Chapter 172: Changes in the Land of Wind

Only after seeing the various scrolls left behind by Madara Uchiha regarding Yin-Yang Release and the Rinnegan did Nagato finally confirm that the Rinnegan was indeed something that belonged to Madara Uchiha.

There was no other reason; it was simply because Madara Uchiha had completely developed the power of the Rinnegan to its limit. By comparison, Nagato could only utilize some of the basic functions of the Rinnegan, while Madara Uchiha had already mastered the power of the Rinnegan and even developed ultimate techniques.

"So, this is the true power of the Rinnegan? And Yin-Yang Release... As I thought, these eyes must have been transplanted to me by Madara Uchiha."

A look of disappointment appeared on Nagato's face, and he sighed softly.

The trio once had such great confidence in founding the Akatsuki organization and pursuing World Peace, and eighty percent of that reason came from their confidence in Nagato's Rinnegan.

The Sage of Six Paths possessed the Rinnegan, quelled the disasters of the world, founded the Ninja Sect, and became a legend of his generation. So, as the self-proclaimed second possessor of the Rinnegan, with destiny on his side, surely pursuing World Peace was not such a difficult thing, right?

It can only be said that the lack of information gave Nagato great confidence. Of course, the power of the Rinnegan was indeed strong. Theoretically, if Nagato could truly fully unleash the power of the Rinnegan and there weren't so many masterminds behind the scenes, he really could have suppressed an era like Senju Hashirama and brought several decades of peace to the Ninja World.

But now, after learning the truth of the matter, Nagato's illusions were instantly shattered. He had no destiny, nor was he born with the Rinnegan; he was merely chosen as a host for the Rinnegan by a mastermind because he possessed the Sage Body of the Uzumaki clan.

Nagato muttered to himself and touched his eyes again.

"Three strange, powerful chakras. One is powerful even among Shadow-level ninjas, and the other two are also approaching the level of Shadow-level ninjas..."

"As for other information regarding Uchiha Feiyu, we will inquire about it together with Teacher Jiraiya to see what exactly the other party is planning to do."

Although Uchiha Feiyu betrayed Konoha and also finished off Madara Uchiha, the betrayal of Konoha had its reasons, and finishing off Madara Uchiha could not be considered a bad thing. Was he being too arbitrary in deciding his stance based on this?

Jiraiya was somewhat shaken, let alone Konan and Yahiko. Yahiko looked at the bustling market in the Land of Wind, a look of envy appearing on his face:

As a Shadow-level Ninja, the strength of the chakra within Jiraiya's body definitely ranked in the top ten in the entire Land of Wind. Uchiha Feiyu only needed to check for any strange, powerful chakras and then locate the individuals to determine if the other party had infiltrated.

Although Uchiha Feiyu's chakra could not pull the entire Land of Wind into a small-scale Infinite Tsukuyomi, using the Sharingan Crystal Ball to scan the terrain and search for individuals was not much of a burden.

Yahiko patted Nagato on the shoulder and said jokingly. Nagato came back to his senses, and his face regained some spirit:

"Don't worry, Yahiko. I was just feeling a bit emotional for a moment. Regardless of whether I was born with the Rinnegan, and regardless of who destiny truly lies with, I will strive to the end for the wishes of the Akatsuki organization and our shared aspiration!"

"Possessing powerful chakra? And also possessing the power to absorb chakra?"

"I heard before that the vast majority of the Land of Wind is desert. I didn't expect the environment of the Land of Wind now to have been transformed to this extent. Teacher Jiraiya, you have been to the original Land of Wind; what was the original Land of Wind like?"

"It doesn't matter, Nagato. Madara Uchiha giving you the Rinnegan might have been ill-intentioned, but since he himself is already dead, doesn't that just go to show that you are the one destined for it?"

Yahiko nodded, also gaining some confidence:

"Next, Nagato, you should stay here and study the application methods of the Rinnegan and Yin-Yang Release! Madara Uchiha's legacy should be able to further improve your strength."

Although the Land of Wind was the country with the smallest population among the Five Great Nations, the entire country still had tens of millions of people. Of course, it was impossible for Uchiha Feiyu to look at every single one of them. Even if the Sharingan Crystal Ball could recognize everyone, he didn't have the memory capacity to distinguish them one by one.

