Jiraiya believed that no matter how ridiculous the Akatsuki's plan to capture the Tailed Beasts was, their ultimate goal was peace for the shinobi world.
With this premise in mind, it was possible to redeem them.
Secondly, when redeeming villains, the best strategy was to introduce an even bigger and more evil villain.
That way, the main group would think, "Whoa~ there's an even stronger threat," and the chances of the redeemed villain being accepted would increase significantly.
In the shinobi world, who else could serve as a better villain than Uchiha Madara?
In front of this "Asura of the Shinobi World," everything else seemed trivial.
As for Uchiha Madara's evil plans, they could simply throw out the so-called "Eye of the Moon Plan" to explain it.
Jiraiya didn't believe that, in the face of a crisis threatening the entire shinobi world, anyone would continue to hold a grudge against Nagato and Konan.
Maybe the Cloud Village would be tricky to deal with because of their grudge over their destroyed village.
But when faced with Konan's six billion explosive tags, whether through compensation or threats, as long as the Fourth Raikage A wasn't a fool, he'd have no choice but to compromise.
"Heh, that barbaric bunch from the Cloud Village—always extorting others, even making us in Konoha suffer in silence. If my plan works, this time, they'll finally get what they deserve."
As for the people who died in the Cloud Village when Nagato destroyed it, what did that have to do with Jiraiya? They weren't from Konoha.
To put it harshly, all the great shinobi villages wished for the other four villages to lose as many people as possible. That way, their own village would face less of a threat.
[Alright, let's move on and talk about the leader of the Akatsuki: Nagato.]
[At first, Uchiha Madara secretly implanted the Rinnegan into Nagato, a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, to execute his Eye of the Moon Plan.]
"So the Rinnegan really did belong to Uchiha Madara, huh?"
Jiraiya and the others, although they had already speculated about the owner of the Rinnegan, couldn't help but be surprised when their guess was confirmed.
"Wait a minute. Unless my brain is broken, I remember that the Uchiha clan's dojutsu is supposed to be the Sharingan, right?"
As soon as Jiraiya finished speaking, everyone immediately turned their gazes to Sasuke, the only Uchiha present.
To be honest, being stared at by so many people at once made even the fearless Sasuke feel a little pressured.
"Why are you all looking at me? Your brains are fine. Our Uchiha clan's dojutsu is indeed the Sharingan, not the Rinnegan."
"In that case, how did Madara get the Rinnegan?"
At the same time, in Tobirama's office.
Hashirama looked at the glowing screen in shock, as if he had heard something terrifying.
"Big Brother, when you fought Madara a few days ago, did he use the Rinnegan?"
Hashirama shook his head and replied, "No."
He carefully recalled the scenes from his last battle with Madara and continued, "But something about Madara was odd at that time. Even though his Perfect Susanoo couldn't defeat me, he insisted on exhausting his chakra, dragging his already weak body instead of conserving energy."
"That's not surprising."
Hearing this, Tobirama didn't find it strange at all because, "That's just the kind of person he is."
"True." Hashirama nodded, agreeing with Tobirama's words. "But back then, I noticed a hint of hesitation on Madara's face. It seemed like he had a trump card he wanted to use but decided against it for some reason. In the end, he only used the Wood Golem."
"It looks like the trump card he hesitated to use was the Rinnegan."
After saying this, Tobirama, like the people with the Third Hokage, was filled with doubt about why Madara possessed the Rinnegan.
"Compared to the past, the biggest difference in Madara now is that he implanted your cells, big brother, and gained the ability to use Wood Release."
"Is it possible that Madara awakened the Rinnegan only after implanting your cells, or perhaps because of it?"
The more Tobirama thought about it, the more convinced he became that this was the case.
When he was cloning Senju Hashirama's body, only Uchiha cells could resist being consumed by Hashirama's cells.
Among them, Uchiha Kagami's cells were too weak. Only Uchiha Madara's cells could perfectly clone Senju Hashirama's body.
At that time, Tobirama had already noticed something unusual about the two types of cells.
They opposed each other yet also merged together.
It was as if these two types of cells had originally split from a common ancestor.
Following this train of thought, Tobirama felt as if he had stumbled upon something extraordinary.
"Tobirama, what's wrong? Why do you look so pale?"
Seeing his younger brother's suddenly grim expression, Hashirama began rubbing his face vigorously.
"Big brother, I'm not a child anymore."
Breaking free from Hashirama's "sinful" hands, Tobirama clicked his tongue but chose not to voice his speculation.
He needed more evidence to confirm his theory.
And the best evidence was right in front of him: Senju Hashirama himself.
If Hashirama could also awaken the Rinnegan like Uchiha Madara, everything would fall into place.
However, looking at Hashirama, who hadn't even awakened the Sharingan, Tobirama felt it might take countless years to wait for him to awaken the Rinnegan.
"Instead of foolishly waiting, it might be faster to go and directly ask Uchiha Madara."
In Tobirama's view, it didn't really matter whether Uchiha Madara spoke or not. What mattered was observing how Madara would react.
As long as there was a reaction, Tobirama could make his guesses.
He had great confidence in his own judgment.
[During the Second Shinobi War, the Land of Rain was caught in the crossfire of other nations due to its geographical position.]
[Nagato's parents were mistakenly killed by Konoha ninjas, who thought they were enemies.]
[Surrounded by fear, Nagato instinctively used his Rinnegan to fight back and kill them.]
[But from that moment on, he became a lonely orphan.]
"What a tragedy... Why did Nagato's parents have to die at the hands of our Konoha ninjas?"
"Old man, stop lamenting. This is definitely Danzo's fault."
The Third Hokage paused briefly upon hearing this, then nodded firmly.
For Konoha's sake, even if it wasn't Danzo's fault, the blame had to be pinned on him.
"Old friend, didn't you always say that everything you did was for Konoha?"
"Well, now it's time for you to sacrifice yourself again."
Danzo: Sarutobi, you used the word 'again' very well there, but can I ask something? Can I refuse?
Third Hokage: Of course not.
Danzo: ...Alright then, no problem.
[The only companion Nagato had was a small dog he met by the roadside.]
[To survive, the boy and the dog started scavenging for trash together.]
[But during times of war, no one could guarantee they'd have anything left for tomorrow, so no one pitied Nagato.]
[When he couldn't find trash and failed at begging, Nagato collapsed from hunger by the roadside.]
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