By the time reinforcements arrived, Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito were already gone.
Konan and Uzumaki Nagato had also been taken back to the village by shinobi from the Gensokyo Kingdom for treatment.
Three days passed.
Konan had woken up long before Nagato. Over the past two days, she had visited his room again and again, her beautiful face unable to hide the worry in her eyes.
"Nagato… are you all right?"
Hearing her voice, Uzumaki Nagato did not answer immediately.
Instead, he quietly extended his senses.
The Uzumaki clan's vitality and perception were not ordinary. Even without sight, Nagato could still feel the presence around him with frightening clarity.
Only after confirming that no one else was nearby did the corner of his mouth slowly rise.
Then he laughed.
Konan froze.
For a moment, her heart almost stopped.
"Nagato!"
She rushed to his bedside, panic flashing across her face.
"Nagato, don't scare me! I'll call a medical-nin right now!"
"Hahaha… Konan, calm down."
Nagato, who had looked weak and half-dead moments ago, suddenly sat up from the bed.
The frail expression on his face vanished completely, replaced by a relaxed smile.
"I'm really fine."
"You…"
Konan stared at him suspiciously.
"You're really fine?"
Her tone made it obvious she did not believe him at all.
Nagato understood her reaction. After all, anyone who saw him laughing like that after losing the Rinnegan would probably think something had gone wrong with his mind.
But since no one else was around, he no longer needed to keep pretending.
He lowered his voice and said, "Konan, this was part of the plan."
"…Plan?"
Konan was stunned.
She could not understand what he meant.
What plan?
How could there be a plan she knew nothing about?
Seeing the confusion in her eyes, Nagato slowly explained.
"The Rinnegan were never truly mine."
Konan's expression changed.
Nagato continued calmly, "Even though the Leader changed my body and improved my constitution, those eyes still belonged to someone else. Every time I used the Rinnegan's power, especially on a large scale, it consumed my life force."
He lifted a strand of hair near his sleeve.
Most of it had already turned pale.
"This is the proof."
Konan's eyes trembled slightly as she saw the gray strands.
Nagato's voice remained steady.
"And those eyes are necessary for Uchiha Madara's plan. The Leader already guessed that Madara would come to take them back sooner or later."
He paused for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"So rather than saying they stole the Rinnegan from me…"
"It would be more accurate to say we handed them over."
Konan fell silent.
Nagato continued, "They were only a pair of eyes that never belonged to me in the first place. There's no reason to feel regret over losing them."
His voice slowly gained strength.
"The Leader promised me that once I return, he will help me obtain a pair of eyes that truly belong to me."
Konan looked at him.
"Eyes that truly belong to you?"
Nagato nodded.
"The Sharingan of the Uchiha clan."
Konan's eyes widened slightly.
Nagato's smile became brighter, and for the first time in a long while, there was genuine excitement in his voice.
"With the power I accumulated from using the Rinnegan all these years, there is a chance that one day, I can awaken a pair of Rinnegan that truly belong to me."
As he said those words, even Nagato could not keep his calm completely.
If someone had the chance to become stronger, truly stronger, who would reject it?
Not just strong.
Not just famous.
But strong enough to stand at the very peak of the shinobi world.
Namikaze Kirito had given them that possibility.
That was why the entire shinobi world could be united without the slightest crack forming in its foundation.
It was not merely because of force.
Force could suppress people, but it could not make them willingly follow the same path.
What truly held everything together was Namikaze Kirito himself.
His strength.
His vision.
His charisma.
His ability to make others believe that the future he pointed toward was worth risking everything for.
If it had been anyone else, even someone with overwhelming power, they would never have been able to gather so many different wills into one direction.
Namikaze Kirito's success could not be copied.
After hearing Nagato's explanation, Konan finally relaxed.
Although she did not want to admit it, that man really did possess a strange kind of power.
People were drawn to him.
Even she had to admit that.
Of course…
That was only if she ignored the way he always bullied her.
The moment that thought appeared, Konan's face flushed slightly.
Thankfully, Nagato could not see her expression at that moment.
Otherwise, with his current mood, he would definitely tease her until she wanted to bury herself in paper.
At the same time, in the capital of the Gensokyo Kingdom—
The former Konoha Village.
