Chapter 186: Chapter 186: The Snitch and Konoha’s Merry-Go-Round!
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Outside, Uzumaki Shūkan's delighted voice rang out, "Gojo-sama! What brings you here?"
Hearing this, Uzumaki Reina also quickly emerged from the room, hurrying towards the advisor, her voice filled with urgency,
"—I have a report to make!"
"Just now, a kunoichi named Konan, with blue hair, tried to persuade our Uzumaki clan to betray Konoha. She claimed that an Uzumaki clan member had already established an Uzumaki base outside the Land of Fire."
"...."
The Uzumaki clan, having suffered betrayal in the past, deeply understood the wisdom of not putting all their eggs in one basket.
Yes, Konan had been too eager, blurting out such a taboo topic.
Everything that had just happened was a spontaneous reaction from Uzumaki Reina after she realized Konan's potential threat.
However, it was a pity that she couldn't extract information about the mastermind behind the scenes—Regarding this point, Uzumaki Reina expressed a small regret.
"You've done well, Reina. I already have a grasp of the situation," Gojo Kaigetsu nodded. "Later, Go to the Anbu and collect a 500,000 ryō reward. Tell them it was my orders."
"Yes! Advisor-sama!" Uzumaki Reina's face flushed slightly.
This Konoha—truly was a land of opportunity. Just casually ratting out a newly acquainted "sister," and she got 500,000 ryō.
The money—suddenly felt a little less like money.
Gojo Kaigetsu seemed to understand.
Konan's infiltration of Konoha was indeed targeting the Uzumaki clan.
As the saying goes, "Brothers quarrel, but friends offer advice"—This plastic sister, Konan, was so eager to persuade the Uzumaki to break away from Konoha?
However, it was also good. With the Uzumaki clan as bait, it wouldn't be hard to lure Konan in.
He could tempt Konan, again and again, to enter Konoha and contact the Uzumaki clan.
And on his end, he would gradually reveal his flaws, giving Konan the hope of successfully bringing the Uzumaki clan out of Konoha.
The road from the village gate to the Uzumaki compound was already filled with various actors arranged by Gojo Kaigetsu.
Those—were all ordinary people trained by Gin, without a trace of chakra. Even if Konan was vigilant, she would only think it was a coincidence or an accident.
Through a series of coincidences and accidents, he would awaken her kindness and desire for peace, using it as a substitute, replacing her bond with Nagato.
If he were more ruthless—
Theoretically, Gojo Kaigetsu could have just killed Konan outright and then had Orochimaru use Edo Tensei to revive her, controlling her and using her Paper Release to make Konoha shine.
But Gojo Kaigetsu discovered that Konan's chakra was a bit unusual, or rather—incomplete.
Whether he killed Konan directly or had the Yamanaka clan extract her memories, the paper left behind in the Akatsuki base would, like a quantum entanglement, change, thus sending a message to Nagato.
Killing Konan like this would undoubtedly set off a powder keg, provoking a crazed Nagato to seek revenge on Konoha.
Nagato was playing the long game, and so was Konoha.
If Nagato and Konoha were destined for war, the later it happened, the better it was for Konoha!
Ideally, they would remain peaceful until Konoha reached level 60—By then, even if Nagato came as a dragon, he'd have to coil up in Konoha; if he came as a tiger, he'd have to lie down.
No, they didn't even need to wait that long.
By the time Konoha reached year 51, in October—
When Naruto and Sasuke were born—
--
When he extracted Ōtsutsuki chakra and evolved his Ultimate Byakugan into the Tenseigan—Konoha, with its superior high-end combat power, could then march out of the village and head to Amegakure for a decapitation strike.
The main threat Nagato posed to Gojo Kaigetsu was his "Shinra Tensei" and "Chibaku Tensei." If Nagato unleashed them, Konoha would be destroyed.
Therefore, the operation to eliminate Nagato couldn't take place in Konoha or even within the Land of Fire's borders.
