Let's put aside the situation in Konoha for a moment.
On the other side, inside the Akatsuki base, Nagato was in a foul mood. Alone in the cave, he felt an unprecedented sense of loneliness.
To be honest, the number of people Nagato could consider family in this world was very few—only two and a half.
One was Yahiko, who had already died. His death had been the catalyst for Nagato fully awakening the power of the Rinnegan, which left him looking like the frail figure he had become. Yahiko's death was also the reason for Nagato's descent into darkness.
In Nagato's heart, Yahiko was as important to him as Sasuke Uchiha was to Naruto Uzumaki.
The second was Konan, who had been his childhood friend and comrade. In Nagato's heart, she was like family.
The last "half" was his teacher, Jiraiya.
Why only half? That's because Nagato, in pursuit of his dream and the goals of the Akatsuki, was capable of killing Jiraiya if it came to that.
But if someone else, like Yahiko or Konan, had been in Jiraiya's place, could Nagato have gone through with it? Probably not.
And so, Jiraiya only counted as "half."
But now, what had become of these two and a half family members?
Jiraiya was a Konoha shinobi and had left long ago. Yahiko had died years earlier, so Konan was the only family Nagato had left.
That was why, when Hidan was captured, Nagato was willing to abandon him. But when Konan was captured, Nagato sent out the entire Six Paths of Pain to rescue her!
Because of how much Konan meant to Nagato, the fact that she had refused to return to the Akatsuki after being rescued was a devastating blow to him.
"Could it be? Has Konan really fallen under Kotoamatsukami?"
"But, Konan said that her decision to stay behind wasn't because of Kotoamatsukami. So, what else could have made her change her mind so quickly?"
Nagato pondered silently, unable to understand why Konan refused to return to the Akatsuki.
As Nagato sat alone in the cave, mulling over Konan's situation, the space in front of him suddenly began to distort like a vortex.
Seeing this, Nagato immediately focused, looking at the scene in front of him.
Sure enough, as the spiraling space twisted, a figure emerged from the vortex, appearing before Nagato.
"What brings you here at this time?" Nagato asked the masked man, his tone not exactly pleasant.
Understanding that Nagato wasn't in the best of moods, Tobi wasn't offended. He simply asked, "Did you send out the entire Six Paths of Pain?"
"That's right," Nagato nodded, confirming it.
Although Tobi was the mastermind behind the Akatsuki, Nagato and Tobi weren't in a subordinate relationship. It was more of a collaboration between equals.
"The entire Six Paths of Pain was deployed, and you still didn't manage to bring Konan back?" Tobi asked, clearly shocked.
After all, the Rinnegan's power, combined with the full force of the Six Paths of Pain, was nothing to scoff at! Tobi found it puzzling.
Back when they were in Konoha, hadn't just one Deva Path Pain been enough to suppress Uchiha Akira in battle?
Although a large part of that had been due to holding Hinata hostage…
"On one hand, Uchiha Akira's abilities are strange and incredibly strong. On the other hand, Konan refused to return to the Akatsuki," Nagato explained, shaking his head.
"Refused to return? What does that mean?" Tobi was even more surprised now.
One of the original founders of the Akatsuki was now unwilling to return?
"I suspect that Uchiha Akira didn't use Kotoamatsukami on Orochimaru," Nagato shared his suspicions.
"That's not entirely impossible. After all, our belief that he used Kotoamatsukami on Orochimaru was just speculation," Tobi agreed.
Orochimaru's erratic behavior had been conveniently explained by the use of Kotoamatsukami. But now, Konan's refusal to return to the Akatsuki was even more unusual, and Kotoamatsukami seemed like the only logical explanation.
"It's also possible that the seven-year cooldown for Kotoamatsukami has ended," Tobi mused.
They knew that Kotoamatsukami had a long cooldown, but the exact duration was unclear. Tobi felt that seven years was a reasonable guess.
Nagato fell silent.
