XX-level Hokage

Then she felt all the papers she had scattered were burned by the fire.

Then, her entire body sank down.

At this moment, the Six Paths controlled by Nagato also arrived, but it was too late. Only a shadow remained where they stood before they vanished in an instant.

Mashiro knew that he would be summoned by Nagato Town as soon as he entered Amegakure, and as a god, he would definitely send angels to communicate with him. So after leaving the original room, Mashiro used the Shadow Legion to cover the area with shadows.

From the moment Konan entered the room, the Shadow Legion began to infect her own shadow, the shadow of every piece of paper she scattered. As a result, Mashiro easily pulled her into the Shadow Kingdom.

In the Shadow Kingdom, everything is pitch black and blood red, like the end of the world.

On a massive, broken floating rock, a soldier from an alien squad was tightly binding Konan, with Mashiro standing right in front of her. "Where is this?" Konan looked around at the completely unfamiliar surroundings, her eyes filled with surprise and astonishment, but not fear. "This is the Shadow Kingdom." Mashiro leaned back slightly, and another alien soldier appeared out of thin air, intertwining with her to form a soft chair.

Mashiro rarely enters the Shadow Kingdom because, although she can control the Shadow Legion, she is ultimately not a Shadow creature and cannot exist within the Shadow Kingdom.

If he stays there for too long, and if others are brought into the Shadow Kingdom by Mashiro, Mashiro must also stay in the Shadow Kingdom at the same time. The more living people he brings, the faster Mashiro will be corrupted by darkness.

Therefore, this was the first time Mashiro had brought someone into the Shadow Kingdom. Because Mashiro had no contact with Konan in her previous life, the dream had a very limited impact on Konan. Therefore, Mashiro could only increase her mystery and prestige by bringing Konan into the Shadow Kingdom.

"The Shadow Kingdom, the ninja world actually has such a place." Konan said with some surprise. When she first entered, she used her chakra to check, and this was not a genjutsu space.

“Strictly speaking, this is not the ninja world.” Mashiro said calmly, then she gently raised her hand, and all sorts of shadowy soldiers appeared.

Seeing the monster suddenly appear, Konan took a deep breath. This really didn't seem to be the ninja world. "Who are you?" Konan looked directly at Mashiro and asked seriously.

"Who am I? I am the younger sister of the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Rei." Mashiro unbuttoned her robe, then pulled open her collar to reveal the Mangekyou Sharingan on her chest, and said.

"The Sage of Six Paths, his sister?" Xiao Nan felt as if her brain had gone blank.

"In the beginning, the Mother of Chakra gave birth to two brothers. Later, the Ten-Tails caused chaos. The Sage of Six Paths and his brother joined forces to seal the Ten-Tails and divided its chakra into nine parts, forming the nine tailed beasts we know today. After that, the Sage of Six Paths stayed in the ninja world and founded Ninshu, while his brother went to the moon. This is probably the story of the Sage of Six Paths that you know."

"But I'm going to tell you now that the Mother of Chakra didn't give birth to two children, but four." Mashiro said righteously, spouting nonsense.

However, Konan was completely persuaded by Mashiro's words. Normally, most people would think Mashiro's words were false, but Konan was different. She could see the Rinnegan every day, and she herself was carrying out the plan to revive the Ten-Tails.

Mashiro takes advantage of this; those who only have a superficial understanding are the easiest to deceive. Obito had already been deceived once, so she wouldn't mind deceiving him a second time.

Chapter 65: The Rinnegan

"Do you think I would believe that?" Xiao Nan asked, suppressing her wavering resolve.

“I will make you believe me. As one of the four offspring of the Mother of Chakra, I possess the abilities of memory and sin. Therefore, I know many things, such as Nagato, Yahiko, the fact that the three of you are all Jiraiya's students, and that Yahiko chose to die to save you.” Mashiro stood up and walked to Konan, saying this.

Hearing what Mashiro said, Konan's heart was in turmoil, because what she said was a little-known secret, and no one else knew about Nagato's existence except for her.

Looking into Konan's eyes, Mashiro knew that she had begun to believe. After all, whether it was Nagato, Konan, or the already deceased Yahiko, they were all idealists. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been deceived by Obito first, and then persuaded by Naruto's words. As long as they could be given a satisfactory reason and a beautiful fantasy, they would believe without hesitation.

"How do you know all this?" Konan asked Mashiro, her expression no longer calm as before.

I actually know more than just that. I also know that a masked man who calls himself Madara Uchiha told you about the Ten-Tails. "Mashiro said, looking at Konan. At the same time, the Alien Corps soldiers released Konan, but she didn't move at all.

After hearing Mashiro mention Madara Uchiha, Konan was completely filled with self-doubt, and she had come to believe what Mashiro had said earlier.

“Nagato’s physical condition is not good right now. He’s been summoning the Gedo Mazo and using the power of the Rinnegan for a long time. His life is almost over,” Mashiro said again.

Konan looked at Nagato's mouth; this was indeed her biggest worry, but she couldn't convince him. Then, Mashiro's next words dealt her another heavy blow.

