Accompanied by a creaking sound, the heavy door of the secret chamber slowly opened. A figure walked out—someone Konan found both familiar and strange.
The figure stopped at the doorway and looked at Konan. "Konan, I've kept you waiting."
Konan's eyes grew moist. "Nagato... you're finally standing."
Undoubtedly, the figure emerging from the secret chamber was none other than the leader of the Akatsuki organization, Nagato.
Only this time, he wasn't seated in his wooden mechanical walker. Instead, relying on his own two legs, he walked step by step toward Konan.
Nagato looked down at his legs and said, "Given the recovery abilities of our Uzumaki clan, my leg injuries should have healed long ago. It was only because supplying the 'Gedo Statue' was too draining that my legs remained unhealed for so long."
Konan nodded with joy. "Everything is getting better!"
Nagato smiled confidently. "Yes, everything is getting better!"
"Huh?"
Konan suddenly let out a soft exclamation.
It was only then that she noticed something different about the Rinnegan in Nagato's eye sockets: three small, ink-black tomoe had appeared within them.
Noticing Konan's confusion, Nagato explained, "I didn't expect the Rinnegan to undergo such a change, either."
In the original timeline, Nagato remained disabled because the 'Gedo Statue' was constantly draining his chakra. Later, he fed every Tailed Beast the Akatsuki collected directly into the 'Gedo Statue.'
It could be said he became nothing more than a tool for reviving the Ten-Tails.
Of course, this was also because, in the original timeline, he believed that possessing the Rinnegan made him invincible. He felt no need to enhance his own personal strength, focusing only on reviving the Ten-Tails as quickly as possible.
But in this current timeline, the situation in the Ninja World was treacherous and unpredictable.
Nagato not only had to deal with the Ninja Village Alliance but also consider the Akatsuki led by Shinji, as well as the 'Upper Rank Demons' invading the Ninja World and other forces.
Specifically, after the battle in the Land of Grass against the 'Demon King' Ubuyashiki Ryuhei, he fully realized the insufficiency of his own combat power. Therefore, after the Akatsuki organization captured the Jinchuriki, he didn't feed the Tailed Beasts into the 'Gedo Statue' as he did in the original timeline. Instead, by turning the Jinchuriki into a new 'Six Paths of Pain,' he indirectly obtained the chakra of six Tailed Beasts.
Initially, he didn't think too much of it; he simply wanted to utilize the sturdy bodies of the Jinchuriki and the massive chakra of the Tailed Beasts within them to enhance the power of the 'Six Paths of Pain.'
However, as he converted the Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, Six-Tails, and Seven-Tails Jinchuriki into the new 'Six Paths of Pain,' and sealed the captured One-Tail into the 'Deva Path,' he obtained the chakra of all six Tailed Beasts in one fell swoop. Consequently, his body began to undergo uncontrollable changes.
The most significant change was that his body, which had been dragged down by the 'Gedo Statue,' suddenly began a full-scale recovery. His disabled legs healed at an incredible speed.
As the Uzumaki bloodline within him fully revived, he felt his Rinnegan begin to change as well—the appearance of the three tomoe was the physical manifestation of this change.
If Shinji were here, he would recognize at a glance that the Rinnegan in Nagato's sockets, which originally belonged to Uchiha Madara, had now transformed into the Three-Tomoe Rinnegan!
In truth, all changes in a ninja are tied to changes in chakra.
Perhaps even Nagato didn't realize that by turning living Jinchuriki into the 'Six Paths of Pain,' he had inadvertently lifted the burden the 'Gedo Statue' placed on him, giving his body a chance to recover.
One must remember that the Uzumaki clan and the Senju clan are close relatives; tracing back, both descend from Otsutsuki Asura.
Therefore, like Naruto, Nagato possesses a resilient constitution akin to an unkillable cockroach. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to withstand Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan.
However, burdening a pair of Rinnegan had already pushed his body to its limit. Adding the 'Gedo Statue' on top of that was difficult to bear, even with the Sage Body of the Uzumaki clan.
If it were anyone else, they would have been drained dry by either the Rinnegan or the 'Gedo Statue' and wouldn't have lived to this day.
The influx of massive chakra from six Tailed Beasts suddenly lightened his burden, allowing his suppressed Sage Body to revive.
The Rinnegan, the Sage Body, and Tailed Beast chakra—these were all pieces of the Otsutsuki clan's power puzzle.
Although Nagato didn't know what the Ten-Tails—or rather, the 'God Tree'—meant to the Otsutsuki clan, he had stumbled upon a synergy. By using his revived Sage Body to wield the Rinnegan, and the Rinnegan to wield the six Tailed Beasts, he accidentally achieved a state similar to Sasuke's during the final battle at the Valley of the End against Naruto in the original timeline.
The difference was that Sasuke controlled eight and a half Tailed Beasts using 'Chibaku Tensei' (Planetary Devastation), where sealing took precedence over utilization. Nagato, however, used the 'Six Paths of Pain,' where utilization took precedence over sealing. This effectively made him a 'Miniature Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.'
Of course, to become a true Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and ascend to the Six Paths level, one must truly revive the Ten-Tails.
Thus, although Nagato's strength had increased tremendously, he still hadn't reached the Six Paths level. He was even slightly inferior to Sasuke in the final battle, who possessed only a single Rinnegan but retained the 'Yin Power' granted by the Sage of Six Paths.
But undeniably, the current Nagato stood at the pinnacle of the Ninja World!
Looking at Nagato, who exuded the aura of a powerhouse and overflowed with confidence, Konan breathed a long sigh of relief. She then reported, "Sasori and the others organized an offensive in the Land of Grass, but it was accidentally interrupted by 'Upper Rank One.' We suffered personnel losses, but the Ninja Village Alliance suffered heavy casualties as well. Currently, the combat power of the Alliance's headquarters in the Land of Rain has been severely weakened."
Nagato asked, "How much high-end combat power remains in the Ninja Village Alliance headquarters?"
"The Five Kage, as well as the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, have been at the headquarters the whole time. Aside from them, there are about twenty noteworthy high-end combatants. Here is the roster."
Konan handed a list to Nagato.
With just a glance, Nagato's gaze paused on the name 'Jiraiya.' Then, he quickly moved past it and scanned the other names.
After committing all the high-end combat power in the Alliance headquarters to memory, Nagato handed the roster back to Konan and said, "This time, I will take action personally!"
Konan cautioned, "Although the combat power of the Alliance headquarters has been weakened, many strong individuals are still gathered there. Moreover, we must guard against 'A' and 'Upper Rank One.' Shouldn't we let Sasori and the others continue to weaken the headquarters' forces first, and then strike when the opportunity arises?"