Chapter 135: The Truth About the Rinnegan

The Shinobi World. 

Amegakure. 

When Nagato heard Hyuga Hitoshi's question, he instinctively fell into deep thought. 

Considering the man's relationship with Konan, it made sense for him to call him Nagato so directly.

But. 

Is it about the Rinnegan? 

Pain remained unresponsive, while Nagato, in the tower, stroked his chin, thinking about the essence of Hyuga Hitoshi's question. 

People who like to dig deep into things are like this. He believed that for someone like him and Hyuga Hitoshi, even a simple question could contain endless complexities. And as a god, he had to consider his response carefully to maintain his status. 

But he was clearly overthinking it. 

To make Nagato understand better, Hyuga Hitoshi appeared in the tower the next moment and pointed at the black rods embedded in Nagato's body. 

I see. Not from the perspective of a god, but as a Rinnegan user. 

Nagato seemed to grasp the idea. He wasn't bothered by Hyuga Hitoshi's sudden appearance. Since the other party was also a god, it wasn't surprising that he could see through the disguise of a god and come directly before him. It was only natural. 

If that's the case… 

Nagato touched the black rods on his body and looked at Hyuga Hitoshi again. 

"This is the Sage of Six Paths' eye. I don't think there's anything wrong with it." 

Is that how you see it? 

Hyuga Hitoshi nodded. 

"Indeed, as a Rinnegan user, you've developed its power to the fullest. No doubt about that." 

Is this recognition from a god? 

A slight smile appeared on Nagato's face. Without the cold, distant aura of Pain, he seemed more human. 

"But Nagato, when the Sage of Six Paths used these eyes, they didn't drain his life force." 

Hyuga Hitoshi took a step forward, reaching out his hand. A golden glow flickered in his pupils as the warm energy of Sun Sage Mode, transformed by his Tenseigan, spread out, restoring Nagato's broken body. 

For the first time in a long while, Nagato felt his strength returning. His pale face regained color, and his dull red hair became vibrant again. 

This feeling... 

Nagato looked up at Hyuga Hitoshi, his eyes filled with something new. 

How should he describe it? 

No wonder this man was called the Sun God. This power seemed to surpass the Rinnegan itself. 

"When I use my Tenseigan, aside from some instability in the beginning, it barely consumes any energy now. Other than chakra usage, there are no negative effects on my body." 

Hyuga Hitoshi withdrew his hand and sighed. 

"A true Rinnegan wielder should be the same. Now look at yourself." 

The difference between a user and a true owner was clear. Just comparing Nagato and Uchiha Madara made it obvious. If it weren't for Nagato's Uzumaki bloodline, which gave him incredible healing abilities, he would have been drained dry by the Rinnegan long ago. 

Look at Obito later on. Even with just one Rinnegan, all he did was control a few Jinchuriki. He never displayed the true power of the Rinnegan and still relied on Kamui in battle. 

"So, what exactly are you trying to say?" 

Nagato lifted his head, his voice trembling slightly as he looked at Hyuga Hitoshi. 

Maybe, deep down, he had once questioned the origin of these eyes. 

But after Yahiko's death, he realized that Yahiko's dream needed this power to be fulfilled. So, it no longer mattered where these eyes came from. 

What mattered was creating a peaceful world. Nagato believed he existed for that purpose. 

"The Rinnegan is indeed the Sage of Six Paths' eye. That's correct." 

"But the Uzumaki clan, though descendants of the Sage, didn't inherit his eye power. They inherited his strong life force and sealing techniques." 

"The Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo, had two sons—Ashura and Indra." 

"And after a thousand years of history, their bloodlines became the Senju and Uchiha clans." 

Hyuga Hitoshi pulled out a chair and sat down, patiently explaining the origins of the Rinnegan. 

The Goddess of the Rabbit on his waist opened her eyes and jumped down, sitting properly beside him. 

Ashura and Indra, huh? 

So, those are his grandsons? 

Looks like Hagoromo wasn't that great either. He didn't seem to have much talent when it came to raising his kids.

