For Black Zetsu and Obito, the mission to rescue Konan was optional.
Considering that their respective future plans required Nagato's cooperation, neither of them naturally spoke any nonsense like 'Konan has no utility value.' After all, they both knew very well the relationship between Nagato and Konan.
"Alright, thank you!"
"I need to return to the Land of Snow to recuperate for a while. During this time, the Akatsuki Organization's missions will be left to the two of you to handle."
"Of course, don't worry."
"I will notify the Akatsuki members; they will cooperate with you then."
Nagato's voice was cold, with a hint of a tremor.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Black Zetsu and Obito naturally noticed that something was wrong with Nagato, so their expressions instantly became extremely grim.
Pale cheeks, rapid breathing, a trembling body...
All of this indicated how grueling a battle Nagato had experienced before; otherwise, he wouldn't have appeared so spent, like a lamp running out of oil.
What to do?
Seeing this scene, both of them began to frown slightly.
When the three were discussing other matters earlier, Nagato might have held on for the sake of his 'Godly' dignity, perhaps not wanting the two to see him as a joke, so he could still barely manage to support himself.
Now, it seemed he couldn't hold on any longer!
Considering Nagato's stubborn personality, he wouldn't show such exhaustion unless he was truly at the end of his rope. Now that he had revealed this state in front of them, it naturally made their hearts feel extremely conflicted.
They didn't care about Nagato's life or death.
But he couldn't die before their plan was completed!
First, they needed Nagato to nourish the Rinnegan. Secondly, in the face of the current complex situation, they also needed Nagato, a top-tier combatant, to hold down the fort.
So after a short silence, Obito whispered, "Should we treat Nagato?"
Hearing this, Black Zetsu fell into silence.
He just looked at Nagato in front of him, completely caught in a dilemma.
Nagato, seeing this, couldn't help but frown slightly.
Treat him?
He knew his current physical condition very well. In fact, there was no disease at all. To put it bluntly, the consumption of the Rinnegan was too great, directly draining his entire body dry.
In modern medical terms, the number of cell divisions was too high, leading to irreversible aging.
This wasn't a disease; where would a treatment come from?
But before Nagato could figure it out, he saw Black Zetsu give a helpless sigh: "Alright, I understand!"
After saying that.
He directly summoned White Zetsu: "Go, help Nagato stabilize his body."
"Uh, Nagato?" White Zetsu seemed a bit reluctant. "I'd still rather merge with little Obito."
"Little Nagato is too boring. I'm afraid I'll die of boredom if I stay with him all the time!"
Hearing this, the corner of Obito's mouth twitched.
However, Black Zetsu didn't bother to pay attention to White Zetsu and spoke directly in a cold tone: "Execute the order!"
"This—fine!"
"Little Nagato, I'm going to merge into your body now."
"Don't resist, okay!"
White Zetsu was very unhappy, but he could only choose to execute the order.
There was no other way!
Although the White Zetsus weren't human in the true sense, it seemed that in their underlying logic, a Thought Stamp had long been imprinted; they simply couldn't resist Black Zetsu's commands.
Meanwhile.
Seeing this, Nagato was full of wariness: "Black Zetsu, what are you trying to do?"
"Save it, Nagato!" Black Zetsu replied calmly. "You must accept my help."
"Otherwise, given your current state of physical depletion, even if you don't fight in the future, you likely won't last even a month."
"I'm helping you!"
Obito didn't speak, just watched quietly.
Honestly...
If there were any other choice, he wouldn't want to save Nagato; he might even wish for him to die.
But, he couldn't!
Even though the Rinnegan had been nourished by Uchiha Madara for a while and then by Nagato for so many years, it still hadn't truly reached its strongest state. Even if he took it now, he wouldn't be able to exert the Rinnegan's strongest power.
And without Nagato's Uzumaki bloodline—though there were still a few Uzumaki descendants left in the Ninja World—no one's bloodline ability could truly compare to Nagato's.
After all...
This was the strongest Uzumaki descendant personally selected by Uchiha Madara.
Even before the Uzumaki Clan was wiped out, it would have been hard to find a replacement, let alone now when the Uzumaki Clan only had a few stray members left.
It was also for this reason that he and Black Zetsu let Nagato run wild; otherwise, they would have snatched his Rinnegan long before Nagato had grown up.
Now, it was the same!
Only after collecting all the Tailed Beasts and sealing them into the Gedo Statue, and then using Edo Tensei to bring back Uchiha Madara, would it truly be time for Nagato to die.
Nagato's final mission was to perform the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu to completely resurrect Uchiha Madara!
Before that, he couldn't die.
Meanwhile.
Although Nagato didn't clearly know Black Zetsu and Obito's thoughts, he strangely felt that the two of them probably wouldn't harm him.
Faced with this kindness, should he choose to accept?
Finally...
Thinking about his current battered body, even if he insisted on returning to the Land of Snow, how long could he last?
Anyway, even if Konan couldn't be rescued, staying in Konoha was quite good.
So, forget it!
Even if he refused now, what could he do?
After he couldn't hold on and died, the Rinnegan would still belong to these two. It's not like he could give the Rinnegan to Konan.
No way!
The Rinnegan was too powerful; Konan wouldn't be able to protect it.
Instead of giving the Rinnegan to Ming Juyang, it was better to give it to these two.
Although he knew he, Black Zetsu, and Obito were not on the same path, they were at least aligned regarding the Tailed Beast Deterrence Plan, and they might possibly realize Yahiko's dream for him.
Thinking of this, Nagato instantly entered a state of resignation.
Whatever!
What's wrong with trusting them once?
If they really wanted to save him and had a way to do so, it would be a good thing. If the gamble failed, at most it would just be death.
Anyway, in his current state, he wouldn't live much longer!
Subsequently.
As Nagato gave up resistance, White Zetsu melted into a puddle of mud and then merged directly into Nagato's body, gradually forming the appearance Obito had back then.
Meanwhile.
Simultaneously with White Zetsu's merging, Nagato was surprised to find that his broken body was strangely beginning to recover slowly.
In fact...
In just a few minutes, he found that his condition was terrifyingly good, and even his previous depletions were starting to be slowly repaired.
Ten minutes later.
Color began to return to his gaunt cheeks, and his body, which was as thin as a corpse, also began to develop toward that of a normal person. What stunned him most was that his legs were actually starting to regain sensation...
Nagato: "..."