Nagato had indeed rarely left Amegakure, especially after following Hanzō.
Though Hanzō treated them with surprising thoroughness—answering their doubts, offering help whenever needed, and giving them all kinds of support without hesitation—Nagato was almost never dispatched on external missions.
Part of it was due to his poor communication skills; if he led a squad alone, certain situations might become troublesome. But more importantly, it was because of his Rinnegan.
Even without Kyoichi's reminders, he knew very well what those eyes meant.
Nagato didn't complain.
Back when Yahiko was alive, Nagato was still a rather indecisive yet considerate person—far from the resolute man he would later become.
In fact, this was the very first time he had set foot on the land of the Land of Fire.
What warm sunlight!
Nagato looked up at the sky.
The sunlight stung his eyes, and tears welled up uncontrollably. Yet he continued to stare at it, whispering,
"When we were kids, Yahiko's greatest wish was that the Land of Rain would stop crying…"
"It's difficult," Kyoichi replied gently, "but when ninjutsu reaches a certain level, human effort can rival even the heavens."
Nagato thought for a moment, then nodded lightly.
"I believe that. Back then, we only ever thought of ninjutsu as tools for battle and killing… We never once thought about using it to move mountains and carve out new lands."
"The way people understand and use ninjutsu is changing all the time. The future ninja world won't only use ninjutsu for war. It'll branch into all sorts of fields—even the sky."
Kyoichi pointed upward.
Jiraiya's gaze followed and lingered on Nagato, his thoughts stirred.
The sky… the moon… Wasn't there a legend that the moon was created by the Sage of Six Paths himself?
Coincidentally, the Rinnegan possessed two opposite powers: repulsion and attraction.
If those powers were pushed to their absolute limits… could they not indeed create a moon?
Jiraiya felt his heart tighten with speculation.
His curiosity toward Madara's intentions only deepened. If Nagato had already mastered the Rinne Rebirth technique, they wouldn't have to guess—they would know exactly what Madara wanted.
After all… no matter how powerful a jutsu was, Madara himself was capable of wielding it. But resurrection? That was the one thing he could not accomplish alone.
Along the road, Nagato's eyes darted everywhere, full of curiosity.
Everything in the Land of Fire was novel to him. When he noticed that some remote valleys had been filled in and farmlands leveled—as if to pave a road—he found it baffling.
A road cutting through mountains? What merchants would ever walk such a path?
But Nagato didn't understand commerce, nor infrastructure. So he merely watched silently without asking Kyoichi to explain.
Not long after, he saw groups of people migrating.
"Who are they?" he asked.
"Oh, they used to live in dangerous, isolated mountain villages. We encouraged them to move out and resettle around Konoha."
Kyoichi answered casually.
Of course… those were areas where the railway would pass.
This was, in fact, the first case of large-scale relocation in the shinobi world.
When Kyoichi had first proposed the idea, not everyone in the village had agreed. But later, Tsunade and Kyoichi had stood their ground and pushed it through.
Konoha needed people.
As food production increased, so too would the population—and with that, the number of potential shinobi. Whether for war or for civilian development, population growth was invaluable.
Those opposing voices only saw the tiny bit of land being sacrificed.
But land existed to be used.
Konoha's caravans were already making massive profits abroad. They didn't need to trade away farmland for resources.
Nagato didn't really understand what "relocation" meant, but he could grasp Kyoichi's intentions. After all, Ame had faced a similar problem once—resources without people.
The difference was that Konoha could do this because of its overwhelming strength. Or perhaps… because of that strange new road.
Nagato pondered silently and simply followed along.
By now, they were very close to Konoha. At their pace, they'd reach the village in less than half a day—even without the Flying Thunder God.
If Kyoichi wanted, he could have teleported Nagato and Jiraiya back instantly. But he deliberately chose not to.
There were things Nagato needed to see along the way—migration, construction, the rise of towns beyond ninja villages.
At last, they arrived at the gates of Konoha.
Nagato raised his head and saw the unmistakable spiral crest.
"How does it feel?" Jiraiya asked with a smile.
"What? The village? Well… it looks more orderly than Amegakure, but that's also because Ame's weather is worse. Each has its own strengths." Nagato answered absentmindedly.
"No, I mean that spiral crest. That's the symbol of the Uzumaki Clan. Every Konoha flak jacket bears it, representing the friendship between Konoha and the Uzumaki."
Jiraiya explained earnestly.
Nagato fell silent.
Kyoichi had nothing to say either. This guy… all he does is spout motivational talks. And the cringiest kind, at that.
If that sort of thing really worked… Nagato wouldn't have tried to destroy the shinobi world in the original timeline.
"Let's rest in the village first. Don't worry. Even if I'm not the sole decision-maker, no one here would dare move against you in the shadows."
"Ahem. Right, right… By the way—"
"Jiraiya, you go handle the registration process. I'll take Nagato directly through. No need for the main gate."
"…Fine."
Jiraiya coughed lightly, realizing Kyoichi had already read his thoughts.
He'd been planning to introduce Nagato to Minato and the others for a proper greeting. But Kyoichi clearly thought now wasn't the right time.
And indeed, he was right.
Nagato and Konoha still had unresolved grudges. True, much of that might trace back to Madara's manipulation, but nothing had been proven.
More importantly, Nagato's reserved nature meant that throwing him into a crowd of introductions right away might just make him shut down completely.
Even so, when Kyoichi used Flying Thunder God to bring them into his home, Nagato still looked uncomfortable.
Classic social anxiety.
"Don't worry. There aren't many people in my house."
"Kyoichi-sama, shall I prepare some food for you and your guest?"
"Ah… yes, thank you, Oriri-chan. We haven't eaten much on the road."
Kyoichi felt a bit awkward. He had just said no one else was around—yet Oriri appeared right on cue.
Her sensory abilities were clearly sharper than ever.
"She's from the Uzumaki Clan?" Nagato asked.
"We met her in the Land of Grass. Her body carries a healing ability. When I found her, Kusa shinobi were about to drag her off to their hospital."
Kyoichi explained simply.
Nagato fell silent.
Coming from a small village himself, he knew exactly what that meant.
Death.
Maybe not immediately, but sooner or later, she would have been drained to death in some hospital.
It was only sheer luck that she had encountered Kyoichi…
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