Chapter 1204 Instruments

Xiaonan turned into a piece of paper and flew high into the sky. Without stopping for a moment, she immediately flew towards the northern continent. She knew very well how terrifying the enemy who could create the black stick was. The mysterious monk who called himself "Jixen" was definitely a strong man beyond the level of Kage!
When Xiaonan's figure completely disappeared into the sky, the explosion in the base subsided.

In the collapsed deep pit, the smoke gradually dissipated, revealing the figure of Cixian. He looked at the direction where Xiaonan escaped, his eyes full of annoyance!

Obviously, before he took action, he did not expect that there were so many detonating tags hidden in Nagato and Konan's hiding place, as if the entire hiding place was designed to deal with powerful enemies.

You have to know that in the original time and space, even if he only used Jigen's body, Otsutsuki Isshiki was able to suppress Naruto and Sasuke, the strongest pair in the ninja world, who had exhausted their "yang power" and "yin power" after the Fourth Ninja World War.

So Xiaonan's escape was a huge mistake for him.

Nagato, who was lying on the side, was seriously injured and had lost the ability to resist. Seeing Konan escape safely, he immediately spat out the blood in his mouth and chuckled: "No matter what you want from me, it's all in vain! I have nothing to lose!"

Jigen withdrew his gaze from the distance, looked at Nagato on the ground, and said coldly: "No, I will dig out the value from you!"

After saying that, he picked up the seriously injured Nagato, activated the space-time ninjutsu, opened a space-time gate, and stepped in.

In the blink of an eye, Jigen carried Nagato to a dark underground laboratory.

Nagato was shocked: "Space-time ninjutsu?! Who are you? Why can you use the black stick?"

Jigen threw Nagato to the ground and said, "I gave you a chance to cooperate with me, but you missed it!"

Nagato gradually got used to the dimness of the underground laboratory, and his pupils shrank.

He had seen many underground laboratories, such as Obito's, Sasori's, and even Orochimaru's, but the underground laboratory in front of him was completely different from any he had seen before.

What caught the eye were not rows of precision instruments or operating tables, but rather jars one by one!

After a closer look, his expression became even more solemn, because the jars were full of people, and it seemed that their lives were unknown.

Jigen ignored Nagato and walked to each jar.

After checking it carefully, he sighed: "It's all garbage!"

Over the past thousand years, Jigen's top priority has been to find a 'vessel' that can hold all of his chakra.

In order to achieve his goal, he secretly kidnapped many ninjas for experiments, including ordinary ninjas and members of powerful clans, such as the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki clans. Many of them were secretly captured by him and brought back to the laboratory.

However, a thousand years passed and he gained nothing.

Whether it was an ordinary ninja or a noble family member, none of them could become the "tool" he wanted. However, relatively speaking, the noble families such as the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki, who contained the blood of Kaguya Otsutsuki, could withstand a much higher limit of his chakra than ordinary ninjas, so he took Nagato back to the laboratory.

Jigen took out an experimental subject that had turned into a corpse from the jar, replaced the nutrient solution in the jar, and then threw Nagato in.

Nagato demanded, "Damn it, what are you going to do to me?"

Jigen injected a part of his chakra into Nagato's body in the form of a 'wedge', and then observed Nagato coldly.

Being invaded by the alien chakra, Nagato's veins suddenly popped up all over his body, and his own chakra also began to violently reject it. As the rejection reaction continued to intensify, Nagato's consciousness became hazy and he fell into a state of dying.

"Still not working?" After whispering, Jigen suddenly thought of something and whispered in Nagato's ear: "I will go after your escaped companion now!"

Nagato murmured, "No, don't hurt her!"

Seeing that Nagato was still conscious enough to answer her, Jigen's eyes lit up and the corners of his mouth curled up: "That depends on how long you can live! As long as you can withstand my test, I will let her go temporarily, but if you die, I will kill her immediately!" When Nagato heard this, the chaotic look in his eyes recovered a little.

Cixian smiled and said, "Then let's see how much you care about her!"

Nagato said nothing more, but just gritted his teeth and persevered.

Konoha Village.

Naruto, who had just returned to Konoha from Mount Myoboku, was strolling on the street. For some reason, he always felt that the village had changed a lot.

"Has it become deserted?"

He scratched his head.

Just when Naruto was puzzled, Menma in his spiritual world said: "Idiot, look at the people coming and going on this street, how can it be quiet?"

The Fourth Ninja World War came to an abrupt end due to the fate of the Ten-Tails. Although all forces including Konoha suffered heavy casualties, compared with the previous Ninja World Wars that lasted for several years or even a dozen years, the casualties of this Ninja World War were acceptable.

So after the war, Konoha quickly returned to its former bustle.

Naruto said: "But I always feel like something has changed in the village!"

Menma snorted coldly: "Humph, people's hearts have changed!"

"People's hearts have changed?!"

Naruto looked confused.

Menma began to explain: "Before the Ninja World War, Konoha was the leader of the five major ninja villages and the center of the Ninja World! After the Ninja World War, the Ten-Tails was taken away by 'A', and Konoha was defeated on the battlefield. Naturally, its position as the center of the Ninja World was gone."

Naruto still didn't understand: "Is that so?"

Menma smiled and said, "Haven't you figured it out yet? Now the peace of the ninja world no longer needs Konoha to maintain it. Konoha is no longer the savior, and Konoha ninjas are no longer heroes!"

After a pause, Menma continued, "Although I am also unhappy with 'A', I have to admit that he did something that we dare not do! Humph, as for these guys in Konoha, without their previous transcendent status, they realized that they are just ordinary ninjas, with no essential difference from the ninjas in small ninja villages such as Kusagakure, Takigakure, and Yukigakure, so they have lost their spirit!"

Naruto said: "But didn't the Great Toad Sage say that the threat to the Ninja World is not far away? How can they relax now?"

"You expect them to protect the ninja world?" With a smile, Menma said, "Naruto, what are you doing stupid!"

Naruto looked around and found that it was just as Menma said. The Konoha ninjas on the street had lost their spirit, so he said, "I'll go find Shinji. He's the chief. He must be able to find a way!"

Not long after, Naruto arrived outside the Konoha Police Building.

Just then, Shinji, Karin, and Shiro walked out of the building.

"Shinji!"

Naruto greeted from a distance.

But at this moment, Menma suddenly warned: "Don't go over there, he is not Uchiha Shinji!"

　The first update is here!
　　(End of this chapter)