Facing Nagato's question, Mito gently reassured him, "It's fine, we're just guessing."
But in her heart, she asked the Nine-Tails, "Since you're certain the Uzumaki Clan couldn't awaken the Rinnegan, then what's the deal with this child's Rinnegan?"
The Nine-Tails was choked for a moment, but after thinking for a while and finding no clue, he instantly gave up:
"That's your business, what does it have to do with this great sage? If you want to find out, go investigate yourselves."
Mito shook her head helplessly; she had no way to deal with the Nine-Tails' attitude.
Seeing Mito shake her head, Kyuushin had no choice but to continue to guide her, saying,
"Since the Nine-Tails said the Uzumaki Clan is unlikely to awaken the Rinnegan, did he say which clan might be able to awaken it?"
Mito glanced at Kyuushin again and said, "The Nine-Tails said the Uchiha Clan might."
Kyuushin didn't notice Mito's gaze but continued to pretend to analyze:
"The Uchiha Clan? The Uchiha Clan is most famous for their kekkei genkai, the Sharingan. Both are dojutsu, so could there be a connection between the Sharingan and the Rinnegan?
I once heard that the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan is divided into several stages. Could the Rinnegan be the highest stage of the Sharingan?"
"Impossible." Mito shook her head: "The Sharingan does have more advanced forms than the Three Tomoe, but those are called the Mangekyo Sharingan, and they have nothing to do with the Rinnegan."
However, Kyuushin persisted, saying, "What if the Mangekyo Sharingan isn't the highest level? Who achieved the Mangekyo Sharingan back then?"
But Mito didn't answer this question directly; instead, she fell into deep thought. The Nine-Tails had indeed told her that the Sage of Six Paths' son did not inherit the Rinnegan but instead developed the Sharingan.
So, the Sharingan and Rinnegan must be related. Perhaps Kyuushin's guess was correct, and the highest level of the Sharingan could be the Rinnegan.[1]
However, the only owner of the Mangekyo Sharingan she knew was that man, but... And although the Nine-Tails within Mito didn't speak, Mito hadn't cut off his senses, so Kyuushin's words also reached his ears.
And as soon as Uchiha and Sharingan were mentioned, the image of that infuriating man immediately flashed through the Nine-Tails' mind.
For a thousand years, the Nine-Tails, with its massive size and unparalleled immense chakra, had almost no human daring to provoke him, until he met Uchiha Madara.
The Nine-Tails still remembered that night when Uchiha Madara used his Mangekyo Sharingan. With just a glance, he fell into an illusion and obediently became his pawn.
That feeling, even now, still felt humiliating. It was precisely because of Uchiha Madara that he was reduced to his current state. His hatred for Uchiha Madara far surpassed that for Senju Hashirama, who captured him.
But thinking calmly, if anyone else in the Uchiha Clan could awaken the Rinnegan, then besides Uchiha Madara, no one else came to mind.[5][1]
However, he clearly remembered that Uchiha Madara had died, hadn't he? Senju Hashirama himself told him that, so he shouldn't have been lying.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask again, "Hey! Old woman, is that man really dead?"
Mito heard the appellation for that man and knew immediately who it was. Just now, when talking about the Mangekyo Sharingan with Kyuushin, Mito also thought of him immediately.
"I can confirm he's dead; I even saw his corpse at the time," Mito said unequivocally.
"That's strange. The Rinnegan isn't that easy to awaken. Even the Sage of Six Paths' son, Indra, only had the Mangekyo Sharingan back then," the Nine-Tails muttered.
However, what the Nine-Tails thought of, Mito naturally also thought of. It was precisely because of this point that she fell into deep thought, but she had indeed seen Madara's corpse.
Moreover, not only had she seen it, Mito and Senju Tobirama had even thoroughly examined it, and only after confirming he was truly dead did they seal him in a coffin.
Outside, Kyuushin saw Mito fall into deep thought again and knew that Mito had also thought of Uchiha Madara. However, Uchiha Madara's feigned death back then was very deceptive; even Senju Tobirama was fooled, so it was normal for Mito not to suspect anything.
However, Kyuushin really couldn't do anything about this point. He couldn't reveal Izanagi at this moment. Even within the Uchiha, only a very small number of high-ranking members might know this technique.
But he couldn't get stuck here, so he directly asked, "Did Uchiha Madara possess the Mangekyo Sharingan back then?"
Hearing Kyuushin speak the name of the sensitive person, Mito was startled. She wasn't surprised why Kyuushin knew this name.
After all, it had only been about twenty years since Uchiha Madara's era, and many older people had heard this name, so it was normal for him to know it inadvertently.
However, she still said, "Indeed, that... Uchiha Madara did possess the Mangekyo Sharingan. However, in Hashirama's final battle with him, he did die. I also examined his corpse, and there were no issues."
