Chapter 499: Yagura: I Have 100,000 Questions

Shinki still appeared to receive Yagura, but this time he refrained from talking while eating. Yagura was escorted straight to the conference room in the Hokage's office building before he even had a chance to rest.

The Third Raikage, the Third Kazekage, and Onoki had already been waiting there for some time.

As Yagura entered the conference room, the Third Raikage couldn't help but complain:

"Mizukage, you're really slow. Can't your Mist Ninja Village find a ninja with a flying summon?"

"???"

Am I really that slow?

Yagura hadn't expected to be greeted with such complaints.

"Yes, we do, but Konoha didn't make it clear why they summoned us," Yagura replied, deflecting blame.

"Where's the Hokage?" Yagura asked, trying to change the subject. He scanned the room, noting Tsunade's absence. It felt unreasonable to hold a Five Kage meeting on Konoha's territory without the Hokage present.

"I will fully represent Konoha in this matter. Mizukage, please take a seat," Shinki said as he walked to the main chair and sat down, gesturing for Yagura to follow suit.

Hearing this, Yagura bit his tongue. With senior figures like the Third Raikage, the Third Kazekage, and Onoki present, he had little choice but to comply. He sat down, albeit reluctantly.

Shinki wasted no time, diving straight into the topic of Uchiha Madara. The others listened quietly, sipping tea, while Yagura was so stunned by the revelation that he stood up.

"You all already knew about this?"

"Why else would I complain about you being late?" the Third Raikage said, leaning back in his chair, leaving Yagura momentarily speechless.

The Third Kazekage ignored the banter and directly questioned Shinki. "Shinki, while I'd like to believe you, are you absolutely sure about what you're saying? The idea that Uchiha Madara is alive and executing a conspiracy sounds… implausible."

These revelations were hard to swallow. A man who should have died decades ago, not only alive but wielding immense power and scheming against the five great ninja villages? If anyone other than Shinki had said this, Yagura would have dismissed it as lunacy.

Before Shinki could respond, Onoki interjected impatiently. "Shinki, now that Mizukage is here, let him digest it. But tell us—where are the Rinnegan?"

Yagura: "…"

Am I just here to fill the seat? Can't we ask a few more questions first? What if this is all nonsense?

"The Land of Rain," Shinki replied without hesitation. "During the wars involving Konoha, Sand, and Iwa in the Land of Rain, Jiraiya, one of our elite jonin, encountered three orphaned children affected by the war. Feeling pity for them, he stayed to protect and train them."

"Among those children was Nagato, a boy of Uzumaki bloodline. The Rinnegan are in his possession."

"Wait!!!" Yagura couldn't hold back any longer. "Shinki, you're saying that the legendary Sage's Eye—the Rinnegan—belongs to Uchiha Madara. So why are they in a child's possession? And why does that child have Uzumaki blood? Doesn't this strike you as odd?"

"Because Uchiha Madara is still alive, albeit extremely old. He needed a host for his eyes—a vessel strong enough to sustain their power. The Uzumaki clan, with their immense vitality and chakra reserves, made for the perfect choice," the Third Raikage explained, responding before Shinki could.

"Shinki, continue. Don't bother with him," the Third Raikage added gruffly.

Yagura: "…"

The Third Kazekage cast an amused glance at Yagura and the Third Raikage, while Onoki remained unfazed, as though this sort of chaos was routine.

Poor Yagura. After three seconds of silence for the Mizukage, Shinki resumed, providing further explanation.

"The power of the Rinnegan is immense, far too overwhelming for even Uchiha Madara's body. He required a host—a hotbed to nurture and sustain these eyes. That's why he transferred them to Nagato, whose Uzumaki bloodline was ideally suited for this purpose."

"I've been to the Land of Rain and seen Nagato. Although he concealed his eyes beneath his hair, I didn't immediately associate them with Uchiha Madara. It was only after researching the Uchiha and Senju clan records, as well as the stone tablet in the Uchiha ancestral hall, that I connected the dots."

"The stone tablet, left by the Sage of Six Paths, contains instructions that require a powerful ocular jutsu to decipher. It mentions that combining the powers of the Uchiha and Senju will unlock the 'Power of All Things'—the Rinnegan."

"This is why the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara clashed. Madara sought the Senju's power to achieve this. Though it seemed like Madara perished in that battle, he survived by using Izanagi, a forbidden Uchiha technique that sacrifices a Sharingan to rewrite death."

"Madara's endgame has always been clear. By obtaining the Rinnegan, he aimed to capture all nine tailed beasts and combine them into the Ten Tails, making himself its jinchūriki. With the power of the Ten Tails, he would ascend to the level of the Sage of Six Paths."

Yagura's thoughts spiraled. If Senju and Uchiha were descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, why did the Sage favor Konoha so much? Why leave his bloodline in the Land of Fire? The more he thought, the more bewildered he became.

Meanwhile, Onoki and the others, already prepared for this, shifted focus. They deliberated on how the five great ninja villages could thwart Madara's plans and eliminate him. The Rinnegan, however, was something they also desired to control if the opportunity arose.

Finally, Yagura exhaled heavily. "If that's the case, the five great ninja villages must indeed join forces to stop Uchiha Madara and destroy his schemes. But I have a question."

He turned to Shinki, his eyes sharp.

"If Konoha was aware of this and knew the Rinnegan were with Nagato, why didn't you take them away earlier?"