The Gedo Statue's body towered into the clouds, and the sudden appearance of this behemoth in the Hidden Rain Village naturally caused panic among the populace.
In Hyūga Shinichi's perception, the people of the Land of Rain, sensing danger, were fleeing, and the once peaceful and quiet village was thrown into great chaos.
Looking at the distant Gedo Statue, Shinichi had already acted on his suggestion to retreat. His hand was already placed on Jiraiya's lower back. As long as Jiraiya nodded, he would immediately take them away.
The reconnaissance mission in the Land of Rain had already yielded significant rewards at this stage.
Defeating Nagato in his current state would likely require a huge cost. But that didn't matter; they held Konan, Nagato's most cherished comrade. As long as Konan was firmly in their grasp, there was still a possibility for negotiation between Konoha and Nagato.
Ideals versus comrades...
For Nagato, the more important of the two was undoubtedly his comrade.
Perhaps Nagato himself hadn't realized that he and Konan were the same type of person: they were both the shadows accompanying the light, and Yahiko was the true light.
When Yahiko, that beam of light, was extinguished, Nagato inherited Yahiko's will and became a "light" like Yahiko. However, Nagato's essential nature had not changed; he was ultimately a shadow. When he encountered a light again, he would revert to his original position.
Neither Jiraiya nor Hyūga Shinichi would be Nagato's second light, but that didn't matter. Shinichi knew who would become the light. As long as Nagato's impulse and killing intent to destroy Konoha were contained before that child grew up, the future would remain firmly in his hands.
Shinichi's eyes had already seen through the trajectory of the future world's development.
And Konan, currently held in Jiraiya's arms, was the new key to guiding Nagato!
However... whether Jiraiya could suppress his emotions and see through all this, as Shinichi could, remained to be seen...
"Retreat?"
"Should we return to the Hidden Rain Village after this statue disappears?"
Jiraiya looked at the stretching Gedo Statue. As he asked this question, Nagato, inside the statue, finally completed his connection with the behemoth. The Statue's visual network linked up with his own vision. Having been extremely weakened by the summoning, Nagato finally recovered somewhat and slowly opened his eyes.
The Gedo Statue's face had nine eyes. As Nagato's vision connected with the Statue, the central eye slowly opened.
Glancing around, when he spotted Jiraiya holding Konan, Nagato's face clearly showed shock and fury.
Konan had actually been defeated and captured. Nagato, terrified that Konan might be harmed by Konoha, let out a piercing roar, then manipulated the Statue's massive hand to grab at Jiraiya.
"Give Konan back to me!!!"
Even though he knew Jiraiya was Konan's former master, at this moment, Nagato had zero trust in Jiraiya. After all...
The deaths of Nagato's parents and his closest friend, Yahiko, were all inextricably linked to the Konoha ninja.
In Nagato's view, this was simply Konoha ninja targeting someone close to him again, aiming for the other lifelong friend he grew up with.
The Statue roared from its mouth. Its colossal body suddenly lowered, its massive hand reaching for Jiraiya, casting a huge shadow over the area.
"Hmph..."
Orochimaru let out a light sneer. At this moment, he completely ignored Jiraiya's decision. The instant the giant hand pressed down, his body dissolved into a pile of small snakes, which then scattered into the water. In the blink of an eye, the snakes vanished, and Orochimaru's trace was gone from the water's surface.
"Master Jiraiya, please make a decision quickly."
"We have a hostage, which provides room for negotiation with the Hidden Rain Village's leader."
Hyūga Shinichi would not decide for Jiraiya, but he would influence Jiraiya's judgment of the situation.
Hearing Shinichi's words, Jiraiya nodded, agreeing with the idea of retreat.
Shinichi wasted no time and immediately activated the Flying Thunder God Technique. With a sound of spatial distortion, the three figures instantly vanished from the water's surface.
The Gedo Statue's giant palm clamped down, finding nothing but empty space. Nagato looked at the empty battlefield, filled with intense frustration.
"Konan!"
Nagato painfully roared, and at the same time, the Statue's terrifying shriek echoed far and wide.
In the dense forest, several dozen kilometers outside the Hidden Rain Village.
