Naruto: The Clanless Prince

The first thing Uchiha Obito said when he faced Pain was, "Providing proper guidance to those who awaken the Rinnegan has been our organization's mission since ancient times."

Pain looked at Obito with an expressionless face. "What? You understand my eyes?"

Obito pointed at Nagato through Pain and said, "You are the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths' will, longing for world stability. Only the ninja villages of the great nations bask in the sunlight, while your small nation's village dies in the shadows."

He continued, "That is why you awakened the Rinnegan during this era. Where there is light, there must also be shadow. As long as there are winners, there must be losers. The desire to protect peace and selfish interests will inevitably lead to war. To protect love, hatred will naturally be born."

Obito's voice grew deeper. "This is a relationship of cause and effect that cannot be separated. However, we can create a world where there are only winners, only peace, only love, and nothing else!"

Pain listened in silence as Obito continued, "With our help, you can discover the path to create such a world. The moment you gain the true power of the Rinnegan, you can instantly make your ideal world a reality!"

Obito's single eye narrowed. "You've seen the truth clearly. Betrayed by Hanzo of the Salamander, your Akatsuki organization was destroyed, and Yahiko died..."

At the mention of Yahiko, Pain's expression showed anger for the first time.

"Banshō Ten'in!" Pain called out, activating his Universal Pull technique.

Obito was pulled uncontrollably toward Pain, but just as Pain's hand was about to close around Obito's neck, Obito's body became intangible, passing right through Pain's grasp.

Pain's eyes narrowed in surprise.

Obito continued explaining his plan to Pain, undeterred by the attack.

At the end of his explanation, Obito said solemnly, "Nagato, Yahiko, Konan—I will reunite you all in the dream world. I promise!"

At the word "reunite," Pain's body trembled slightly.

After a long silence, Pain raised his head and said to Obito, "Follow me."

Pain led Obito and Zetsu toward his true body's location. On the way, they encountered Konan.

Konan looked at Obito and Zetsu with surprise and suspicion.

"Come with us, Konan," Pain instructed.

The four arrived at a secret chamber where they found the emaciated body of Nagato, connected to a strange machine that helped sustain him.

Nagato stared at Obito and asked, "Are you certain you can guarantee this?"

Obito nodded firmly. "I am certain, because I am here to guide you."

"I understand that selfish desires to maintain peace will lead to war," Nagato said bitterly. "In order to protect love, hatred is born. In this cursed world, there is no true peace!"

"Exactly," Obito agreed.

Nagato's eyes narrowed. "So, how do you propose we cooperate?"

Obito corrected him, "No, not cooperation—guidance. I am your assistant. My current suggestion is to expand your organization, recruit powerful rogue ninjas, and increase your strength..."

Nagato interrupted impatiently, "Is this all your plan entails?"

"Listen," Obito continued, "you have already summoned the Gedo Statue, and you must have experienced its power. However, this is not its complete form. It will not reach its final state until it absorbs all nine tailed beasts, gaining the power to destroy heaven and earth."

Obito's voice grew more intense. "But you understand the importance of the tailed beasts. They are the most crucial strategic weapons of each ninja village. With our current power, we simply cannot stand against the major villages. We might not even defeat the smaller villages that possess tailed beasts."

"Therefore," he concluded, "we must first develop our organization, and when the time is right, capture these tailed beasts and let your Gedo Statue absorb them. By then, everything you hope for will become reality."

After listening to Obito's plan, Nagato lowered his head, considering its feasibility.

As the summoner of the Gedo Statue, Nagato naturally sensed that the statue was currently incomplete. Perhaps it did need the nine tailed beasts to become whole...

Once the Gedo Statue was complete, he could develop new forbidden techniques, create powerful weapons, gain the ability to destroy entire countries instantly, use humanity's fear of pain to suppress war, guide the world through suffering, and lead it toward peace—fulfilling Yahiko's dream.

Nagato raised his head and agreed, "I accept your plan. What will you do next?"

"I will search for suitable candidates to join our organization," Obito replied.

Nagato nodded. "Very well. If you have any questions later, you can contact Pain."

"I understand. It will be a pleasure working with you, Nagato."

Obito activated his Kamui, while Zetsu sank into the ground, and both departed.

Konan looked at Nagato with concern. "Nagato, these two cannot be trusted."

Nagato's expression remained unchanged. "I know, but what does it matter? We're simply using each other. For Yahiko's ideal, anything is worth it."

Nagato gazed at Pain, who looked exactly like Yahiko, and murmured, "The leader of Akatsuki will always be you, Yahiko!"

...

Two days later, Zetsu found a reason to separate from Obito and returned to the Mountain Graveyard.

Black Zetsu asked, "Madara, do you really want that Sora to join us?"

Madara lowered his head slightly. "He already knows our plan now, and he possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan. I am currently weak and without eyesight. At this point, aside from letting him join our plan, do you have any better suggestions?"

Black Zetsu replied worriedly, "This Sora is not simple. He claims to have discovered this place by accident, but I don't think it's that straightforward. He might have known about this location in advance and deliberately released those snakes to spy on you and Obito."

Black Zetsu continued, "But his strength is indeed among the best in the ninja world, and we really have no way to deal with him. From this perspective, if our plan is to proceed smoothly, we must have him join us."

Currently, they only had Uchiha Obito and Nagato at their disposal. Neither of these two were Sora's match. If they confronted Sora, one person would stand no chance, and together they might still be killed by him.

Black Zetsu, who had planned everything, was now very anxious because Sora was not part of his original scheme.

Madara showed no sign of urgency and spoke calmly, "No matter who someone is, they will have weaknesses. During my absence, focus on monitoring Sora and look for vulnerabilities we can exploit."

He continued, "It doesn't matter what he wants from us. Just use him to advance our cause. With him joining us, this might actually be beneficial."

Black Zetsu smiled grimly. "His weakness is quite obvious. When you think about it, this could indeed be advantageous for us."

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