A Conversation with Nagato

When Konan brought Natsuki here, she had imagined many possibilities, but there was one thing she hadn't expected:

Natsuki was this strong. He had easily dealt with five of Nagato's Six Paths.

If this continued, whether Nagato won or lost didn't matter—his lifespan would certainly shorten.

Natsuki shrugged casually. "Nagato, if you'd just talked properly, I wouldn't even be interested in fighting you."

This was proof that power ruled everything. If Natsuki weren't strong enough, he'd already have been captured, his soul extracted, and his memories searched.

Pain's expression shifted slightly, and his body relaxed a little.

Pain had thought it would be easy to deal with Natsuki and then read his memories.

He hadn't expected Natsuki to be this powerful.

From the moment they started fighting, Pain realized Natsuki completely understood his abilities.

Otherwise, Natsuki wouldn't have prioritized taking out the Hell Path first.

Pain frowned slightly. "How do you know so much about me?"

"I know far more than you think. That Rinnegan you're so proud of? To me, it's nothing more than a tool."

Natsuki's tone was factual, but his words sparked anger in Pain.

To Nagato, the awakening of the Rinnegan was a divine gift, proof that he was destined to bring peace to the world.

Seeing Pain's anger, Natsuki pushed further. "You think of the Rinnegan as a gift from the heavens. But have you ever considered… its appearance on you might be part of a larger scheme?"

Pain's belief, cultivated over so many years, couldn't be shaken with just a few words.

But Pain wasn't a fool, either. He had endured for years after Yahiko's death at Hanzo's hands. Natsuki's words must have had a reason.

Pain suppressed his anger and snorted coldly. "Ridiculous."

Natsuki understood his reaction. It was impossible to overturn Nagato's belief system with just a few sentences. After all, he had worked for years toward his goal.

"Are we done fighting?" Natsuki asked indifferently.

Taking down Nagato's five Paths hadn't cost him much effort.

After all, he knew the Six Paths' weaknesses inside and out.

Besides, with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and Uzumaki bloodline, Natsuki's strength was on a completely different level. Nagato's frail body couldn't compare.

He had shown his overwhelming strength and demonstrated his knowledge of Nagato's abilities.

In contrast, Nagato—though the Deva Path appeared calm—was already consuming significant chakra to maintain the fight.

Nagato also needed to sustain the Gedo Statue. The Rinnegan, not originally his own, required him to burn through his life force to perform high-level jutsu.

Seeing Natsuki standing there, not even out of breath, Pain felt uncertain.

Hearing Natsuki's casual tone, Pain felt his pride waver, leaving the situation at a stalemate.

At that moment, Konan, who had been watching the fight, stepped forward to mediate.

"Since Natsuki-san clearly anticipated us coming, continuing this battle has no meaning."

Natsuki nodded. He understood that Obito was a madman bent on destroying the world, while Nagato was a war-driven idealist.

But their goals were different: one sought destruction, the other salvation.

For now, he needed Obito to continue his plans. On some level, Natsuki even agreed with parts of Nagato's ideology.

Natsuki glanced at Konan but didn't respond. Instead, he walked over to a pile of sand on the ground.

"My sand cushion!"

Natsuki nearly burst into tears. In the heat of battle with Nagato, he'd forgotten to maintain the chakra in his sand cushion. Now, it had disintegrated into loose sand.

"I didn't even get to fly today…"

Konan stood awkwardly nearby, thinking, Why is Natsuki acting so strange? Can't he just use ninjutsu to make a new one?

Natsuki sighed. "Fine, it's gone. Whatever."

When he turned back, he saw Konan and Pain still waiting for him.

He clicked his tongue. "Let's talk, then."

Konan nodded, and Natsuki ignored Pain as he walked over to the Hell Path's body.

He pulled out the Kusanagi sword.

Suddenly, Nagato felt his connection to the Hell Path restored. 

