A person could be fearless, but they could not be free of worries.
Yagoromo did indeed have considerable confidence in his own strength, but no matter what, he would never reach the point of "arrogance." No matter how high the probability was, there was no such thing as absolute certainty. As long as there was even the slightest possibility of failure, Yagoromo had to make corresponding preparations.
In certain duels, what decided victory or defeat often did not lie in how powerful one side's trump card was, but in how many trump cards that side possessed. Only by turning over one trump card after another could one build layer after layer of steps leading toward victory.
And Yagoromo clearly did not plan to keep his final card on himself. He, too, had a "last hope." That was all.
As for choosing Jiraiya to help safeguard Yin-Yang Release, the reason was very simple… because this was Yagoromo's only choice, and also the most appropriate choice.
With Jiraiya's ability, when this man needed to be reliable, he was absolutely reliable. Furthermore, even if he unexpectedly died, he could likewise ensure the scrolls were delivered into Naruto's hands.
Do not forget that behind Jiraiya stood all kinds of toads. Storage-use, practical-use, preaching-use—there were toads of every category and every function.
Besides, there was nothing wrong with letting Jiraiya study Yin-Yang Release a little. Perhaps he could intuitively explain its profound and complicated internal principles to certain single-minded students.
The hidden meaning behind Yagoromo handing Yin-Yang Release to Jiraiya was similar to Minato handing Jiraiya the key to the Eight Trigrams Seal. Although, because of the former's actions, that sufficiently important key had already effectively lost its function.
And in terms of importance and preciousness, the Sage of Six Paths' Yin-Yang Release surpassed even Minato's key. This should be the most important thing Jiraiya had ever been entrusted with.
In truth, there was no need to explain the significance of this commission with too many words. Jiraiya already understood it clearly. Yagoromo's expression at this moment was also extremely serious, a state that was rather rare to see on him.
"Then I'll temporarily accept these."
Only after seeing Yagoromo nod again did Jiraiya solemnly put the scrolls away.
After storing the scrolls, he immediately bid Yagoromo farewell and left. Even his movements seemed slightly hurried. Precisely because of how precious the scrolls were, Jiraiya had to make the corresponding arrangements as quickly as possible. Whether it was re-encryption, storage, or sealing, he needed to act carefully.
To hand certain things to the right people at the proper moment—this was Jiraiya, the "professional custodian."
…
As for what exactly Yagoromo had done inside the Six Paths shrine, because his actions had been extremely secretive from the start, and because he had acted with deliberate concealment, the purpose of his movements was unknown to others.
Even with the existence of someone like Zetsu, who had always been paying close attention to Yagoromo, the most information obtained this time was that White Yaksha had gone to the Land of Birds for an unknown purpose.
But at this moment, the most basic preparations for Akatsuki's activities had already been completed… After several months, all members of Akatsuki had fully assembled.
The Land of Rain, Amegakure.
Akatsuki had gathered a total of ten extremely powerful shinobi through the method of "veterans leading newcomers" and "agree if they can, force them if they cannot." Now, these ten people had almost all arrived.
These ten would be divided into five groups. Next, they would begin operating in two-man teams.
The groupings were obviously arranged in a way that suited the members' combat abilities, while also taking each person's personality traits into consideration.
As the leader, Pain was teamed with the person he trusted most, Konan. Kakuzu, the missing-nin from Takigakure, was teamed with Hidan, who came from the Land of Hot Water. Sasori of the Red Sand was teamed with the twelve-year-old Iwagakure genius, Deidara. Next came the bizarre intelligence-gathering duo, "Black Zetsu and White Zetsu."
As for Konoha's newly minted S-rank missing-nin, the culprit behind the Uchiha clan's massacre, Uchiha Itachi, he was temporarily independent, because on his very first day here, he had nearly killed his own teammate.
In addition, there was also the man hiding in the shadows and remotely controlling this organization: the one who called himself Uchiha Madara, but was in truth Uchiha Madara's proxy, Uchiha Obito.
After defecting from Konoha, because he was a rare "genius," Uchiha Itachi had almost immediately received an invitation from Akatsuki. Although his thought process was unknown, he eventually accepted that invitation.
And after Itachi joined Akatsuki, the changes he caused were not small. He frightened Orochimaru away, and also perfectly completed his first mission… following the organization's orders, he brought Deidara over from Iwagakure.
"Now, everyone is here. Next, there are important matters to explain."
Although Pain possessed the most advanced three-dimensional projection communication technology in the entire shinobi world, the current scene was one where they had gathered together in person.
And this group of people, whose styles did not match at all, had ultimately come together. But no matter how strange these people were, one still had to admit that this bunch of chūnibyō truly possessed the strength to overturn the world.
"One person still has not arrived… However, he will be here soon." White Zetsu added this in his hoarse, low voice.
"Uchiha Itachi, because the conflict between you and Orochimaru led to his defection, the next new member to join the organization will become your partner."
The Pain who appeared here was the "Deva Path," representing ultimate power. However, his current appearance could no longer possibly be Yahiko.
"The fight between Orochimaru and me, as well as his defeat, do not constitute the reason he left the organization," Itachi said expressionlessly.
This could be considered both an explanation and a defense.
The truth was indeed like that. Orochimaru had left only because he had already realized that the thing he wanted to obtain could not be acquired, and that deeper intelligence could not be gained either. Remaining in Akatsuki had already lost its meaning…
"In any case, as a traitor to the organization, he must be dealt with before he causes sufficient harm."
The information Orochimaru took from Akatsuki was only superficial. He knew nothing of the truly deep content. But even so, merely because of the act of "defection," Akatsuki could not possibly let him go.
"However, Orochimaru is too troublesome. If he keeps choosing to hide, it will be very difficult for us to find him, let alone deal with him." Black Zetsu clearly did not think Orochimaru would be so easy to handle, though this difficulty was not reflected in combat strength.
Just as the Deva Path was about to say something, the other half of Black Zetsu's body spoke.
"He's here…"
Not long after White Zetsu's voice fell, a tall figure walked step by step into this space.
"You are late. The agreed time should have been earlier," the Deva Path said as he looked at the newcomer.
The other party was not yet wearing the black cloak with red clouds, but rather Kirigakure mission attire.
The newcomer let out a rather strange laugh, tinged with a hint of helplessness.
"Taking care of the strongest genius in the history of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, someone capable of mastering all seven ninja swords, was not exactly simple… It took longer than I expected."
As the boundary between light and shadow shifted upward and passed over the newcomer's head, his strange shark-like face finally appeared in everyone's field of vision.
And if Yagoromo could see the ninja sword carried on his back at this moment, he would definitely sigh once again that "his sword" had changed hands. It should originally have been in Hōzuki Mangetsu's hands.
"Your strength is above Hōzuki Mangetsu's. Otherwise, the one who received our invitation would have been him, not you…"
Akatsuki's final member, Uchiha Itachi's partner, the Kirigakure shinobi known as the "Monster," Hoshigaki Kisame, had arrived here as a member of Akatsuki.
"How fortunate. If it had been the opposite, perhaps I would already have been killed by now," Kisame said half-jokingly.
The Deva Path did not respond to this remark. Instead, he spoke directly.
"Since everyone has arrived, I will now begin explaining the plan we will carry out next…"
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