Lin Yu’s three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, and a golden pattern slowly emerged. Before it could fully form, concentric spirals appeared in his eye sockets—it was Lin Yu’s unfrozen Rinnegan!
It had to be said, the Ketsuryugan’s appearance was much more pleasing than the Rinnegan. He wondered about the Otsutsuki clan’s aesthetic standards. A definite minus!
Nagato stared blankly at the change in Lin Yu’s eyes. When he saw the pair of swirling eyes identical to his own, he blurted out, “These eyes… they’re like mine!”
“How is it? Seen enough? You’re not the only one with special eyes,” Lin Yu said with a smug grin.
“Yes! That’s great, I’ve finally found a kindred spirit!” Nagato’s tense little face relaxed completely, his defenses crumbling at the sight of the identical eyes.
*Kindred spirit? Makes us sound like we're not even human!* Lin Yu thought to himself.
After Nagato confirmed, Lin Yu quickly froze his Rinnegan. He silently counted: *Ten seconds! A total rip-off!*
Seeing Lin Yu’s eyes return to their black pupils, Nagato hesitated. “Lin… Lin Uh…”
“Just call me Lin Yu-senpai. I’m only a few years older than you, and we’re from the same clan, so calling me senpai is fine!”
“Mm! Lin… Lin Yu-senpai! How can your eyes switch back and forth like that? I want to learn too.” Nagato’s gaze was full of anticipation.
“Ah ha, well… you’re still young and can’t control the Rinnegan very well, so you can’t switch as freely as I can yet!” Lin Yu chuckled awkwardly. He couldn’t tell Nagato about Uchiha Madara’s plan now. He’d wait until Nagato was proficient in using the Rinnegan.
Nagato was a little disappointed, but quickly perked up. He now knew he wasn’t the only one with such a cursed pair of eyes. He wasn't a monster, and he had a blood relative in this world. Nagato suddenly felt his world brighten considerably.
Nagato shyly glanced at Lin Yu, his voice weak, “Lin Yu-senpai… you haven’t asked me what my dream is yet…”
Lin Yu: ??? *Were we here to talk about this?*
…
In the end, Lin Yu reluctantly asked him about his dream. The answer was as expected: Yahiko’s dream was his dream!
*Sigh, why else would they say you two are true love? If you two aren't together, who else is? The system’s missions aren’t out of nowhere either. Forgive me, I’m just a ten-year-old child, still too inexperienced!*
Nagato’s perception of Lin Yu had completely changed, and he gradually began to trust him. Nothing could earn trust better than becoming a “kindred spirit.”
When Lin Yu brought Nagato back to the wooden hut, wisps of white smoke curled upwards. The campfire had died down, and fish bones littered the area.
Konan lay beside it, patting her little belly. Her delicate and cute face was filled with satisfaction, and she occasionally let out a small burp.
This made Lin Yu’s jaw drop. If Konan were Kushina, Lin Yu wouldn’t find it strange at all. But for Konan, who was supposed to be cool and elegant in the original story, he felt a strong sense of incongruity.
*Abnormal! Very abnormal!*
Jiraiya sat nearby, a blade of grass in his mouth, looking quite relaxed. It seemed his mission to collect “information” for the past few days had gone well. As for the fish, he had, of course, caught them. After all, a gentleman wouldn’t refuse a cute girl’s request.
Seeing Lin Yu and Nagato return, Konan feigned an attempt to get up. However, after wobbling for a long time, she couldn’t stand steady and sat back down on the ground, looking pitifully, “Lin Yu-gege, you’re back? Konan ate too much. It’s all that white-haired strange uncle’s fault for forcing Konan to eat. Or… maybe ask me another day!”
Jiraiya thought to himself: *These fish fed to a thankless wretch! What do you mean ‘strange uncle’? I’m only 24, and my hair is natural!*
*Oh ho! So that’s what she was thinking. No wonder Konan’s been a bit off.*
Konan had been a little uncertain at first, but after seeing Nagato, her small doubts vanished. Lin Yu-gege must have a problem!
Konan’s little face grew serious. Deduction Konan online!
The clues indicated that Yahiko, who was usually talkative and cheerful, had been spacing out alone since returning, looking dejected and decadent like a middle-aged uncle.
On the other hand, Nagato, who was usually silent and a bit timid, had become a completely different person after returning. He occasionally smiled, even lifting his long bangs to reveal the strange eyes he had always been unwilling to show them.
Then there was only one truth! Lin Yu-gege… uh, Deduction Konan didn’t know how Lin Yu-gege did it, but she was sure of one thing!
Lin Yu-gege was too terrifying!
Konan was scared. They had suffered so much hardship and abuse since childhood. Yahiko and Nagato hadn’t changed, but now, after just spending some time alone with Lin Yu-gege, they had been successfully “brainwashed.” Who knew what kind of “cruel torture” Lin Yu had subjected them to that caused such drastic changes.
She was afraid and didn’t want to be tutored alone by Lin Yu. She raised her little head and, forcing herself, pouted, “Lin Yu-gege, maybe stay here? I can’t get up because I ate too much.”
*Hiss!* Lin Yu felt uncomfortable hearing Konan’s slightly suggestive voice. He put on a stern face and said, “It’s ‘I,’ not ‘renjia’ [a cutesy way of referring to oneself].”
Lin Yu walked over, picked up Konan, and whispered inaudibly to her, “Later, when it’s just you and me, then you can… do this and that…”
Konan’s pouting lips immediately flattened. A blush spread across her small face, and she playfully hit Lin Yu a few times, both shy and annoyed. *How can Lin Yu-gege be like this!*
Jiraiya, of course, heard what Lin Yu said, but he was too preoccupied at the moment.
He was staring intently at Nagato’s Rinnegan as if it were a peerless beauty, almost drooling. He mumbled, “Found him. I’ve finally found the Child of Prophecy. He must be the Child of Prophecy.”
Nagato’s eyes flickered awkwardly to the side. Jiraiya’s intense gaze was a bit overwhelming.
Jiraiya scrambled over to Nagato, his expression excited. “Kid, become my disciple and learn ninjutsu from me, how about it?”
Nagato replied coolly, “I refuse.”
Jiraiya looked exasperated and tried to sell himself further, “Do you know who I am? I’m one of the ‘Legendary Sannin’ that Hanzo of the Salamander, the ‘Demigod of the Ninja World,’ called me.”
Nagato scoffed, “Lin Yu-senpai just told me that Hanzo of the Salamander was killed by someone with the same Rinnegan as me.”
“Damn it! That brat Lin Yu… I’m also a descendant of Mount Myōboku. I can sign a contract scroll with you and summon powerful ninja beasts!”
“I hate toads!”
“Damn ittttttttttt!”
…
Lin Yu ignored the peculiar obsession of a certain adult. He gently picked up Konan. The little girl struggled a bit symbolically before settling down in his arms, her face red.
Instead of going to the top of the pine canopy, Lin Yu, carrying Konan, stepped onto the water and followed the stream towards a town in the distance.