Yahiko and Konan had originally only shown expressions of admiration, but upon hearing this, both were immediately overwhelmed with joy.
"Is it really possible?"
"Of course it is!"
"Haha, this is fantastic!"
Recently, they'd also noticed that after using the Rinnegan's power, Nagato's body seemed to weaken gradually, even developing dark circles under his eyes.
Although the condition wasn't particularly severe yet, the trend was already quite worrying.
They'd naturally tried to persuade Nagato, but ever since that incident, he'd been firmly convinced that only with enough power could you protect the people you cared about.
Since they couldn't convince Nagato and had been feeling anxious about it, they were naturally overjoyed at the generous gift now offered by Uncle Aizen!
Still, after their excitement, Yahiko had another concern. "I heard that the Ruin only produced a tiny amount of Greer Stones. Uncle, what you obtained shouldn't be much either, right? I wonder how much it can help restore Nagato's condition!"
Konan also looked guilty. "If we'd known the Greer Stone had such effects earlier, we would've gone together!"
Aizen smiled. "Don't worry. What I obtained was an entire vein of crystals. As long as Nagato doesn't push himself too hard, it can compensate for general life force depletion!"
"An entire vein of crystals!" Yahiko widened his eyes. "So the one who emptied that Ruin was actually you, Uncle?"
"Don't misunderstand. That Ruin itself was fake!"
"Fake?" Konan tilted her head and asked. "But wasn't that Ruin producing some Greer Stones? How could it be fake?"
"Because that Ruin was set up by me, and the crystals were placed there by me!" Aizen explained.
"All of this was done by you, Uncle!" Nagato exclaimed in surprise.
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Aizen slightly nodded. "Didn't I already mention? After awakening, I reviewed many historical documents, including records about the Greer Empire."
"The last time I saw you, I noticed your life force was somewhat drained, so I started thinking about the Greer Stone!"
"To be honest, from the first time I saved you to our last meeting was less than a year. For such a drastic change to happen in so short a time, it's almost certainly connected to your eyes… I was worried the Rinnegan might drain your life force completely, but couldn't be sure, so I accepted your invitation!"
Yahiko, shocked, said, "Uncle, you actually agreed to join Akatsuki last time just to save Nagato!"
Aizen simply smiled without responding.
Tears of gratitude sparkled in Konan's eyes. "Uncle, you're always so good to us!"
Nagato, speaking with a slightly nasal tone, said, "Uncle, thank you!"
Aizen slightly shook his head. "No need to worry about it. Anyway, after that battle against Hanzo after our last meeting, I finally confirmed that each time you use the Rinnegan's power, you're squeezing your life potential!"
Hearing Aizen say this, both Konan and Yahiko looked at Nagato with concern.
Nagato slightly shook his head. "Don't worry about me. Uncle has already helped me find a solution, hasn't he?"
Aizen smiled. "You could say you were lucky. While I was reviewing the records of the Greer Empire, I accidentally discovered a historical account stating that after the Greer Empire's destruction, some of its clansmen voluntarily remained behind to guard the mineral veins, lest the immense power of the Greer Stone bring disaster once more!"
"I didn't collect much Greer Stone, which probably wouldn't be of much help to you, Nagato, so I used the Greer Stone I gathered to create a ruin, trying to attract the imperial survivors guarding the veins. Unexpectedly, it actually worked!"
"Could it be the Greer Stone Records!" Nagato exclaimed in surprise.
Aizen hesitated for a moment, his mind racing, and a slight curve formed beneath his mask. "Exactly, it's the very same Greer Stone Records those people stole from the survivors! Unfortunately, I arrived a bit too late and let Sasori get his hands on the Greer Stone Records first!"
Hearing this, Konan clapped her hand over her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. "So you actually risked your life to appear before such powerful enemies just for the sake of the Greer Stone Records!"
Suddenly, the illusory space around them became chaotic—it was obvious that Nagato's mind had been greatly shaken, nearly losing control of his Projection Technique!
