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Chapter 3: Candid Revelation

"The one who awakened the Rinnegan was not Nagato, but Uchiha Madara!? Impossible!"

The shock of having her beliefs overturned was too much for Konan to accept.

Naruto continued to add to the shock: "Oh, the Madara I'm talking about isn't the masked man in the Akatsuki. He claimed to be Madara and deceived you all..."

Konan, disheartened, replied, "One claims to be Madara, and another says Madara is someone else. Both are liars. I don't believe either of you!"

"This is a bit tricky..." Naruto fell into thought, unconsciously tapping his left fingers on the table.

It’s worth mentioning that Naruto lost his right arm in a battle against Sasuke in his previous life. Although he replaced it with a prosthetic, he developed a habit of using his left hand, becoming a left-handed person through circumstance.

As his soul traveled back in time, the habit of using his left hand remained.

In his mind, Naruto was trying to gather information that could convince Konan.

The time was too far back, and it took him some effort to recall it.

"Right, you prepared meticulously to kill that masked Madara! Hmm, I remember it being sixty million—no, six hundred billion explosive tags, right?"

"How do you know!?" Konan’s face instantly turned pale.

Her backup plan, prepared in secret, was unknown to anyone, not even Nagato.

"Did you... read my memory?" Konan could only think of one possibility.

Naruto laughed helplessly, "Hey, hey, I'm clueless about genjutsu! Without the Yamanaka Clan's help, how could I do such a thing?"

He had seen the memory of the 600 billion explosive tags during the Fourth Shinobi World War in his previous life, when he extracted the Ten-Tails from Obito.

Seeing Konan's unsettled expression, Naruto pressed his advantage: "So, does this prove a little that I'm not just making things up?"

Konan calmed herself, restoring her usual icy demeanor, "Even if you know this secret, it doesn't prove everything you say about Madara is true."

Naruto replied calmly, "Indeed, whether you believe what I say is up to you to judge. But before that, could you please listen to me finish?"

By revealing Konan’s biggest secret precisely, Naruto had gained a significant advantage.

Konan half-conceded, "Fine, then go ahead."

Naruto began to explain: "When you were very young, Madara, after losing to Hashirama Senju, gained his former rival's power and awakened the Rinnegan. The final evolution of the Sharingan is the Rinnegan, which requires both Senju and Uchiha powers to awaken. [To minimize the information, Naruto deliberately omitted mentioning the reincarnation of 'Indra' and 'Asura.']"

"By the time Madara awakened the Rinnegan, he was on the brink of death and unable to fulfill his ambition, so he transplanted the eyes to Nagato when he was young. Nagato was a descendant of the Senju, with Uzumaki lineage. That red hair, just like my mother, Kushina Uzumaki, is the best evidence. Madara was sure Nagato could handle those eyes."

"The reason Madara gave his eyes to Nagato was to prepare for his own resurrection. The Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique was a jutsu Madara prepared for his revival, and Nagato was the executor."

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"So, the real Madara is already dead."

Konan, following Naruto's words, naturally asked, "Who then is the masked man claiming to be Madara?"

Naruto answered honestly, "Uchiha Obito, a Uchiha hero who supposedly died in the Third Shinobi World War, during the battle of Kannabi Bridge. He was actually chosen and saved by Madara, tasked with guiding Nagato to revive Madara and was the actual promoter of the Eye of the Moon Plan."

Konan's heart sank: He even knows about the Eye of the Moon Plan... Could it be that everything he said is true?

Yet she still couldn't believe that the ideals they had adhered to for so many years were all lies woven by others!

Seeing Konan's despair, Naruto couldn’t bear to reveal... that Black Zetsu was actually the one hiding the deepest!

Naruto said, "Konan-sensei, I know this reality is too harsh for you all, but it's not too late to recognize the truth now..."

Konan sharply retorted, "No! Your perspective is wrong. The Akatsuki investigated you. You stayed in Konoha most of the time and only went out to train with Jiraiya in the past three years. How could you know these things?"

