Chapter 137: Akatsuki vs. Fire Team!

Chapter 137: Akatsuki vs. Fire Team!

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Most teams with sensor-type shinobi instinctively avoided Akatsuki's squad.

However, some exceptions not only failed to avoid them—

They sought them out.

---

A narrow forest path.

Two teams crossed paths, coming to a halt.

"…Jiraiya, so you really joined Akatsuki."

Orochimaru's voice was cold and sinister, his smile devoid of warmth.

"Orochimaru…"

"It's not that I joined Akatsuki—"

"We've reformed the Frog Squad!"

Jiraiya stepped forward, correcting Orochimaru's misunderstanding.

"…This is the 'Child of Prophecy' you were looking for?"

Orochimaru's arms were crossed, his smirk deepening as he glanced at Nagato's Rinnegan.

"So, it's that brat from back then."

Even with the Rinnegan, how could he possibly compare to Kagami?

Jiraiya…

You really are incorrigible.

If the Child of Prophecy existed—

It could only be Kagami.

Jiraiya shook his head, flashing a goofy grin.

"I'm not looking for the prophecy's child anymore."

"Doesn't matter who it is."

"I just… owe Nagato and the others too much."

"So, I'm shamelessly sticking with them, hoping I can make up for it somehow."

---

Orochimaru paused, his smirk deepening ever so slightly.

"…People really do change."

"The last time I saw you, I felt something was off…"

"I thought you'd stay a fool until you died."

"So what went wrong, Jiraiya?"

"What happened to wake you up?"

Jiraiya's face fell.

"C'mon, Orochimaru, the old man and Lord Second are here, plus my students."

"Give me some dignity, will you?"

---

Tobirama's gaze swept over the group.

"Sarutobi… your student's students are… quite something."

Knowing that Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Kagami were Jiraiya's students was already staggering.

And now—

Another one had the Rinnegan?

Even ignoring Konan, Jiraiya's direct disciples alone were famous across the world.

Sarutobi awkwardly scratched his head.

"Lord Tobirama, I guess… this must be fate."

---

Tobirama stepped forward.

"Nagato. I know who you are."

"To avoid someone eavesdropping, I'm going to use Bringer-of-Darkness Technique."

"Don't be alarmed."

His hands formed a seal, and a wave of absolute darkness engulfed the battlefield.

Nagato remained expressionless.

(…This is it?)

With the Rinnegan, his vision remained perfectly clear.

Tobirama valued negotiations before battle.

And now, in the darkness, his voice grew grave.

"You should have noticed by now—"

"This tournament is nothing more than a selfish game orchestrated by Uchiha Kagami."

"We were forced to join."

"But you—what's your purpose?"

"If our goals don't clash, we can cooperate."

"…Cooperate how?"

"We slaughter the high-ranking shinobi of the Four Great Nations."

Tobirama's eyes turned sharp.

"I despise Uchiha Kagami."

"But I acknowledge the stability he's built for the Land of Fire."

"Yet, despite his overwhelming power, he refuses to unify the ninja world."

"He just sits on his throne, wasting his potential."

---

Nagato fell silent for a moment.

(…If you were asking me to help take down Kagami, I would've thought that made more sense.)

"I already tried talking to him about world peace…"

Nagato sighed, then spoke coldly.

"Yes, Kagami is selfish."

"He could crush the Great Nations, erase their leaders, and rebuild the world from the ashes."

"That's all it would take to bring true peace."

---

Now Tobirama was the one left speechless.

(…I only suggested we wipe out the Great Nations' leadership.)

(You're talking about obliterating entire civilizations.?)

(…Are all modern shinobi this insane?)

(Even Madara wasn't this extreme.)

After a brief pause, Tobirama chose his words carefully.

"…Let's say we have the same end goal."

"As long as we eliminate the key leaders of Lightning and Earth, it'll force Kagami to act."

"He'll have no choice but to unite the world."

Nagato shook his head.

"That's just your delusion."

"Killing a few leaders won't be enough to make them understand pain."

Nagato's gaze hardened as he stared down Sarutobi.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen."

"Do you remember the Uzumaki Clan?"

---

"I only realized later… why my mother never spoke about her homeland."

"Why my father and mother always tensed up when they saw a Konoha forehead protector."

"You betrayed the Uzumaki Clan."

"Tobirama Senju. Sarutobi Hiruzen."

"You two will never understand the suffering of small nations."

"Kagami was far too merciful."

BOOM!!

A violent shockwave shattered Tobirama's Bringer-of-Darkness Technique.

Nagato raised his hand, aiming his palm at Tobirama.

His voice was cold and unwavering.

"You have no right to order me."

"You have no right to decide the future."

"Only I and Kagami have that right."

Bansho Ten'in! (Universal Pull!)

Tobirama felt his body lurch forward, dragged toward Nagato by a tremendous force.

His hand flipped, launching special-marked kunai into the air.

Nagato recognized the Flying Thunder God markings immediately.

BOOM!

A sudden repulsive force sent both the kunai and Tobirama flying backward.

Landing on a tree branch, Tobirama's eyes narrowed.

(…Strange. The Rinnegan's power… feels eerily like Madara's.)

"…Nagato."

"Do you really not feel your personality shifting because of those eyes?"

"Or were you always this kind of person?"

---

Jiraiya's frown deepened.

(…The Nagato I knew wasn't like this…)

Nagato's expression remained cold.

"No. It's not the Rinnegan influencing me."

"It's your twisted ninja world that made me who I am today."

(…This feeling…)

(That fiery red hair… it's Uzumaki.)

(But why do I feel like he's becoming more like—)

(…Him?)

---

Tobirama's frown deepened.

Two coffins suddenly rose from the ground.

One bore the kanji for "Gold", the other for "Silver."

The barrier blocked teleportation techniques—but not summoning jutsu.

"Izanagi, huh…"

The coffins creaked open, revealing two towering figures with horns protruding from their foreheads.

"…Aren't we supposed to be dead?"

"Oi, Kinkaku. Even you got revived?"

The Gold and Silver Brothers stepped out of their coffins.

"…Tobirama, you bastard."

"To be summoned by the loser we already beat—"

"What a disgrace."

Tobirama wordlessly embedded two kunai into their skulls, affixing control seals.

His gaze turned icy cold.

"Nagato."

"You speak of pain."

"But I have known pain since I was born."

"If your answer to injustice is to fuel more war—"

"I will never accept your ideology."

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