"Uncle went through all this for us..."
Aizen laughed heartily. "Actually, I deliberately exposed myself to draw their attention, thereby completing the switch of the Greer Stone Records on Sasori... Speaking of which, I made Zetsu and Tobi take the blame for me and even forced them to expose their true intentions!"
However, the three didn't pay attention to the two "scapegoats," but instead looked at Aizen with deep gratitude.
"Uncle, you're truly too good to us!"
"Ah... why would you be so kind to us?"
They were only about eighteen or nineteen years old, an age full of sentimentality. Aizen was the first person, aside from Jiraiya, who had ever shown them fatherly affection!
Such care brought them to tears.
"Ahh, seeing you reminds me of my younger self. Unfortunately, I failed; I hope you can succeed where I could not!" Aizen sighed emotionally, then shook his head. "Enough of that. To be honest, this time was partly luck. Fortunately, Seiki Shimaseki discovered the ruin lacked the vein, so he didn't place much importance on the Greer Stone Records. Otherwise, if he had seen through it, things would've truly become troublesome!"
All three shivered slightly with fear; indeed, it had been very dangerous.
From Shimaseki's point of view, Aizen was someone connected to the Nine-Tails disaster!
Thinking about this, the three secretly grew furious.
"Those bastards, Zetsu and Tobi, nearly got Aizen dragged into trouble!"
"Yeah, if they had explained the whole story earlier, Aizen would've been prepared and it wouldn't have been so nerve-wracking!"
Totally unaware they had once again been disliked, Obito and his companion were currently discussing underground in the Grass Country.
"At last, we've brought Akatsuki back on track to capturing the Bijuu!" Obito exhaled deeply, then asked with a dark expression, "Black Zetsu, don't you owe me an explanation?"
Black Zetsu's heart tightened. Could it be—he had tried so hard to deceive, but still been discovered by Obito?
Obito shouldn't possess such wisdom!
Black Zetsu played dumb with a blank stare. "What instructions?"
"That story you made up claiming I'm the illegitimate child of two men!" Obito snapped, his face flushed with embarrassment and anger.
"That?" Black Zetsu relaxed and feigned helplessness. "I had no choice. The situation was too urgent. If I didn't use some special methods, I was afraid they wouldn't fall for it!"
"After all, even I don't mind making up wild stories about myself—so what's your problem?"
"That makes sense," Obito nodded slightly—then suddenly scowled. "Wait a minute... No wonder you don't mind! If that's true, then technically... you're my father!"
"Adopting a madman as a father wasn't that bad..." Black Zetsu muttered inwardly, then said, "Think about Lin. Are you really going to let this small humiliation stop you from doing what's necessary for her?"
"Lin!" Obito calmed himself. "You're right. For Lin, I can do anything!"
Black Zetsu twitched his lips, suddenly feeling like gaining a son might be a dangerous thing.
Shaking off those messy thoughts, Black Zetsu turned serious. "The Akatsuki are going into hiding for now, but we still can't afford to relax!"
Obito refocused. "What do you have in mind?"
Black Zetsu replied, "Right now, the most important thing is to increase our influence within the Akatsuki."
"Increase our influence?" Obito mused. "The best way would be to place our own people inside the Akatsuki—though they mustn't appear connected to us."
"I suggest we consider two directions," Black Zetsu said tactfully. "First, the Uchiha clan... Well, the members of this clan tend to be overly idealistic."
Obito nodded in agreement. "That's true. A small clan like the Uchiha has already produced two idealists—me and Madara. Who knows what other potential might still be hidden in the family?"
Black Zetsu gave an awkward chuckle and continued, "The second direction is Mist, which you're controlling. Besides the Akatsuki, Mist can also become our ace in the hole."
"You're absolutely right," Obito said seriously. "Mist is one of the Five Great Hidden Villages. Sometimes, it might even prove more useful than the Akatsuki. Plus..." he added thoughtfully, "I could also look for talent within Mist and send them into the Akatsuki."
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