Itachi's eyes?
Hearing Konan's voice, Nagato froze for a moment—then his spirit jolted awake.
He'd had suspicions back then, but now it seemed clear: Itachi really had died at Kirigakure's hands.
More precisely… he had died by the hand of the man in front of him.
Konan glanced at the pair of eyes in Yuto's hand, then looked at the silent Nagato.
For a moment, the air went still.
Everyone was waiting for Nagato to make his choice.
Konan clenched her teeth and swallowed the words at the tip of her tongue. She knew Nagato's decision would have a huge impact on all of Amegakure.
But she respected his decision.
After a long while, Nagato faced the direction of Yuto's voice and spoke slowly.
"Just Itachi's eyes… won't be enough, will they?"
"Of course not," Yuto said with a faint smile. "Have you heard of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan…?
Nagato was momentarily stunned. He truly didn't know much about that.
"To be precise, it's basically a curse of the Uchiha," Yuto explained without waiting for Nagato to ask. "Once the Sharingan evolves into the Mangekyō, if you don't have a special method…"
"The more you use its power, the more the Mangekyō will gradually go blind."
"And to erase that side effect, there's only one way—take the eyes awakened by a blood brother of the same lineage, and fuse the two."
"That's how Madara's eyes were made."
"And in the entire shinobi world, the only pair that could evolve into an Eternal Mangekyō again… is this one."
"Itachi really does have a younger brother," Konan said, eyes lighting up. "Uchiha Sasuke."
Yuto smiled lightly and looked at Nagato, whose expression had already begun to shift.
Unlike Konan—who immediately thought of Sasuke because of what Yuto said—Nagato caught something even more important hidden inside those words.
"The Eternal Mangekyō… then how did Madara's Rinnegan come to be?"
Nagato thought of a terrifying possibility. His voice trembled as he faced Yuto.
"Aren't you already guessing?" Yuto chuckled. Then he spoke again, smiling.
"If you can really do it…"
"You won't just obtain a pair of Rinnegan that truly belong to you—you'll be able to step back onto this stage."
"And you'll have the qualifications to play the game with us."
"Only then would you actually deserve the title 'god.'"
"But right now? You're just a joke."
Yuto said it bluntly, his words laced with open mockery.
Nagato didn't get angry.
The title "god" really was nothing but a cruel joke to him now.
"Aren't you afraid that once I regain the Rinnegan… I'll turn on you?" Nagato asked, voice low.
Yuto laughed softly and answered casually.
"Who knows what the future holds."
But even so, Nagato could hear it—Yuto's voice carried confidence.
"Then what is your true goal?" Nagato's face turned solemn, his tone serious.
"My goal is to bring real peace to this shinobi world," Yuto said, smile unchanged—yet his voice held a seriousness he'd never shown before. "Do you believe me?"
Nagato's body trembled.
Slowly, he stood up.
"From today on, I'll assist you… until the day I can step onto this stage again."
The smile on Yuto's face deepened. He casually shook the special bottle with the two Sharingan inside, then tossed it into Konan's hands.
"Welcome to Kirigakure—both of you."
A faint laugh echoed through the woods.
Kirigakure, the village gates—
Mei wore a worried expression, glancing again and again toward the direction the battle sounds had come from earlier.
If Yuto-sama hadn't given the order in advance that they didn't need to intervene, Mei would've already led Kirigakure's forces to the battlefield.
Just then, a few soft footsteps came from the distance, instantly drawing Mei's attention.
She looked in that direction—
three figures emerged in her sight.
Seeing Yuto walking at the front, Mei quietly exhaled in relief.
But confusion rose on her face as she looked at the two figures behind him.
Their footsteps were quick. It didn't take long before the three arrived at Kirigakure's gates.
"Yuto-sama," Mei hurried forward to his side and spoke softly.
"The Mizukage waiting for me personally? You're going to make me embarrassed," Yuto said with a smile.
Then he gave Mei a rough introduction to Nagato and Konan.
When she heard that those two were the true rulers of Amegakure, Mei's face clearly showed shock.
But compared to their identities, what Yuto said next nearly made Mei think he was joking.
Madara… had revived?!
The amount of meaning packed into that news was enormous—enough to shake the entire shinobi world.
Akatsuki base—
Atop the head of the massive Gedō Mazō, Madara sat cross-legged, his expression indifferent.
"Looks like everyone's here," Madara murmured to himself with his eyes closed, sensing several auras enter his range.
At this moment, the rest of Akatsuki had gathered as well, watching Madara above with suspicion and tension in their eyes.
"Zetsu! What the hell is going on? Who are those two up there?!" Hidan snapped, glaring up at Madara—and at Obito standing not far from him.
It wasn't just Hidan. The other Akatsuki members wore the same displeased expressions, and some were already showing killing intent.
"Starting today, Madara-sama is the leader of Akatsuki," White Zetsu said with a giggly grin, speaking solemnly to everyone.
Madara…?
The name made every Akatsuki member freeze.
Then Deidara suddenly clutched his stomach and burst out laughing, clearly not believing it.
But Kakuzu's face stiffened as he stared at Madara sitting atop the Gedō Mazō.
A vague yet strangely familiar figure surfaced in Kakuzu's mind.
"A new leader?" Sasori's eyes swept the area. "Where's Pain?"
Not only was Pain nowhere to be seen—Konan, who usually stayed near him, was also absent.
"I killed him," Madara said, slowly opening his eyes. His gaze was icy as it pinned the Akatsuki members below.
"Any objections?"
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