Rinnegan, had been paralyzed for so long—this was not something an ordinary person could accomplish.
Gensou walked over and sized up Nagato. "If your body were in better condition, you might have caused me more trouble."
The Six Paths of Pain were intimidating and more than capable of handling the Five Kage.
But when faced with Gensou, their weaknesses were magnified.
Even with the full power of the Rinnegan concentrated in one person, it still wouldn't be enough to defeat Gensou.
Let alone when that power was spread across six individuals—wasn't that just asking for death to come quicker?
Look at Uchiha Madara, who never bothered with the Six Paths of Pain nonsense from the beginning.
If Nagato had been able to fully wield the power of the Rinnegan, he would have been far more dangerous than the so-called Six Paths of Pain.
But there was no "if."
At this moment, Gensou's gaze shifted to Nagato's purple, swirling eyes.
The one and only true Rinnegan in the entire ninja world was right here.
Rustle~~~
The paper flew.
Konan stepped in front of Nagato, blocking Gensou's scrutinizing gaze, ready to take action at any moment.
Gensou glanced at her but said nothing.
Behind her, Nagato spoke, "Konan, let me handle this."
Konan hesitated for a moment, but seeing Nagato's firm attitude, she stepped aside slightly.
Sitting on the sickbed, Nagato met Gensou's gaze, but there was no shouting or rage. Instead, he simply asked, "Now, can you tell me what the truth behind the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Eye of the Moon Plan is?"
Gensou raised an eyebrow.
He had indeed mentioned before that he would reveal the truth in front of Nagato's real body.
Now that the situation was settled and there was no need to worry about losing due to "talking too much," Gensou decided to explain everything.
"In order to revive the Ten-Tails, you must first collect the nine tailed beasts and become the jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails, thereby activating the Eye of the Moon. This is the necessary condition for the success of the Eye of the Moon Plan."
As Gensou explained, he observed Nagato and Konan with great interest.
When he mentioned collecting the tailed beasts and reviving the Ten-Tails, there wasn't much change in their expressions.
But when he continued to speak of the Ten-Tails jinchūriki and the Eye of the Moon, Nagato's and even Konan's normally stoic face shifted in shock.
This was not the tailed beast plan they were familiar with.
The plan they knew was to collect the nine tailed beasts to create the ultimate weapon, the Ten-Tails, a power strong enough to destroy entire nations in an instant, and to guide the world toward peace through pain.
This was what Nagato and Konan believed the tailed beast plan to be.
But now, they were hearing about becoming the jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails and activating the so-called Eye of the Moon, a step they had never heard of before, causing them to frown deeply.
The original tailed beast plan had been proposed by "Uchiha Madara," and they had agreed to it based on that.
If the former had been hiding something from them...
Nagato and Konan's expressions darkened, but they held their reactions in and continued to listen.
Gensou went on, "The so-called Infinite Tsukuyomi refers to using the power of the Eye of the Moon to project a genjutsu onto the moon, casting a world-encompassing illusion that traps everyone in a dream."
"And the Eye of the Moon Plan is to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi to control everyone in the world, uniting them in a dream, creating a world of peace within the illusion, where there is no more war or conflict. Everything will return to tranquility."
"That is the Infinite Tsukuyomi. That is the Eye of the Moon Plan. Now, do you understand?"
Silence.
A long silence.
Nagato and Konan had never imagined that the truth behind the Rinnegan would be this.
The Infinite Tsukuyomi, an illusion that would trap the entire ninja world!
The true Eye of the Moon Plan, hidden behind the tailed beast weapon plan!
If this were truly the case, then the ideals they had clung to would be nothing but a joke.
Nagato's Rinnegan suddenly constricted, and his hands gripped the wheelchair tightly.
There was still one more question he had to ask.
"How do you know about the Eye of the Moon Plan?" Nagato asked, his gaze locked on Gensou.
Gensou, enjoying watching the expressions change on Nagato and Konan's faces, answered, "There is a stone tablet left by the Sage of the Six Paths beneath the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine, which records the truth of the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"The Uchiha Stone Tablet..." Nagato slowly lowered his head.
Everything was starting to make sense.
"Uchiha Madara" must have seen the Uchiha Stone Tablet and learned about the Eye of the Moon Plan.
And Gensou as well.
Not long ago, Gensou had led a battle at the Naka Shrine, and it was then that he had learned the contents of the stone tablet, leading to this current battle.
"Uchiha Madara has been deceiving us all along! Everything he's done was just so he could steal the fruits of our labor at the last moment!"
The ideals that Nagato had upheld for so long were now crushed, and Konan, who shared in his pain, showed a rare expression of rage on her usually cold face.
From the moment she first met "Uchiha Madara," she had had a bad feeling about him, and even though they had cooperated afterward, she had always kept her guard up.
Now it was clear—they were nothing but disposable tools in "Uchiha Madara's" eyes, completely unaware of the truth behind the scenes.
Unlike Konan.
Nagato had both guarded against and respected "Uchiha Madara."
To be fair, "Madara" had been his guide and his teacher.
The tailed beast weapon plan, the development and use of the Rinnegan, the secrets of the ninja world, and various forbidden techniques—these were all things "Madara" had taught him.
But now, looking back...
Nagato raised his head, looking at the still-clouded sky, and laughed bitterly.
"Myself, Yahiko, Konan, Akatsuki..."
"All of it... is truly laughable."
(End of Chapter)
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