"Demonic Statue of the Outer Path..."

"Capable of creating artificial humans... which are you White Zetsu?"

Originally, even in a market like this, the number of people gathering every day would not be too many, roughly seven or eight hundred people a day, but now the number had increased by almost three or four times.

The more Yahiko heard those White Zetsu say, the tighter his brows furrowed. According to what those White Zetsu said, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was essentially a treasure absolutely not inferior to the Rinnegan. Having possessed the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path for such a long time, the other party's strength and influence were likely already extremely astonishing.

Having confirmed that Jiraiya had entered the Land of Wind, Uchiha Feiyu was no longer in a hurry and simply began waiting for the arrival of the three of them in Sunagakure.

"Not only that, even the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was snatched away. Without the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, even if Lord Madara Uchiha were still alive, he would certainly have died of old age by now."

This time it was still a routine inspection-like scan, yet Uchiha Feiyu was slightly startled, and a look of surprise appeared on his face as he looked up.

Looking at the three of them, including Jiraiya, Uchiha Feiyu was slightly surprised, but soon this surprise turned into pleasant surprise:

"It just so happens that last time, through sacrificing Black Qi, I obtained some methods to strengthen the 'leeks'. When the time comes, I can let these countries in the Ninja World start to implement them... This is the real important business; that guy Jiraiya is not worth me wasting too much time on."

"Wait another week; if that guy Jiraiya still doesn't appear, then let it go for now!"

"We are just going to inquire about the situation. Once we find that it is not feasible, we will retreat at the first opportunity!"

Uchiha Feiyu had been waiting here for several months and had long since become impatient.

"An extremely huge and hard statue body? Astonishing destructive power?"

And so, the matter was settled. Nagato received the legacy of Madara Uchiha and began to study seriously, his strength visibly ready to increase by +1 again, while Jiraiya took his other two disciples and headed to the Land of Wind.

Land of Wind, Sunagakure.

Jiraiya said with a very solemn expression. In fact, it was not just the natural environment of the Land of Wind that had improved; these residents of the Land of Wind also looked much wealthier than before.

A look of worry appeared on Nagato's face, and he spoke in a low voice:

"Be careful. The other party has now completely controlled Sunagakure, and with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path in hand, even with Teacher Jiraiya, it is a very difficult and dangerous thing to want to inquire about useful information."

"Forget it, regardless of anything else, Jiraiya has finally come... It wasn't in vain that I waited for such a long time!"

Yahiko said with a smile, then looked at the few strange people and asked.

Jiraiya was touched by the changes in the Land of Wind and, conversely, had a somewhat good impression of Uchiha Feiyu.

"However, this also confirms the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage. If the other party were truly just an ordinary Uchiha, how could he possibly pose a threat to this world?"

I didn't expect... the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was actually snatched away by Uchiha Feiyu. It seems this Uchiha Feiyu is really not someone to be trifled with.

Therefore, Uchiha Feiyu's investigation method was to determine key targets through chakra. Those without chakra, or those with weak chakra, were likely the civilians of the Land of Wind, while those with relatively powerful chakra were generally Sand Ninja.

"Is this Jiraiya bringing his two disciples? Why didn't he bring Nagato?"

Walking in the desert market of the Land of Wind, Jiraiya also had a sense of emotion:

"I am now somewhat suspicious of whether Uchiha Feiyu is truly the person who will destroy the world as spoken of by the Great Toad Sage. Being able to transform the Land of Wind into this appearance, this young Uchiha might not be as terrifying as we imagined."

Yahiko waved his hand, not caring:

"Don't worry, I am very clear about how dangerous an Uchiha who can finish off Madara Uchiha is, not to mention that he now controls Sunagakure and has the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path in his hands."

Yahiko asked with some confusion, but Nagato had only sensed the existence of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and knew that the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was very powerful; he didn't know much about what the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path looked like or what functions it had.

"The daytime temperature has never been lower than forty degrees, and once it reaches night, it is basically below minus ten degrees. Even for us ninjas, there have been precedents of falling in the desert due to the harsh environment."

Nowadays, Yahiko and Konan, after their training at Mount Myoboku, had strength that had almost reached the Shadow-level. Coupled with a Jiraiya, in Yahiko's view, even if they were not invincible, they could retreat unscathed after going anywhere to inquire about information.

