"Please, calm down. I know you're probably furious right now, but once you see the truth, you'll realize I'm not trying to hurt anyone.
You could even say I'm doing you a favor.
The future belongs to you young ones—but not the present. You're the new generation. But those of our generation are the ones on the stage right now.
I just hope all of you can hold onto your true hearts until the end."
Haseo had nothing better to do, so he struck up a conversation with the three captives—those bound, voiceless, or simply unwilling to speak.
It must be said that the more than sixty hostages in his grip proved highly effective. When a hero tries to protect every pawn, failure becomes inevitable… Never mind Yahiko, even under extremely strict control, Nagato might still manage some resistance if given room to act.
But right now, he couldn't.
While Yahiko was alive, Nagato merely carried out Yahiko's will. His own determination wasn't strong.
"Lord Haseo, everything's ready."
At this moment, Sannai came over to inform him that the preparations around Haseo were complete, meaning his idle chatter could finally come to an end.
Haseo nodded and then, leaving Yahiko behind, walked toward Nagato.
"Do you see? This is the eye of the Sage of Six Paths. Jiraiya believed it marked the one destined to change the world. In a way, he's not entirely wrong."
"The legendary mythic world-founder—the Sage of Six Paths? This must be the fabled eye they whispered about in ancient tales… the Rinnegan, isn't it?"
Drawn in by Haseo's words, Mokkō, Sannai, and Ka-jin all curiously approached like eager children wanting a closer look—even one of them could name the Rinnegan.
A mythical existence had entered reality like this, and yet… they didn't seem particularly miraculous. They were just "swirl-patterned eyes." The design and appearance weren't even as impressive or artistic as the Sharingan.
"Yes, it truly is the Rinnegan, and without question, these eyes contain enough power to change the world.
Now think—do you really believe something like this could appear on its own?
Could someone be born already possessing the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths? Unless he was actually the Sage's own son."
"I think that's… unlikely. If destructive power like that could emerge randomly, the world would become far too unpredictable. The Sharingan and Byakugan already represent extremes. Even the awakening of the Sharingan among the Uchiha requires strict conditions."
Even setting theory aside, the idea just doesn't sit right emotionally. Could a newborn baby really have such powerful eyes? We're all human, aren't we? Then why isn't everyone born human? That doesn't make sense at all.
"Your thinking is pretty straightforward, which is exactly why we had to come here first before carrying out our mission.
Because… these eyes originally belonged to Madara Uchiha."
The crowd, who had just moments ago found the Rinnegan rather unremarkable, immediately recoiled half a step in shock at Haseo's words. The sense of ordinariness was instantly replaced with an overwhelming aura of mystery.
"So what you're saying is... the Rinnegan evolved from the Sharingan? That the ultimate form of the Sharingan is actually the Rinnegan?" Ka-jin said.
To his credit, he caught on surprisingly quickly.
"You could say that," Haseo replied.
Haseo decided there was no need to explain for now about bizarre combinations like "Uchiha plus Senju," or "Sage Eye and Sage Body," or Asura plus Indra.
In any case, between the two statements—"the Rinnegan belongs to Madara Uchiha" and "the Rinnegan belongs to Nagato"—the former certainly sounded far more reasonable.
"These eyes are the key to everything. Next, I'm going to take them back. If nothing gets in my way, I'll use them as stepping stones. I imagine even the mightiest eyes won't feel much different underfoot than stepping on fish maw."
"So now, everyone take a guess—no matter what Madara Uchiha's intentions were putting his eyes on this kid, do you think he'd just let things run their course without doing anything?"
"..."
Nobody could answer that question.
Come to think of it, Haseo was clearly oppressing a member of the Uzumaki clan right now, yet all the Uzumaki shinobi stood firmly by Haseo's side and saw absolutely nothing wrong with his actions… Such is human nature.
"Well then, I'll begin...
Sorry, this might get a little gross, but I've seen others yank them out directly like this.
Don't worry, I promise my hands will be super steady."
But what did that have to do with how steady your hands were anyway?
As soon as those words ended, Haseo extended his right hand toward Nagato's eyes… To be honest, this wasn't just gross—it was seriously disgusting.
At that moment, time itself seemed to slow down.
The sensation of something foreign approaching one's eyes must've felt as terrible as it could possibly get. Nagato's expression visibly tensed, and instinctively, he began summoning all his strength to resist.
However, Haseo's left hand slammed down hard on his shoulder.
With Ka-jin's Binding Curse Technique from the outside and Haseo's powerful Lightning Release… Nagato had picked a bad moment to resist—and couldn't fight back at all.
What Haseo said made sense—the kids here were just a bunch of younglings. A thirteen- or fourteen-year-old ninja, even if possessing the Rinnegan, could he truly unleash its full power? Could he stand against someone like Haseo?
If Nagato proved powerless, the Rinnegan would inevitably fall into Haseo's hands.
Yet just as Haseo's fingertips were about to touch those eyes, an unexpected change occurred.
A black blade of light flashed before Haseo's eyes. If he hadn't pulled back fast enough, his fingers might have been severed.
Immediately afterward, Nagato's skin darkened as a dim shadow spread across his body. In an instant, his entire figure was engulfed. His expression twisted in pain, and then the shadow peeled away entirely.
This shadow could only be Black Zetsu.
Looking again at Nagato, his eye sockets were already hollow, and his face was drenched in blood.
Nagato was bound too tightly to be taken away, so Black Zetsu had no choice but to take the eyes instead… This meant many of Madara Uchiha's prior preparations had to be abandoned.
But now was not the time to dwell on such things. There were always priorities in any situation, and preserving the Rinnegan was the most critical.
Black Zetsu began sprinting outward just as a White Zetsu emerged from the trunk of a large tree nearby, moving to intercept him. The next moment, the two were about to fuse together.
However, before this could happen, [Blade of Lightning] surged from Haseo's hand, piercing through Black Zetsu's body before cleaving that White Zetsu in two.
White Zetsu had no defense against such an attack.
But Black Zetsu showed little reaction after being struck. Without hesitation, he abandoned the now useless White Zetsu and continued escaping alone.
At this moment, surprisingly, Haseo gently patted Nagato on the shoulder: "If I get the chance, I'll introduce you to a Doctor who can really help."
Then, he turned toward the Uzumaki shinobi and said:
"Operation begins now!"
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