For a moment, both of Akatsuki's masterminds were quiet, and the atmosphere grew tense.
"By the way, you said Uchiha Akira's abilities were strange? What do you mean by that?" After a long pause, Tobi finally spoke up again, recalling how Akira had seemingly used Kamui during their battle in Konoha. This had left Tobi bewildered.
"It's likely due to Uchiha Akira's Mangekyō Sharingan abilities."
"His Mangekyō allows him to steal others' abilities."
"For example, he used Konan's Dance of the Shikigami, and my Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in. He has demonstrated all of these," Nagato explained.
"I see. So that's the nature of his Mangekyō Sharingan," Tobi said, a look of realization dawning on his face.
No wonder Akira had been able to use Kamui during their encounter in Konoha. It was because his Mangekyō had such an ability!
Tobi felt a mix of realization and shock.
The abilities of the Mangekyō Sharingan varied, and each one was unique. Tobi's own Kamui was already quite strange, but Uchiha Akira's Mangekyō was even more bizarre.
The ability to steal and use others' powers without them realizing it—now that was truly terrifying.
While the three-tomoe Sharingan could copy ninjutsu, it couldn't replicate kekkei genkai or secret clan techniques like those of the Nara or Yamanaka clans.
But Uchiha Akira's Mangekyō seemed to have evolved beyond this, allowing him to copy even bloodline limits and secret techniques.
"How could such a terrifying ability even exist in this world?"
"Uchiha Akira's Sharingan is truly more bizarre than any other Mangekyō I've ever seen!"
…
"This kind of Mangekyō is indeed incredibly powerful," Tobi thought, marveling at what he had just learned.
Nagato said nothing, but he shared Tobi's sentiments. Uchiha Akira's Mangekyō Sharingan was truly frightening, capable of copying other people's abilities. It made anyone think twice before engaging him in combat.
After all, if you fought him, you could very well end up being killed by your own strongest ability!
"But even with such strange abilities, surely he couldn't have defeated your Rinnegan, right?"
"You had the entire Six Paths of Pain deployed!" After silently contemplating the strangeness of Akira's Mangekyō, Tobi pressed further.
Tobi still had faith in the power of the Rinnegan and found it hard to believe that Uchiha Akira's Mangekyō alone could have overcome Nagato's Six Paths of Pain.
"There was also Naruto Uzumaki helping him. Not only could Naruto draw on the Nine-Tails' chakra, but he had also activated Sage Mode."
"With Sage Mode and the Nine-Tails' chakra combined, Naruto's strength was immense. Even when two of the Six Paths attacked him, it was ineffective!" Nagato explained further.
"Sage Mode, huh? That explains it," Tobi nodded in understanding.
Naruto Uzumaki had risen to fame in recent years, and with the Nine-Tails' chakra boost combined with Sage Mode, it was no wonder Nagato's Six Paths of Pain had struggled against him and Uchiha Akira.
"So, do you have any strategies in mind for dealing with Uchiha Akira's abilities?" Tobi asked after a moment of silence.
As Tobi and Nagato strategized on how to deal with Akira, the man in question was completely unaware.
Over the past few days, Akira had been using his life simulator once a day, ensuring that he maximized his potential from it.
As long as it only cost 1 million ryō per simulation, Akira focused his efforts on perfecting his ninjutsu.
During this time, his various ninjutsu had improved by leaps and bounds!
In terms of sealing techniques, Akira had already mastered the Gates of the Great God.
He had also learned the forbidden technique of the Edo Tensei.
Next on his list was perfecting the Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence.
This was a highly powerful defensive ninjutsu.
In the original story, it had successfully blocked a full-power attack from Uchiha Madara's Complete Body Susanoo without being destroyed, demonstrating its formidable defensive capabilities!
Such a top-tier defensive ninjutsu was exactly what Akira needed at this point.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed.
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Next bonus chapter if we reach 400 Powerstone
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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 270+ at patreon.com/Emik01.