Chapter 170: The Nagato Trio

"Uh... Master Jiraiya, is everything you said true?"

"A toad being able to predict the future, that sounds a bit unreliable."

After hearing Jiraiya's words, Yahiko hesitated for a long time before finally speaking this sentence.

There was no helping it; a lack of experience was just like that. Even though Yahiko was an Elite Jonin in terms of strength now, he had never heard of any Summoned Beast Immortal that had lived for thousands of years, or things like predicting the future in dreams.

In Yahiko's eyes, the Rinnegan was already the pinnacle of the Ninja World, and the various abilities displayed by the Great Toad Sage were simply like myths.

Jiraiya choked for a moment, looked at this disciple of his, and couldn't help but feel a bit helpless.

It would be one thing if others didn't understand Mount Myoboku, but you are my disciple, how could you also know nothing about Mount Myoboku?

But thinking about it carefully, Jiraiya also knew that this was actually his own fault.

There was no helping it; during those three years of teaching, Jiraiya not only mixed in a lot of personal bias, but also held back much of his true ability—after all, theoretically speaking, the three of them all held grudges against the Leaf, and if their strength grew and they went to seek revenge on the Leaf, then Jiraiya would truly be raising a tiger that would cause trouble later.

So he only taught those common Five Elements Escape techniques and some training to help them build a foundation; the Summoning Technique and Sage Mode, which truly belonged to Jiraiya's core inheritance, were not taught at all.

As soon as they entered the door, Konan and Nagato, who were slightly nervous, saw Yahiko standing there grinning foolishly.

Recalling it carefully, Jiraiya discovered that this was still his own fault, and he couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and frustration.

"Nagato, Konan, you're back!"

"I understand, Master! I will call Nagato back."

It didn't take long before Nagato, having received the news, arrived at the Akatsuki base with Konan and several other members of the Akatsuki organization.

Konan asked with a hint of confusion, and Yahiko said with a grin:

"This is a great thing; Master Jiraiya is going to teach us some new things this time..."

Jiraiya patted his chest with a loud thud, and upon hearing this, a look of mixed surprise appeared on Yahiko's face.

And beside Yahiko, a group of burly toads were wandering back and forth inside the base; at a glance, one would think this was the lair of some toad demon!

And their master, Jiraiya, was sitting on top of a giant toad head, looking at them with a smile.

Even if he didn't know much about Mount Myoboku, Yahiko knew very well that Jiraiya was a powerful ninja who dominated the Ninja World with his Summoning Technique; it could be said that the Summoning Contract was Jiraiya's true legacy.

However, he wasn't too anxious; having come here, the Great Toad Sage had already given him instructions, so he could afford to be a bit bolder.

Even though Konan and Nagato had been through the wringer over these years and could be considered well-informed, facing the current situation, they still felt a bit dizzy.

After Yahiko met Jiraiya, because he was unsure of his intentions, he had actually secretly sent some messages at first to let Nagato return later. Now that Jiraiya had shown his sincerity, Yahiko naturally wanted Nagato to return.

Not to mention that Jiraiya's willingness to teach the Summoning Technique was actually a very straightforward signal; at the very least, Yahiko believed in Jiraiya.

With a light smile, Jiraiya didn't mind his disciple's little schemes and directly summoned the Scroll Toad using a Summoned Beast.

"Yahiko, and Master Jiraiya, what exactly is going on? Why are there so many Summoned Beasts here?"

"This is... what is happening?"

At this moment, Yahiko saw his two companions and then restrained himself a bit, saying to the two with a smile on his face:

"Come on, Yahiko, as long as you sign your name on this scroll, you will be able to summon the Summoned Beasts of Mount Myoboku!"

Although the three of them had almost carved out their own paths through so many years of struggling, if they could obtain the inheritance of Mount Myoboku, they could still significantly increase their strength.

The Akatsuki organization was currently developing vigorously in the Land of Rain, relying to a large extent on Nagato's strength, so Nagato was running around outside most of the time.

"It's normal that you don't believe it, Yahiko. How about this, I'll help the three of you sign the contract for Mount Myoboku! Then you can go to Mount Myoboku to take a look and learn!"

After some explanation, Konan and Nagato looked at each other, and they were also somewhat skeptical about Jiraiya's words.