After hearing about the conflict between Indra and Ashura, the Rabbit Goddess smiled slightly. She was clearly pleased with the outcome. This was karma—after sealing away her mother, they deserved to watch their own sons fight each other. 

"They've been at it for so long, even in their reincarnations, they're still at each other's throats. And I'm sure you already know who the previous Indra and Ashura reincarnations were." 

Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara! 

Nagato had heard the stories. They were legends from the Warring States period. 

Nagato remained silent, just listening. 

"The battle at the Valley of the End—Uchiha Madara used Izanagi to fake his death and deceive Senju Hashirama and Tobirama. After that, he fused a piece of Hashirama's flesh into his own body, and then something incredible happened." 

Hyuga Hitoshi pointed at Nagato's eyes. 

"Indra gained Ashura's bloodline, which caused his eyes to evolve into the Rinnegan. And at that time, among all the shinobi in the world, the only one with the Rinnegan was Uchiha Madara." 

Before the Ōtsutsuki clan appeared, Madara was the only exception. Compared to the past reincarnations of Indra, Madara's talent was truly one of a kind. In the original story, if Black Zetsu hadn't stabbed him in the back, even Naruto and Sasuke together might not have been able to defeat him when he had both Rinnegan. 

"So that masked man… he's a fake?" 

After a brief silence, Nagato finally spoke. 

"His name is Uchiha Obito, just someone Madara chose as his successor. His purpose was to guide you into using the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu to bring Madara back to life." 

Of course, Obito was just another pawn in Madara's plan. If Nagato failed, then Obito would take his place. It was all part of Madara's scheme. 

"Tch." 

The truth was laid bare before him. Nagato let out a bitter laugh, snapped one of his black rods in half, and tossed it to the ground. But then his expression quickly became firm again. 

He knew Hyuga Hitoshi had no reason to lie to him. Especially since this man had the means to restore his health and was someone Konan trusted. That meant there was no reason to deceive him. 

"But this power is real. With it, I can achieve Yahiko's dream." 

You should've just stayed with Yahiko. 

Hyuga Hitoshi twitched at the thought. "If that's how you see it, then sure. And honestly, I fully support your current ideology." 

Support. 

That one word struck deep. The calm front Nagato had barely been holding onto instantly shattered. He looked at Hyuga Hitoshi with desperate eyes. 

Yes. 

Even though he acted indifferent, Nagato was already on the verge of losing his mind. 

God? What god? In the end, he was just a pawn in someone else's resurrection plan. Even his current state—everything he had gone through—was all part of someone else's scheme. His entire life had been a script written by another. Yahiko's death, the fall of the original Akatsuki—everything had been manipulated. 

How could he possibly accept that? 

At this moment, Hyuga Hitoshi's words were like a lifeline to him. 

"There's no need to look at me like that." 

Hyuga Hitoshi stood up slowly, his reflection in the Rabbit Goddess's eyes seeming even taller. He walked to the edge of the tower, looking down at Amegakure as if he were looking at the entire shinobi world. 

"Yahiko's dream was too idealistic. His death made you realize that passion alone isn't enough. Mutual understanding between people is just wishful thinking. A world where everyone understands each other is too far-fetched. But making people understand pain—now that is something real. If you create a weapon that instills fear, then people will hesitate to start wars." 

"In my eyes, you've already done everything you could for peace. You've given everything." 

He respected Nagato, just as he respected Madara. 

Both of them had spent their lives chasing a world without war, a world free of suffering. Because they had lost their loved ones, they understood the value of peace. 

And they never relied on some vague, distant future to achieve it. Even if they took the wrong path, their goal never changed. 

But Nagato was even more admirable than Madara. 

If the nine Tailed Beasts could truly be turned into a weapon that threatened the entire world, if Nagato could create such a force and hold his own in negotiations with the five great nations, then short-term peace was actually possible.

Nagato was being used. The Ten-Tails might be an overpowered weapon in some ways, but it was unstable. And Nagato's lifespan wasn't enough to keep him standing against the ambitions of the Five Great Nations. 

So in a way, he had already failed. 

"As for why I agree with your idea," 

Hyuga Hitoshi pointed at himself with a confident smile. 

