Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

I completely don't understand what's going on. Why is Konan bound? Why are there so many black rods stuck in Nagato's body? What is Jiraiya doing? And if I remember correctly, I should be dead, right?

"Yahiko? You really are Yahiko?"

Xiao Nan asked in a murmur.

"It's probably true, though I remember I died back then." Yahiko raised his hand and scratched his cheek, looking rather unsure.

That appearance,

That posture

That tone of voice,

The memories overlapped with those of Konan and Nagato.

To his former Akatsuki comrades, Yahiko was a strong, confident, and decisive leader. However, only a few people, such as Nagato and Konan, knew that Yahiko would often doubt the appropriateness of his decisions and suffer from insomnia due to worry. Nagato and Konan could only cheer Yahiko on in private.

"Yahiko!!"

Xiao Nan's hands were trembling.

She had a thousand words she wanted to say, but looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar face, she couldn't utter a complete sentence; she could only manage to call out the name with difficulty.

"it's me."

A warm smile appeared on Yahiko's face.

He nodded slightly to Xiao Nan.

As the true founder of Akatsuki and a hero who led the organization in resisting the tyranny of Amegakure at the time, Yahiko was not the kind of foolish protagonist who had no other merits besides being hot-blooded. He was smart and saw the weariness and pain hidden deep in Konan's eyes.

Realizing that in the years after his death,

Xiao Nan's life is very hard.

As for Nagato... just looking at that black rod that pierced through the back of his head, I suppose that idiot died just like me, right? So he really couldn't escape from Hanzo of the Salamander after all? Back then, Hanzo of the Salamander captured Konan and set a trap to surround them.

At that moment, Yahiko realized he was in a desperate situation. He had no choice but to accept Hanzo of the Salamander's demand that Konan live in exchange for his death. Furthermore, he believed that Nagato, possessing the Rinnegan, would ultimately become the bridge to peace, so he willingly went to his death...

Judging from the current situation,

It seems Nagato perished along with him?

In the end, only Xiaonan survived?

"Nagato, were you killed by Hanzo the Salamander?" Yahiko asked.

"what?"

Nagato was stunned by the question.

"Isn't that so?"

Yahiko blinked in confusion.

"No, no, I... Hanzo the Salamander is dead. You... I killed him with my own hands." Nagato almost stammered. Hanzo the Salamander was killed by Pain, or you could say he was killed by Nagato, or you could say he died at Yahiko's hands.

"then you?"

"My story is... quite complicated."

Nagato said with a wry smile.

In this situation,

This was completely unexpected.

"Then tell me slowly."

Zongxian then interjected.

"May I ask who you are...?" Yahiko looked over curiously. He had noticed Sogen and Kabuto from the very beginning, but he hadn't figured out the situation and hadn't made any rash moves to approach them. But since Sogen had taken the initiative to speak, he took the opportunity to ask.

"Uchiha Munen is currently the Sixth Hokage of Konoha Village."

Zongxian gave a brief introduction of himself.

Finally,

He added, "Also, this is the dungeon of Konoha Village. Outsiders are generally not allowed to enter here without my permission, so you can talk here without worry."

Yahiko paused for two seconds, then his expression turned strange again.

Good guy,

This situation seems to be getting more and more confusing. The Sixth Hokage... If I remember correctly, when he died, Konoha was still ruled by the Third Hokage, who was known as the "Hero of Shinobi." He was Jiraiya's teacher, so he could be considered their grandmaster.

In the blink of an eye,

How did it become the sixth generation?

Jiraiya, standing nearby, didn't deny it either, and didn't seem to be lying. From the Third Hokage to the Sixth Hokage... If Konan hadn't turned into a wrinkled old lady, it would be hard not to suspect that half a century had passed since his death.

And the dungeons of Konoha Village?

Yahiko rolled his eyes again, surveying his surroundings. This enclosed environment, even if not a dungeon, was definitely similar. So why were his group in such a place? Considering Konan's earlier restraints, was it because of a war with Konoha? Had they lost and been captured?

Seeing that Zongxian didn't seem to be planning to say anything more,

Yahiko wisely refrained from pressing the matter and instead turned to look at Nagato and Konan.

"Konan, can you tell me what's going on? And Nagato, you tell me too! Anyway, it seems we don't have any time to spare." Yahiko looked around, and Kabuto Yakushi appropriately extended his hand to signal them to follow, leading Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan to the jailers' office in the dungeon.

The black rod on Nagato's body was removed by Sōgen.

Previously, the black rods were inserted into Nagato's body to prevent him from going berserk. However, now that Yahiko has a limiter, there is no need for the black rods to restrain Nagato. Therefore, even though the black rods have been removed and Nagato's fighting power has been restored, he has not decisively launched an attack.

