Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Zongxian abruptly interrupted Nagato's nonsense.

Xiao Nan, who had been silent all along, suddenly glared angrily. A snow-white piece of paper flew into the air, about to shoot towards Zong Xian. However... Zong Xian glanced at her, and their eyes met in mid-air. Xiao Nan's expression instantly froze, as if she had lost her soul.

【Magic - The Art of Shackles】

In Xiao Nan's mental space, her body was firmly nailed in place by metal wedges, making her unable to move like a sculpture.

She forgot the ironclad rule of the ninja world that one should never look Uchiha in the eye.

Due to carelessness,

He was directly subdued by Zongxian.

"Zong Xian?"

Jiraiya frowned slightly.

"Don't worry, Jiraiya-senpai, she's still useful. She's more useful alive than dead." Zongxian said casually. "But... Nagato, you can go in peace!" Before Jiraiya could even react, Zongxian flicked his finger, and a tiny whirlwind pierced through Nagato's throat, going straight to the back of his throat.

Blood flowed onto Xiao Nan's hands, staining her snow-white arm red.

This time,

Even the stamina of the Uzumaki clan was useless. To be precise, the fact that he had survived with a hole in his heart was enough to prove how tenacious the life force of the Uzumaki clan was. But that was almost the last bit of strength he had used up, and he could no longer endure the injury of having an eye opened in his throat.

Nagato's head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last.

The breath of life

It vanished in an instant.

"Nagato... Nagato?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened.

"This, this, Zongxian, what are you doing...?"

"Let's talk about it when we get back to the village! Kabuto, come and clean up." Sogen beckoned and summoned Kabuto to clean up the scene, mainly to collect Nagato's body. As for Konan, who was alive... she could be left in the care of her teacher, Jiraiya.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"That red-haired man is dead!"

In a secluded underground stronghold outside Amegakure, a dim candle flickered in the small room, casting five long shadows on the walls.

The one who spoke to report Nagato's death was a red-haired girl.

Karin did not know Nagato's name.

However, this did not prevent her from monitoring Nagato's condition. Previously, she had been monitoring the battle between Nagato and Sogen in real time and informing Lord Orochimaru and Haku of the situation. This led to Orochimaru and Haku's brilliant teamwork, which caught Nagato off guard and allowed them to seize the Rinnegan.

"Is Nagato dead? This was an inevitable outcome."

Obito Uchiha didn't pay much attention to this matter.

Anyway,

Having been stabbed in the heart by Haku and had his Rinnegan stolen, Nagato was doomed; it was an inevitable outcome. Compared to that… the most important thing right now was to persuade Haku to cooperate and hand over the Rinnegan…

"Well? What's your decision? Haku, as long as we use the power of the Rinnegan, reviving Orochimaru is a piece of cake. You don't have to worry that I'll just take the Rinnegan and leave. To show my sincerity, you don't have to hand over the Rinnegan to me. I'll teach you how to control the Rinnegan, and then you can revive Orochimaru yourself."

Obito Uchiha lied without batting an eye.

Reviving a dead person is no easy task.

The power of the Rinnegan's Outer Path does indeed have the ability to resurrect the dead, but the problem is that the price of resurrecting the dead is the caster's own life. Moreover, not just anyone who puts on a pair of Rinnegan can use the power of the Rinnegan's Outer Path.

He couldn't very well sacrifice himself to resurrect that old man, Madara Uchiha; he didn't want to do that for the time being.

after all,

The boy named Bai in front of me seems to be a good vessel!

Therefore,

Instead of rushing to find a way to get the Rinnegan back into his hands, he tried his best to guide Haku to see if he could control the power of the Rinnegan. Beside him, Zetsu, who was like a pitcher plant, remained silent, thinking about what to do next.

Nagato is dead.

The Rinnegan was stolen by Orochimaru's underlings.

Even the Gedo Mazo fell into the hands of Uchiha Sogen... It doesn't seem like it's entirely a bad thing. Uchiha Sogen awakened the Rinnegan, so he must have seen the altered stone tablet placed under the Uchiha clan's Naka Shrine.

maybe,

Is this another Uchiha Madara?

Black Zetsu hesitated, unsure whether to firmly revive Uchiha Madara and correct the distorted Eye of the Moon plan, or to wait and see what Uchiha Sogen did and see if he was another Uchiha Madara.

