The Hidden Rain Village, true to its name, was a place where it rained almost year-round. The sky was perpetually overcast, casting a heavy, suffocating gloom over everything.
At this moment, Allen stood with Nagato before the Gedo Statue. He was slowly extracting the One-Tails, Shukaku, from his own body and resealing it into this massive bio-energy collection device.
If the thing didn't still have a purpose, Allen would have definitely torn it apart to see its internal structure and understand its underlying principles. Unfortunately, the Gedo Statue's husk was incredibly durable and retained a staggering amount of residual vitality. Prying it open with conventional methods was essentially impossible unless one used destructive force, which, of course, would render it instantly scrap and beyond repair.
While Allen's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of how to dismantle and study the Ten-Tails' Divine Tree once Kaguya was dealt with, the extraction of the One-Tails finally concluded. With the assistance of the Red Dragon, the process hadn't drained a single drop of his own life force.
"Whew! Finally finished. Now that it has the One-Tails' chakra, the Gedo Statue is no longer just a decoration; it's a war machine in its own right," Nagato said, letting out a small sigh of relief.
"Use it sparingly. The One-Tails as it is now isn't the One-Tails you remember. Once its chakra depletion exceeds a certain threshold, it won't be able to recover for a very long time," Allen reminded him meaningfully.
Because ninety percent of their essence had been siphoned away, the recovery speed of all Tailed Beast chakra was now only a tenth of what it used to be. This meant they were no longer the legendary "natural disasters" with infinite chakra; furthermore, if they were to die accidentally, their resurrection time would be ten times longer than before.
"Oh? You did something to it?" Nagato asked, visibly surprised.
Allen chuckled and shook his head. "Don't ask too many questions. You just need to know that I've left plenty of 'surprises' for that Progenitor of Chakra. If there's nothing else, I'm heading back to the Hidden Sound Village. I have a Two-Tails Jinchuriki waiting for me to take over, after all."
Before he could take two steps, Nagato called out from behind him, "Wait! I've noticed a lot of power struggles emerging within the Resistance lately. Don't you think those people should be dealt with?"
"Purged? How did you come up with such a ridiculous idea?" Allen stopped, a strange expression surfacing on his face.
"Shouldn't we get rid of the opportunists to maintain the purity of the Resistance?" Nagato replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"No! Absolutely not! You have to understand: pure idealists can't get anything done. A so-called revolution only succeeds when ideals and reality reach a compromise, fueled by the most basic of human desires. The struggle for power and profit is an innate part of human nature. Even if you kill off one batch, a second will surely follow. At the risk of being blunt, you are a textbook example of an idealist who can't accomplish anything. Your ideas are too simple, too naive, and frankly, quite laughable. My sincere advice to you is not to get too involved in such matters."
Having delivered these words, which were somewhere between a warning and a suggestion, Allen disappeared into the rainy streets of the village without looking back.
Nagato remained frozen in place, unable to snap out of it for a long time. Having played the role of a "god" for so long, this was the first time he had heard someone call his ideas simple, naive, and laughable.
However, as he sat and processed the words, he suddenly realized he truly knew nothing about politics or reform. Even his governance of the Hidden Rain Village relied entirely on overwhelming individual force to suppress dissent. He was incapable of building a system that could continue to function even after he was gone.
Realizing this, Nagato asked his companion with a bitter smile, "Konan, were our original ideas really wrong?"
"I don't know. But I believe that with this guy's planning, we will succeed this time. In him, I see something I've never seen in any other ninja: a sense of total detachment," Konan responded with an indifferent expression.
"Yeah. Looking at the way the Resistance governs the occupied territories, the dawn is clearly breaking. It's just a pity we haven't reached the most terrifying enemy yet," Nagato lamented.
As a child born and raised during the Great Ninja Wars, he had witnessed the cruelest aspects of conflict and tasted the bitterness of hunger and cold. It was for this very reason they had founded the Akatsuki, hoping to build a bridge of communication between people and villages to avoid war and maintain permanent peace.
Back then, they were naive and hot-blooded, believing they could change the world through sheer will. Unfortunately, "Old Shadows" like Danzo and Hanzo taught them the darkness of human nature and the treachery of the world with cold, hard reality.
Even so, Nagato had never thought of overthrowing the rule and order established by the Daimyos and nobles; he only wanted to use the power of the Tailed Beasts to ensure the Great Ninja Villages wouldn't dare act recklessly.
But now, with Allen's arrival, things were different.
Allen hadn't even personally participated in this tumultuous revolution. He had merely scattered a few ideas and seeds, yet the entire world was now caught in a massive upheaval. The "Five Great Nations" status quo, once thought unshakable, was coming to an end. Ninja villages that seemed invincible were being overturned by a mob of civilians who were previously treated like lambs to the slaughter.
More terrifying still was that these civilians, after breaking away from the Daimyos and nobles, were actually managing the occupied zones themselves and establishing a relatively fair system. Several of the strongest factions already possessed the qualifications to establish their own nations.
For Nagato, there was nothing more heart-pounding and exciting than seeing this scene before his death.
Just as he was about to move his wheelchair to take a look at the street scene outside, Allen suddenly walked back in, a playful smile on his face.
"Why are you back again?" Konan asked, her brow furrowing instinctively.
"Take a guess, who did I just run into while I was out getting a bite to eat?" Allen asked back meaningfully.
"Who?"
Konan's feminine intuition kicked in, and she immediately realized a spy or scout had infiltrated her territory.
Allen rubbed his chin and replied, "It's Jiraiya! That guy didn't even bother using a Transformation Jutsu; he just swaggered right in and even called for two women to accompany him at the neighboring red-light district. If I'm not mistaken, he's here to sniff out the Akatsuki's secrets. Now, tell me, how do you two plan to handle your former teacher, who is now your enemy?"
"Jiraiya... has Sensei finally come?" A complex look flashed through Nagato's eyes.
He held a great deal of respect and affection for Jiraiya. But unfortunately, Jiraiya was a ninja of the Hidden Leaf, a fact that no one could change. And the one who had caused Yahiko's death was also the Root of the Hidden Leaf.
After a full minute of silence, Nagato spoke with a tone of absolute resolve. "Since Jiraiya-sensei is here, allow me, his student, to prepare a grand welcoming ceremony for him. It shall also serve as his funeral."