Pain's expression shifted slightly. It seemed Natsuki had been prepared to seal the Naraka Path from the start.

Pain wasn't sure how much Natsuki knew about his secrets but decided not to use the Naraka Path's resurrection ability right away.

Noticing the Naraka Path still lying idle, Natsuki raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's the matter? Use the Naraka Path to bring them back!"

Pain froze momentarily. Natsuki really knew.

Nagato reconnected with the Naraka Path, which stood up and began casting its revival jutsu.

Behind it, the King of Hell appeared, opening its massive mouth. A long purple tongue with hands stretched out, swallowing the damaged corpses nearby one by one.

Moments later, the revived bodies began stepping out of the King of Hell.

Natsuki watched with interest, clicking his tongue in appreciation.

As if he were settling in for a show, Natsuki pulled out a sealing scroll.

Poof!

From the scroll, Natsuki retrieved items Konan recognized well: a parasol, a table, chairs, a large kettle, and cups.

He casually set everything up, sat down, and gestured for Konan and Pain to join him. The other five Paths spread out to stand guard.

There were only two chairs and two cups.

Since Pain didn't need food or rest, he remained standing.

Konan seemed to understand Natsuki's intent and, without a word, took the other chair.

Pain stood behind her, silent as ever.

Natsuki poured two cups of cold tea, taking a refreshing sip before sighing contentedly.

"The weather here in the Land of Fields is so stuffy. After a fight like that, I was getting thirsty."

Noticing Konan and Yahiko's body (Tendo Path) staring at him, Natsuki smiled calmly. "No tea, no talk. How else are we supposed to negotiate?"

Before Pain could respond, Konan picked up the cup and drank it in one gulp.

"Konan?" Pain's voice carried a note of surprise.

Konan shook her head. "It's fine, Nagato. Natsuki-san has offered me tea before."

Natsuki nodded approvingly. "That's the spirit. Now, where should we begin…"

"How much do you know about Nagato's abilities, Natsuki-san?" Konan asked cautiously.

Natsuki began counting on his fingers. "Let's see… Mechanical enhancements, memory extraction, soul removal, endless summoning, sealing absorption, chakra absorption, King of Hell resurrection, and Samsara of Heavenly Life…"

Konan and Pain's faces changed drastically.

"You know all this, Natsuki-san?"

Natsuki shook his head. "Oh, there's more. Tendo's Banshō Ten'in, Shinra Tensei, and… I wonder if you've learned Chibaku Tensei yet?"

Pain's mind reeled. Chibaku Tensei was a technique he had never used in front of anyone—not even Konan knew about it.

"How do you know about Chibaku Tensei?" Pain's composure cracked.

Natsuki chuckled lightly. "I even know Shinra Tensei has a five-second cooldown."

Seeing the shock on their faces, Natsuki shook his head again. "The Rinnegan has other abilities you haven't even discovered yet."

Pain's shock was replaced by a flicker of curiosity. "What other abilities?"

Natsuki rubbed his chin thoughtfully, recalling the absurd powers Madara had used.

"Well, there's Tengai Shinsei, which lets you summon meteors from the sky."

"And then there's Limbo: Border Jail, which allows you to create shadow clones in an alternate dimension. They can defend or ambush for you."

Pain furrowed his brows, deep in thought. His mastery over the Rinnegan was far from complete, so he couldn't confirm whether Natsuki was telling the truth.

"Why do you know so much?" Pain pressed.

Natsuki adopted a tone of exaggerated authority. "The Rinnegan first appeared in our Uchiha Clan. As the deputy clan leader, of course I know all about it."

"Impossible!" Pain immediately denied it.

The Uchiha Clan was the largest and most powerful in the ninja world. If someone with the Rinnegan had appeared among them, how could there have been no word of it?

Natsuki grinned slyly. "I knew you wouldn't believe me. Since I'm not in a hurry, why don't I start from the beginning?"

"There's a clan called the Ōtsutsuki…"