Shisui and Kakashi, who had been teleported there earlier by Hyūga Shinichi, had already set up tents and built a bonfire to dry their damp clothes.
This was a pre-arranged evacuation camp, situated in a mountain hollow, surrounded by undeveloped forests, secluded and highly concealed.
The few who had left the battlefield early were boiling tea and had neatly arranged some portable medical supplies inside the tent so they could react quickly should any casualties arrive.
This mission into the Land of Rain was originally conducted by a squad. Except for Hyūga Shinichi, who was personally selected by Minato, the other squad members were requested by Shinichi from Minato.
Jiraiya was not officially part of their reconnaissance squad; strictly speaking, he was an external reinforcement sought by Shinichi.
Minato did not know the depth of the Akatsuki headquarters, but Shinichi was very clear. Therefore, when they officially engaged Pain upon entering the Land of Rain, Shinichi chose to have Kakashi, Shisui, and Guy leave first.
These three were far from their peak. Shisui and Kakashi, without the Mangekyō Sharingan, were at best good-level Jōnin. Their skill level would offer little help against the Six Paths.
Guy was also still young, with pronounced strengths and weaknesses. Unless he opened the Seventh or Eighth Gate of the Eight Gates Formation, he would mostly be a burden that drained Shinichi's focus during the fight.
After careful consideration, Shinichi didn't let Guy participate in the battle either.
The reconnaissance mission into the Land of Rain was sufficient with just Shinichi, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. Although Orochimaru didn't give his full effort, he indeed didn't watch Jiraiya die, so his role was not insignificant.
Now, with the Six Paths of Pain fully defeated, Obito Uchiha's whereabouts unknown, and Konan captured...
Hyūga Shinichi could almost certainly confirm that Jiraiya's life trajectory had changed. At the very least, he would likely not die in the Land of Rain in the future.
"Whoosh—"
Following a spatial anomaly, the people roasting by the fire in the tent noticed something unusual. Looking up, they saw Jiraiya, Hyūga Shinichi, and Konan appear in the clearing in front of the camp.
Having left the battlefield, Jiraiya was now feeling an intense sense of exhaustion. Holding Konan, he slowly walked towards the tent.
"Master Jiraiya!"
"Shinichi, you're back!"
"Huh? Who is that woman... someone from Akatsuki?"
Kakashi and the others emerged from the tent one after another, their faces showing joy at seeing Jiraiya and Shinichi return unharmed.
Might Guy's attention, after briefly scanning Jiraiya and Shinichi, was fixed on Konan, whom Jiraiya was holding. Looking at her attire, he questioned the two with confusion.
"A captive. She is an important bargaining chip for our negotiations with Akatsuki."
"She passed out from asphyxiation earlier. I sealed her chakra. She should wake up soon."
Hyūga Shinichi explained. As he spoke, Jiraiya had already entered the tent with Konan and placed her on a makeshift bed.
The tent was a standard military-issue war tent, covering nearly twenty square meters. The few people entering the tent one after another did not make it feel crowded.
The soaking wet Konan was settled by Jiraiya on the makeshift bed. However, Jiraiya was too exhausted to worry about such details. The fatigued Sannin pulled a small stool and sat down by the campfire near the entrance.
Jiraiya stared blankly at the burning campfire, his absent-minded look making Kakashi and Shisui exchange glances, feeling very strange.
Inside the tent, after changing into dry clothes, Hyūga Shinichi also grabbed a small stool and came outside to warm up by the fire.
Shisui was brewing tea. Seeing Shinichi sit down next to him, he instinctively handed him a cup of hot tea before asking about the mission's execution:
"Shinichi, were all the enemies you encountered in the Hidden Rain Village defeated?"
"Have you thoroughly investigated the Akatsuki organization?"
Jiraiya remained silent, staring at the fire, seemingly deep in thought about something. Kakashi and Shisui tacitly chose not to inquire about the details from Jiraiya.
Now seeing Shinichi emerge after changing, they naturally asked him about the specific situation.
"Yes, the six people who attacked us were the corpse puppets of Akatsuki's leader."
"That person is a Rinnegan user, possessing the same eyes as the legendary Sage of Six Paths."