"Perhaps he faked his death? We don't know what abilities the Mangekyo Sharingan has. Since the Rinnegan has the ability to control life and death, if the Mangekyo Sharingan can truly evolve into the Rinnegan, even if it can't control life and death, perhaps it can make oneself fall into a state of suspended animation."
Since he couldn't reveal information about Izanagi, Kyuushin had no choice but to attribute it to the Mangekyo Sharingan's abilities. After all, even he, who had watched the original work, didn't know what abilities Uchiha Madara's two Mangekyo truly possessed, so he naturally couldn't be exposed.
Sure enough, after hearing Kyuushin's words, Mito fell into thought again. Objectively speaking, Kyuushin's analysis and deduction were very reasonable, and Mito couldn't find anything to refute. But subjectively speaking, Mito was denying this idea.
After all, Senju Hashirama passed away not long after his battle with Uchiha Madara. If Kyuushin's guess was true, wouldn't that mean Senju Hashirama ultimately failed?
This was something Mito was unwilling to face. Senju Hashirama's life could be described as glorious. He almost single-handedly established Konoha Village and promoted the development of the era. During his tenure, almost no country dared to challenge Konoha.
As his wife, Mito naturally didn't want to accept such a perfect person leaving behind a blemish before his death.
"I think that annoying brat outside is right. Uchiha Madara actively returned to challenge Senju Hashirama, so it's not surprising if he left some contingency plans."
The Nine-Tails also spoke at this moment, but what he said delivered a heavy blow to Mito, causing her entire body to gradually sway.
Kyuushin only wanted to meticulously prove to Mito the information that Uchiha Madara was still alive, and he hadn't expected it to bring such a blow to Mito.
But when he saw Mito's pale face and swaying body, he immediately reacted and rushed forward to support her:
"Grandma, I'm just guessing wildly; please don't take it seriously."
Mito gripped Kyuushin's hand in return, and after a long while, she recovered. Looking at Kyuushin in front of her, her eyes gradually regained their sparkle, and she asked,
"If your guess is true, that Uchiha Madara is still alive, and even secretly plotting, what will you do?"
"That's easy. If he's truly alive, then I'll send him to die again. No matter what his conspiracy is, as long as I'm here, he won't succeed," Kyuushin said unequivocally.
"Good, good. Remember what you said. If Uchiha Madara is truly alive, then it's certainly Hashirama's fault. But if you can inherit Hashirama's will, then Hashirama hasn't lost."
"Grandma, don't worry. Even if Uchiha Madara is still alive now, he's in his seventies or eighties. He can't possibly have any fighting power now. This might also be why he gave the Rinnegan to Nagato."
Mito recovered, and after hearing Kyuushin's analysis, she also found it very reasonable. Uchiha Madara and Hashirama were roughly the same age, so if he were alive now, he would indeed be in his seventies or eighties.
At such an age, even with the Rinnegan, he probably wouldn't have much fighting power. However, she had another question and asked,
"Then why do you think Uchiha Madara would give away the Rinnegan?"
"Legend says the Rinnegan has the ability to control life and death. Grandma, do you think he might have given the Rinnegan to Nagato, and then waited for a certain opportunity to have Nagato resurrect him?" Kyuushin deduced, spoiling the plot again.
"But why would I resurrect him for no reason?" Nagato, who was beside them, was quite flustered at the moment, but he still asked.
Kyuushin looked at Nagato, but shook his head and said,
"I'm not Uchiha Madara; I don't know how he would do it. But there are only two methods: one is to make you willingly resurrect him, and the other is for him to send someone completely loyal to him to be by your side. Once the time is right, he'll have that person manipulate you to resurrect Uchiha Madara.
But if the Rinnegan on you was indeed given by Uchiha Madara, then he must have also made step-by-step plans. However, no matter which method, the first step needs to be implemented. Do you know what it is?"
"What is it?"
"Make you an orphan, or at least not let you grow up peacefully."
Kyuushin's calm words concealed the most malicious content. Upon hearing them, Nagato felt the blood in his body rush to his head. A surge of anger burned from the bottom of his heart, but he didn't know whom to direct it at. Even the patterns of his Rinnegan became clearer at this moment.
"Why do you say that?" Nagato asked, suppressing his voice.
"It's simple. You're already this age, and your parents haven't let you learn ninjutsu. So, in your parents' plans for you, becoming a shinobi wasn't an option.
But the Rinnegan has been given to you. If you don't become a shinobi, then how will you gain the power to resurrect him?
Conversely, if you become an orphan, then whatever he wants to do to you will be very simple. If it weren't for me, Jiraiya-sensei would very likely have taught you ninjutsu on the spot. Even without Jiraiya-sensei, he could just find anyone to teach you."
"That's it?"
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