"No rush, I'll leave once I'm finished speaking." Makiya looked at Nagato, his gaze sweeping over the black receivers. "The news probably hasn't reached you yet, but the whole ninja world will know in a few days. I've just left Konoha to start fresh in the Land of Demons. Nagato, you've got talent, and the Akatsuki isn't a bad organization. Are you interested in working for me?"
"Working for you?" Nagato acted as if he had heard a hilarious joke. His withered chest rose and fell as he let out a few low, raspy chuckles before catching his breath. "Do you even know the purpose of the Akatsuki? Do you know what Konan and I believe in? Makiya Uchiha, your strength is indeed formidable, but I don't believe in your 'convictions'!"
His former older brother, Yahiko, had chosen to trust others, only for it to lead to his downfall. Since then, Nagato had closed off his heart, deeply realizing that in this world, one could only rely on oneself. The Akatsuki's goal was grand; on this arduous path, only Konan was worthy of his trust.
Makiya, after all, hailed from a Great Nation and a Major Ninja Village. In Nagato's eyes, he would never truly understand the pain of those from small nations.
Konan looked awkward. She climbed onto the massive mechanical structure Nagato was attached to and quickly whispered something in his ear.
As Nagato listened, his surprise grew until he nearly forgot to breathe. It wasn't until Konan finished that he began gasping for air, his Rinnegan bulging in their sockets. "You... you..."
Nagato stammered for a long time, unable to find the words.
His goal was to make the Great Nations feel pain, to collect the Tailed Beasts to increase his power, and create a deterrent-based peace through absolute force. Makiya's approach was far more extreme—slaughtering the nobility. It was a move Nagato had never even considered.
Makiya knew what Nagato was so shocked about and spread his hands. "It's a pity when ninjas die in war, but the number of civilians killed by the whims of the nobility every year is far greater. I'm going to establish a brand new order. In this new world, there will be no place for nobles. Those people only drive up the price of rice while they're alive; dead, they'll make the soil fertile. It's a win-win-win."
Nagato fell silent. After a long pause, he finally choked out, "Makiya... you're a bit too extreme!"
'No place for nobles.' Those few words carried an endless weight of bloodshed. Nagato could almost see fields of corpses and rivers of blood.
"What I'm doing isn't a dinner party; it's the subversion of the entire ninja world order. It was always meant to be extreme." Makiya pulled out a letter and handed it to Nagato. "This is my invitation. With this, you can enter the territory of the Land of Demons. I plan to establish the Gotei 13 as the official force protecting the country, and I'm inviting you to be a Captain. We're short on people right now. Konan, you can be a Captain too."
"A Captain... I understand your philosophy now, but a 'Gotei 13'? Does that mean there are thirteen captains? Makiya, are you underestimating me?" Nagato narrowed his eyes, a powerful surge of chakra suddenly erupting from him.
Makiya's form blurred, and he instantly appeared in front of Nagato. He tapped a finger against the other man's nose, a drop of blood appearing in Makiya's hand as he left a dark [MARK] behind before flickering back to his original spot.
His speed was so great that Nagato had no way to react. Once Makiya closed the distance, Nagato had no leverage to resist him.
"You know exactly which of us is stronger." Makiya rested a hand on his hip. "It's time to wake up from this 'god' dream. Nagato, do you actually want to fulfill Yahiko's legacy and create a peaceful world, or are you just addicted to the power of the Rinnegan? Are you content playing the role of a god and acting like a big shot in this tiny corner of Amegakure?"
Makiya's words left Nagato in a daze, and he lowered his head in silence.
"Alright, think it over. I'm leaving." Makiya turned toward the tower's exit. "Konan, the seal on you will disappear on its own in a day. Once you and Nagato have made up your minds, come find me as soon as possible. The earlier you join, the better the benefits. It would be best if you brought along the other members of the Akatsuki as well."
Tossing the Deva and Animal Path puppets next to Nagato, Makiya released his flying sword and took to the air. "By the way, Nagato, being in that state must be miserable. I have a way to help you stand again—to be a normal person who can run and jump. Look me up when you've figured it out."
Having finished, Makiya soared into the sky and vanished into the thick clouds.
Makiya's final words didn't immediately move Nagato; he had long since grown accustomed to his half-dead state. He opened the envelope. The new world Makiya described in the invitation filled him with a sense of longing. Many of the ideas were things Yahiko surely would have supported if he were still alive.
Should he continue running the Akatsuki, or head to the Land of Demons to follow Makiya? Nagato was torn.
