"..."
Konan's eyes widened, and Yahiko was also stunned.
Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, had actually lost?!
Their hearts instantly leaped into their throats!
Ryou retracted his Rasengan and placed his hand on Nagato's head, absorbing all of his Chakra.
Nagato immediately went limp, barely able to stand.
He said in disbelief, "You actually know the weakness of Shinra Tensei?"
Ryou smiled and said, "You only know two moves. After you used them so many times, I naturally noticed the cooldown time of Shinra Tensei."
Besides the Rinnegan, Nagato also possessed many Ninjutsu; his Chakra attributes were Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Yang.
He was only missing Yin to have all attributes.
Nagato could use Ninjutsu of six Chakra natures. He was proficient in all mainstream Ninjutsu and could skillfully use all Ninjutsu by the age of ten.
However, conventional Ninjutsu were useless in a fight against Ryou; the insight of the Sharingan made it easy to predict the range of Ninjutsu.
They were also easily copied.
How could they be as convenient as Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in? If Nagato touched someone, he might even extract their soul.
Nagato lowered his head, somewhat puzzled. "Why didn't you kill me?"
Ryou smiled. "Because of Konan! If I killed you, wouldn't Konan hate me?"
Nagato looked up at Konan, who was watching him with concern, his heart filled with bitterness.
How could he, the possessor of the Rinnegan, suffer defeat?
Ryou then returned the Chakra he had absorbed from Nagato, healing some of his injuries and restoring his Chakra in the process.
Ryou began to slowly sink into the ground. "Nagato, enjoy this final time spent with your companions!"
Even if Ryou didn't kill Nagato, his end wouldn't be good. Madara had already been resurrected, and the Akatsuki's strength was insufficient to protect the Rinnegan.
They couldn't even get past the hurdle of Hanzo and Danzo.
Before leaving, Ryou pointed at Kurenai. "Kurenai, don't think I don't know your purpose for coming to the Land of Rain."
"You aren't here to apprehend me at all; you're here to seize Nagato's Rinnegan."
After saying that, Ryou sank into the ground and vanished without a trace.
Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko all turned their heads at once, staring at Kurenai.
Stared at so coldly by the three of them, Kurenai felt a surge of fear.
But a yellow figure appeared in front of Kurenai, shielding her.
Kurenai was pleasantly surprised. "Minato-senpai!"
No wonder Uchiha Ryou was running away; it turned out Minato-senpai had tracked down the Akatsuki.
Nagato and the others watched the handsome, blond man who had suddenly appeared with vigilance.
Minato didn't mind their wary gazes and showed a gentle smile. "I thank the Akatsuki for rescuing my subordinate from Uchiha Ryou's hands. I am Minato, a Jonin of Konoha."
"I am also a disciple of Master Jiraiya. I... could be considered your senior fellow disciple!"
...Ryou hadn't gone far. He used Earth Release to hide his presence underground, monitoring every move above.
If Nagato's Rinnegan were truly destroyed by Minato, Ryou would be struck by Madara's heavenly lightning.
The Land of Rain was truly lively right now.
Minato and Nagato.
Hanzo and Danzo.
Ryou couldn't allow Minato and Nagato to join forces.
He then created a Spore Clone, had it put on an Akatsuki uniform, and sent it up to act as a shill, frantically stirring up trouble.
He had to make sure Minato and Nagato started fighting.
Above ground.
Minato was Jiraiya's true disciple, and Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan had also received Jiraiya's guidance. They could be said to have come from the same school.
But the master-disciple relationships in the Naruto world were somewhat dangerous, especially the lineage of the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage was killed by Orochimaru, Jiraiya was killed by Nagato, Minato sacrificed himself because of Obito, and Kakashi was nearly killed by Sasuke.
Minato was very gentle, giving off a feeling like a spring breeze. After seeing Minato appear, Kurenai was no longer afraid of anything.
However, Nagato and his companions grew more vigilant instead, because of Ryou's words, they believed the people from Konoha had appeared in the Land of Rain to seize Nagato's Rinnegan.
Ryou had previously held a Rasengan against Nagato's head; it could be said that with a light press, Nagato would have lost his head.
But he didn't press it; he even returned the Chakra to Nagato and restored his condition. He clearly had no hostility toward the Akatsuki.
But Konoha?!
Yahiko didn't believe Konoha would remain indifferent after learning about the Rinnegan. This was the Rinnegan, the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.
Yahiko and Konan stood in front of Nagato, protecting him and blocking Minato's view of Nagato's eyes.
Minato said, "Master Jiraiya once mentioned the three of you to me. I've never had the chance to visit you, but today I finally get to meet you."
At the mention of Jiraiya, the vigilant attitude of Yahiko and the others softened slightly.
Because of Jiraiya's kindness, they truly could never repay it.
Jiraiya was a Ninja of Konoha. Yahiko and his friends had become orphans not because of bridge camping, but because of the war.
This kind of war was brought upon small countries by large countries, and Jiraiya was one of them.
They were essentially on opposite sides, yet Jiraiya had taught Ninjutsu to Yahiko and the others.
This was undoubtedly a life-changing grace!
Yahiko politely introduced the three of them to Minato. "Minato-senpai, my name is Yahiko, and these are Nagato and Konan."
"We are war orphans from the Second Great Ninja War. Master Jiraiya took us in, and we are very grateful to him for teaching us Ninjutsu."
"For all these years, we've always wanted to repay Master Jiraiya's kindness."
"By the way, how has Master Jiraiya been lately?"
Minato shook his head. "Not good. Uchiha Madara has been resurrected, and he nearly killed Master Jiraiya."
"If the Great Sage of Mount Myōboku hadn't intervened, Master Jiraiya might have already perished."
Upon hearing this, Yahiko and the other two were instantly dumbfounded.
"What? Uchiha Madara has been resurrected?"
Ninjas from small countries had all heard the legends of Madara; the news was surely authentic.
After all, outsiders don't care about the Will of Fire.
Yahiko and Nagato remembered the joke made by the black market manager that day, which they had also dismissed as a joke.
Madara was from such an old era; how could he be resurrected?
Now that they were hearing this revelation from a Hokage candidate of Konoha, they had no choice but to believe it.
Madara had truly been resurrected!
Minato then told the three of them, "It was Ryou who resurrected Uchiha Madara. He is also the main culprit who nearly caused Master Jiraiya's death."
Yahiko hurriedly said, "Minato-senpai, we were miserable because of that Uchiha Ryou. He disguised himself as Yakuganra to join our the Akatsuki and was even planning to kidnap Konoha Ninjas to frame us."
"Fortunately, we discovered it early and saved your subordinate. However, he was very slippery and managed to escape beforehand."
Minato glanced at the craters and uneven ground behind Yahiko's group, filled with traces of fire, pits, and rubble.
This kind of battle evidence wasn't something an ordinary Jonin could create.
One was Ryou, and the other was—
Minato wanted to look at Nagato, but Nagato was well-shielded by Yahiko and Konan.
Minato then looked at Yahiko and Konan and said, "Yahiko, Konan, Ryou is a henchman of Uchiha Madara. His joining the Akatsuki couldn't possibly be for the peace of the Ninja World."
"I assume you both understand this?"