Chapter 186: The Hope Brought by the Rinnegan
"Forget it. No point overthinking right now."
"I'll just keep an eye out for information on that topic later."
Li Yao shook his head and pulled his thoughts back, turning to ask White Zetsu, "Alright, what's the mission this time? Don't tell me I'm playing babysitter again?"
White Zetsu calmly nodded. Li Yao's expression instantly twisted.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Li Yao felt awful. He'd much rather hide away and work on his Perfect Transformation Technique than return to playing nursemaid like he had for the past three years—where even eating something decent meant being cautious not to blow his cover. It was miserable.
But clearly, he couldn't go against Madara's orders.
This whole thing with killing a daimyō may have touched on some kind of setup by the Sage of Six Paths. Li Yao hadn't taken his full revenge yet, so for now, he would endure it.
"How long?" Li Yao asked.
"Until Madara's successor is ready," White Zetsu replied.
"Same as before? Just watch Nagato from a distance?" Li Yao continued.
"No," White Zetsu shook his head. "Madara wants you to secretly infiltrate Nagato's side and protect the Rinnegan."
"Keep this in mind—it's the Rinnegan you're protecting, not Nagato."
He emphasized, "As long as the Rinnegan is safe, you don't need to interfere with Nagato's life or death."
White Zetsu and Madara were only concerned that someone might damage the Rinnegan. In the past, Nagato's survival might've mattered—but not anymore. After three years of ninjutsu training with Jiraiya, Nagato's Uzumaki bloodline had been fully awakened, granting him chakra reserves far beyond the average.
In a life-or-death moment, the Rinnegan would activate on its own. And as things stood, no one in the ninja world was a match for it.
Not even Li Yao.
White Zetsu was confident of that.
"Infiltrate, huh?"
Li Yao thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. If he remembered right, this period was the early formation of the Akatsuki. The Land of Rain was still a war-torn region from the battles among the three major hidden villages.
Even though the war had officially ended, the Land of Rain remained in chaos—a wasteland where people fought daily to survive.
It was during this time that Nagato and Yahiko began to gather the first Akatsuki followers.
Given that, being close to Nagato during combat was inevitable—perfect for continuing his experiments on mental energy fluctuations.
He just had to make sure they didn't find out.
But really, it wasn't much of a problem.
Thanks to his flight advantage and soul-sensing ability, hiding from Nagato and the others would be fairly easy.
"What about her? Can she infiltrate Nagato's side with me?" Li Yao glanced at Yuzu and turned to White Zetsu.
"She can," White Zetsu nodded. Ever since Li Yao brought the girl to meet him, it was clear she couldn't be kept out of things.
"Good," Li Yao smiled, then turned to Yuzu and explained the mission to protect Nagato—emphasizing that Nagato was also a member of the Uzumaki clan.
When Yuzu heard that another of her clan had survived, her eyes lit up. But after one glance at Li Yao, her expression returned to calm.
The Uzumaki clan had already been wiped out. The Land of Whirlpools was gone. Her parents were dead.
The one closest to her now was Uncle. Her greatest goal was still to save her sealed mother.
Nothing else mattered anymore.
If anyone dared touch Uncle—even another Uzumaki—she would show no mercy.
…
Due to their detour, it took the trio a week to reach the Land of Rain.
Now that they had arrived, White Zetsu could leave—but not before issuing a final warning.
"Let me remind you: do not use the Spirit Transformation Technique in front of Nagato. The Rinnegan can directly see your soul."
White Zetsu had known for a while that Li Yao could use the Spirit Transformation Technique. Li Yao thought he'd been discreet, but his chakra was detectable to White Zetsu.
So he had to warn him—if Li Yao used the technique in front of Nagato and got struck down by mistake, it would be a mess.
"You're saying… the Rinnegan can directly see souls?"
Li Yao's body tensed. His eyes lit up with excitement so intense that it made White Zetsu flinch, mistaking it for a covetous gleam.