"What do you think my existence means? Look at the Sun God Kingdom now—how is it any different from the ultimate weapon you wanted to create?" 

At the core, he and Nagato were doing the same thing. Right now, the Five Great Nations and the entire ninja world feared Hyuga Hitoshi even more than they feared the Tailed Beasts. With Hyuga Hitoshi himself and the overwhelming power of the Sun God Kingdom, they could crush the entire ninja world. Everyone was already living under the weight of a massive mountain. The end-of-war summit that had just taken place was no different from the negotiations Nagato had wanted with the great nations. 

In fact, Hyuga Hitoshi was even more forceful! 

Yeah. 

The things Nagato had wanted to do—Hyuga Hitoshi had already done them. 

The man in front of him carried the dreams of Akatsuki, as well as his own. He had taken things to the extreme, achieving what Nagato had always hoped for. 

That was why Nagato respected him so much. 

And this man was still in perfect health, capable of bringing long-term peace to the world. 

Nagato smiled. In a way, he had already succeeded. He had found his answer along the way. 

"But…" 

Hyuga Hitoshi suddenly turned his head and looked at Nagato with deep eyes. 

"Do you really think I've succeeded? Looking at me now, looking at the Sun God Kingdom now, do you think this is the ideal version of Akatsuki's future?" 

Wasn't it? 

Peace had already arrived! 

Nagato nodded. 

"You're wrong, Nagato." 

Hitoshi let out a sigh. 

"There's no such thing as true peace in this world. Even the peace you see now is just an illusion." 

"As long as people exist, conflicts will never stop. One day, even the Sun God Kingdom will make mistakes, go down the wrong path, and collapse." 

"Even if your Akatsuki managed to gather all the Tailed Beasts and create a weapon that could threaten the world, have you ever thought about what would happen after you die? What if that so-called ultimate weapon falls into the hands of schemers?" 

"At best, you could keep things fair and maintain the illusion of peace while you're in charge—just like how Hashirama did when he was alive." 

"But once your life ends, everything will return to how it was before." 

That was how the world worked. No one could escape this truth. 

"Maybe that's why Madara, even knowing the Infinite Tsukuyomi was just a dream, still threw himself into the Eye of the Moon Plan without hesitation. It's also why Obito wanted to escape into a fake dream world. And it's why the Sage of Six Paths hid in the Pure Land, using his sons to create one 'savior' after another to maintain some fragile balance." 

From Madara to the Sage of Six Paths—when Hyuga Hitoshi laid out the true nature of the ninja world in one breath, Nagato was completely shaken. 

This was the ultimate conspiracy theory of the ninja world! 

But Hyuga Hitoshi didn't think he was wrong. 

Just the fact that the Sage of Six Paths could revive Naruto and Sasuke so easily and even grant them Yin-Yang Release proved that the true power of Asura and Indra had always been in his hands. He could fix any "off-track" storyline whenever he wanted. No matter how hard Madara tried, he could never compete with the cheats handed out by the Sage. 

Didn't this prove that the conflict between Asura and Indra was something the Sage had allowed to happen? 

By using the reincarnations of his two sons, he had created a repeated cycle for the ninja world—war, then understanding, then peace. Everything was within his control. 

He was the one and only director of the ninja world's fate. 

And yet, Naruto kept preaching about understanding each other, when in the end, the cheat powers from the Sage of Six Paths were more effective than any speech. If he hadn't beaten Sasuke up, would Sasuke have really understood him?

That's not possible. 

"No matter if it's you or me, one day we will make mistakes. Maybe you won't, since when you use Pain, you keep a fair and detached mindset, erasing human emotions and leaving only divinity. But your life will eventually end, while I, who have an almost endless lifespan, will one day grow tired of ruling the Sun God Kingdom and leave." 

By then, the ninja world will go back to how it was, but at least during this period of peace, he has succeeded. 

"Most importantly, there's a fundamental difference between me and Rikudou Sennin. He triggered internal conflict when the ninja world was reaching its limit in resources, making people fight and kill each other. Then he personally set up a savior and a villain, allowing the ninja world—after countless deaths—to return to peace, repeating this cycle for a thousand years." 