"Do you know why? Because those eyes, though belonging to a sage, have such strong side effects. It's because they weren't actually Nagato's; they were transplanted from someone else."

You should know about the Uzumaki clan, right? They are a clan with incredibly strong life force and chakra. Nagato was a member of the Uzumaki clan, because of the Wheel...

"The Rinnegan consumes a large amount of chakra and life force when used by anyone other than the user. Therefore, someone transplanted the Rinnegan into Nagato and then used it to carry out their own plans." Makoto said calmly.

"How could this be?" Although Xiao Nan didn't want to believe it, a figure suddenly appeared in her mind.

"Did you guess that? Who would help someone for no reason, and also happen to know everything that the other person is wondering about? Didn't you ever have any doubts?" Mashiro's words were like a torrential rain, washing away all the doubts at once.

Yes, why does the Sage's Eye have such severe side effects? Why is Madara Uchiha still alive? Why does he know about the Ten-Tails? ... Everything began to become clear.

"What do you need to do? You claim to be the Sage of Six Paths' sister, you should have a way, right?" Konan said to Mashiro, her tone already pleading. "Of course I have a way, but I need Nagato's cooperation. I need you to take me to him." Mashiro brushed a stray strand of Konan's hair behind her ear and said. Konan hesitated for a moment, then finally agreed to Mashiro's request, but she still asked one last question: "Why do you want to help us?"

Why? It's simple. Someone wants to threaten my interests. See these black shadow monsters? They are all sinners who have died. This strange place is my territory. I, who possess memories and the power of sin, am satisfied with everything. But there's one guy who's different. He wants to redefine everything.

You probably already know the story of my eldest and second eldest brothers, and you can probably guess the gist of my story, but my third brother has always been a dark and gloomy guy.

When the Mother of Chakra distributed the power, my eldest brother Hagoromo inherited the chakra and the Rinnegan, and was responsible for protecting the entire ninja world; my second brother Hamura inherited the chakra and the Byakugan, and was responsible for protecting the moon; I inherited the power of memories and sins, and was responsible for guarding the souls of the dead; and my third brother inherited the shadow, and was responsible for guiding the ninja world toward peace in history.

But he wasn't satisfied. He didn't want to be a shadow forever, so after his two older brothers died one after another, he kept giving wrong instructions to the ninja world, causing constant wars. His ultimate goal was to revive the Ten-Tails through the Rinnegan, then revive the Mother of Chakra, and finally redistribute power. "I don't want that, so I came to the ninja world too," Mashiro said, half-truthfully.

By this time, Minami had completely believed Mashiro's words.

"Let's go, take me to see Nagato." Mashiro waved her hand, and a gate appeared that led out of the Shadow Kingdom. The two stepped inside one after the other.

Deep within the Tower of God, the guards were extremely strict, but Konan led Mashiro forward without any hindrance, and none of the guards dared to obstruct them.

They reached the deepest part of the Tower of God, pushed open the basement door, and entered. Nagato was deep inside. "Konan, why did you bring her here?" Nagato, sitting on the path of guilt, said weakly.

After Konan and Mashiro appeared, Nagato observed them using the Rain Tiger Free Technique. If it weren't for Konan, he might have sent Pain over long ago.

Seeing the weakened Nagato, Konan felt incredibly heartbroken, especially after learning the "truth" from Mashiro, Konan felt even more sympathy and sorrow for Nagato.

“Nagato, she has a way to save you,” Konan said.

“Save me? God doesn’t need anyone’s salvation,” Nagato said coldly.

“But Nagato…” Konan began, but Mashiro stopped her, saying, “Konan, please go out first. Let me talk to Nagato.”

Xiao Nan glanced at the two of them, hesitated for a moment, and finally left the basement.

"What exactly did you say to Konan?" Nagato asked. Mashiro repeated what she had said to Konan to Nagato.

"Ridiculous, do you think I would believe that?" Despite his inner turmoil, Nagato suppressed all his emotions and said.

"Whether you believe it or not doesn't really matter, but your mind must be a complete mess right now," Mashiro suddenly laughed and said. "You mean Ren?" Nagato asked疑惑地问道.

At that moment, a crow appeared out of nowhere, its eyes transforming into kaleidoscopes, and a sinister four-cornered windmill pattern began to spin: "Kotoamatsukami."

Nagato paused for a moment, then everything returned to normal. [Name: Uzumaki Nagato]

Gender: Male Age: 34 Affection Level: 100 Relationship: Master-Servant

Affection Reward (50): Life Form Enhancement (Obtained) Affection Reward (90): Rinnegan (Obtained)

Mashiro gently touched her eyes, and her pure white eyes turned pale purple, revealing mysterious patterns in concentric circles. She intently felt the power of the Rinnegan.

Then, Mashiro closed his eyes again, and his Rinnegan turned into the Byakugan once more.

Chapter Sixty-Six: Secrets in My Heart

Konan, who was waiting outside, saw Mashiro come out and asked in a deep voice, "How is Nagato?"

“I’ve already spoken to him, and he knows the truth now. It seems he had some suspicions before, and now we’ve reached an agreement,” Mashiro said with a smile.

After listening to Mashiro's words, Konan went into the basement.