If the battlefield were in Amegakure, he wondered if Nagato would dare use Super Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei.
Nagato's body was hidden in a tree hollow created by Konan using the "Paper Person of God" technique. Besides Zetsu and Konan, no one knew his exact location.
To carry out the decapitation strike, he needed Konan to reveal the intel herself.
'I feel like we won't make it to Naruto and Sasuke's birth—'
The best outcome, naturally, was to drag it out until October, when Naruto and Sasuke were born, extract the Ōtsutsuki chakra, and create the Tenseigan, ensuring absolute victory.
But to eliminate all risks in the cradle, Gojo Kaigetsu decided to take the initiative, bringing forward the decapitation strike against Nagato.
Obito had already lost the opportunity to create the Nine-Tails incident, but Nagato was still alive!
The Rinnegan, compared to the Mangekyo Sharingan, could not only control tailed beasts, but after using them, he could directly seal the Nine-Tails into the Gedo Mazo's shell.
Kushina would soon be due to give birth. If by any chance that guy Nagato started his tailed beast plan—and if Black Zetsu incited Nagato to advance the plan, to strike earlier—
Kushina's delivery was the best time to strike.
To prevent that possibility—
"I need to work harder."
The actors Gojo Kaigetsu had arranged were already in place, lining the road from the Uzumaki compound to the Konoha gate.
To avoid any mishaps, he had placed actors at every entrance, ensuring the plan's success.
As for the script—
Gojo Kaigetsu had learned from countless instances of persuading villains to turn over a new leaf.
In the end, it all boiled down to this—
If she was inexperienced in the world, take her to see the prosperity of the world; if her heart was already world-weary, take her on a merry-go-round!
The so-called merry-go-round—
Symbolized an "innocent and pure state of mind." A merry-go-round was usually for children, and children were the most innocent and pure.
Her heart was already world-weary because she had experienced too much, seen too much. She was jaded and indifferent to the world.
Then, taking her quietly back to her original self, finding the peace and comfort of childhood, letting go of desires and obsessions, and maintaining a peaceful, romantic heart, she would deeply fall in love with this innocent state of mind.
And what was Konan's state of mind?
Perhaps both—
She had a teacher to teach her ninjutsu, but no teacher to teach her the principle of "never trust a stranger's words"; she was clearly only eighteen years old, yet she had experienced the cruel struggles of the Shinobi world, and had never experienced a pure childhood.
Now, she had seen the prosperity of Konoha, all that was left was the merry-go-round—
And what Gojo Kaigetsu had to do was to make Konan get on the merry-go-round? No!
--
As Konan walked out of the Uzumaki compound, the joy she felt inside quickly dissipated at the sight of Konoha's streets.
Guilt continued to grow, filling her heart.
It was like the DNA engraved in a workhorse's soul. The moment they stopped working, they felt guilty. Konan—was likely in a similar state of mind now, because—she had a mission. But seeing the smiles on the Konoha villagers' faces made her feel deeply guilty.
Suddenly, a little girl with twin ponytails, holding a milk tea, stumbled into Konan's leg. She looked up with wide, innocent eyes.
"Big sister, are you feeling down? Here, have some milk tea~"
"It'll make you feel better."
Konan looked down—
The afternoon sun shone through the leaves, casting dappled light on the little girl's face.
Her smile was as pure as the morning dew, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and excitement. Those dark, lively eyes seemed to speak, engaging in a silent conversation with Konan.
Konan could only see the girl's innocence and beauty in her innocent eyes, making one want to protect this purity, to preserve this beautiful moment.
"Th-Thank you..." Konan's throat felt dry, and she instinctively reached into her pouch, wanting to give the organization's funds to the little girl.
Just then, the little girl's mother, with a gentle housewife's hairstyle, came over, scolding from afar, "Mikasa, you can't take things from strangers~"
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