Kyuushin looked at Nagato, who was still somewhat emotional, and said, "The Land of Whirlpools was also attacked by other countries before, and many of our clansmen were killed or injured. The remaining clansmen are currently in Konoha. Your mother's relatives are also in Konoha. When you come to Konoha, you won't be alone anymore. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Nagato was about to agree immediately, but then he thought of something else and remained silent.
Yahiko and Konan, who were beside him, were genuinely pleased for him. Seeing that Nagato still had relatives alive meant he wouldn't have to live such a wandering life anymore.
However, noticing that Nagato didn't agree immediately, Yahiko assumed Nagato was concerned about him and Konan, so he said, "What this shinobi just said is right. Our leaving the Land of Rain doesn't mean we can't come back in the future. How about we all go to Konoha together?"
But Nagato opened his mouth and still didn't speak. Konan, who was beside him, seemed to have noticed something and pulled Yahiko back.
Kyuushin observed Nagato's expression and suddenly remembered that in the original storyline, Nagato's parents were seemingly killed by Konoha shinobi.
However, in this timeline, ever since the Konoha forces entered the Land of Rain, they had been under strict management, and food rations were also distributed this way. It would be impossible for them to go out independently to forage for food.
But Nagato's current state clearly indicated that he had encountered the same thing as in the original storyline. This made the occurrence of this incident very intriguing indeed.
However, the immediate priority was to resolve this matter. Otherwise, even if Nagato was willing to go to Konoha now, this incident would become a thorn in his heart.
Later, as long as Uchiha Madara incited him, it would inevitably erupt, and Nagato would also follow his original path without deviation.
So, he didn't ask Nagato directly, but instead looked at Yahiko and asked, "When did you meet Nagato?"
Yahiko didn't understand why Kyuushin would ask this question, but he still replied, "About ten days ago, no more than twenty days."
Kyuushin nodded thoughtfully and looked at Nagato, saying,
"So, Nagato's parents also passed away about twenty days ago, and during that time, only Konoha was fighting with the Land of Rain. So you suspect your parents were killed by our Konoha shinobi?"
Seeing that Kyuushin had already reached this point, Nagato no longer concealed it and said loudly, "It's not suspicion—I saw it with my own eyes. Two shinobi, wearing the same uniforms as you, broke into my home and killed my parents."
Upon hearing this, the surrounding Konoha shinobi were immediately startled, and Yahiko and Konan were also very surprised, as Nagato had never told them about this before.
But now that he had said it, he recounted everything that had happened at his home with trembling voice.
After listening to Nagato's account, Kyuushin found it similar to what he had seen in the original storyline, but while this incident might have been possible in the original storyline, there were too many suspicious points now.
"Impossible!" As expected, before Kyuushin could speak, Tsunade, who was beside him, immediately retorted with conviction.
Jiraiya also nodded firmly and explained to Nagato,
"Ever since we entered the Land of Rain, our forces have basically stayed together. If we go out, it's usually in small teams, and a team usually consists of four or more people without exception.
Furthermore, our food rations are distributed uniformly, and supplies are abundant. There's no way we'd be in a situation where we'd be hungry for three or four days, as you described. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to give you food when you asked for it."
"But... but..." Nagato still wanted to say something, but he also realized that these shinobi in front of him had no reason to lie to him.
However, he clearly remembered the appearance of those people, and their clothing was indeed the same as Konoha's attire. Moreover, for some reason he couldn't fathom, after he woke up, those two people were dead in his house.
"Could it be Transformation Jutsu?" Nawaki, who was nearby, guessed aloud.
"What is Transformation Jutsu?" Yahiko asked with genuine curiosity.
Nawaki slapped his head, realizing that these people in front of him didn't know what ninjutsu was. He then demonstrated it enthusiastically, forming a hand seal and transforming into Yahiko's appearance, both in looks and clothing, without a single flaw.
"That's incredible!" Yahiko examined him for a long time and couldn't find any flaws, immediately exclaiming in amazement. Then turning to Nagato, he added,
"Could it be shinobi from other countries who transformed into Konoha shinobi and broke into your home?"
Nagato felt shaken now, but he still had one last question: "Sir, if this jutsu is used, will the person revert to their original form after death?"
"Of course." Nawaki reverted to his original form and said, "Let alone death—as long as they encounter a strong enough attack, the Transformation Jutsu cannot be maintained."
"Oh." Upon hearing this, Nagato fell silent again, deep in thought.
Orochimaru, who was nearby, watched this scene with interest, taking a few more glances at Nagato, and couldn't help but stick out his tongue and lick the corner of his mouth with fascination.
Nagato asking this question meant he must have seen the dead shinobi, but the question was, if his parents had already been killed, then who killed those two shinobi?
Orochimaru also became intrigued and said hoarsely, "Before the decisive battle, I checked the roster, and there were no missing names. All personnel were accounted for—the same as when we first entered the Land of Rain."
Yahiko, hearing even the cold-faced Orochimaru say this, basically believed their statement, but Nagato still remained silent, lost in his thoughts, and he couldn't persuade him.
"How about this?" Kyuushin said decisively, "The fact that you can ask this question indicates that you saw those two dead shinobi. So let's go back and take a look."
