Chapter 410 The Fifth Disciple

“Sōsuke, do you know about the Rinnegan?” Nagato chose to trust Muzuki after a moment of silence.

“I do.” Muzuki nodded with a smile, “It’s the Six Paths Sage’s eye, and it’s right in front of me.”

Nagato looked at Muzuki in astonishment, realizing that Muzuki had recognized his Rinnegan without his knowledge.

“Don’t be too surprised. Actually, there are many descendants of the Six Paths Sage in the world. Anyone who understands the Six Paths Sage’s information can recognize your eyes,” Muzuki reminded him.

Nagato showed an expression of learning something new. He only reacted when Muzuki didn’t speak, realizing it was his turn to tell Muzuki his story.

“Although these are my eyes, I can’t control their power very well yet. The first time I discovered I had such power was the day my parents were killed by Konoha Ninja.” Nagato’s expression darkened a bit when he spoke of his parents’ deaths.

It was a painful memory he couldn’t forget even now; he had been a child with both parents.

Muzuki gently patted Nagato’s back. In the original work, Nagato’s life was considered one of the most tragic, even among the Ninja.

Because he was chosen by Uchiha Madara and had the Rinnegan transplanted, his entire life was arranged, and he was always losing important people.

“Because of my parents, I really disliked Konoha Ninja, but there was one Konoha Ninja who made me change my view of Konoha Ninja, and that was Jiraiya-sensei.” When Jiraiya was mentioned, Nagato’s expression improved a bit.

If Nagato had a ranking of important people in his heart, Yahiko would be first, Konan second, and Jiraiya third.

Jiraiya taught Nagato many Ninjutsu, hoping to help Nagato better control the power of the Rinnegan. At the same time, Jiraiya often encouraged Nagato and comforted him when he was down.

Even today, Nagato occasionally dreams of the time he spent with Jiraiya. It was truly a relaxed and joyful time, without needing to think too much.

Jiraiya made them realize that not all Konoha Ninja were bad; it depended on the individual.

“The Sannin Jiraiya, I know him. He is an amazing Ninja,” Muzuki responded with a smile.

“Jiraiya-sensei taught me many things. Last time, because Yahiko was attacked by Ninja, I couldn’t control the power of the Rinnegan and directly killed the opponent. Actually, I didn’t want to kill anyone, because there must be a better solution than killing.

But at that time, my mind was filled with hatred. By the time I came to my senses, the opponent had already fallen, and it was too late.” Nagato lowered his head slightly.

Nagato disliked killing. He felt that killing was the worst outcome, so killing due to the Rinnegan’s rampage caused him the pain of losing himself.

“Even though Jiraiya-sensei taught me so many Ninjutsu, I’m still like this. Maybe I’m the only one he misjudged. Someone like me can’t save anyone, so how can I save the world?” Nagato’s mood became even more dejected.

“Don’t deny yourself like that. If you hadn’t acted, perhaps Yahiko and the others would have been injured. You protected your comrades,” Muzuki said, looking into Nagato’s eyes.

“And since they attacked you, it’s only natural for you to retaliate. Their deaths are not your fault.”

Nagato looked at Muzuki, and behind Muzuki, a familiar white-haired figure seemed to appear.

“Sōsuke, what do you think is the way to achieve peace?” Nagato asked on a whim.

He wanted to know if Muzuki’s answer would be the same as Jiraiya’s.

“If you’re talking about a plan that can definitely achieve peace, then I certainly don’t have one,” Muzuki replied.

“But if you’re talking about striving towards peace, that’s actually what we’re doing.”

“Spreading the ideology of peace, raising public awareness, improving one’s own abilities…”

Nagato looked at Muzuki again. The white-haired figure behind Muzuki disappeared; they were ultimately different.

Jiraiya’s answer back then was more vague than Muzuki’s.

Jiraiya said he hadn’t thought of an answer, then said that experiencing pain makes people grow and think, and learn how to treat others gently. If everyone understood each other, perhaps a peaceful world would come.

Before Jiraiya left, he entrusted the heavy responsibility of finding peace to Nagato. He believed that Nagato, with the Rinnegan, might be the reincarnation of the Six Paths Sage, and that Nagato’s eyes held the hope for peace.

Nagato felt that Muzuki was more like the savior Jiraiya spoke of than himself.

The Six Paths Sage traveled the Ninja World, spreading peace and establishing the Shinobi Sect, while Muzuki traveled the Land of Rain, spreading peace and establishing the Shinobi Sect.

“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Although you have the same eyes as the Six Paths Sage, you don’t need to compare yourself to the Six Paths Sage. You are you; you are Nagato, not anyone else,” Muzuki said earnestly.