Sigh... It’s unavoidable after all.

Naruto sighed inwardly, got up, untied Konan, and then extended his left fist: "Fist bump with me, and then you'll know everything..."

Konan hesitated but saw the complex emotions strongly flowing in Naruto's right eye. She finally couldn't resist the urge to find out!

“Phew...” She took a deep breath and extended her hand.

As soon as their fists touched, ripples spread across her mind, and various images came to her!

“This…”

Konan's heart could not calm down for a long time, her orange eyes flickered intensely: "Are these real?"

"Absolutely!" Naruto said solemnly. "This is the real future. I escaped to this time from the brink of death. Heh, isn't it ironic? I was able to come back thanks to that clan's tool; we couldn't do anything with our own power!"

"Since I’m back, my only goal is to defeat those guys and protect this world. For this... I need power, power strong enough to fight against them!"

Konan had basically believed Naruto... After all, words can be fabricated, but the thoughts in one's heart cannot lie!

She asked, "What do you plan to do?"

Naruto said, "Use every possible way to get stronger! I'll act based on this premise. Let me first tell you what I’m thinking: gather the secret techniques and Kekkei Genkai of the major ninja villages and integrate the powers of all the tailed beasts!"

Konan said, "The secret techniques and Kekkei Genkai are the highest secrets of each village, and the tailed beasts are crucial to maintaining the balance of power among the five great nations. Do you intend to become enemies with the entire shinobi world?"

Naruto smiled, "Yes, being enemies with the whole world first is the only way to save this world! Nobody would believe such nonsense, right? There's only one person in this world who would unconditionally believe me. I don't want to involve her too early..."

"Besides, I have to defect from Konoha first, or else every move I make as a Konoha ninja would bring trouble to Konoha!"

Having said this, Naruto sincerely asked, "Konan-sensei, after knowing the whole story, can you understand my actions?"

Konan asked in return, "Where is Nagato's body?"

"Follow me..."

Naruto turned around, and the stone chamber door opened with a rumble, revealing two coffins.

Konan stepped forward to check, finding Nagato lying peacefully in the first coffin. Apart from his empty eyes, his remains were intact.

She looked at the second coffin, where the body of Pain’s Deva Path was kept.

Konan was quite surprised by this.

Naruto smiled, "He was Yahiko, right? A very important person to you, Konan-sensei."

Konan gently caressed Yahiko's face, "Ah, he was my comrade and my lover..."

Naruto said, "Only such a handsome guy deserves Konan-sensei!"

Konan smiled, a response more eloquent than words. She forgave Naruto.

Outside the cave, Konan surveyed the surroundings. Although protected by barriers, there was still a risk of being discovered.

Konan said, "This is within the Land of Fire. Konoha must be searching everywhere for you..."

"My Sage Mode allows me to detect any disturbances. I won’t be easily found." Naruto pressed on the bandage over his left eye, "I’ll stay here until I adapt to this left eye..."

"Where is Nagato's right eye?"

"I’ve kept it safe. I heard the risk of transplanting a Rinnegan is quite high, so I thought I’d do it one at a time, just to be safe. I haven’t felt anything unusual yet..."

"You can't return to Konoha, so where will you go?"

"The world is my home. The shinobi world is vast; there must be a place where I can stay..."

After a long silence, Konan said, "Then... come with me to the Village Hidden by Rain."

Naruto was surprised, "Konan-sensei, you!?"

At this point, Konan finally revealed her true intentions: "Such a dangerous plan cannot succeed on your own. You’ve inherited Nagato's will and eyes. I have no reason not to support you fully... The Hidden Rain is willing to be your strong backing!"

Naruto's gratitude couldn't be expressed in words. He turned all his feelings into four words: "Thank you very much..."

Konan said nonchalantly, "When will we leave?"

Naruto, with a deep look, said, "We need to wait a little longer because there’s someone I must meet first!"