As soon as Tsunade finished speaking, everyone's expressions turned serious again.
"We really do need to be on guard about this," Nara Shikaku nodded slightly in agreement.
"By the way, Rorin, after you defeated the last Pain, what happened to his body? Did you dispose of it?" Jiraiya glanced at Rorin and asked.
All eyes turned toward him.
Hearing this, Rorin put on a heavy expression, nodding slightly, with a trace of lingering fear showing on his face.
"During our fight, he used an extremely powerful sealing technique and trapped me inside a meteor."
The moment he said this, everyone recalled the massive meteor that had been hanging in the sky earlier.
Kakashi quietly nodded—when he had tried to channel chakra into the bones at the time, there had been no response. So something really had happened to Rorin.
Rorin continued, "After being sealed, I struggled with everything I had and barely managed to escape.
So after defeating that Pain, to prevent him from using that technique again, I quickly disposed of his body once and for all."
Everyone nodded slightly, no longer pressing the matter.
"Even though we defeated all the Pains this time, we didn't defeat their real body. I think the enemy might create new ones," Jiraiya said quietly, his tone heavy.
Everyone nodded slowly. After a moment, Rorin spoke again.
"Actually, there's no need to worry too much. Even if they want to create new Pains, it will take time. And after this battle, they'll likely be more cautious.
They may not directly attack our Hidden Leaf Village again. Their target is the Jinchūriki, so our main priority is still Naruto's safety."
Everyone agreed. Rorin looked at Naruto.
"So Naruto, you still need to grow stronger."
Naruto nodded slightly. He wanted that too—only by becoming stronger could he protect the people precious to him.
After the meeting ended, everyone dispersed, and Rorin went to find Shizune.
After handling the land deed procedures with her, he contacted a construction team.
Since he wanted a concrete house rather than a wooden one, he didn't ask Yamato for help.
After handing over the building blueprints, Rorin rented another house in the village as a temporary residence until his new estate was completed.
Of course, with the system handling payments, there were no issues.
As for why he rented instead of buying—since he would live in the new estate in the future, there was no point in purchasing a house that would just sit unused.
Word that Rorin had a highly profitable business in the Land of Mountain Streams also spread among the village's inner circles, and no one questioned the source of his wealth.
After finishing everything, Rorin returned to his rental house and used Flying Thunder God to arrive at Nagato's hideout.
Pushing aside the paper-style tree trunk, he saw Nagato, supported by Konan, slowly going through rehabilitation exercises.
Sensing someone's presence, both of them looked over.
"Rorin, what brings you here?" Nagato asked.
Rorin smiled kindly. "Nagato, I came today because there's something I want to discuss with you."
"Is it about Uchiha Madara?" Nagato asked seriously.
Rorin waved his hand. "No, it's just… well, yesterday, you guys paid a little visit to the Hidden Leaf Village."
Nagato and Konan suddenly looked a bit embarrassed, but they quietly listened.
"But due to some… accidents, you ended up damaging some flowers, plants, and buildings. That includes my old house," Rorin said calmly.
At that, Nagato understood—he had come to ask for compensation.
"Um… Rorin, how much compensation do you need? Just name a price," Nagato asked softly.
After all, he had destroyed someone's home—it was only right to pay.
Nagato glanced at Konan and gave a slight nod.
Rorin slowly shook his head. "To be honest, I'm not short on money. I didn't bring this up to ask you for compensation."
That left Nagato confused. If it wasn't about money, then what was it?
Rorin smiled slightly. For Nagato, there was one technique he was particularly interested in—the Five-Seal Barrier.
More precisely, it was the mirror attacker technique within its double-layered trap. After removing the forbidden tags within the barrier, it could create a duplicate with the same appearance and abilities as the one who removed the tag. The only way to break it was to surpass oneself.
This was exactly the method Rorin had been considering—a way to push beyond his limits in a short time.
After a moment of thought, Rorin looked at Nagato with a serious expression.
"Nagato, in my view, money is just an external possession. True strength is what matters most. I want to go further—I want to surpass myself!"
He emphasized the last words, thinking that with such an obvious hint, Nagato should understand he meant the mirror attacker technique.
Nagato fell into deep thought. Even setting aside the guilt of destroying Rorin's house, Rorin had saved his life—he wouldn't hesitate to teach him something.
But many of his techniques relied on the Rinnegan. It wasn't like he could just gouge out his eyes and give them away.
Wait… surpass oneself?
Nagato's eyes lit up, as if he had grasped the key point.
Seeing that realization dawn on him, Rorin nodded inwardly.
Nagato looked up at Rorin. "Rorin, I have a technique that might meet your needs, but it does carry some risks."
Rorin showed "delight" and asked, "What technique is it?"
Nagato then explained the Five-Seal Barrier and the mirror attacker technique.
"I can use this technique to create a clone identical to you. Simply put—you'll be fighting yourself.
But the risk is that aside from surpassing your own limits, there's no other way to break it," Nagato said slowly.
Rorin nodded slightly, then said with confidence,
"My goal was to surpass myself in the first place. This suits me perfectly—and I believe I will succeed."
Nagato smiled faintly. "Mm. I believe in you too."
...
At dusk, in a forest within the Land of Fire.
Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi rested beneath a tree.
Itachi sat quietly on a rock as smoke rose gently—he was grilling fish for their dinner.
Sasuke sat nearby, cross-legged.
"Sasuke, Danzō is already dead. What are your plans next?" Itachi asked as he added more firewood.
Sasuke's gaze sharpened as he stared into the blazing flames.
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