Chapter 594 The Sage of Six Paths is real (5k monthly ticket required)

Roshi had been walking south the whole time.

Although he wasn’t familiar with the Land of Rain, his initial motivation was to meet Sōsuke, so it was impossible for him not to investigate the location of the Shinobi Sect.

However, due to his encounter in Shirakawa Village, Roshi slowed his pace.

He didn’t use the Ninja’s super-fast marching speed to rush to Six Paths City, located in the southern part of the Land of Rain; instead, with Six Paths City as his final destination, he moved slowly like a traveler on a leisurely tour.

This was a novel experience for Roshi.

Before, he was either cultivating or on missions; he never had time to travel.

Most importantly, the people here didn’t look at Roshi with strange eyes; in the Village, he received genuine gratitude when he helped the Village drive away rogue Ninja, and in the towns, he could eat at restaurants freely, and no one paid him any mind.

Such a life might be ordinary for common people, but for Roshi, it was a goal he hadn’t achieved even when he left Iwagakure.

Roshi truly felt that his current life could be called happy.

Even if he consistently spent nights in the wilderness to avoid disturbing Village and town residents, and even if he couldn’t show his true face to avoid Iwagakure’s pursuit.

“Identity is a good thing,” Roshi sighed in his heart, putting down his chopsticks after lunch.

He was a thoughtful person, and after careful consideration, he understood why.

In the eyes of the people of the Land of Rain, he was just an unknown Ninja with no other special identity, so he could be genuinely appreciated and enjoy the life of an ordinary person.

However, in Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, he was a Jinchuriki; the Tailed Beast, symbolizing evil and destruction, was inside him.

If the people of Shirakawa Village knew he was a Jinchuriki, would they still genuinely thank him and invite him to their homes as guests?

Roshi didn’t know; he couldn’t be sure.

“Don’t think too much; just be happy living now,” Four-Tails said with a hearty laugh.

“Becoming a Jinchuriki wasn’t your choice; blame those who treated us Tailed Beasts as weapons.”

At this point, Four-Tails couldn’t help but feel a bit depressed.

They, the Tailed Beasts, didn’t fight or compete; they just lived quietly in remote corners of the Ninja World, never actively provoking Ninja, yet they were inexplicably captured by Ninja and sealed inside Jinchuriki.

Not to mention the Jinchuriki weren’t willing, they, the Tailed Beasts, weren’t willing either.

Roshi nodded and got up to pay the bill.

He was just feeling a little emotional; his current life was much better than being in Iwagakure, no matter what.

Just the freedom alone was a hundred times better than being in Iwagakure.

After leaving the restaurant, Roshi casually glanced around the street, noticing a few Ninja dressed like Iwagakure but paid them no mind, continuing calmly south.

Ordinary Iwagakure Ninja couldn’t see through his Transformation Technique, and as for sensory Ninja, there were too few of them; as long as his luck wasn’t too bad, he shouldn’t run into any.

Ōnoki could guess that Roshi wouldn’t willingly expose his Jinchuriki identity, and Roshi also knew that Ōnoki wouldn’t dare to send out a large number of Iwagakure Ninja to search.

After all, during wartime, if Iwagakure made a big move, other Great Shinobi Villages would definitely investigate, and if they discovered a Jinchuriki had escaped, that was not a consequence Ōnoki wanted to see.

Three Iwagakure Ninja slowly walked down the street, carefully observing every pedestrian.

Some people felt uncomfortable, but seeing the Iwagakure headband on the Ninja’s heads, they ultimately gave up.

How could ordinary people provoke Ninja? And these were the cream of the crop among Ninja, Ninja from the Five Great Ninja Villages, even more unprovokable.

They also saw Roshi using the Transformation Technique, but Roshi acted no different from other passersby, so they ignored him.

Only occasionally did they find some suspicious-looking people and then found reasons to question them.

However, Roshi noticed something strange: the further south he went, the more Iwagakure he encountered on the road, which made Roshi feel a bit odd.

“Did they use some kind of secret Ninjutsu to track my movements?” Roshi wondered.

There were too many strange secret Ninjutsu in the Ninja World, and Roshi wasn’t sure if Iwagakure had a secret Ninjutsu with such an effect.

In the afternoon, as it was mealtime and Roshi had no dry food left, he paid a villager to eat at his house.

As he was about to continue, he suddenly saw a group of Iwagakure Ninja confronting two red-haired youths not far away, one of whom wore a Land of Rain headband.

