While in Konoha, though they hadn't interacted much, Yagura had encountered Yahiko and Konan several times, allowing him to rule them out as the potential bearer of the Sage's Eyes.
That left Nagato, the red-haired boy who always kept his eyes hidden behind his hair, as the most likely candidate.
Upon receiving the intelligence, the Third Raikage had rushed to investigate personally.
If the information turned out to be false, this would simply serve as a brief excursion. But if it was true, the Sage's Eyes needed to be under his control.
Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Kumogakure had the most aggressive approach to power acquisition.
Even if the lead was faint, the Third Raikage wouldn't let the opportunity slip by.
Meanwhile, Iwagakure shared a similar sentiment.
Compared to Kumogakure's delegation, Iwagakure's return to action was swifter, with Kitsuchi already briefing Ōnoki.
Father and son wasted no time, gathering a substantial force and heading toward the Land of Rain.
Sunagakure and Kirigakure also received the news, but instead of immediately dispatching teams to the Land of Rain, they sought to establish contact with Konoha first.
They knew the Akatsuki in the Land of Rain had close ties with Takuya.
Perhaps Konoha possessed more intelligence on the matter than they did.
Sunagakure was still dealing with internal turmoil, and Kirigakure's situation was even worse.
In addition to stabilizing their own village, Kirigakure also had to focus on capturing tailed beasts.
The good news was that the Three-Tails had already been successfully captured, and the location of the Six-Tails had been pinpointed.
The Six-Tails was hiding in an underground cavern on a small island, a habitat it favored.
Kirigakure had sealed off the island, waiting for Yagura to recover before initiating the capture.
Following Takuya's advice, Yagura had chosen to seal the Three-Tails within himself, successfully becoming its Jinchūriki.
Thanks to the unique secret techniques of Yagura's clan, he was better equipped to suppress the Three-Tails' power. However, the recent sealing process had left him temporarily weakened.
He needed time to adjust to the Three-Tails' chakra before regaining his full strength.
"Jiraiya, does Takuya know anything about the Sage's Eyes or the secrets of the Akatsuki?"
Since Konoha and Kirigakure were open allies, Yagura didn't bother hiding his intentions and directly questioned Jiraiya.
"The Sage's Eyes?"
Jiraiya scratched his messy hair in confusion.
Helping Kirigakure capture tailed beasts had been exhausting enough, and he had no knowledge of the Sage's Eyes.
Jiraiya doesn't know?
Yagura found this odd. Given Jiraiya's position, such significant information shouldn't have been withheld from him.
Suppressing his doubts, Yagura explained:
"Our assassination squad operating in the Land of Rain received unusual intelligence.
They reported that someone in the Akatsuki possesses the legendary Sage's Eyes. The information supposedly came from within the Akatsuki itself."
The Sage's Eyes? The Akatsuki…
Jiraiya's heart skipped a beat. Could this person be the prophesied savior he had been searching for?
Jiraiya had never stopped looking for the child of prophecy. If not for Tsunade's strict orders, he wouldn't have bothered helping Kirigakure with their tailed beast troubles—he would have been traveling the world in search of the savior.
"This… I'm not sure. Takuya never mentioned anything like this to me. I'll look into it."
Hearing about the Sage's Eyes, Jiraiya couldn't sit still.
He bit his thumb, formed hand seals, and summoned a small toad.
"Please convey a message to Fukasaku-sama. Let him know the Sage's Eyes have appeared in the Land of Rain, and the individual may very well be the prophesied savior. Also, ask him to check with Minato about any information on the Akatsuki, particularly regarding the Sage's Eyes."
"Ribbit!"
The small, low-ranking toad croaked in acknowledgment before vanishing in a puff of smoke to deliver the message to Mount Myōboku.
The savior…
Jiraiya had been searching for the savior all this time?
Yagura silently pondered the revelation but refrained from asking further.
Jiraiya had already shown him considerable respect by sharing this intelligence openly. Pressing further might only lead to misunderstanding.
Not long after, Jiraiya received a response and performed another summoning jutsu.
The newly summoned toad spat out a scroll before disappearing again.
Mount Myōboku couldn't provide an immediate answer regarding the savior, as the Great Toad Sage was still asleep and would need to be consulted upon awakening.
However, Minato's reply came swiftly.
Yagura's lips twitched as he watched Jiraiya unfurl the scroll.
Konoha's method of intelligence transmission was truly impressive. Not only was it convenient, but it was also astonishingly fast.
Unfortunately, such techniques couldn't be replicated.
The three great summoning clans—the snakes, toads, and slugs—had yet to contract with anyone outside of Konoha.
Even if Yagura was envious, it was pointless.
After reading the scroll, Jiraiya sighed deeply.
"The information is true. Minato is currently on a mission in the Land of Rain, and the one with the Sage's Eyes is a red-haired boy named Nagato from the Akatsuki."
"Red hair… Uzumaki bloodline?"
Yagura was momentarily stunned.
He had seen Nagato in Konoha before but hadn't paid much attention. Who would have thought that the boy, whose face was obscured by his hair, was hiding the legendary Sage's Eyes?
"I need to see this for myself."
The presence of the Sage's Eyes in the Land of Rain, coupled with the widespread rumors, would undoubtedly attract countless opportunists. Jiraiya could no longer sit idly by. He needed to investigate.
"In that case, we'll handle the capture of the Six-Tails ourselves, though we'll still need assistance from Konoha's sealing team."
Yagura didn't try to stop Jiraiya. If he wanted to leave, so be it, as long as the sealing team remained.
"Ahaha, well…"
Scratching his head awkwardly, Jiraiya apologized:
"I'll have to trouble the Mizukage to look after them. Once the task is complete, they can return to Konoha."
"Of course."
Yagura nodded with a polite smile, seeing Jiraiya off.
Once Jiraiya was gone, Yagura's smile faded.
He felt dissatisfied with how much Jiraiya had withheld but knew he lacked the authority to confront him.
"The Sage's Eyes, huh?"
"It seems I'll need to make a trip myself."
In no time, the attention of the Five Great Shinobi Villages converged on the Land of Rain. Apart from Konoha, the other villages dispatched teams to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, White Zetsu, who had been monitoring Nagato, immediately returned to report everything to Uchiha Madara.
Madara found the situation baffling.
Why would Nagato suddenly reveal the Rinnegan after hiding it so carefully for so long?
In the past, Nagato had always avoided using the Rinnegan unless absolutely necessary, both to minimize its strain and because he feared the eyes themselves.
But now, everything was out in the open.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages had already begun to focus their attention on the Rinnegan.
In an underground hideout, Uchiha Obito, who had been held captive for quite some time, was training intensively.
Compared to when he was first captured, his strength had grown significantly, and he had awakened his Sharingan.
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DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING