Chapter 576: Nagato’s Death

Nagasawa’s words caused the meeting room to fall into an extreme silence for a moment. Everyone except Minato stared blankly at Nagasawa.

Nagasawa had told Minato about this before the meeting, but he had only told Minato.

"Assistant Nagasawa, is this really true?" Even Mifune, the host of the meeting, could not remain calm. He had not been told beforehand that there was such a major matter.

"Do you really think I would make a joke like this on such an important day just to liven up the atmosphere?" Nagasawa shook his head. "There is nothing funny about this. It is a cruel reality that we are about to face."

Nagasawa did enjoy joking around and fooling people, but he paid attention to the timing and atmosphere.

"Since they will only arrive five years from now, why does Assistant Nagasawa already know about it?" Onoki asked.

He did not distrust Nagasawa. He was simply curious about how Nagasawa knew so much, even things that would happen in the future.

The Shinobi Village leaders all looked at Nagasawa with curiosity.

Actually, at this moment, they hoped even more that Nagasawa was joking and simply trying to tease them to liven up the atmosphere.

After reading the materials, they had gained a rough understanding of the strength of aliens and the Otsutsuki. Ordinary countries simply had no ability to resist them.

Even the legendary Sage of Six Paths was their son. Who could possibly withstand that?

"Seeing the future?" Onoki froze. The more they talked about this matter, the more outrageous it became.

"Seeing the future..." Nagato revealed a thoughtful expression.

Could this be why Nagasawa knew so many secrets, as if he knew every secret in the Shinobi World?

"I once heard that the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, one of the holy lands of Senjutsu, has the ability to foresee the future. Could Assistant Nagasawa have a similar ability?" Onoki suddenly remembered a certain rumor.

"You could say that." Nagasawa nodded without saying much more, leaving the Shinobi Village leaders present with plenty of room to imagine.

"Although I said they will descend five years from now, I can’t actually be certain. It is possible they will arrive in the Shinobi World before then and simply haven’t taken action yet," Nagasawa added.

"Therefore, establishing the alliance is extremely necessary. There is not only life on our planet in this vast starry sky. Various intelligent lifeforms also live on other planets, and many of them may be powerful beyond our imagination.

"These powerful aliens are our true enemies. We must unite and work together to resist an alien invasion."

"War between countries causes people to become displaced and destroys countless families, while wars between planets are a thousand or ten thousand times more vicious than this. The destruction of an entire planet is not impossible."

Nagasawa was not exaggerating. In fact, if Kaguya had not betrayed Isshiki and if the Sage of Six Paths had not put righteousness above family and sealed his mother, the planet where the Shinobi World existed would have been finished long ago.

The Shinobi Village leaders present were all moved.

If they looked at the matter from the perspective of the entire planet, then they really should unite.

Why did they want to become stronger and replace the Five Great Nations?

Of course, it was because they wanted the villagers and citizens of their own countries to live better and have a higher status, without being bullied by the Five Great Nations anymore.

But if the planet itself was gone, then what was the point? Everyone would be finished together.

"I believe everyone should have some understanding now of the responsibilities the six permanent members will have to shoulder, right?" Nagasawa looked around and said.

"When aliens descend, they will be the ones at the forefront. They will handle the most because they are the strongest."

"Next, we will begin the election for the six permanent members. We will start with Konohagakure," Mifune nodded and announced the beginning of the vote for the permanent members.

The voting results came out quickly. The proposal passed unanimously, with every Shinobi Village leader believing that Konohagakure should be one of the six permanent members. ℴ

Next were the other four Great Nations, and they were also elected as permanent members by large margins.

Although the leaders of the smaller Shinobi Villages made up the majority of those present and therefore had more votes,

after Nagasawa clearly explained the responsibilities that permanent members would have to bear and the disasters the Shinobi World would face in the future, the leaders of the smaller Shinobi Villages did not fool around by voting for one another. Instead, they voted for the Five Great Shinobi Villages based on strength.

No one doubted Nagasawa’s words.

The reason was simple. Nagasawa’s reputation was simply too good.

He possessed the strength of the strongest person in the world, yet had never thought about ruling the Shinobi World. Even in this war, he had not demanded that they surrender territory or pay compensation. Instead, he wanted to establish an alliance together to deal with aliens.

