Konan had soft bluish-violet hair that fell neatly to her shoulders, and a pale-blue paper flower pinned gently to the right side of her head.
Despite her young age, her features were already refined and delicate. There was a quiet gentleness to her appearance, a calm beauty that did not demand attention yet lingered in one's mind.
If nothing unexpected happened, when she grew up, she would surely become a great beauty—one whose presence would be unforgettable.
"Long time no see, Konan," Aosui said softly, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Seeing that you're doing well puts my mind at ease."
Konan froze for a brief moment.
Then her eyes widened.
During the Second Great Ninja War, Aosui had arrived on the battlefield in the Land of Rain as part of a Konoha medical unit. It was there that he had encountered Konan—a war orphan who had nearly lost her life amid the chaos.
At the time, the battlefield had been ruthless. Civilians were no different from ants beneath the feet of clashing ninja.
Seeing her in danger, Aosui had intervened without hesitation.
Of course, it would be dishonest to say that his actions were entirely selfless. He knew Konan's future importance. Saving her was also an investment in fate itself.
But more than that—
He had genuinely sympathized with her.
Reborn in Konoha, Aosui himself had been an orphan.
He understood what it meant to lose everything overnight.
Back then, he had even briefly considered bringing Konan back to the Konoha Orphanage.
But reality was harsh.
First, he had still been in the middle of a war. Returning to Konoha was impossible.
Second, Konan was a citizen of the Land of Rain. The Konoha Orphanage would never easily accept a foreign war orphan.
Her situation was completely different from Yakushi Kabuto's.
Kabuto had been taken in by Yakushi Nono, the orphanage director herself. More importantly, Nono had met Kabuto during the Battle of Mount Kongō.
Mount Kongō lay within the Land of Fire—Konoha's territory.
Kabuto was, by all likelihood, a citizen of the Land of Fire.
Aosui, on the other hand, had been nothing more than an ordinary genin at the time.
In the end, unable to bring Konan to Konoha, Aosui had done the only thing he could.
He stayed with her for a short while.
He taught her how to refine chakra.
Even the most basic chakra control would drastically increase her chances of survival compared to her canon counterpart at the same age.
Later, as the Second Great Ninja War escalated, Aosui became increasingly busy. With no choice left, he placed Konan in what he believed to be a relatively safe location.
From that day onward—
They never met again.
Until now.
"It really is Big Brother Aosui!" Konan cried, her voice trembling with emotion. "I missed you so much!"
Once she was certain it was truly him, she could no longer hold herself back.
She rushed forward and threw herself into Aosui's arms.
Aosui crouched down instinctively, wrapping his arms around her small frame.
Her body was thin.
Too thin.
He sighed inwardly.
Even with his interference, Konan had still followed the same path—meeting Yahiko and Nagato, and eventually becoming Lord Jiraiya's student.
So this was how fate corrected itself?
No matter how one struggled, certain nodes in the timeline were almost impossible to change.
"So you're the Konoha ninja Konan mentioned—the one who saved her," Jiraiya said, looking at Aosui with clear surprise.
During the year he had spent raising the three children, he had heard Konan speak of this mysterious "big brother" more than once.
"Compared to you, Jiraiya-sama," Aosui replied calmly, "what I did back then was insignificant. You took them in, protected them, and taught them ninjutsu. That's something I couldn't have done."
While speaking with Jiraiya, Aosui's gaze subtly shifted.
He began observing the other two children.
Yahiko stood at the front.
As the leader of the trio, he was lively, outspoken, and carried an unmistakable ambition in his eyes. He hated war with a burning passion and dreamed of becoming a god who would bring peace to the world.
It had been Yahiko who first decided to approach Jiraiya and ask to learn ninjutsu.
In times of war, civilians avoided ninja like the plague.
Who would dare approach them willingly?
That alone spoke volumes about Yahiko's courage.
Now, Yahiko looked at Aosui curiously, openly sizing him up, before initiating conversation on his own.