He immediately scolded him, "Li Yao, I'm warning you—don't even think about targeting the Rinnegan. Forget the fact that your life is still bound to Madara. Just understand this—the Rinnegan governs life and death. If you use the Spirit Transformation Technique to test Nagato, you'll be the one who dies."
Until Obito proved himself as the Moon's Eye Plan successor, White Zetsu couldn't afford to let Li Yao die due to arrogance.
Yes, Li Yao's ability to replicate other bloodline-limit techniques was terrifying. With that talent, he had reached the top of the ninja world in just a few years. Even if Hashirama Senju were still alive, it was unclear who would win.
But that only applied to ordinary people.
Li Yao's talent was still limited by bloodline. He could only copy chakra fusion-type kekkei genkai.
He couldn't copy dojutsu like the Sharingan, Byakugan, or Rinnegan.
Especially not the Rinnegan—the eye of the Sage of Six Paths itself.
There was no way Li Yao could replicate it.
That's why, despite how dangerous Li Yao had become, neither Madara nor White Zetsu had ever feared him growing powerful enough to threaten them.
Li Yao might reach the peak of mortal power, but the gap between mortals and gods was vast.
White Zetsu's only concern was that Li Yao might get overconfident and die prematurely, ruining everything.
"Relax."
Li Yao patted White Zetsu on the shoulder and smiled. "I haven't gotten revenge on the Third Hokage or Konoha yet. I'm terrified of dying. I won't make a move on Nagato or the Rinnegan."
His only interest was copying the Rinnegan's ocular chakra to study the differences in spiritual energy between individuals.
The Rinnegan's ability to see souls made Li Yao realize how special its chakra must be. If any chakra could detect the variations in mental energy, it had to be the Rinnegan's.
"Why didn't I think of this before?"
Li Yao was a little annoyed with himself. But still—he had the chance now.
If he could replicate the Rinnegan's ocular chakra, he was confident he could finally perceive the differences in spiritual energy, completing the long-awaited Perfect Transformation Technique.
In that case, shadowing Nagato long-term was exactly what he needed.
Before he mastered the Spirit Transformation Technique, Li Yao had to make physical contact to analyze and replicate another person's chakra traits.
But now, thanks to his improved soul perception, he could—given enough time—analyze all of someone's chakra properties from up to 100 meters away.
The only catch was that the Rinnegan's chakra was of extremely high rank. It would take him considerable time to fully analyze its internal properties.
But that was fine. As long as he could copy it eventually, he didn't care.
Thankfully, the Rinnegan's ocular chakra wasn't yet at the level of the Six Paths. If it were, Li Yao wouldn't even be able to perceive its presence—let alone replicate it.
He suspected that the Rinnegan only allowed Madara to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and draw on its Six Paths-level chakra to perform basic Six Paths jutsu. The eye itself hadn't reached that level.
Only when the Rinnegan evolved into the Six Paths Rinnegan—with tomoe—did its chakra reach true Six Paths class.
No matter the reason—
The fact was that Li Yao could sense the Rinnegan's ocular chakra in Nagato's eyes. Given enough time, he was certain he could replicate it.
And once he did, just like with Wood Style, he'd be able to use some Rinnegan abilities.
Such as seeing souls.
With that, he would finally be able to detect the differences in mental energy between people.
"You... I'm going to keep an eye on you!"
White Zetsu clearly didn't believe him, but remembering that Li Yao's heart was still under a forbidden jutsu seal, he relaxed slightly. He would just monitor Li Yao closely.
That wouldn't be hard—he had to keep watch over Nagato anyway.
"Haha, sure." Li Yao laughed.
After that, White Zetsu jumped from the clay bird and merged into the ground. Li Yao and Yuzu continued flying, heading off to find Nagato—and figuring out how to run into him naturally and become part of his group.
(END CHAPTER)
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