After speaking, Kyuushin looked at Jiraiya again: "Jiraiya-sensei, please come with us."
"Oh, oh." Jiraiya didn't know why things had developed this way, but he still instinctively nodded in agreement.
"I'm also a bit curious—take me along too." Orochimaru suddenly spoke up, which made Tsunade, who was nearby, feel speechless. She said,
"Then you all go. I won't join in on this. I'll lead the team and continue our journey as usual. You all go quickly and come back quickly."
"No... no need, I believe you." At this moment, Nagato finally spoke up hesitantly.
"It's fine. We shinobi travel very fast. You just need to point out where your house is." Kyuushin walked over and put his hand on Nagato's shoulder reassuringly.
Nagato didn't flinch this time. Seeing Kyuushin so serious and determined, he could only point out a direction, and the next second, the sensation of flying through the clouds instantly made him scream in surprise.
Seeing this, Orochimaru and Jiraiya each took one person and quickly caught up with them.
Nagato's home wasn't far—it was in a small town they had passed through earlier. This made sense, as Nagato was only a few years old, and even if he was wandering, he wouldn't have gone far from his home.
Soon, Kyuushin brought Nagato to a house. Although it had only been uninhabited for about ten days, the harsh weather had already caused the house to show signs of mold and decay.
"Be prepared—the dead shinobi you saw are very likely to have disappeared." Only then did Kyuushin say this carefully.
Nagato was a bit surprised, not knowing why Kyuushin would say such a thing, but he didn't ask. He just silently stepped forward and pushed open the door with trembling hands.
"No... impossible, they were clearly lying here at the time!"
Indeed, after they entered, they only saw a messy house, and the bodies Nagato mentioned simply didn't exist anywhere.
Orochimaru also walked in at this time. He surveyed the house carefully. Although it was a mess, he still discerned some kind of attack method similar to a shockwave, which made him even more curious.
Jiraiya didn't pay attention to these details. He knelt down and carefully examined the direction Nagato pointed. After a moment, he said,
"There was indeed something here before. Look—the surroundings are covered with some dust, but only this area is very clean."
Kyuushin understood Jiraiya's meaning perfectly. Nagato had launched an attack on the two shinobi at that time, causing their deaths, but Nagato's attack also affected the house, stirring up considerable dust.
The shinobi died first, and the dust slowly settled, covering all areas, naturally also falling on the two shinobi. But now the shinobi were gone, leaving behind a clean area on the ground where they had been lying.
However, this was within Kyuushin's expectations. This incident could not have been done by Konoha shinobi, at least not in this timeline. Then it must have been orchestrated by Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Madara cultivated many White Zetsu, who were exceptionally skilled at transformation, so it was not surprising for them to transform into Konoha shinobi convincingly. The shinobi corpses later were naturally also faked by them.
But this information naturally couldn't be told to Nagato now, nor even to Orochimaru and Jiraiya. So Kyuushin could only say to Nagato carefully,
"If shinobi who go out don't return for a long time, it's normal for their companions to come looking for them. However, I can only tell you that this incident was definitely not done by Konoha shinobi, and my three teachers would not lie about something like this.
But as for who exactly did it, we may only be able to slowly investigate it later. What do you think?"
Nagato nodded blankly. He had previously thought that Konoha shinobi had killed his parents, but now it seemed that was not the case at all.
This left him in confusion again, his mind swirling with questions. After a moment, he said to Kyuushin, "Thank you. I believe you, and I agree to go to Konoha with you."
Seeing Nagato say this, Kyuushin finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had gone to great lengths to prevent Nagato from following the original storyline and its dark path.
However, from this moment on, the original storyline he knew would probably be changed beyond recognition by him, but so what? This day would come sooner or later anyway, and he was not afraid of it in the slightest.
Kyuushin thought to himself: this move is called disrupting the Moon's Eye Plan, starting with intercepting Nagato. Let's see how things unfold from here.
In an underground cave an unknown distance from the Land of Rain, a humanoid creature, entirely white in color, suddenly emerged halfway from the ground, shouting loudly with urgency,
"This is bad, this is bad, Lord Madara!"
In front of him, an old man, resembling a withered corpse, slowly opened his eyes. A trace of crimson instantly burst from his eyes, and his voice sounded old and weak:
"What's wrong?"
"The child you previously transplanted the Rinnegan into seems to have been taken away by people from Konoha!"
"Hmm?" A trace of aura leaked from the old man, immediately making it feel as if it had seen a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood stretching endlessly. It quickly explained in panic:
"I have been silently monitoring him as you instructed, but who knew that the Konoha forces were just returning to the village and ran into that child. There's even someone in that Konoha team who seems to be a relative of his.
This isn't even the most crucial part. You previously told me to transform into shinobi to kill that child's parents. They are now rushing to check the bodies, but there are no bodies there—I've already withdrawn them as you instructed."
The figure sitting on the stone seemed to ponder for a moment, then he closed his eyes again and said with eerie calm,
"It doesn't matter. The whole world is the same—despairing and cold. What difference can Konoha make? That child will definitely walk the same path as me."
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