Chapter 19 – Rinnegan
Konan had bluish-violet hair, a pale-blue paper flower pinned on the right side of her head.
Still young, her features were already delicate; she was a natural beauty.
When she grew up, she would surely become a great beauty.
"Long time no see, Konan. Seeing you doing well puts my mind at ease."
During the Second Great Ninja War, Aomizu—who had arrived on the battlefield in the Land of Rain—met Konan, a war orphan.
She had just been in danger, and, believing more allies meant more options, Aomizu took the initiative to save her.
Of course, the reason Aomizu lent a hand wasn't only to gain a future backer; he also empathized with her plight.
Reborn in Konoha, he himself was an orphan.
Because of that, he'd even considered taking Konan back to the Konoha Orphanage.
But that wasn't realistic.
During wartime, he couldn't return to Konoha any time soon.
And as a citizen of the Land of Rain, Konan likely wouldn't be accepted by the Konoha Orphanage.
That situation was different from Yakushi Kabuto's.
The one who first took Kabuto in was the orphanage director Yakushi Nono; Aomizu was only an ordinary Genin.
Besides, Nono met Kabuto during the Battle of Mount Kongō.
Mount Kongō lies within the Land of Fire, where Konoha's strongholds stood.
So Kabuto was most likely a citizen of the Land of Fire—one of their own.
In short, unable to bring Konan to Konoha, Aomizu could only look after her for a while longer and teach her to refine Chakra.
With Chakra, Konan would definitely be better able to protect herself than her canon counterpart at the same age.
Later, as the Second Great Ninja War intensified, Aomizu—no longer free to care for her—could only place her somewhere relatively safe.
From then until now, the two had never met again.
"It really is Big Brother Aomizu! I missed you so much, Big Brother!"
Certain it was truly him, Konan couldn't hold back; she rushed into Aomizu's arms.
Crouching to hug her, Aomizu sighed inwardly.
Even with his interference, Konan had still met Yahiko and Nagato and become Lord Jiraiya's student.
So this was the timeline's way of correcting itself?
"So you're the Konoha Ninja Konan once said saved her, Aomizu."
Jiraiya looked at Aomizu in surprise.
After spending more than a year with the three kids, he'd naturally heard the story.
"Compared with Lord Jiraiya taking them in and teaching them Ninjutsu, what I did is nothing."
While talking with Jiraiya, Aomizu sized up Yahiko and Nagato.
As the leader of The Three Little Ones, Yahiko was bold and ambitious.
He loathed war and dreamed of becoming a god who would lead the world to peace; it was he who decided to approach Jiraiya's team and learn Ninjutsu.
During wartime, ordinary people avoided Ninja at all costs.
Who would dare approach like Yahiko did?
Still, the outcome was good.
Now Yahiko looked at Aomizu curiously, starting a conversation on his own.
Nagato, on the other hand, stayed silent; his long red hair hung down as he hid behind Yahiko, a hint of hostility in his eyes toward Aomizu.
Nagato's parents had died protecting him, killed by Konoha Ninja right before his eyes.
Even though he'd avenged them on the spot, he still harbored enmity toward Konoha Ninja.
Under Jiraiya's guidance, however, he no longer hated them as intensely; otherwise he wouldn't have reacted so calmly.
Yet while he no longer hated, getting close to a Konoha Ninja was still impossible.
Aomizu didn't mind.
He simply observed Nagato's Rinnegan.
More precisely, the Rinnegan Uchiha Madara had stored in Nagato's body.
That's right—the Rinnegan in Nagato wasn't naturally his.
By the time Madara awakened the Rinnegan, he was too old; to keep the eyes from losing their vitality upon his death, he transplanted them into Nagato.
Because Nagato was an Uzumaki, born with massive Chakra, he could bear the Rinnegan.
Once inside the room Jiraiya had arranged, Aomizu used a duplication scroll on Nagato.
[Duplication scroll used on Nagato—success.]
[Congratulations: Rinnegan acquired.]
It worked!
Aomizu cheered silently, having scored on the first try.
As the system voice sounded, he could clearly feel the change within him.
First came the huge boost in Chakra—a gift of the Rinnegan.
[C-rank (78,200/100,000)]
In an instant his Chakra jumped from a little over ten thousand to nearly eighty thousand—already more than many Elite Jonin.
Of course, it was still far below Nagato's.
Though he couldn't see Nagato's stats, Aomizu conservatively estimated his Chakra to be in the hundreds of thousands.
Reaching a million was entirely possible.
And remember—he was still a child!
Besides the Chakra increase, Aomizu automatically mastered all Chakra nature transformations; from now on he could use any Ninjutsu fluently.
"Worthy of the ultimate Dojutsu—even without its inherent abilities, it's a huge boost for me."
He held up a mirror and, seeing the purple concentric ripples in his eyes, couldn't help but speak.
The Rinnegan possessed many powers: the Deva Path's Shinra Tensei and Universal Pull, the Preta Path's Sealing Technique: Absorption Seal, and so on.
Beyond these basic abilities, each Rinnegan had a unique, exclusive power.
For example, Uchiha Madara's was Limbo—Border Jail, producing invisible, undetectable shadows.
Uchiha Sasuke's was Amenotejikara, swapping himself with a target within a set range.
After careful sensing, Aomizu couldn't discover his own Rinnegan's unique ability.
After brief thought, he realized it was because he currently had too little Chakra to support it.
Though Rinnegan abilities were formidable, their cost was equally immense.
Even the basic powers he could now use were limited by his Chakra; he couldn't wield them as freely as the canon Nagato.
They could only serve as trump cards, fired once at critical moments.
Even so, Aomizu's strength had risen sharply.
If he met that Rogue Ninja team again, he could wipe them all out in an instant by himself.
"Chakra really is my short board; I have to increase it as much as possible."
Massive Chakra doesn't guarantee strength, but if you have too little, you'll never become a top-tier Ninja.
Chakra is a key factor in a Ninja's power.
Once it's exhausted, a Ninja is little different from an ordinary person.
Sighing, Aomizu deactivated his Rinnegan; his eyes returned to normal.
Nagato's Rinnegan didn't belong to him, so they remained active constantly.
But the Rinnegan he'd copied via the duplication scroll counted as his own, so he could close them just like an Uchiha turns off the Sharingan.