Nagato finally gave in.
He desperately wanted to save his parents, save Yahiko—he was even willing to sacrifice his own life!
But if the price to pay was losing Konan and sacrificing all of Amegakure...
Sorry, he really couldn't bear it.
And as Lux said, without him, Amegakure might be destroyed and divided up by the great villages even faster. His parents would still die.
While Yahiko and the others had no chance of defeating Hanzo or Danzō.
Such a change was meaningless...
"Do you understand now?"
"I understand! I was too naive..."
Nagato sighed, giving up on his fantasies.
This was similar to his past decision not to use Rinne Tensei to revive Yahiko.
As long as the threat of the great villages hadn't ended, as long as world peace hadn't been achieved—even if Yahiko was revived, without Nagato's protection, he and Amegakure would still perish.
Just living was already very difficult for a small country sandwiched between great powers.
It was just too heavy!
"Relax. After unifying the world, with the power of the Rinnegan, there will be a chance to revive the people you love. They can live peacefully without being trapped in war-torn borders."
Lux was just comforting him. He didn't care who Nagato wanted to revive.
As long as Nagato could unify Parallel World 5 and complete his mission—he wouldn't even protest if Nagato revived Hanzo just to kill him again.
Of course, fully reviving someone wasn't that easy.
Even with the Rinnegan, it still required a sacrifice of life. And Nagato in his Edo Tensei state couldn't use Rinne Tensei at all.
Edo Tensei did have many advantages, but it still wasn't a real body. There were many limitations.
That's why Edo Tensei Madara also desperately tried to revive himself.
For Lux, reviving people wasn't difficult. But currently, Nagato in his Edo Tensei state—without fear of death—was more useful.
"Revive them after unification? That's a good option..."
"But... my Rinnegan..."
Nagato knew Edo Tensei couldn't use Rinne Tensei. But if he was revived, without the Rinnegan, he still couldn't!
Although the Rinnegan taken by Madara wasn't his original one, it still left a regret.
"This is for you. Keep it safe. You can use it after you're alive later."
Lux easily gave Urashiki's golden Rinnegan to Nagato, in exchange for his original one.
"Rinnegan... golden? This is..."
"Don't ask about its origin. You'll know later."
Lux didn't tell Nagato about the Ōtsutsuki. That information wasn't needed yet.
Everything needed a process.
Nagato didn't ask much, carefully storing the golden Rinnegan.
This gave him a little confidence.
"Any other instructions from Sir?"
"One more. Be wary of the weaknesses of Edo Tensei."
"The chakra of the Edo Tensei body isn't truly limitless. Part of it comes from the soul, part from your own soul..."
The limitless chakra of the Edo Tensei sounded great, but there were actually limitations.
More precisely, it was just a permanent rapid chakra recovery buff. But it also eroded the soul little by little. Or if the soul was injured, chakra recovery would slow down drastically.
Limitless chakra forever?
If that were true, the Ōtsutsuki clan would definitely drool!
Why bother planting the God Tree?
Just mass-produce Edo Tensei ninjas, then suck their chakra endlessly to grow the God Tree!
In fact, both Edo Minato and Edo Tobirama at the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War admitted to running out of chakra and having difficulty using Flying Thunder God.
This meant that Edo Tensei's chakra recovery was closely related to the condition of the soul—it wasn't truly limitless.
"So that's how it is! So I have to be careful of attacks that target the soul?"
Nagato nodded in understanding. This information was crucial.
"Not only that. Don't exhaust all your chakra at once, because subsequent recovery will sacrifice your soul. If the soul is damaged, your strength will weaken drastically—it could even be completely destroyed..."
"I understand. Thank you for the warning!"
He wasn't stupid. He knew Lux was using him for the purpose of world unification.
But this way was much better than Zetsu and Obito's manipulation. At least Lux didn't kill his friends, was open about weaknesses, and honest about his goals.
Truly the working style of a respectable god!
Lux returned Konan to Nagato.
He also took out Nagato's and Yahiko's corpses from the Qiankun Pocket, handing them to Nagato.
"Keep your own corpse. It will be useful for reviving yourself and Yahiko later."
"Thank you very much!"
Nagato stored the two corpses. It was a bit strange to see his own body lying in front of him. But he wouldn't dwell on such a small matter.
"Do you already have a plan to deal with Obito and Zetsu?"
"There's a rough plan. I'll pretend to be dead, let Konan lead Amegakure, and move the Gedō Mazō here. They will definitely come to take it. That will be the best opportunity for an ambush."
Nagato had already thought of his strategy. Since the news of his death after using Rinne Tensei had spread, why not take advantage of it?
Lure Obito and Zetsu into a trap!
"Be careful with the two of them. Killing them won't be easy."
Nagato already understood Obito and Zetsu's abilities, and they were indeed troublesome.
Both Obito's Intangibility and Zetsu's ability to hide were top-level techniques in the world. If they chose to escape, Nagato couldn't do much even with the Rinnegan.
It wasn't a matter of strength, but the mechanism of their abilities was very troublesome...
It was very difficult to kill them!
"Ah, Sir! If later only Konan and I are left in Akatsuki, will that still be considered a successful unification?"
Nagato called out to Lux, asking about something that was bothering him.
To be honest, Akatsuki was almost non-existent at this point.
The core members still alive were only Konan, Obito, Zetsu, and Kisame.
Three of them were in Obito's camp.
There was also Sasuke's Team Taka who had joined, but they were now being manipulated by Obito for revenge at the Five Kage Summit.
So, if Obito and the others were eliminated...
Akatsuki might only have Nagato and Konan left.
Could that still be called an organization? Did it meet the conditions of the contract with Lux?
"That's right, almost forgot. Hmm... Akatsuki is indeed short on personnel now."
"You alone will have difficulty managing everything. Alright, I'll help you again!"
Lux thought for a moment. Since he had chosen Nagato, it was better to give a little extra help to make his mission smoother.
Nagato was confused, not understanding how Lux could help him. Could he bring out many new members for Akatsuki?
And in the next second, he immediately understood.
Lux took out four White Zetsu bodies, then immediately used Edo Tensei!
Soon, summoning circles glowed, Edo Tensei dust gathered.
Edo Sasori, Edo Deidara, Edo Kakuzu, and Edo Itachi—appeared one by one!
A dense aura of death instantly filled the room...