Naruto: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 206: What is the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the Eye of the Moon Plan?

"Cough, cough, cough."

Inside a tree that appeared no different from its surroundings, the sound of a man's heavy coughing echoed from within.

Shortly after, a cool, feminine voice sounded: "Nagato, take a rest. After traveling such a long distance, your body is already very fatigued."

With red hair and a skeletal frame, Nagato coughed a few more times, managed to suppress it, and shook his head:

"No. I've already detected traces of the Six-Tails' chakra. It won't be long before we find the Jinchuriki."

White Zetsu was quite adept at gathering intelligence in fixed areas like the Five Great Shinobi Villages. However, due to their limited number and individual strength, it was difficult to continuously track a Jinchuriki who was constantly on the run and hiding. They could only narrow it down to a specific area.

Pain was now in that area and had already found a clue.

Knowing Nagato's character, Konan did not persuade him further. Instead, she asked, "Does the main body need to move forward again?"

Nagato nodded: "Advance half a kilometer."

Konan nodded, stretched out her hand, and the tree that enveloped them, which even the Sharingan couldn't detect as unusual, instantly disintegrated into numerous paper fragments.

In no time, the tree disappeared.

In its place, countless paper scraps danced in the air, creating a scene of unique beauty.

Konan manipulated some of the paper to lift the bed on which Nagato sat, while other pieces transformed into eyes and ears, spreading out to monitor the surroundings.

Just like that, they quickly crossed the half-kilometer distance.

When Konan once again used her Dance of the Shikigami technique, causing countless paper fragments to reassemble into a lifelike tree, concealing her and Nagato inside, Nagato suddenly looked up and said in a cold tone:

"I've found it."

Simultaneously, far away, Pain looked up, his gaze fixed on a towering mountain ahead, and said indifferently:

"I've found it."

"They've come."

On Mount Katsuragi, having already scattered the bait, Hagoromo Gengetsu, who was sitting on a lounge chair that Hotaru had specially moved for him, enjoying the warm sunlight, suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze shifted, looking at a member of the Akatsuki organization, dressed in black with red clouds, who had just arrived outside the mountain.

As expected, the big fish had taken the bait.

Hagoromo Gengetsu slowly stood up and, without turning his head, instructed Hotaru and Utakata beside him:

"Stay here and do not go outside."

Before they could respond, Hagoromo Gengetsu vanished instantly.

Hotaru and Utakata looked at each other in confusion.

It wasn't until a thunderous explosion echoed from outside Mount Katsuragi that they, along with Tonbee, who had come out after hearing the noise, instinctively looked towards the source of the sound.

Only then did they understand the true meaning behind Hagoromo Gengetsu's earlier words.

The weather today was nice.

The refreshing wind blew in their faces, bringing comfort to their bodies and minds, and the scent of fresh grass filled their noses.

However, Pain, who looked human but was essentially a long-dead corpse, couldn't appreciate the beauty of the world.

Unable to experience the goodness of the human world, he could only impose the opposite of "beauty" on others, bestowing pain upon the world.

True peace could only be achieved through a true understanding of pain.

This was the belief he had always adhered to.

It was also his motivation for appearing here today, ready to capture the Six-Tails' Jinchuriki.

But before Pain could take any action, a person leapt down from Mount Katsuragi, carrying an intimidating presence that no one dared to look at directly, and appeared before him, blocking his path.

"Hagoromo Gengetsu?"

At the sight of the newcomer's face, Pain's typically expressionless visage showed a hint of surprise.

The same expression appeared on Nagato's face, ten kilometers away.

He couldn't understand why Hagoromo Gengetsu, who was in the midst of intense skirmishes with the Five Great Nations, would appear in this place.

The direction from which he had come was precisely where the Six-Tails' Jinchuriki was hiding.

When had Hagoromo Gengetsu crossed paths with the Six-Tails' Jinchuriki?

Or... had he become interested in the tailed beasts?

Nagato's eyes grew cold.

Beside him, Konan's expression also tensed up upon hearing the unexpected name from Nagato's mouth. After glancing at Nagato, she began to seriously scrutinize her surroundings.

Names carry weight, and "Uchiha Madara's" abilities were evident to both her and Nagato.

Now, with someone as renowned as Hagoromo Gengetsu suddenly appearing, even though the true reason was still unclear, they had to be extremely cautious this time.

"Pain? The leader of the Akatsuki?"

Hearing Pain call out his name, Hagoromo Gengetsu wasn't surprised and nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then asked:

Pain, who had returned to his emotionless demeanor, did not deny it.

In a tone devoid of any fluctuation, he said, "At this time, you shouldn't be here."

"No."

Hagoromo Gengetsu's lips curled into a faint smile as he responded,

"This is the right time, the right place, and the right person."

"My target is you, Pain."

As the words fell, a cold wind howled by.

If someone else had been targeted by a figure like Hagoromo Gengetsu, they would likely be deeply unsettled.

But Pain's expression remained unchanged.

Confident in the power of the Rinnegan, he listened to Hagoromo Gengetsu's explanation and calmly asked:

"Why?"

Inside the concealed tree, Nagato's gaze seemed to pierce through the distance, fixed on Hagoromo Gengetsu.

He needed an explanation.

An explanation for why, after he killed Hagoromo Gengetsu, the plan he had been devising for years—to pit Hagoromo Gengetsu's forces against the Five Great Nations while the Akatsuki hid in the shadows—would have to be abandoned.

Hagoromo Gengetsu provided him with an answer.

"The Rinnegan."

Hearing this, Pain's eyelids drooped, disappointment evident: "Another ignorant person coveting the Rinnegan."

Could this person, renowned alongside Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, be like this?

Compared to Uchiha Madara, who had meticulously planned for years and shared a grand vision, the difference in perspective was too great.

To this, Hagoromo Gengetsu chuckled softly and shook his head, saying:

"Ignorant? No. It's precisely because I know too much that I've become interested in the Rinnegan."

"Especially after learning the truth about the Rinnegan, about the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and the Eye of the Moon Plan."

Pain was about to make a move.

In his view, someone who compared himself to a god was no different from a vulgar person. Even if they were powerful, it was unnecessary to waste words on them.

However, at that moment!

Suddenly hearing Hagoromo Gengetsu mention the "truth of the Rinnegan," "Infinite Tsukuyomi," and "Eye of the Moon Plan," which he himself knew individually but didn't fully understand together, Pain keenly sensed something was off.

Was there another truth about the Rinnegan?

Why was he, who possessed the Rinnegan, unaware of it?

Was Hagoromo Gengetsu bluffing?

But someone of his caliber had no reason to lie.

Pain—or rather, Nagato—was momentarily stunned, as if realizing something.

It was like noticing a small problem that had always been ignored for many years suddenly connecting into a significant, hidden issue beneath the surface.

But it remained beneath the surface, only showing a vague outline, not the full picture.

So...

Pain looked at Hagoromo Gengetsu, his tone fluctuating once more as he asked:

"What is the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the Eye of the Moon Plan?"