Instead, she followed Yahiko obediently behind Kabuto, just like Konan.

Jiraiya quietly watched Yahiko and the others' backs until they disappeared around the corner of the corridor before asking, "Sōgen, is this your plan?"

"That's right. Since I can't convince Xiaonan, why not find someone else who can?"

Zongxian put his hands behind his back and said in a leisurely tone:

"Forbidden techniques aren't all bad. In the end, they're just tools. They're good when used for good and evil when used for evil. Whether a sharp blade is used to kill people or to chop vegetables depends on the wielder's choice. At least that's true for most forbidden techniques."

at the moment,

It looks pretty good.

It was worth it for him to order Shisui and the others to clean up the battlefield and pull Pain out of the ruins. Then, Kabuto Yakushi used the cell tissue extracted from Pain to perform the Impure World Reincarnation technique to bring Yahiko back from the underworld, who had been dead for many years.

"How can you be sure that Yahiko will help you persuade Minami?"

I'm not sure.

Zongxian shrugged indifferently, "It would be best if this succeeded, but even if it failed... I have a backup plan."

Jiraiya was speechless.

Is this just an attempt?

"Of course, based on the intelligence I've gathered, the chances of success are quite high! Yahiko was the true spiritual core of the Akatsuki organization back then. Hanzo of the Salamander was willing to join forces with Danzo to eliminate Yahiko... It was only after Yahiko's death that the Akatsuki organization gradually degenerated into a dangerous organization."

"...You're right. If Yahiko were alive, perhaps... things wouldn't have turned out this way."

Jiraiya let out a long sigh.

Although he had previously believed that Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, was the child of prophecy spoken of by the Great Toad Sage, he also clearly saw that among the three of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, Yahiko was undoubtedly the core. Even though Yahiko had the worst talent in ninjutsu training, his personal charm was in no way inferior to Minato's.

Nagato's beliefs were deeply influenced by Yahiko.

That was a position that even he, as a teacher, could not replace.

Unfortunately,

Yahiko sacrificed himself.

Without Yahiko to illuminate their path, Nagato and Konan, instigated by those with ill intentions, embarked on a wrong path without looking back.

"If, I mean if, Yahiko really manages to persuade Konan to cooperate with the village? Sogen, what are you going to do then? Will you annex Amegakure or abolish it?" Jiraiya looked over, staring at Sogen, trying to figure out what the Sixth Hokage was thinking.

Why go to such lengths to do something like this?

What exactly is it supposed to do?

Is it to consolidate Konoha Village's current position? Or... is there another motive?

"From now on, there is nothing in Amegakure that I care about. Abolishing Amegakure is meaningless to me. However, the land of the rain... ultimately needs a powerful organization to control it. Moreover, as a strategic location connecting the land of wind and the land of earth, it is a good thing that Amegakure is close to Konoha."

Zongxian said.

This is not a lie.

The reason he went so far as to use the Impure World Reincarnation technique to try and win over Amegakure was indeed to make Amegakure a vassal of Konoha. He did this partly to fulfill his duties as Hokage, and partly to make his subsequent actions easier.

Even though Amegakure appears to be crippled,

But in reality, the vital energy was not damaged.

Under Pain's rule, Amegakure has actually been doing quite well these past few years, and its overall strength has also developed to a certain extent, although it still cannot compare with Amegakure during its heyday under Hanzo of the Salamander, when it attempted to become the sixth greatest ninja village.

However, it can be considered a powerful ninja village, second only to the five great ninja villages.

Such an ally,

It still carries some weight.

It will come in handy later...

Zongxian pondered for a moment. He had a general outline of what was to come, but it was not very clear yet and he needed to spend time sorting it out. At the same time, there was still a lot of preparatory work to be done, and the matter of Amegakure could be considered one of the preparatory works.

"I see!"

Jiraiya gave Sogen a deep look and gave up on asking further questions.

There was no thorough investigation.

In any case, Sogen is still the Sixth Hokage. There's no need to explain everything to this old guy. As long as it doesn't harm Konoha's interests, whatever the Hokage does is his freedom. In fact, the fact that he can act freely is largely thanks to Sogen's willingness to give him face.

otherwise,

Zongxian could have easily assigned him tasks to do.

Jiraiya was able to travel the ninja world without losing his identity as a Konoha ninja, not because he enjoyed any special privileges, but simply because of the tacit approval of the successive Hokage. The Third Hokage was his teacher, the Fourth Hokage was his disciple, and the Fifth Hokage was also related to him, making him his senior uncle.

At the same time, Konoha could not afford to lose Jiraiya.