"Cooperation is possible, but... I will first try to use other methods to revive Lord Orochimaru. The Rinnegan is the last resort." Haku spoke up at this moment. He wasn't a brainless fool, and he wouldn't believe everything Obito Uchiha said. He saw through Obito Uchiha's deliberate manipulation very clearly.

but,

He didn't say anything definitive.

If all other methods fail and Orochimaru cannot be resurrected, then it's not unreasonable to take a gamble!

[Chapter 400 The Impure World Reincarnation Technique]

"can."

Obito Uchiha considered for two seconds and then agreed with Haku's explanation.

temporary,

There's no need to push Bai too hard.

This boy is not someone you can easily crush. He has been maintaining Sage Mode, wearing an impenetrable cloak of Sage Chakra, clearly on guard against you. The boy and girl beside him, and the red-haired girl from the Uzumaki clan, are negligible in a direct confrontation.

But another burly young man exudes a dangerous murderous aura!

Now that the Akatsuki organization is severely weakened, Obito Uchiha has no desire to fight Haku unless absolutely necessary. If possible, he could use the fact that Mugen Uchiha killed Orochimaru as a pretext to perhaps recruit Haku and Orochimaru's remaining forces to his own side.

honestly,

this time,

The loss was devastating.

This unprecedented defeat dealt a heavy blow to the Eye of the Moon Project. To be honest, he was completely bewildered and had no idea how to salvage the situation. He was simply trying, out of habit, to continue accumulating power, regardless of whether it would yield any results or whether he could continue to contend with Konoha...

They are all uncertain unknowns.

only--

We need to do something.

We can't just raise both hands and give up, can we?

He had no intention of giving up or surrendering to fate; he would continue to fight until the end of his life.

"Bai, what are you planning to do next?"

"Uchiha Obito asked."

"You needn't trouble yourself with that; I have my own ideas."

Haku refused to reveal information to Obito Uchiha about how to revive Lord Orochimaru... He didn't actually have a clear idea in mind and needed to go back and study it carefully. The vast amount of information left behind by Lord Orochimaru couldn't be thoroughly studied in a short time.

Anyway,

He needs time.

The conversation came to an end there. The two groups, who were not familiar with each other, parted ways after agreeing on a way to contact each other. Haku took Karin and Jugo north, intending to return to Otogakure first. This time, Kidomaru and the others died, and that idiot Jirobo was captured alive. Otogakure was destined to be lost as their base.

Before it was destroyed by the Konoha ninja,

We must move as much data and supplies as possible out of the Hidden Sound Village, and also take away trustworthy personnel, in order to minimize the losses.

Obito Uchiha did not leave. He and Zetsu stayed in this secret base not far from Amegakure. It wasn't that he didn't want to get away from the destroyed Amegakure; it was just that this place was too close to Amegakure and he couldn't say it was 100% safe. The reason he didn't leave was that he hadn't decided what to do next.

"Absolutely brilliant."

"Ok?"

"Uchiha Madara, that guy... did he leave behind any backup plans?"

"A backup plan? You, me, and Nagato are the backup plans left behind by Madara Uchiha."

Black Zetsu's answer left Obito Uchiha speechless.

That's what I meant.

No problem.

Indeed, these people were Madara Uchiha's backup plan. However, unfortunately, they were unlucky and things did not go according to Madara Uchiha's Eye of the Moon plan. In fact, after losing Nagato, the Eye of the Moon plan became increasingly difficult to continue.

"Besides us, are there any other backup plans?"

Obito Uchiha pressed for an answer.

"If such a thing existed, we wouldn't have watched that brat take away the Rinnegan." Black Zetsu said irritably. He meant it. Although Uchiha Sogen might become another Uchiha Madara, it was really unreliable to pin his hopes on such an uncertain possibility.

He was just like Obito Uchiha.

Black Zetsu was also at a loss.

What should we do next?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

What will become of the remnants of the Akatsuki organization?

This matter wasn't insignificant, but it wasn't exactly urgent for Zongxian either. He had other things to deal with, and with Shisui's help, he returned from Amegakure to Konoha, where nightlife had already begun.

It was almost midnight.

The moon is bright and the stars are few tonight.

Konoha Village remained as bustling as ever, with most villagers unaware that their Sixth Hokage had left the village.

After returning to the village,

Without even changing his wet clothes, Zongxian went straight to a base deep underground in Konoha Village and used the Summoning Jutsu to summon the Gedo Mazo, a huge creature. Because Zongxian had usurped control of the Gedo Mazo in Amegakure, he couldn't send it back to its previous location.

Even if he could, Zongxian would never return the items.