Namikaze Kirito sat quietly, reading the intelligence report in his hand.
Beside him, Nohara Rin stayed close, her cheeks faintly flushed as she looked up at him.
"Rin," Kirito said without moving his eyes from the report, "don't force yourself."
Rin's voice was soft, but there was no hesitation in it.
"My lord… I'm not forcing myself."
She smiled gently.
"If it is for you, then I'm happy."
Hearing her answer, Namikaze Kirito's expression did not change much.
He simply continued reading the information in his hand.
"So Madara has taken back his Rinnegan."
His gaze moved across the report, calm and unreadable.
"That means your Eye of the Moon Plan is finally about to begin."
His fingers lightly tapped the paper.
"Kaguya Ōtsutsuki…"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"You will appear before me soon."
Kirito's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I wonder what kind of expression the so-called Rabbit Goddess will make when she learns that she herself was only a pawn in someone else's game."
His smile deepened.
"I'm looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, inside the Akatsuki base—
Uchiha Obito had already transplanted one Rinnegan.
The reason he did not implant the second was simple.
First, Kamui was still his greatest life-saving technique.
Second, he had no intention of completely handing over his body to Madara's plan.
One Rinnegan was enough.
Uchiha Madara stood nearby, watching him in silence.
Only after Obito slowly sat up did Madara speak.
"So, you have obtained the Rinnegan."
His voice was calm, but the pressure within it was unmistakable.
"Now you have the power needed to control the Ten-Tails."
Madara's eyes remained fixed on him.
"Tell me, Obito. Do you intend to revive me first?"
"Or do you plan to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki yourself?"
Obito did not look surprised by the question.
He slowly raised his head, the newly implanted Rinnegan glowing coldly in one eye.
"Madara."
His voice was low.
"Your resurrection can wait until our plan succeeds."
He paused.
"Since I promised you, I will do it."
Madara was not surprised at all.
If Obito had obediently revived him right away, that would have been far stranger.
After all, Namikaze Kirito existed in this shinobi world.
Madara's pride would never allow him to admit weakness easily, but facts were facts.
Namikaze Kirito was strong.
Terrifyingly strong.
Even Madara himself could not say he had a clear chance of victory against him.
That was why confronting Kirito head-on before completing the plan was nothing but foolishness.
Only after becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, only after obtaining the power closest to that of the Sage of Six Paths, would Madara have the confidence to stand before Namikaze Kirito.
But what if things did not go smoothly?
Madara had never personally become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki before.
He could feel the violent, bottomless power overflowing from the Ten-Tails, but feeling it and controlling it were two entirely different things.
And against someone like Namikaze Kirito, who could guarantee there would be no hidden move waiting for them?
The Eye of the Moon Plan allowed only one chance.
Madara did not intend to leave anything to luck.
That was why Obito had become the most suitable test subject.
He possessed the Rinnegan.
He could become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.
He could throw the entire shinobi world into chaos and force Namikaze Kirito to reveal the full extent of his strength.
Then, at the end—
Madara would step in.
He would crush every obstacle himself.
And the entire world would be swallowed by the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
There could only be one winner.
And that winner would be him.
Uchiha Madara.
A cold light flashed in Madara's eyes.
Obito, however, did not seem to notice.
The transplant had been completed successfully, and he could already feel the power of the Rinnegan flowing through him.
Without wasting another moment, he stood up and walked toward the cave where the Ten-Tails was being held.
Madara followed behind him.
As he moved, he gave Black Zetsu a brief glance.
Black Zetsu understood the meaning behind that look immediately.
After all, he knew Madara's plan very well.
So he gave a slight, almost invisible nod.
But what Madara did not know was that the plan hidden inside Black Zetsu's heart was completely different from his own.
This was a game that involved the entire shinobi world.
Madara.
Obito.
Black Zetsu.
Namikaze Kirito.
And even the being behind the curtain that Kirito had always been watching.
Every side had its own scheme.
Every player believed they were the one controlling the board.
But in the end, only one plan could succeed.
Only one person could create the new world.
Everyone else would become nothing more than sacrifices buried beneath it.
And in this game—
Namikaze Kirito had absolute confidence.
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