"I'm not like him. The Sun God Kingdom won't stir up internal conflicts. Instead, we put battles in the open—fight in the arena where life and death are decided by skill, and off the arena, we counterattack the Otsutsuki Clan, seizing resources from the planets they've colonized. I give people the chance to fight real enemies." 

Hyuga Hitoshi believed that the Otsutsuki Clan, being an interstellar colonizing force, must have taken control of many worlds, just like how they once targeted the ninja world. Kaguya and Otsutsuki Isshiki were tasked with using the Divine Tree to drain planets of their energy, turning them into chakra fruits to offer up to the main family. 

So Hyuga Hitoshi could fully turn the elites of the ninja world into true saviors, descending upon different planets, conquering lands, and launching a counterattack against the Otsutsuki. The Otsutsuki were natural enemies of Earth, making them the perfect adversaries. 

The reason he was explaining all this to Nagato—aside from Konan—was that he genuinely admired someone like Nagato. 

This guy, aside from being vulnerable to talk-no-jutsu, was actually well-suited for the role of a savior. 

In other words, the Sun God Kingdom needed someone like him!

Hyuga Hitoshi was curious to see a fully healthy Nagato, enhanced with the Sun God Seal, completely overpowering Uchiha Madara. This was his way of extending an invitation, offering him a place under his rule. 

When picking subordinates, Hyuga Hitoshi didn't care about strength—he cared about character. And Nagato was clearly the right choice. 

"So, are you interested in becoming a true savior? And maybe teaching a lesson to the guy who wrote your last script?" 

Though, in a way, this was still someone else writing his script. The difference was that this time, he had the freedom to choose his own path. 

Nagato glanced at Hyuga Hitoshi, his expression a bit complicated. But after a moment, he let out a deep breath, as if clearing away years of gloom. 

Before, he had no choice. Now, he wanted to live for himself. 

After a brief silence, Nagato finally nodded. He cautiously stood up on his newly restored legs, feeling their strength, and then gave Hyuga Hitoshi a slight bow. 

From this moment on, the god of the Akatsuki was no more. 

Looking at the reanimated Nagato in the original story, it was clear how terrifying his strength was when he had full mobility. He never needed the Six Paths of Pain—he himself was a living embodiment of them. 

But to Hyuga Hitoshi's surprise, Nagato didn't seem focused on processing everything he had just learned. Instead, he was more concerned about something else. 

"Do I really have a chance to get revenge on Uchiha Madara?" 

More than anything, Nagato seemed to hold deep resentment toward Madara. 

It made sense. After realizing that his entire life had been manipulated, his fate a carefully arranged lie, he was bound to collapse sooner or later if not for Hyuga Hitoshi's intervention. Now that he understood the truth, having seen through the ultimate conspiracy of the ninja world, he had finally found clarity. 

He wanted revenge. He wanted it badly. 

He wanted that arrogant Uchiha Madara to taste the true power of his Rinnegan. 

"Of course. Right now, that masked kid is probably busy secretly learning resurrection techniques. The question is when he'll make his move." 

Hyuga Hitoshi raised an eyebrow. 

"Don't worry. When the time comes, I'll be the referee. If you think fighting his reanimated body isn't satisfying enough, I'll revive him completely so you two can have a proper match." 

In Hyuga Hitoshi's mind, these two were bound to become colleagues eventually. And a little sparring between colleagues to strengthen their bond? Nothing wrong with that. 

Speaking of which… 

Changing Otsutsuki Hagoromo's script without permission—he wondered if the Sage of Six Paths would be unhappy about that. 

Hyuga Hitoshi stroked his chin, recalling what happened back in Konoha when he used the Sun God Technique and his Tenseigan to erase Asura's soul from Naruto's body. The sheer malice that followed afterward had been overwhelming. 

Hmm. 

After losing both of his sons one after another, the upcoming trip to Hozuki Castle was bound to be interesting. 

He was curious to see what kind of surprise the Sage of Six Paths had prepared for him inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

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