Rain poured down.

In a mysterious underground room in Amegakure, Nagato and Konan were both exceptionally silent.

The battle in the Land of Waterfalls was still affecting them.

Especially for Nagato, the failure of this battle was truly too painful. In particular, he had lost Yahiko's body.

"Nagato, this isn't your fault."

Konan looked at the silent Nagato, feeling very distressed in her heart, and tried to comfort him.

"The situation at the time was too complex."

"It was my carelessness." Nagato shook his head, closing his eyes and sighing.

"If I had brought a few clones, perhaps the situation would have been different. That kid's talent is even more terrifying than imagined."

His words were light, but his heart was never at peace. This battle with Takemi made him truly realize the power of space-time ninjutsu.

He also saw Takemi's cunning and sensitivity to information.

Just one second!

He could have used Shinra Tensei again. For the next five seconds, he would still face Takemi's storm of attacks.

But by blocking that wave, perhaps he could have made Yahiko's body retreat.

"Or, if other clones were present, the situation would have been much better!"

Rinnegan is no joke.

With Preta Path, he could deal with long-range Ninjutsu, and Animal Path could use Summoning Technique to harass, and so on.

"Even just buying time would give me a chance to use the Demonic Statue Chains, Chibaku Tensei, or even…"

His gaze flickered backward, sweeping over the Gedo Statue that was absorbing his Chakra.

Even if the Gedo Statue hadn't fully recovered, it wasn't impossible to use it in battle. He had used the Gedo Statue against Hanzo back then.

But he couldn't do anything, he could only watch Takemi crush Yahiko's body. He even disconnected his control over Yahiko's body.

Such pain was indescribable.

"I must find a way to retrieve Yahiko's body. I can't just let this go…"

Nagato opened his eyes and said in a low voice to Konan, but his words made Konan a little worried.

"Nagato, don't act recklessly!"

"Don't worry, I… huh?"

Nagato nodded, about to say something, but then he suddenly paused, and even Konan, who was beside him, noticed the anomaly.

"Don't worry, it's me."

Before they could speak, a figure slowly rose from underground, appearing before them.

"It's you?"

Nagato's brows were still tightly furrowed, but he had no intention of attacking.

Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his extremely bad mood and asked in a low voice, "Are you here to find me for something?"

"Indeed, there are some things, but more accurately, I have something to return to you."

Black Zetsu said, taking out a scroll. Then he unrolled it and released it.

Boom—

Accompanied by a puff of smoke, a figure appeared.

Nagato and Konan were initially vigilant, but the moment they saw the figure, their pupils instantly constricted.

Yahiko lied there quietly. Although half of his body was still damaged, it was clear that it had been repaired and treated.

"You…"

Nagato was stunned for a long time, looking at the Black Zetsu in front of him in disbelief.

"No need to be surprised, I was there the whole time." Black Zetsu shook his head indifferently, explaining.

"That explosion was truly terrifying, but Takemi didn't dare to approach, so I made my move."

"However, I apologize, I couldn't bring it over immediately, as I had to be careful if there were any Flying Thunder God Marks on it."

"I've dealt with it now, you can rest assured. However, repairing it to this extent is my limit. The rest…"

He stopped there.

In fact, this was far from his limit, but he couldn't continue either. He had many White Zetsu bodies, but he didn't dare to easily invest them in Nagato, even as puppets.

Who knew if there would be any hidden dangers? It was better to be careful.

"Why did you do this?"

Nagato was silent for a while before he finally asked.

Black Zetsu calmly said, "This is your friend, very important to you, and you are very important to us."

At this point, Black Zetsu paused, then spoke with utmost seriousness, "The current situation is not good for us. Konoha is pressing us step by step, and we have suffered repeated setbacks."

"Especially that kid Takemi, he's really strange. We seem to always be at a disadvantage against him."

"Whatever the reason, as he grows, he will only become stronger, and Konoha's threat to us will deepen."

Nagato didn't speak, but he didn't deny it either.

After all, he had also been 'hit hard'!

Takemi is indeed not simple.

"So, I hope you see your friend and remember everything from that day."

Black Zetsu spoke again, looking calmly at Nagato and slowly saying.

"That kid, and Konoha behind him, will probably affect our future plans. We must be more careful and serious."

'Indeed.' Nagato thought to himself.

He had not paid enough attention or dealt with it seriously, which led to the current situation.

But before he could say anything, Black Zetsu spoke again, "At the very least, think about your friend."

"You wouldn't want your friend's body to be shattered by him again, would you?"

"…"

That's true, but why does it sound so strange?

— — —

"Kakashi-sensei, what is it this time?"

Inside Konoha, Takemi curiously followed Kakashi as they walked out of the village.

"Is the Fourth Raikage still outside?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama won't let him into the village. After all, that would cause a lot of problems." Kakashi said with a shrug, holding a book as he walked.

"But some things have been mostly settled, just needing some loose ends tied up. However, the pressure you put on him this time was really great."

Recalling this negotiation, and then thinking back to the arrogant Kumogakure people years ago, Kakashi's eyes curved into crescents.

He was young back then, but he still knew what had happened in Konoha.

At that time, it was said that war was about to begin, but the Hyuga clan ultimately compromised, which prevented Konoha from being dragged into war again.

Now, the situation has changed. Although the Fourth Raikage still looks arrogant, Konoha is no longer the Konoha of old.

Especially Takemi, the Flying Thunder God Mark he left on the Fourth Raikage really played a significant role.

"Oh, really?"

Takemi tilted his head, asking with a chuckle.

"But the Fourth Raikage shouldn't be someone who compromises so easily. My previous impression of him was that if you killed him, war would break out."

"If you let him go, he might get angrier the more he thinks about it, and then war would probably break out. Talking with us now shouldn't be that easy, right?"

"Indeed, but we're not afraid either."

Kakashi nodded. He didn't plan to hide this from Takemi.

"The Third Hokage told him that peace in the Ninja World is rare, and Konoha is willing to make a statement."

"We will implement a treatment plan for his arm, and at the same time, we will wait for Kumogakure's envoy to come and escort him back."

"Of course, if he wants war, Konoha will fight to the end, but the responsibility will be entirely theirs, and besides, we already know what they did in Sugi Village."

"That assertive?"

Takemi was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected the Third Hokage, who seemed to become more timid with age, to be so firm.

Of course, this Third Hokage had also been assertive in the past.

Facing Kumogakure, under Kumogakure's pressure, he and Danzo both decided to go to war, but the Hyuga clan couldn't withstand the pressure.

"Of course, times have changed."

Kakashi patted Takemi's shoulder, smiling.

"Although the Fourth Raikage is rather hot-headed, he is still a Kage, so the agreement has been signed."

"Is such an agreement truly trustworthy?" Takemi raised an eyebrow.