Nagato, in contrast, remained silent.
His long red hair hung down, partially obscuring his face as he stayed close behind Yahiko. His eyes, though calm on the surface, carried a trace of guarded hostility when they landed on Aosui.
Nagato's parents had died protecting him.
Killed by Konoha ninja.
Right in front of his eyes.
Although he had avenged them immediately afterward, the trauma had carved itself deep into his soul.
Under Jiraiya's guidance, Nagato no longer harbored the same burning hatred toward Konoha ninja.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to remain this composed.
But hatred fading did not mean trust was born.
Getting close to a Konoha ninja was still impossible for him.
Aosui didn't mind.
He wasn't here to earn Nagato's affection.
His gaze was fixed on something else.
Nagato's eyes.
More precisely—
The Rinnegan that Uchiha Madara had implanted into Nagato's body.
Yes.
The Rinnegan was not Nagato's natural dojutsu.
By the time Madara awakened the Rinnegan, he was already at death's door. To prevent the eyes from losing vitality after his death, he transplanted them into a newborn child.
That child was Nagato.
As an Uzumaki, Nagato possessed terrifyingly large chakra reserves, making him the perfect vessel.
Once they entered the room Jiraiya had arranged for them to rest in, Aosui waited for the right moment.
Then—
He quietly took out a duplication scroll.
[Duplication scroll used on Nagato — Success.]
[Congratulations: Rinnegan acquired.]
It worked.
Aosui clenched his fist slightly, barely suppressing the surge of excitement in his heart.
He had succeeded on the first try.
As the system's voice echoed in his mind, Aosui felt a profound transformation ripple through his body.
The most immediate change was his chakra.
It exploded.
[C-rank Chakra: 78,200 / 100,000]
In an instant, his chakra reserves leaped from just over ten thousand to nearly eighty thousand.
That amount already surpassed many elite jōnin.
Of course, it was still far inferior to Nagato's.
Though Aosui couldn't see Nagato's exact stats, he could estimate conservatively.
Hundreds of thousands of chakra.
Possibly even approaching one million.
And Nagato was still just a child.
Beyond chakra, another transformation occurred.
Aosui instantly mastered all five basic chakra nature transformations.
From now on, he could use any ninjutsu fluently, without restriction.
"This really lives up to its reputation as the ultimate dojutsu," Aosui murmured, lifting a mirror.
Purple concentric ripples reflected back at him.
"Even without activating its inherent abilities, it's already an enormous boost."
The Rinnegan possessed terrifying powers.
The Deva Path's Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in.
The Preta Path's chakra absorption.
The Animal Path's summons.
And more.
Beyond the Six Paths' shared abilities, each Rinnegan possessed a unique power.
Uchiha Madara's was Limbo: Border Jail—invisible shadows that existed in a parallel dimension.
Uchiha Sasuke's was Amenotejikara, the power to swap positions instantly.
Aosui closed his eyes and sensed carefully.
He could not detect his own Rinnegan's unique ability.
After a brief pause, he understood why.
His chakra, though greatly increased, was still insufficient.
Rinnegan abilities demanded terrifying amounts of chakra.
Even Nagato had relied on external chakra sources to wield them freely.
For Aosui, these powers were trump cards—tools to be used only at critical moments.
Even so, his overall strength had risen sharply.
If he were to face that rogue ninja team again, he could annihilate them alone in an instant.
"Chakra really is my biggest weakness," Aosui thought. "I have to increase it as much as possible."
Massive chakra didn't guarantee strength.
But insufficient chakra guaranteed mediocrity.
Once a ninja ran out of chakra, they were no different from an ordinary person.
With a quiet sigh, Aosui deactivated the Rinnegan.
The ripple patterns faded, his eyes returning to normal.
Nagato's Rinnegan remained active constantly because they were not truly his.
But Aosui's Rinnegan, copied through the system, belonged entirely to him.
Just like the Sharingan, he could turn them on—
And off.