But no matter what, Jiraiya's Mount Myoboku Summoning Scroll inheritance was definitely an unexpected joy. Nagato was confident that even without this Summoning Scroll, it wouldn't affect his future development much, but for Konan and Yahiko, this inheritance of the Summoning Scroll could be described as heavier than Mount Tai.

Although the Akatsuki organization was an organization that yearned for peace and sought to solve problems through dialogue, the three of them, having been in the Ninja World for so long, had long understood the importance of strength—so-called solving problems through dialogue was often based on the premise that the opponent couldn't beat you.

Nagato, currently blessed with the Rinnegan and his own talent, already possessed Shadow-level strength, and although Konan and Yahiko's talents were also good, they were still far inferior to Nagato's. Nagato was also very willing to let their strength improve.

"Master Jiraiya, so you asked me to come this time because you hope I can help you deal with that Uchiha?"

"Not bad, Nagato. The Rinnegan is the head of the three great Dojutsu; if you want to deal with the Sharingan, you naturally have to rely on your Rinnegan."

Jiraiya nodded, affirming Nagato's thoughts. In fact, this was also a suggestion given to him by the Great Toad Sage: one must unite all forces to be able to fight against Uchiha Feiyu.

"In addition... Nagato, perhaps ordinary Summoned Beasts cannot increase your power any further, but the unique Sage Mode of Mount Myoboku can definitely increase your strength significantly, and even allow you to better develop the power of the Rinnegan."

"The Rinnegan is simply too strong. If I'm not mistaken, even with the chakra and vitality of your Uzumaki Clan, it is probably very difficult to bear the burden of fighting with the Rinnegan."

"But if you can use Sage Mode, the chakra fused with Natural Energy can better exert the power of the Rinnegan and reduce the backlash of the Rinnegan on your body."

Hearing this, Nagato suddenly raised his head. In fact, Jiraiya was right; even without summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, the Rinnegan was still a huge burden for Nagato.

One could see from Nagato's slightly thin body just how strong the drain of the Rinnegan was on him. On a daily basis, just nourishing this pair of Rinnegan already occupied more than 80% of Nagato's chakra, and when fighting, it almost required Nagato to burn his life to fight!

Basically, every time he used the Rinnegan, Nagato would lose anywhere from a few days to a few months of his lifespan. It was fortunate that his own strength was already strong enough and he didn't use the Rinnegan often, otherwise, he would probably have been drained dry by now.

'If it is really as Master Jiraiya said, that Sage Mode can reduce the burden of the Rinnegan, then with my strength, no matter what kind of opponent I face, I can deal with them calmly!'

Nagato could feel that there was still endless and terrifying power hidden within his Rinnegan, but with his body, unless he really burned ten or twenty years of his life, he couldn't bear it, nor could he dig out this potential.

If he really fully developed the power of the Rinnegan, Nagato was confident that with his own strength alone, he could overturn the Five Great Shinobi Villages and, like the First Hokage of the past, set the rules for these Ninja Villages!

Seeing that Nagato finally became interested, a smile appeared on the corner of Jiraiya's mouth.

And just as the four master and disciples were chatting happily, among the Akatsuki members who followed Nagato and Konan in, a trace of Black Qi flashed in one person's eyes:

'Has this guy Jiraiya also approached Nagato? That big toad, what kind of future has it predicted again?'

'However, this is indeed a very good opportunity. That Uchiha junior who attacked Madara Uchiha should be Uchiha Feiyu. Madara Uchiha is easy to deal with; anyway, the Rinnegan has already been handed over to Nagato, so he can die if he wants to, but the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path must be retrieved by any means necessary!'

A certain half-crippled mastermind behind the scenes did not yet know that Uchiha Feiyu had long since completely devoured the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and refined it into his own body. In fact, even the Otsutsuki Clan could at most seal the God Tree into their own bodies; completely refining it was almost an impossible thing, and it naturally could not imagine that a mere Uchiha could do such a thing.

Speaking of which, the identity of this mastermind behind the scenes was self-evident; it was naturally none other than Black Zetsu, who had escaped death by cutting off its tail from Uchiha Feiyu's hands.