The sixth permanent member seat was given to Amegakure. On the surface, Hikari Shinobi Village was the leader among the smaller Shinobi Villages, but in reality, everyone knew that Nagato was the true leader. Hikari Shinobi Village was the leader precisely because Nagato was there.

This time, Nagato represented not only Hikari Shinobi Village but also Amegakure. Naturally, Amegakure’s true strength was greater than Hikari Shinobi Village’s. Even a skinny camel was still bigger than a horse.

After selecting the permanent members, Nagasawa introduced several proposals to accelerate internationalization.

Finally, Nagasawa said at the meeting, "Be careful of the Chakra technology company. There may be aliens behind this company."

Nagasawa had previously asked Nagato about the Chakra technology company and how he had established cooperation with it.

Unfortunately, Nagasawa had not obtained much useful information from Nagato because Nagato did not know much either.

To Nagato, the Chakra technology company was simply a sucker that provided weapons and money.

"The Chakra technology company is actually connected to aliens!" Many Shinobi Village leaders were extremely surprised.

When they had not known about this concept, it had seemed like nothing. But once they learned about it, they felt as if everything was somehow connected to aliens.

The Sage of Six Paths was the son of an alien. The Uchiha, Hyuga, and Senju were bloodlines left behind by aliens. Even the Chakra technology company, which had recently sparked a Scientific Ninja Tool revolution in the Shinobi World, was actually connected to aliens.

"Under normal development, Scientific Ninja Tools would not have appeared at this time. Even if the founder of the Chakra technology company is not an alien, he must have an extremely close connection with aliens," Nagasawa said.

Not only now, even another decade from now, Scientific Ninja Tools should not have appeared.

"No wonder it feels like the times are changing so quickly. So it was because of alien technology." A Shinobi Village leader could not help but sigh.

Scientific Ninja Tools were indeed an epoch-making invention, something capable of bringing about a revolution in the Shinobi World.

"If that’s the case, then why don’t we just capture everyone from this company?" the Fourth Raikage proposed what he thought was an excellent suggestion.

Since they could not investigate anything, they could simply uproot the entire company. The Shinobi World Alliance had the strength to do so. After all, it had gathered almost all the shinobi forces in the Shinobi World.

No matter how many branches the Chakra technology company had, it would be useless.

"Because the appearance of Scientific Ninja Tools really does benefit our Shinobi World," Nagasawa said.

He had Scientific Ninja Tools to thank for allowing his originally stagnant Prosperity to start increasing more quickly.

Nagasawa planned to fatten the pig before slaughtering it. Once they had mastered Chakra technology to a certain degree, enough for the Shinobi World to develop and innovate on its own, he would make his move against the Chakra technology company.

"Don’t tell your subordinates about this information. Just keep it to yourselves and be careful of the Chakra technology company," Nagasawa said.

After finishing the final matter, the meeting also came to an end.

Nagato’s trial would take place in the Land of Rain, the place where Nagato had been born and where he had the most memories of his life. There had been laughter and happiness, as well as sorrow that brought uncontrollable tears.

Before the trial, Nagato first met Konan and then met Nagasawa.

"Has it been a long time since the two of us have been together like this?" Nagato looked up at the sky. The weather in the Land of Rain was exceptionally good today. There was no rain, and the sky was clear and cloudless.

For the past two years, he had constantly been establishing new Shinobi Villages and uniting other smaller Shinobi Villages. The entire Akatsuki had been extremely busy, and after his legs were healed, he no longer needed Konan to protect him personally.

"Yes." Konan nodded lightly without saying much.

"Your heart feels very heavy." Nagato looked at Konan’s face.

Konan hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "Why don’t we break out? Otherwise, you’ll die. Many people want you dead, including some of the leaders of the smaller Shinobi Villages."

Although the trial had not yet begun, Konan knew that Nagato’s ending would not be good.

Because in terms of the facts, Nagato had indeed committed unforgivable crimes. Just starting the Fourth Shinobi World War alone was enough to sentence Nagato to death.

"Do you think I would fear death?" Nagato looked into Konan’s eyes and asked.

"No." Konan sighed.

If they were afraid of death, how could they have dared to make such a move that overturned the Shinobi World?

"This time, I will definitely die, because I really deserve to die." Nagato looked into the distance. His eyesight was extremely good, allowing him to see very far. Occasionally, he could see some familiar buildings.

He knew exactly what he had done, so Nagato did not harbor any hope of escaping punishment. He would definitely die this time.

However, even if he was going to die, he wanted his death to have greater value. He planned to use Rinne Rebirth to revive everyone who had died because of this war.

Konan bit her lower lip, her fair hands clenched tightly into fists, her eyes slightly red.

Once, she had helplessly watched one of her closest friends die before her eyes. Because she lacked strength, there had been nothing she could do.

Did she really have to personally witness the death of her last friend today as well?

"Konan, promise me that you will live well after I die." Nagato spoke softly.

As one of the three who had once depended on each other for survival, Nagato knew exactly what Konan was feeling at this moment and how much pain her heart was suffering.

Nagato asked himself, if both Yahiko and Konan were dead, would he still have the will to live?

’Konan, I’m sorry. But when a person does something wrong, they must pay the price for their actions. I can’t continue walking with you and witness the arrival of peace in the Shinobi World together.’ Nagato silently apologized to Konan in his heart.

He did not even dare say he was sorry out loud. He was afraid Konan would do something irrational because of it.

Konan said nothing, merely silently looking into Nagato’s eyes.

Nagato did not dare meet Konan’s gaze, so he could only look into the distance again.

At this moment, he would rather fight Nagasawa for three hundred rounds and take a brutal beating than meet Konan’s eyes.

Eyes were a silent language. This scene continued for an unknown amount of time before Nagato finally spoke again.

"I know that saying these things makes me a terrible person. I’ve always been like this. Aside from having some talent in cultivation, I’m just a useless good-for-nothing. Fortunately, I survived because of your and Yahiko’s help, Konan."

"That’s not true." Konan shook her head, denying Nagato’s words.

"Konan, live well. Watch over the arrival of a peaceful Shinobi World for me and Yahiko. The dream of three people needs someone to witness it." Nagato spoke again.

At this moment, Nagato felt despicable. He was actually even using the deceased Yahiko.

But he knew that only by doing this could he strengthen Konan’s determination to live.

If he asked Konan to live for his sake, she would probably kill herself. But if it was for him and Yahiko, then in order to fulfill their wishes, Konan would persevere until the very last moment.

Konan did not answer Nagato’s words, but through her eyes, Nagato already knew her answer.

Finally, Nagato met with Nagasawa.

"I will use Rinne Rebirth to resurrect the people who died in the war. After using the technique, I will die." Nagato said calmly.

"Looks like you have a very clear understanding of your outcome." Nagasawa nodded, acknowledging Nagato’s decision.

"After I die, the three Rinnegan on my body can all be handed over to the alliance for research. My body can also be disposed of however you wish. But I hope you won’t completely wipe out Akatsuki. Not every member of Akatsuki is as deeply sinful as I am." Nagato said.

"I’m not someone who enjoys killing." Nagasawa replied.

As for how to deal with Akatsuki, he already had an idea. Those who deserved to die would die, and those who deserved to be spared would be spared.

Someone like Hiruko, who captured ordinary people for experiments, would be killed directly. Sasori, who killed the Third Kazekage, would be handed over to Sunagakure. As for Konan, he would have her inherit Nagato’s position and take over Amegakure.

Nagato said nothing more to Nagasawa because it was time for the trial.

Many people came to attend the trial. There were family members of shinobi who had died in the war, civilians from countries affected by the war, and the leaders of the smaller Shinobi Villages, who had come to see their leader off.

After hearing the news, Jiraiya traveled through the night and finally arrived in time for the beginning.

Looking at Nagato standing there and listening to the list of crimes being read aloud, Jiraiya let out a deep sigh. In the end, he said nothing, and his expression became even more haggard.

After a lengthy declaration, Nagato was finally sentenced to death.

Nagato raised his head and looked toward the crowd below. There were many people he knew and many he did not.

There was his close friend Konan, Musashi, who had once been his subordinate, the ambitious Grass Shinobi leader who had been his partner, his former teacher Jiraiya, Nagasawa...

In a daze, Nagato even saw Yahiko smiling and waving at him.

Thinking back carefully, although his life had been filled with hardships and he had spent most of it in an unsatisfactory state, it could still be considered a turbulent and extraordinary life. He had experienced nearly starving to death, and he had also led smaller Shinobi Villages in launching a rebellion against the Great Shinobi Villages.

"Rinne Rebirth!"