In his opinion, Nagato was just putting too much pressure on himself.

This kind of personality is very troublesome, because people’s endurance is limited, and too much pressure will eventually lead to collapse.

If Obito had gone berserk and dealt with all the enemies, he definitely wouldn’t have blamed himself; instead, he would have shown off frantically in front of Rin Nohara and Kakashi.

Of course, Muzuki wasn’t saying that Obito’s way was good; he felt it would be better if the two balanced each other out.

Nagato’s body trembled. These were words Jiraiya had never said to him.

Compared to Jiraiya telling him he was the reincarnation of the Six Paths Sage, a savior, Nagato found that he actually preferred Muzuki’s simple statement: you are you, you are Nagato.

The image of Muzuki in Nagato’s mind gradually became richer; this was also someone worthy of recognition.

“If you don’t mind having another teacher, I can try to teach you some Ninjutsu. I hope it will help you control the Rinnegan,” Muzuki said with a chuckle.

“Haven’t I been learning from you already?” Nagato said honestly.

He had always listened attentively in Muzuki’s classes.

【Do you want to establish a master-disciple relationship with Nagato?】

Looking at the pop-up that suddenly appeared on the system panel, Muzuki smiled, “Of course, but next, I will teach you some more special Ninjutsu.”

Without hesitation, Muzuki clicked yes. This was the first time he had put so much effort into the disciple recruitment stage.

Muzuki had been planning the recruitment of Nagato for quite some time, and the actual implementation took even longer.

【Relationship established successfully. Current Trust Level Two. Disciple Nagato has unlocked “Disciple Cultivation Return to Master” and “Disciple Return.”】

The initial trust level was two, which Muzuki was quite satisfied with. This indicated that Nagato already had some trust in him.

Muzuki valued Nagato’s trust level greatly, as he recruited Nagato because of Nagato’s Chakra. The higher the trust level, the more effective “Disciple Cultivation Return to Master” would be.

Nagato’s current Chakra was over 600,000. Muzuki felt that Nagato’s normal growth peak would be at least five million. If he could raise the trust level to four before the high-growth period, Muzuki would never have to worry about Chakra again.

Muzuki had calculated that it would be difficult to accumulate Chakra like those with Sage Body Jinchuriki through missions or classes. He would have to recruit a Chakra-rich disciple and rely on “Disciple Cultivation Return to Master.”

Even if he gained 50,000 Chakra a year, it would only be 500,000 in ten years. But with a Chakra-rich disciple like Nagato, plus a trust level of four, he might get tens of millions of Chakra back in ten years.

This was why Muzuki was so eager to have Nagato as a disciple; the Chakra returns were too great.

“You’re quite tired today. Get some rest early,” Muzuki said to Nagato with a gentle smile.

It was getting late now, not suitable for teaching. Also, considering the Rinnegan on Nagato, Muzuki had to guard against White Zetsu’s surveillance.

Muzuki had already considered these things before coming to the Land of Rain.

With Muzuki’s current Sealing Technique, he was capable of setting up a barrier that White Zetsu couldn’t eavesdrop on. He could teach Nagato inside that barrier then.

The reason would be that Nagato’s Rinnegan was special, and to prevent Nagato from going berserk and harming people, a special environment was needed.

Nagato nodded. He was indeed tired today, in every sense.

… … … …

The Rain Ninja dispatched by Lord Hanzo acted quickly.

They first visited and investigated the villagers at the location given by Danzo Shimura and obtained two pieces of information.

One was that someone witnessed Yahiko and his group fighting Iwagakure Ninja, and the other was that Yahiko and his group had searched for the bodies of Iwagakure Ninja.

With these two pieces of evidence, it was almost confirmed that Yahiko and his group had killed the Iwagakure Ninja.

Then the Rain Ninja inquired about the content of the Shinobi Sect Ninja’s ideology, which did not differ much from what Danzo Shimura had said.

Looking at the intelligence in his hand, Lord Hanzo’s face turned grim.

He had once given Muzuki some warnings because he thought highly of him, but he didn’t expect Muzuki to repay him in this way.

Although these things were not done by Muzuki, in Lord Hanzo’s view, Muzuki was the leader of that group of Ninja, and Muzuki needed to take responsibility.

Danzo Shimura seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, “In my opinion, this Sōsuke must be plotting for control of Amegakure. He wants to lure you, Lord Hanzo, into war with Iwagakure, and then he will reap the benefits.”

“Lord Hanzo, you are too lenient with geniuses. They don’t have the willpower that you and I do; they will be corrupted as soon as they gain power, fame, and wealth.”