"Hmm!?"

"The original Land of Wind was definitely much harsher than the environment you imagine!"

Thinking about it carefully, the Great Toad Sage only dreamed that an Uchiha possessing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan would destroy the world, but he did not fully confirm that it was Uchiha Feiyu.

Moreover, a few years ago, the Rinnegan's sensing of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path disappeared without a trace. At that time, Uzumaki Nagato also had doubts, but no one could explain the matter of the Rinnegan to him, and in the end, he could only bury this doubt in the bottom of his heart.

"Well said!"

"A situation like this, where the outskirts of a market possess vast grasslands and even some trees, can be said to be unprecedented in the Land of Wind."

Uchiha Feiyu was in no rush, and the three with Jiraiya were likewise not in much of a hurry; in these past few years, the changes in the Land of Wind had been immense, with the greening area expanding seven or eightfold, and many deserts having turned into wild savannas, which left the three, who had previously visited or heard of the Land of Wind's reputation, quite astonished.

Sitting in his office in the Land of Wind, Uchiha Feiyu once again cast his mental energy into the Sharingan Crystal Ball in the sky, a faint red light flashing across the crystal ball as he slowly scanned the entire Land of Wind.

After possessing the Rinnegan, he was also able to sense the existence of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but even with the constitution of the Uzumaki Clan, summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path would likely cost him half his life, so he had never previously entertained the idea of summoning it.

However, Nagato did not say much more; the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was powerful, but it was ultimately not flexible enough, and he figured that Teacher Jiraiya had the ability to retreat unscathed while carrying Yahiko and Konan.

"And I have you all, Mount Myoboku, and the help of Teacher Jiraiya; as long as we join forces, I believe we can definitely defeat this Uchiha."

"The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, what kind of thing is that?"

Nagato spoke with a calm expression, not having lost confidence, and instead offered a word of comfort to Yahiko:

"Believe in the power of the Rinnegan! The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is, in any case, merely an external force; once I have thoroughly developed the power of the Rinnegan, the opponent will no longer be anything to fear."

The population of the Land of Wind certainly would not have skyrocketed several times over in just a few years; the only explanation was that these civilians of the Land of Wind were much wealthier than before, which was why the number of people coming to visit the market had increased so much.

And it was precisely because Nagato possessed the Rinnegan that he could clearly understand just how powerful the might of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was; perhaps it was not as convenient to use as the Rinnegan, but as long as one could figure out some of the most basic ways to use the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, it would already be enough to sweep through ordinary ninja and roam the world.

"Lord Madara Uchiha is truly dead. When he was young, Lord Madara might have been very powerful, but by that time he was already seventy or eighty years old, and the Rinnegan had already been gouged out and given to you; it would be difficult for him to contend with even a random Shadow-level ninja."

Sensing new, powerful chakra entering the Land of Wind, Uchiha Feiyu did not hesitate to use the "eye" in the sky to fixate on the source of the chakra, and subsequently saw the three people who were advancing through the desert.

"The amount of vegetation was far inferior to what it is now; back then, desert markets like this would at most plant some turf and plants inside the market, and only in those larger oases could one see more green space."

Several white monsters, namely White Zetsu, spoke all at once, giving Nagato and the others a simple understanding of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

"It is good that you can see clearly, but is Madara Uchiha really dead?"

During this period, Uchiha Feiyu had released the Sharingan Crystal Ball he created high into the sky, constantly scanning the entire Land of Wind.

"Although I had heard of the changes in the Land of Wind... I really didn't expect that the current Land of Wind would be so much more prosperous and wealthy than before."

It was just that the chakra had no burden, but Uchiha Feiyu had no interest in patrolling and monitoring here in the Land of Wind all day long!

"It seems that not only has the environment of the Land of Wind improved quite a bit, but the administration of the Land of Wind is also very clean... otherwise, the income from the Land of Wind's transformation would likely have been usurped by those nobles..."

Speaking of this, Jiraiya was slightly puzzled; only then did he recall that it seemed not only the Land of Wind, but the administration of the Land of Fire had also become very clean over these past few years, as if those nobles had all become different people.

(End of this chapter)