Konan's eyes, however, lit up. If Makiya really could heal Nagato's body, the Land of Demons would be a wonderful place to go.
After leaving the Land of Rain, Makiya didn't return to the Land of Demons immediately. He made a turn in the air and flew straight toward the Land of Hot Water.
There were many good things in the Seireitei that hadn't been convenient to carry around before, but now they could all be moved to the Land of Demons.
Nono Yakushi, Kabuto, and the others also needed to be moved. The Seireitei base could be kept as a backup for emergencies.
Once the order was given, Nono took action immediately, packing up important data and records. The children were a bit anxious, but they soon calmed down under Nono's comforting words.
The massive flying sword appeared once again. Makiya skillfully added railings to prevent the children from accidentally falling off.
They traveled at high speed and quickly returned to the Land of Demons.
Minor details were handled by Tekka, Priestess Miroku, and Nono. Makiya was the bridge connecting the three parties; as long as he made his stance clear, everyone's attitude toward important issues remained consistent.
"Yugito, come with me for a moment." Makiya beckoned, and Yugito followed him obediently.
Watching the two walk away, a young Karin hugged Nono. "Sister Nono, are Brother Makiya and Sister Yugito... in *that* kind of relationship?"
Karin extended her pinky finger and winked at Nono, her mind racing. The thoughts of a young girl were rich and unpredictable.
"Don't say such nonsense." Nono covered Karin's mouth, feeling a pang of sympathy.
Children in the ninja world grew up fast. Karin had suffered alongside her mother, and having seen so much, she was even more mature than other children her age.
Makiya had no untoward intentions toward Yugito. It was simply that now that he was stronger, the Two-Tails was optional to him. It was a free-spirited creature after all; there was no need to keep it controlled with genjutsu forever and waste his own energy.
The Land of Demons wasn't large, but its civilian population was even smaller. Vast stretches of empty land and forests were uninhabited; carving out a piece of land for Matatabi to roam was easy.
Late at night.
After a full day of brewing and spreading, the news of the massacre in the capital and several large cities of the Land of Fire spread like a hurricane in all directions. The underground black market, with eyes and ears everywhere, was the first to hear the news from civilians. Amidst extreme shock and panic, they sold this intelligence for a high price.
Information took time to travel, and the storm was still gathering.
Directly beneath the Priestess's palace, in the experimental base Makiya had established, a seal was undone, and Makiya walked into a deep corridor.
This was a place he had been building ever since dealing with Moryo. Makiya had poured a massive amount of money into it, and Priestess Miroku had personally sponsored a portion. Its total value exceeded the base he had once built for Orochimaru.
Formations spread across the entire country drew energy, a portion of which was channeled here. The lights on the walls were not powered by electricity but by chakra.
As Makiya flipped the switch, the chakra lamps lit up one by one. Makiya went deep to the end of the passage, undid a complex seal, and stepped inside.
He entered a vast hall, at least several thousand square meters in size, filled with various instruments. Over a dozen cultivation tanks in the center were particularly eye-catching.
Within the tanks floated naked, slender women, with tubes of various sizes connected to them, constantly supplying nutrients and removing waste.
If Yugito were here, she would be shocked to find that these women looked almost exactly like her.
Having integrated knowledge from so many worlds and combined it with the legacy left by Orochimaru, Makiya could now replicate some high-tech wonders in the ninja world.
Erotica Makiya had done something similar; the clones created on his end even had a sensory synchronization feature, which served a very curious purpose.
Makiya didn't engage in those kinds of antics. He only wanted to create normal clones of Yugito that could house her soul or serve as a source of vitality.
As everyone knew, a Jinchuriki would die after their Tailed Beast was forcibly extracted. It was as if a massive hole had been poked in a water balloon; their life force would continuously drain away unless their soul was transferred to another body or the gap was plugged with an equivalent amount of life force.
Makiya planned to extract the Two-Tails and set it free, but he didn't want to kill Yugito. After spending so much time together, one would develop feelings even for a pet, so he wanted to do his best to save the long-legged girl's life.
Dropping the blood sample collected from Nagato into an empty cultivation tank, Makiya started the machine and asked casually, "How's the progress?"
"Not great. Several died, but the remaining ones have decent vital signs." Another Makiya stood up from in front of the instruments and handed a report to the original.
Just as he finished speaking, one of the cultivation tanks began to beep. A piercing red light flashed within the unknown green solution as a Yugito clone began to struggle violently, bubbles rising to the surface.