Roshi would unhesitatingly help against rogue Ninja who robbed villagers.

But if it was an internal conflict between Ninja, generally, Roshi had no interest in getting involved.

Ninja who could cruelly kill innocent civilians and steal their property were, in Roshi’s eyes, irredeemable Ninja, and there was no wrong way to fight or kill them.

The reasons for conflicts between Ninja were too many and too complex; it could be the stance between Villages, a conflict during a mission, or personal grudges.

In such situations, he could easily do good with bad intentions.

Moreover, Ninja and Ninja were equal existences; Roshi wasn’t some true champion of justice who had to mediate every situation he encountered.

Roshi wanted to change his path to avoid the conflict, but just then, Roshi recalled his experiences in the Land of Rain these past few days.

Because he acted decisively and asked for no reward, he had helped two Villages in total, and both times he was mistaken for a Ninja of the Shinobi Sect.

This made Roshi particularly interested in the Shinobi Sect; he thought the red-haired Ninja’s attire didn’t look like a Amegakure Ninja, so it was possible he was a Shinobi Sect Ninja.

“First, I’ll go listen to what they’re saying,” Roshi thought.

To avoid being discovered, Roshi found an empty corner and used Earth Release to burrow underground, quietly approaching Nagato and his companions.

“Your actions, Iwagakure, have already affected the lives of the people of the Land of Rain; the Shinobi Sect requires an explanation,” Nagato said sternly, looking at the Iwagakure Ninja in front of him.

Although Iwagakure’s movements weren’t large, for the Shinobi Sect, which was working hard to build a peaceful and harmonious Land of Rain, Iwagakure’s actions were particularly glaring.

“Nagato, we have no comment. You are also a Ninja; you should understand us. Leaking mission details is an act of betrayal to the Village,” the leading Iwagakure Jōnin replied in a deep voice.

They were not Ninja specifically sent by Ōnoki to the Land of Rain to find Roshi, but Ninja entrusted to the Shinobi Sect for training.

Having trained in the Shinobi Sect for some time, they were quite familiar with Nagato, so they didn’t use a threatening tone, merely stating their difficulties.

Mainly, if a conflict broke out, they couldn’t win, and Nagato wasn’t a pushover; he was a powerful Ninja known as the Ninja World’s greatest genius.

“You don’t need to give an answer immediately; you can convey the Shinobi Sect’s message to Iwagakure.

The Shinobi Sect and Iwagakure have a cooperation in training Ninja, and you are one of them. You know the Shinobi Sect’s attitude towards cooperation, and we in the Shinobi Sect also hope this matter doesn’t affect the relationship between both sides,” Nagato continued.

The high-ranking members of the Shinobi Sect had discussed it: if Iwagakure didn’t give a reasonable explanation and continued to disrupt the stability of the Land of Rain, they would terminate their cooperation with Iwagakure.

Nagato strongly agreed with this decision; the Shinobi Sect had worked so hard for the peace and stability of the Land of Rain for so long. If they cowered and didn’t dare to intervene just because the other party was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, then all their previous efforts would be in vain.

Small Ninja Villages already didn’t dare to provoke the Land of Rain much; the reason the Land of Rain became like this was because the Five Great Nations used it as a battleground for their power struggles.

Now, if they tolerated Iwagakure’s actions, they might have to tolerate Konoha later, and then Sunagakure after that; at that point, where would the peace and stability of the Land of Rain be?

“So the Village has such a cooperation with the Shinobi Sect,” Roshi, eavesdropping underground, was somewhat surprised.

No wonder the further south he walked, the more Iwagakure Ninja he encountered.

Roshi guessed that Ōnoki must have issued a mission to these Iwagakure who were receiving Shinobi Sect training to find him.

If Roshi were Ōnoki, he probably wouldn’t let his subordinates train peacefully at this time; the impact of stopping training for a month certainly wouldn’t be as bad as losing a Jinchuriki.

“I will report this to my superiors,” the leading Iwagakure Jōnin replied.

Now that the Shinobi Sect was involved, he really couldn’t not report it.

On one hand, the Shinobi Sect and Iwagakure had a cooperation, and on the other hand, the Shinobi Sect’s high-end combat power was not weak; they couldn’t cause much trouble for Iwagakure in the Land of Rain.

In fact, the Iwagakure Jōnin himself had a good impression of the Shinobi Sect and hoped Iwagakure would continue to cooperate with them.

Because the Shinobi Sect’s teaching quality was very high, he truly felt that studying there could effectively improve his strength.