“It does need to be dealt with.” Lord Hanzo nodded with a cold face. This was something he could not tolerate. Muzuki and the Shinobi Sect’s actions had crossed his bottom line.

Danzo Shimura’s smile grew wider; things were moving in the direction he desired.

“My subordinates helped cover it up, so Iwagakure shouldn’t find out that quickly. If you don’t want to go to war with Iwagakure, you can eliminate them quickly as a way to give Iwagakure an explanation,” Danzo Shimura continued.

He was already impatient to see these three forces in the Land of Rain destroyed, preferably with both sides suffering heavy losses.

“Thank you, Danzo.” Lord Hanzo felt that Danzo Shimura was truly good.

“I have another way that can make it easier for you to deal with Sōsuke and his group,” Danzo Shimura began to strategize.

Lord Hanzo looked at Danzo, curious about what this easier method he spoke of was.

“Sōsuke isn’t saying he wants peace, is he? You can use the excuse of wanting to borrow their strength to maintain peace together to invite them to a certain location. We just need to set up traps and ambush Ninja there to make victory easier,” Danzo Shimura sneered.

In his opinion, naive peace advocates like Sōsuke were the easiest to deal with; a few beautiful empty slogans could trick them over.

Lord Hanzo showed an expression of agreement. Danzo Shimura’s plan indeed had great feasibility and could make him win more easily.

Even for a Ninja of his level, there was a big difference between having a terrain advantage and not having one.

“At that time, I will dispatch Konoha Ninja to help you, but I hope you can also support me in other matters in the future,” Danzo Shimura hinted.

“Mutual help is what friends do,” Lord Hanzo replied, indicating no problem.

Lord Hanzo didn’t mind having a powerful friend like Danzo Shimura, especially since Danzo Shimura had truly helped him significantly this time.

If it weren’t for Danzo Shimura, Amegakure might have gone to war with Iwagakure.

After finalizing the plan, Lord Hanzo quickly dispatched an envoy to find Muzuki.

Muzuki, at this time, had just completed his travels in the Land of Rain, and Muzuki’s Shinobi Sect was officially established. All Ninja except Kakuzu had joined the Shinobi Sect.

Initially, Yahiko was somewhat concerned about the Iwagakure Ninja incident, but since there was no follow-up for a while, Yahiko didn’t pay too much attention and focused on the Akatsuki Organization’s expansion.

He believed that the Akatsuki Organization and the Shinobi Sect were not in conflict, because the Shinobi Sect, strictly speaking, was not the same as a Ninja Organization. The Shinobi Sect was more like a belief; everyone recognized the Shinobi Sect’s ideology and yearned for peace.

Indeed, some Ninja were persuaded by Yahiko to join the Akatsuki Organization. On one hand, the Akatsuki Organization already had some fame in the Land of Rain, and on the other hand, during their interactions with the Akatsuki Organization members, they discovered the Akatsuki Organization’s strengths.

However, more people still wanted to continue following Muzuki, waiting for Muzuki’s next directive.

During this period, an envoy from Amegakure arrived with Lord Hanzo’s proposal to Muzuki.

“Sōsuke-sama, this is a handwritten letter from Lord Hanzo. Please read it carefully,” a Rain Ninja said to Muzuki, presenting a scroll.

Muzuki’s alias was now very famous in the Land of Rain, and most of the Land of Rain Ninja recognized him.

Muzuki nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then took the scroll and opened it to read the contents.

Yahiko, curious, leaned over to read along.

“Inviting the Shinobi Sect to jointly maintain the peace of the Land of Rain!” Yahiko exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise.

The other Ninja all gathered around to read.

Muzuki did not stop them. To accommodate those who couldn’t see, Muzuki read out the entire content of the scroll.

Most of it was filler; the true essence of the content had already been shouted out by Yahiko, which was Lord Hanzo’s desire to cooperate with the Shinobi Sect.

Many Shinobi Sect Ninja showed shocked and delighted expressions.

Lord Hanzo was special to the Ninja of the Land of Rain. This scroll was almost equivalent to Lord Hanzo personally saying, “I recognize you,” and its impact was quite extraordinary.

Yahiko, who idolized Lord Hanzo, was very excited, as he was also a member of the Shinobi Sect.

Of course, there were also those who were not impressed by Lord Hanzo, such as Ikechou. He felt something was off.

Ikechou didn’t deny that the Shinobi Sect had an extremely bright future, but the current Shinobi Sect wasn’t that strong. The only true strong person was Muzuki.

Normally, Lord Hanzo shouldn’t need to extend such a formal invitation for cooperation to the Shinobi Sect. If he wanted Muzuki’s combat power, he could just directly recruit Muzuki.