Naruto: Did i Just Get Reincarnated as Gojo?

Chapter 137: Tsunade: Inside is Fine; I'll Heal Myself with Mystical Palm

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"A rogue Jonin from Konoha?"

"Hiruko?"

"A familiar name..." Nagato murmured from the shadows. Where... where had he heard that name before?

His mind drifted back in time, to a memory from ten years ago.

Konan and Yahiko, exhausted from ninjutsu training, lay sprawled on the ground, fast asleep.

Nagato, thanks to his Uzumaki lineage, possessed far greater chakra reserves and recovery speed. He often sat with his teacher, Jiraiya, listening to stories of the ninja world.

"Nagato... sometimes, I feel the ninja world is utterly mad," Jiraiya had said, his voice tinged with melancholy. "Why can't people be content? Why are ninjas' desires never satisfied?"

Young Nagato, his eyes wide with curiosity, had asked, "Why do you say that, sensei?"

"I had a friend... He was already a Jonin, yet he craved even greater power. To compensate for his lack of natural talent, he crossed a line... We, his former friends, were forced to hunt him down. Me, Tsunade, and Orochimaru. But he escaped... And I watched helplessly as he descended into darkness."

Naive and hopeful, young Nagato had asked, "What was his name, sensei? Perhaps if I meet him someday, I can convince him to return."

Jiraiya had ruffled Nagato's red hair affectionately. "That would be wonderful. If you ever meet him, please do try to reason with him. His name is Hiruko. He has... white hair."

Snapping back to the present, Nagato asked, "Hiruko... what color was his hair?"

Though puzzled by the question, Konan quickly replied, "White."

A Konoha missing-nin, white hair, named Hiruko. It all matched.

A heavy silence fell over Nagato.

Normally, the arrival of a new member would be cause for celebration, a step closer to achieving their goals.

But Nagato felt no joy.

The shuriken he'd thrown years ago had now struck him.

In Nagato's heart, only two people held any real significance: Konan, his childhood friend, and Jiraiya, his sensei. He would abandon the entire ninja world before abandoning Konan.

As for Jiraiya...

A ninja's heart was a complex landscape. Nagato's hatred for Konoha was immense, but the gratitude he held for Jiraiya was equally profound. He often wished Jiraiya wasn't a Konoha ninja.

Unfortunately, the ninja world offered no such reprieves. When the day came for him to destroy Konoha, he and his sensei would be forced to fight.

He'd once promised to guide his sensei's friend back to the right path. Now, he himself had become the biggest threat to Konoha.

Even rogue ninja had their saviors... and he, Nagato, was now Hiruko's savior.

Disheartened, Nagato lost interest in Hiruko. "Konan, you handle Hiruko. Explain the rules and assign his missions. I don't wish to see him for now."

"What's wrong?" Konan asked, puzzled by his sudden change in demeanor. But Nagato, in Yahiko's body, simply turned and left without explanation.

However, as his childhood friend, Konan sensed his inner turmoil. Usually, if he hadn't personally recruited a new member, Nagato would take the time to assess their abilities. But this time... he hadn't even asked.