"The enemy's power is immense. Although the puppets were destroyed by Master Jiraiya and me, his true body summoned a hundred-meter-tall statue. We lack the ability to crush that statue, so we had no choice but to temporarily retreat."
"That woman is an important figure in the Akatsuki organization, very important to their leader. I defeated and captured her, and she is a critical negotiation chip."
Shinichi's explanation was concise. He didn't describe the specific details of the battle, but ensured they understood Konan's importance and the strength of the Akatsuki leader.
However, as Shinichi explained, Jiraiya's eyes finally focused, and he added:
"That woman is named Konan."
"Akatsuki's leader is named Nagato."
"Both of them... were once my disciples..."
Jiraiya clearly had no intention of concealing Konan and Nagato's identities. His words stunned Shisui and Kakashi.
The Sannin's friends looked at each other, momentarily speechless. Guy, the most innocent of the group, scratched his head and asked confusedly:
"The leader of Akatsuki is Master Jiraiya's disciple?"
"If they are your disciples, why did they attack the exchange posts in the Land of Fire?"
"And... why do they pose a threat to the village?"
Guy's questions plunged Jiraiya back into silence.
Shinichi noticed Jiraiya's mood and changed the topic: "Everyone's circumstances are different, and the choices they make will naturally not be the same."
"Don't ask, Guy."
"My suggestion is to take that woman... take Konan back to the village and keep her contained first."
"For the rest, let Minato-nii send people to negotiate with the Hidden Rain Village."
"Master Jiraiya, what is your opinion?"
Shinichi brought up the discussion about the follow-up process. Thinking about Nagato now, there might not be a need to completely eliminate him. There was also a serious conflict of interest between Nagato and Obito Uchiha. Obito's ultimate goal was the Moon's Eye Plan, while Nagato was only using the plan to carry out his "revenge."
Now that Konoha controlled Konan, Nagato would certainly be hesitant to act. An invasion of Konoha should not happen.
With Minato handling the negotiations, Nagato, for Konan's sake, should not dare to completely sever ties.
Furthermore... Shinichi planned to persuade Minato to sacrifice Danzō to mitigate Nagato's hatred for Konoha.
Ultimately, the source of the evil was that restless old man. More critically, that fool Danzō not only enjoyed "scheming" but his "schemes" never benefited Konoha and repeatedly put the village in passive positions.
If not for Shinichi's arrival, under Danzō's leadership, the Uchiha clan would be annihilated, geniuses like Itachi, Shisui, and Sasuke would either die or be scattered, causing Konoha's strength to plummet.
In the future, the Six Paths of Pain would attack Konoha. Although Nagato used the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive everyone through Naruto's efforts, the destruction of Konoha's infrastructure was undeniable, wiping out decades of development.
Danzō constantly claimed to be acting for Konoha, yet in reality, this old man was not only unhelpful to Konoha's development but was constantly dragging its feet.
While Hyūga Shinichi did not feel a strong sense of belonging to Konoha, his clan, the Hyūga, lived in the village. If Konoha was strong, the Hyūga would have a better living environment. Therefore, even from Shinichi's standpoint, he did not want Danzō to continue being a disruptive element.
Although Shinichi hadn't heard of Danzō causing trouble during the years Minato suppressed him, Shinichi did not believe that a person like Danzō would peacefully live out the rest of his life.
It would be better to let him become a bridge for peace, laid beneath it!
While this was Shinichi's inner thought, how Minato would handle things in the future was not something Shinichi could dictate.
However, one thing Shinichi had now realized was that a living Nagato, leaning towards Konoha, might be far more useful than a dead Nagato.
Shinichi's words plunged Jiraiya into contemplation. His original intention was to infiltrate the Hidden Rain Village again, confront Nagato, and still hope his disciple would turn back.
But Shinichi's advice was also sound.
How should he choose?!
If Nagato was not open to negotiation as Shinichi predicted, once they missed this window of Nagato's "weakness," talking to him again would be impossible.
At this moment, Jiraiya suddenly recalled the prediction of the Great Sage Toad.
The prophecy said that one day he would face a difficult choice. Was the current situation the choice he was destined to face?!
If you want to read more, join my Patreon/kazama677
I will drop 1 bonus chapter for every 50 Power Stones