Mashiro watched Konan walk in, smiling quietly.

A short while later, Konan emerged from the basement, her eyes filled with gratitude and respect. "Isn't it just as I said?" Mashiro said with a light laugh.

"Thank you so much for telling us the truth. I wonder when you will be able to recover Nagato's body," Konan said respectfully. With Nagato's endorsement, she now completely regarded Mashiro as a sage.

"The reason I'm telling you all this is because the Rinnegan plays a crucial role in the plan. As long as I can use the Rinnegan, there's no difference between a healthy Nagato and a weakened Nagato to me. Besides, Nagato has already prepared to sacrifice his life for peace, so why should I expend so much energy to restore his vitality?" Mashiro suddenly said coldly.

“But we’re allies.” Konan didn’t understand why Mashiro had suddenly changed her attitude.

"Indeed, we have reached an agreement, but the goal of this cooperation is only to eliminate my third brother and achieve peace. As for helping Nagato, that's a separate matter."

"Price." Mashiro said coldly.

Konan bit her lip. She knew that Mashiro was right. Given Nagato's personality, he would not hesitate to sacrifice himself as long as peace could be achieved. But she was left with only Nagato.

"I wonder what it would take for you to be willing to treat Nagato?" Konan said, her eyes full of pleading.

"If you want to know, find me in my hotel room tonight." Mashiro looked Konan up and down, smiling as she spoke. Konan sensed something strange about Mashiro's gaze, but didn't pay it any mind, and nodded gently.

Then Mashiro disappeared from the spot. Night.

In Mashiro's hotel room.

Looking at the still gloomy sky, Mashiro muttered to herself, "There's no moon. It seems that rain and moonlight are ultimately mutually exclusive."

Then Mashiro gently opened the bedside table, and white papers seeped in through the crack, coalescing into the image of Konan. "Looks like you're right on time," Mashiro said with a soft laugh.

"Can you tell me? What would it take for you to heal Nagato?" Konan asked respectfully. "Shouldn't one kneel down to ask for help?" Mashiro said softly.

Without hesitation, Konan knelt down, treating Mashiro as a sage—a request that wasn't unreasonable. Mashiro stepped forward and gently stroked Konan's hair.

Xiao Nan felt something was off; the last time her hair was stroked like that was when she was very young.

"Can you tell me what's on your mind? Although I know about your past, I can't read your mind. Your past tells me that you seem..."

"It's not about whether world peace can be achieved, so why have you chosen this path?" Mashiro whispered in Minami's ear.

Konan was silent for a moment before speaking: "You guessed right. Actually, I don't care whether world peace can be achieved. I was born during a time of war and began to wander after losing my parents. The life of wandering was bleak for me until I met Yahiko, then Nagato, and then Jiraiya-sensei. My world gradually became colorful."

I am a selfish person and do not have lofty ambitions. Compared with world peace, I actually care more about the family and friends around me.

But both Yahiko and Nagato aimed for world peace. Yahiko even paid for it with his life. I gradually realized that in a chaotic world, neither family nor friendship can last. Only with world peace can we live in peace.

So you used to just follow in their footsteps, but now you've learned to move forward independently, right? "Mashiro asked, stroking Minami's face.

"Perhaps." Xiao Nan chuckled softly.

"Besides family and friendship, have you ever tried to pursue other kinds of feelings, such as romantic love?" Mashiro asked softly.

"Perhaps when I was in love, I did think that I had feelings for both Yahiko and Nagato. But after Yahiko died, a heavy responsibility fell on my shoulders. By the time I came to my senses, those feelings were gone." Konan said softly, as if she was taking this opportunity to confide some of her innermost thoughts.

“Whether it’s Yahiko, Nagato, or you, if you were born in a peaceful era, you would all be living very well,” Mashiro said with a sigh. “I’ve also fantasized about that,” Konan said.

"If you could save Nagato, would you be willing to give up everything?" Mashiro asked softly, hugging Konan from behind.

“I’m willing. I can give you everything I have. I don’t want to lose anything else. I caused Yahiko’s death back then, and now I want to save Nagato,” Konan said with unwavering determination.

Mashiro fell silent, her hand moving downwards to cover Konan's... Konan was about to resist when she heard Mashiro whisper, "Don't move." So Konan stopped and let Mashiro knead her.

"An equivalent exchange, as the price for saving Nagato," Mashiro whispered in Konan's ear. "Is that all?" Konan had no objections; she didn't care about such things.

Mashiro didn't speak, but gently kissed Minami's neck. The atmosphere became somewhat ambiguous.

On the bed, Mashiro pinned Konan beneath him. His own tail, which had appeared out of nowhere, began to writhe all over Konan's body. She grabbed the tail that was moving erratically against her.

"What is this?" Xiao Nan asked breathlessly.

Konan noticed the strange thing was getting hotter and hotter in her hand. Mashiro simply uttered a single word, then bit down... Konan, her face flushed, looked at the strange tail in her hand and stretched out...

Immediately afterwards, an alluring fragrance wafted out. Xiao Nan began to feel warm all over.

"Are you ready?" Mashiro asked in a deep voice.