The gate of the underground fortress slowly creaked open. Zetsu, sensing no immediate danger from the chakra within, took the lead, guiding them down the corridor. Deva Path Pain followed, and after a moment's hesitation, Konan pushed Nagato's wheelchair, bringing up the rear.
The corridor was dim, lit only by the faint, flickering candlelight on either side. It stretched into a thick darkness, the unknown path ahead naturally making one want to retreat. But they had come too far. There was no turning back.
As they reached the laboratory door at the end, a calm, somewhat cold voice echoed from within. "Come straight in."
"His sensory abilities are excellent," Black Zetsu whispered as he pushed the door open. "It seems he already sensed our arrival. He must be busy..."
The group stepped inside and stopped. They saw a man hunched over a lab bench, seriously writing on a scroll. He seemed quite preoccupied.
"Sorry," he said, not looking up. "I'm a bit busy today. Otherwise, I would have greeted my guests at the first opportunity."
He reached out and turned off some strange equipment on the bench, his pen never ceasing its scratching on the scroll. "The scientific and technological progress of this era is a great help to medicine. It's inevitable that new things make one want to try them out..."
Nagato and Konan were slightly stunned. They had imagined this legendary figure would be waiting for them arrogantly, perhaps sitting on a high throne, silently observing them as they came to pay their respects.
But this man was sitting at a lab bench, making small talk. His voice was cold, yes, but not with the kind of indifference that kept people at a distance. It was completely impossible to tell that this was the great figure from the ancient era.
"This kind of technology seems to be of no help to peace," Deva Path Pain was the first to speak, his voice a cold interrogation. "Even if your medical skills are refined and outstanding, able to cure all the diseases in the ninja world, such methods cannot save the greed of ninjas."
"Pain..." Konan glanced nervously at Nagato, the true master, afraid this would anger their host.
"Perhaps our views are different," the pen in Shirou's hand suddenly stopped. "I have always believed that treating the suffering of patients is the true purpose of chakra."
He slowly turned his head, and the Rinnegan in his eyes met the gaze of Deva Path Pain, who also possessed the legendary dōjutsu.
Deva Path Pain's expression changed.
"That's... the Rinnegan," Nagato and Konan were both shocked. They had never expected that Emiya Shirou also possessed a pair!
Nagato had always believed his eyes were a gift from heaven, a sign that he was special. Yet here was another pair, equally mysterious and unfathomable, and likely possessing a more terrifying power than his own.
"Lord Wei Yuan's eyes are the true eyes of the Sage of Six Paths," Black Zetsu introduced with a sinister satisfaction, beginning to spin a tale of the past. "That pair of eyes are the Rinnegan that Lord Wei Yuan took from the Sage's corpse."
Nagato and Konan were stunned. Everyone knew the Rinnegan belonged to the Sage. Nagato thought he had awakened the same eyes. But this... this was on another level entirely.
That pair of eyes were taken from the Sage's body!
"In the ancient era," Black Zetsu's hoarse voice continued, "the Sage of Six Paths established Ninshu and distributed chakra to the people. At that time, Lord Wei Yuan believed chakra was a power that could save the world, so he created the medical ninja system."
"However, when disciples began to use chakra for evil, Lord Wei Yuan realized it would be used as a weapon. In order to prevent humanity from falling into an even more tragic war, he completely destroyed Ninshu. He was only one step away from eternal peace in this world..."
Yes, Black Zetsu thought, only one step away from my own involvement!
Nagato and Konan couldn't be more shocked. No one in the ninja world knew this dark, hidden past. If this got out, the entire world would be turned on its head.
"Unfortunately," Black Zetsu sighed, glancing at Shirou, "Lord Wei Yuan was ultimately soft-hearted. He chose to leave the fate of humanity to their own decision. He ultimately believed that humans could understand each other."
"He used a jutsu hidden within the Rinnegan to resurrect the dead from that war, but he never expected that not long after he left, the ninjas would begin the thousand-year Warring States period."
"That jutsu..." A hint of pain flashed between Konan's brows. Nagato couldn't help but touch his own eye sockets. He knew the Rinnegan held the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu, but he had never expected that someone had already used it.
"It's... truly unexpected," Nagato took a deep breath. "I always thought we already understood the greatness of Lord Emiya Shirou."
He had not expected the man had done even more for this world. Whether it was resolutely choosing to destroy Ninshu or sacrificing his own life in his belief in humanity, such a decision could not be made by someone without great perseverance.
Nagato, who had been thinking about his own path to godhood, now realized there had been a practitioner of this earlier than him, and his methods were far more terrifying than his own ideas.
"From the first time he was brought back to the living world by the Impure World Reincarnation, Lord Wei Yuan realized the mistake he had made," Black Zetsu glanced at Shirou, whose face was faintly showing a look of pain. "And when the First Great Ninja War broke out, he made up his mind. So while he was quelling the war, hoping to continue his will for peace, he also, in order to prevent more tragic wars, left behind a second path."
"Nagato, do not doubt Lord Wei Yuan. Your vision has indeed surpassed most people, but before him, it is ultimately a bit too narrow."
Nagato and Konan fell silent. He knew the Akatsuki had always been walking behind Shirou. They had once tried to replicate his peace, mediating wars, attempting to walk his first path. They had failed.
Now, they were walking the other path left by him. They had only known it was from the mysterious masked man and Black Zetsu, who said it was Shirou's will. They had never known the tortuous history behind it.
"Black Zetsu," Shirou seemed somewhat dissatisfied with the mockery and stopped him.
"Sorry," he said, walking towards Nagato, with not a hint of pride on his face. He calmly extended his hand. "Black Zetsu was wrong about one thing. My vision is not broader than yours. I was just born a little earlier and have seen too many people and walked too many roads while trying to save patients, so I can see more of people's suffering."
Nagato was somewhat ashamed and did not dare to extend his hand. Only when he saw Shirou's surprised gaze did he carefully take it, complex emotions churning in his chest. "The Akatsuki has always been carrying out Lord Wei Yuan's will, whether it was Yahiko or Pain."
Yes, their dream had always been to carry out his will.
"I know," Shirou's expression became exceptionally serious, as if sincerely from the bottom of his heart. "Actually, when I returned to the living world for the second time, and Black Zetsu told me, only then did I know that there was someone else who had also embarked on the second path to save the world."
"This is a more difficult path than that of a medical ninja. Those who walk this path need to have extraordinary will, need to endure the pain of not being understood, and strive to change this world that the world is powerless to change. This pain is a bit too heavy. I never hoped for anyone to bear it, but I am also very grateful that there is someone still willing to walk this path together."