Ryo turned to look at the nearly ruined wooden cabin, his expression twitching as he let out a sigh and walked inside.
His heart felt a little bitter. It seemed that not only would the cabin need rebuilding, but the mountain landscape behind it might have to be reconstructed too.
Thinking of this, Ryo couldn't help feeling slightly resentful toward Nagato.
Damn it—another mess to clean up.
Nagato followed him with an awkward expression when he saw the condition of the cabin, but he quickly composed himself and entered alongside Konan.
Cynthia gave Ryo a sideways glance, clearly unimpressed, and stepped into the cabin as well.
The remaining members of the Akatsuki, who had been stunned into silence, finally regained their senses and followed in after.
"Alright, you all can head back. Jiraiya and I will take care of things here," Tsunade said as she glanced at the people entering the cabin, addressing Kakashi and the other shinobi.
The group of Leaf ninja nodded in agreement and quietly departed, still reeling from the shock of what had just happened.
As they left, Tsunade turned to Jiraiya. "Let's go in too."
Jiraiya nodded, and the two of them walked inside the broken structure.
…
In the back courtyard of the cabin, everyone gathered around a wooden table.
Nagato and Konan were seated, their eyes focused on Ryo with a mix of wariness and curiosity.
They weren't sure what exactly he wanted to discuss.
Ryo noticed their stares—and not just theirs. Tsunade and Jiraiya, standing nearby, were also watching him with curiosity.
Without dancing around the subject, Ryo went straight to the point. "I'll be blunt—I want Akatsuki to work for me."
"Huh?"
Nagato stared at him, wondering if he had misheard.
They had just been locked in a life-and-death battle—and now he wanted to recruit them?
Konan and even Tsunade and Jiraiya gave Ryo strange looks.
But Ryo repeated himself without hesitation. "No, you didn't mishear. I want Akatsuki under my command. Otherwise, I wouldn't have spared you."
Nagato and Konan frowned. His words were infuriating—but not inaccurate.
If Ryo had wanted to kill them, especially with Hoopa's power, it would've been effortless.
After a long silence, Nagato looked Ryo in the eye. "Boss, I don't know why you want us under your wing, but I'm sorry. I have to refuse. However, Konan can stay and work for you. Please protect her."
"Nagato!"
Konan shot him an angry glare. "How can you make decisions for me? I'm not leaving your side!"
Nagato frowned deeply, momentarily unsure what to say.
Ryo, watching this, rubbed his temples in frustration. "So you still plan to chase your so-called dream of peace? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you for real?"
Nagato shook his head. "I know you can. But unless I fulfill Yahiko's dream, I won't live as a coward."
"That's a dream? No—that's delusion!"
Jiraiya's voice erupted beside them, filled with fury.
Nagato's eyes sharpened as he met Jiraiya's glare.
He wouldn't allow anyone to question his ideals.
"Alright, enough—both of you calm down."
Ryo raised a hand to silence them.
Konan and Tsunade quickly stepped in to de-escalate the situation, pulling both men back into their seats.
Once things had settled, Ryo turned his attention back to Nagato. "Yahiko's dream was peace, right?"
Nagato nodded. "Yes—peace."
"And you really believe peace comes from power?"
Again, Nagato nodded. "Only overwhelming strength can make the world feel the pain of war. Then they'll understand the value of peace."
Ryo was silent for a moment, then asked calmly, "Do you really think you can achieve that?"
Nagato paused, then answered, "If it weren't for you, I could have."
Ryo let out a low laugh. "You really underestimate the world."
Nagato didn't understand what he meant. He stared at Ryo, puzzled.
Instead of explaining, Ryo posed another question. "Your strength—most of it comes from your eyes. Do you truly understand the Rinnegan?"
Nagato frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
Everyone's attention shifted to Ryo again.
He shook his head slowly. "The Rinnegan—one of the two greatest dōjutsu in the ninja world. The final evolution of the Sharingan."
"What?!"
Tsunade and Jiraiya both shouted in disbelief.
Ryo nodded firmly. "Yes. The Rinnegan is the ultimate form of the Sharingan."
"No way! That's impossible!"
Nagato stood up abruptly. "There's no way the Rinnegan is the final evolution of the Sharingan. I've had these eyes since I was a child!"
Konan nodded in agreement. "Exactly. That can't be right. Nagato was born with them."
Tsunade and Jiraiya also seemed doubtful. "Ryo, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Ryo shook his head calmly. "Let me tell you a story. You all know the Sage of Six Paths, right? You know the Rinnegan originally belonged to him."
Everyone nodded, eyes fixed on Ryo with intense curiosity.
Ryo continued. "The Sage of Six Paths had two sons—the elder, Indra, and the younger, Asura.
"Indra was a natural-born genius and inherited the Sage's eyes. Asura lacked talent but inherited the Sage's body, the so-called Sage Body.
"As time passed, their personalities diverged. Indra became cold and ruthless. Asura was kind and compassionate.
"Asura trained endlessly to stop his brother, eventually growing strong enough to stand against him.
"Conflict flared—but while the Sage was alive, the battles remained small.
"After his death, everything changed. The ninja sect split into two—some followed Indra, others followed Asura.
"With no one to mediate, the fighting escalated. Even after Indra and Asura died, their descendants continued to clash.
"And over the generations, their bloodlines became two distinct clans."
Ryo paused for a beat, then said, "Indra's descendants became the Uchiha clan."
"And Asura's descendants became the Senju clan. Eventually, the Senju clan also split, and one branch became the Uzumaki clan—still inheriting the Sage Body."
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