Back then, Uchiha Feiyu bullied the elderly Madara for being old and weak, directly launching a surprise attack, catching Madara Uchiha, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and White Zetsu of the Uzumaki Clan all in one net. Only Black Zetsu escaped death by relying on its higher essence.

After escaping, Black Zetsu spent a long time recovering its state. It didn't dare to go and trouble Uchiha Feiyu, so it could only come to Nagato, the host of the Rinnegan, to see if it could influence Nagato to retrieve the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

When Madara Uchiha was killed, Uchiha Feiyu's strength was actually not truly exceeding the ceiling of the Ninja World; it was only because Madara Uchiha was old and weak and no longer had the Rinnegan that he was easily killed by Uchiha Feiyu. Therefore, in Black Zetsu's eyes, Nagato actually had a chance to defeat Uchiha Feiyu.

It was just that although Black Zetsu had gained Nagato's trust by relying on a disguised identity, it had not yet reached the point where it could truly influence Nagato. Moreover, out of fear of Uchiha Feiyu's strength, it didn't dare to mess around like in the original work and cause Nagato's body to collapse.

Even if calculated based on Uchiha Feiyu's strength when he killed Madara Uchiha, Nagato would still have to develop the power of the Rinnegan to a certain height to win. If Nagato's body collapsed by then, he wouldn't even have a chance to beat Uchiha Feiyu.

However, Jiraiya had actually come knocking on the door now, even speaking of some prophecy about destroying the world, wanting Nagato to help, and even being willing to provide Nagato with the training method for Sage Mode...

Black Zetsu now felt that his luck had finally turned; once Nagato learned Sage Mode, he would find a way to help him further by providing him with the Yin-Yang Release and Rinnegan research data from Madara Uchiha back in the day, and dealing with Uchiha Feiyu at that point would be a piece of cake.

As for the prophecy of Uchiha Feiyu destroying the world, it also set Black Zetsu's mind racing: could this guy have already discovered the true usage of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and also want to transform the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path back into the God Tree?

If Nagato really didn't work out, perhaps he could try joining forces with this guy to see if he could use him to rescue Mother?

For Black Zetsu, his only goal was to rescue his mother; as for whether it was Nagato or Uchiha Feiyu who became his mother's vessel, that was a matter of complete indifference.

However, he certainly still felt that Nagato was easier to hoodwink... As for Uchiha Feiyu, this ruthless, selfish, and utterly untrustworthy Uchiha was far harder to hoodwink than the average Uchiha, and unless he had no other choice, Black Zetsu did not want to come face-to-face with Uchiha Feiyu.

The most terrifying thing was that Uchiha Feiyu truly had the means to deal with Black Zetsu! Black Zetsu had already sensed that that part of his body had completely vanished without a trace, rather than being sealed or transported to some other space.

"Let's first see just how much Nagato can be strengthened; possessing the Sage Body of the Uzumaki Clan, plus the power of the Rinnegan, if he also learns Sage Art, Nagato's strength might not necessarily be inferior to Madara Uchiha without the Rinnegan, or even Senju Hashirama back in the day."

And just as Black Zetsu was thinking, Nagato and Konan had already signed a contract with Mount Myoboku; the moment Nagato pressed his handprint onto the contract, with a 'poof', his entire person turned into a cloud of white smoke and vanished without a trace.

"Nagato!! What is going on?! Master Jiraiya! Where did Nagato go?!"

Seeing Nagato disappear, Yahiko and Konan immediately wore expressions of shock and anger as they looked at Jiraiya; if Jiraiya did not give them an answer, it looked like they were about to attack.

"Wait... Nagato must have been taken to Mount Myoboku via Reverse Summoning; it seems the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku thinks highly of Nagato."

Jiraiya hurriedly waved his hands and spoke, and seeing that Yahiko and Konan's guard had not yet faded, he simply said:

"If you are worried, I will take you both to Mount Myoboku!"

After finishing, Jiraiya said to the Scroll Toad:

"You go back to Mount Myoboku first, and summon us all over together later!"

"Understood, Lord Jiraiya."

The Scroll Toad said slowly, and with a 'poof', it also turned into white mist and vanished; a moment later, with three consecutive 'poof' sounds, Jiraiya, Konan, and Yahiko were all transported to Mount Myoboku.

(End of chapter)