However, this matter was too significant, and the Iwagakure Jōnin had no authority to decide anything.

After speaking, the Iwagakure Jōnin left with the other Iwagakure.

Roshi originally intended to wait for Nagato and the others to leave, then emerge directly from the ground, but for some reason, Nagato stood rooted to the spot for ten minutes without moving.

“Come out, there’s no need to hide,” Nagato said faintly to the ground.

Nagato possessed powerful sensory abilities; he had long since sensed a powerful Chakra nearby that he had never encountered before.

When Roshi infiltrated using Earth Release, Nagato’s vigilance reached its peak, ready to strike at any moment.

If it weren’t for the presence of Iwagakure, Nagato would have already made his move, fearing an unexpected turn of events.

Roshi, who was preparing to use Earth Release to exit elsewhere, was somewhat surprised, “He discovered me? Is he a sensory Ninja?”

After a brief thought, Roshi burst directly from the ground, standing five meters away from Nagato.

Iwagakure had already left for ten minutes, and at a Ninja’s pace, they would have traveled a great distance, so there was no need to worry about being discovered.

Furthermore, his purpose in coming to the Land of Rain was to meet Sōsuke, and since he was going to meet Sōsuke, meeting a Shinobi Sect Ninja was an unavoidable matter.

Roshi observed Nagato and Sasori, while Nagato stared intently at Roshi with his Rinnegan.

Under the enhancement of the Rinnegan, Roshi’s Transformation Technique disguise was rendered useless, and Nagato instantly saw Roshi’s true appearance.

“Such powerful Chakra, no, it seems different from ordinary Chakra. Is this his Chakra?” Nagato did not recognize Roshi, but he was shocked by the Chakra within his body.

It was his first time seeing so much powerful Chakra.

Nagato took half a step forward, shielding Sasori behind him.

Sasori was still in a sealed state, unable to use Chakra, and required his protection.

Sasori was very self-aware and quickly retreated two steps.

From initially pulling him back and not letting him leave, to now making such a move, it was clear that the opponent was not simple.

“Those eyes!” The Four-Tails within Roshi’s body let out an incredibly shocked sound.

He actually saw eyes identical to Hagoromo’s on this Ninja named Nagato.

“What’s wrong with his eyes? They look different from ordinary people’s eyes,” Roshi asked, puzzled.

Regarding special eyes, he only knew about Konoha’s Byakugan and Sharingan.

“His eyes are exactly the same as the Six Paths Sage’s eyes,” Four-Tails replied.

“Six Paths Sage? You’ve seen the Six Paths Sage? I thought that was just a myth,” Roshi said, somewhat taken aback.

There were many legends about the Six Paths Sage, one of the most famous being the creation myth of the Six Paths Sage, in which the entire Ninja World was created by the Six Paths Sage.

Compared to ordinary people, Ninja could be considered superhumans, but a Ninja’s strength had its limits; even with the terrifying destructive power of a Tailed Beast Ball, it could at most destroy a large mountain.

And creation was even more difficult than destruction, so he believed the Six Paths Sage was just a fictional mythical figure.

“Of course not, I once lived with the Six Paths Sage for a period of time,” Four-Tails shook his head and said.

For the Four-Tails’ long life, the time spent with the Six Paths Sage was very short, but that memory was so beautiful that the Four-Tails still remembered it vividly.

For him, the importance of that memory surpassed the memories of living alone for hundreds or even thousands of years.

Seeing the Four-Tails display an expression he had never seen before, Roshi realized a problem: the Four-Tails understood him very well, but he didn’t understand the Four-Tails as much.

This was natural, because before that great battle, he wasn’t even willing to call the Four-Tails by its name.

“Who are you, what is your purpose in coming to the Land of Rain, and why were you eavesdropping on my conversation with the Iwagakure Ninja?” Nagato, seeing Roshi remain silent, stared at him and asked.

Although he hadn’t fought Roshi yet, based on Roshi’s Chakra alone, Nagato knew that the opponent would not be a simple character.

Coupled with the current wartime period, Nagato subconsciously linked Roshi to Iwagakure’s activities in the Land of Rain.

“Could he be a powerful individual from a major Ninja Village, and those major Ninja Villages want to use the Land of Rain as a battlefield again?” Nagato’s expression grew more serious.

If things had already progressed to this point, it would be thoroughly bad news for both the Shinobi Sect and the Land of Rain.

Nagato’s words interrupted Roshi’s thoughts about the Four-Tails; he thought for a moment and then spoke:

“You are Nagato? Sōsuke’s disciple.”

Roshi only knew three Shinobi Sect Ninja; the first, of course, was Ninja Master Sōsuke, whom he wanted to meet.

The second was Kakuzu, and the third was Nagato.

The Youth Martial Arts Tournament had made Nagato famous throughout the Ninja World, and even though Roshi wasn’t keen on such information, he had heard some news.

“I am.”

Nagato silently adjusted his Breathing Technique, bringing his state to its peak.

“You don’t need to know my name; you just need to know that I have no ill intentions and came to the Land of Rain only to meet your teacher Sōsuke once,” Roshi chose to conceal his identity.

Based on what he had seen along the way, the Shinobi Sect was a very good Ninja force.

However, this was not enough for Roshi to completely let down his guard, especially since he had just learned that the Shinobi Sect and Iwagakure were cooperating.

If Iwagakure and the Shinobi Sect collaborated to spring a trap, Roshi would be in trouble.

“You want to meet Teacher Sōsuke?” Nagato looked at Roshi with suspicious eyes.

He felt that this resembled a major Ninja Village attempting a decapitation strike against Muzuki to dismantle the Shinobi Sect.

“That’s right. If Sōsuke is willing to meet, then we’ll meet. If he’s not willing, just tell me early, and I’ll go somewhere else,” Roshi continued.

He knew his request was a bit excessive, making such a demand without revealing his identity.

However, Roshi had no choice; exposing his identity carried too great a risk.

“If you’re unwilling to state your name, you should at least state which Ninja Village or faction you belong to,” Nagato tried to extract information.

“I don’t belong to any Ninja force,” Roshi replied.

Nagato looked at Roshi, trying to deduce whether Roshi’s words were true or false based on his expression.

“Cannot determine…” Nagato sighed inwardly.

As expected, he failed; he wasn’t good at that sort of thing.

“Whether you agree or refuse, once you’ve decided, you can come to this Village to find me,” Roshi said.

He planned to leave a Shadow Clone in this Village for communication.

Nagato nodded and finally left with Sasori.

Roshi had no intention of fighting, and Nagato couldn’t simply attack Roshi based on his suspicions alone.

“Sasori, do you think he was lying?” Nagato asked Sasori.

“Which answer gets a higher score?” Sasori did not answer directly.

“The correct answer.”

“Then I don’t know.”

Nagato at least had experience wandering with Yahiko, but Sasori had been alone for a long time since his parents left; how would he know how to read people?

“Your teacher is so strong, just let him go. Maybe that person is even an admirer of your teacher and will join your Shinobi Sect after meeting him,” Sasori said casually.

Sasori rather hoped that Sōsuke would meet with an accident, as many Sealing Techniques lose their effect after the caster dies.

If Sōsuke were assassinated, then Sasori wouldn’t even have to wait a year; he could find an opportunity to retrieve his puppet and continue his revenge.

“Although Teacher is powerful, enemies won’t necessarily choose to fight him one-on-one. They might send elite squads to surround and kill him,” Nagato shook his head; too many strong Ninja in the Ninja World had died from being surrounded.

A Ninja’s strength is built upon Chakra. Even if Muzuki is strong, if he doesn’t eliminate all enemies before his Chakra runs out, then Muzuki will be in danger.

Ultimately, Nagato offered no opinions, simply returning to the Shinobi Sect and informing Muzuki of the intelligence, allowing Muzuki to make his own decision.

Muzuki always encouraged him to think more and be more proactive, but Nagato knew that his current abilities were insufficient, and for such an important matter, he could not influence Muzuki’s judgment.

“Wants to see me, powerful immense Chakra, Iwagakure’s unknown actions…”

After connecting all the clues, an answer vaguely surfaced in Muzuki’s mind.

“Describe his appearance,” Muzuki said to Nagato.

“His hair is reddish, tied into a high ponytail, his beard is very thick, and he looks to be around thirty years old,” Nagato replied after recalling.

Muzuki could now be one hundred percent certain who Nagato had encountered.

“Teacher Muzuki, will you see him?”

PS:

Anyway, my sleep schedule is messed up again, plus it’s the weekend, so I stayed up until past four to write a thousand words. This chapter is 5k.

I should be able to write more tomorrow, but how much more is hard to say, since I have to go to work the day after tomorrow and can’t sleep too late.

Also, asking for monthly votes, it’s the last day ( )