Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe

The name "Uchiha Madara" caused both Nagato and Konan to exchange glances. Even within the Akatsuki, very few knew of Madara's involvement—only Nagato, Konan, Black Zetsu, and the man posing as Madara himself were aware. Others, even within the organization, were left in the dark.

Of course, Uchiha Itachi might have known the truth, but Nagato and Konan were unaware of what Itachi knew.

"The 'Madara' in front of you is a fake. The real Uchiha Madara died long ago. The person currently posing as him is merely a pawn Madara left behind before his death. The real Madara's plan was to use Akatsuki to gather the nine tailed beasts and then use your Rinne Rebirth technique to resurrect himself," Daniel explained, summarizing Madara's complex scheme.

This was indeed Madara's original plan—Obito was merely a puppet to keep an eye on Nagato. However, Madara hadn't anticipated that Nagato would be defeated by Naruto.

Silence followed Daniel's words. Nagato and Konan showed no immediate reaction, remaining stoic, which made Daniel feel a bit awkward. He wasn't used to being met with such stony silence.

It wasn't that Nagato and Konan didn't care; it was just that after all they had been through, they had grown skeptical. They were no longer the naive children they once were. They couldn't simply take Daniel's word at face value. While Naruto's ability to convince Nagato relied on his idealism and his connection to Jiraiya, Daniel lacked that leverage.

"Seems you don't believe me. Let me start from the beginning. Nagato, your entire life has been under Uchiha Madara's watch. Yahiko's death wasn't solely because of Hanzō and Konoha's involvement—Madara had a hand in manipulating events from behind the scenes."

"What did you say?" Nagato finally reacted, his expression darkening at the mention of Yahiko's death.

"Calm down," Konan said quickly, trying to soothe Nagato, while keeping a wary eye on Daniel.

"You say that, but what proof do you have?" Konan finally spoke up, her voice cold and skeptical.

"The proof lies in your Rinnegan. Those eyes weren't originally yours. Madara implanted them into you when you were young. The Uzumaki clan doesn't naturally possess the Rinnegan. Only the Uchiha clan has the potential to awaken those eyes."

"Don't interrupt me until I'm finished," Daniel said, raising his hand to silence Konan's retort. He then explained the story of the Sage of Six Paths and his two sons, Indra and Ashura.

"Because those eyes aren't originally yours, using their power has been draining your life force. The only reason Madara chose you was because, as a member of the Uzumaki clan, your life force is naturally strong. Anyone else would've been unable to handle the Rinnegan's power and would've been drained dry."

The power of the Rinnegan was too much for ordinary people to handle. Without an extraordinary life force like that of the Uzumaki clan, wielding such power would be impossible.

The ninja world, in a way, was like a series of nested dolls—one conspiracy hiding within another, and the people who thought they were pulling the strings were often pawns in a larger game.

After explaining everything, Daniel fell silent, giving Nagato and Konan time to process the information.

Both Nagato and Konan's expressions were complex. They hadn't realized how deep the conspiracy around them went. Though Nagato had always been the target of Madara's schemes, Konan, as his partner, had been dragged into the web as well.

"So, it's my fault that Yahiko died," Nagato murmured after a long silence, his voice heavy with guilt.

"No, Nagato! It wasn't your fault!" Konan tried to comfort him, her voice filled with urgency.

"No, he's right. I've had suspicions about my Rinnegan before, but I always dismissed them, thinking it was simply because the Sage of Six Paths' eyes were too powerful. But, Konan, you've probably felt the same way too, haven't you?" Nagato said, his voice resigned.

"This..." Konan hesitated. She wanted to believe that Daniel was lying, but there were too many things that lined up with what they knew. Things they had ignored or rationalized before now seemed to fall into place after Daniel's explanation.

It was similar to Obito's blind spot regarding Rin's death. He never suspected Madara's involvement, believing it to be the machinations of Kirigakure alone. Obito blamed Minato for arriving late, blamed Kakashi for failing to protect Rin, but never questioned Madara's role in the tragedy.

"Who are you, really?" Nagato asked after regaining his composure, his tone calmer but still suspicious.

"I'm a traveler from across the seas, not part of your world. The reason I know so much about you is that I possess a form of divination. You might've heard of prophecies before—Jiraiya, your sensei, believed in a 'Child of Prophecy,' didn't he?"

"So, I'm not the Child of Prophecy after all?" Nagato asked, his voice filled with a mix of emotions.

"No, you aren't. If I hadn't come here, you would've ended up killing Jiraiya in the future," Daniel revealed.

"Is that so?" Nagato and Konan weren't particularly surprised by the idea that they might've killed Jiraiya.

"Who is the real Child of Prophecy?" Nagato asked after a moment of silence.

"You don't need to know that. My arrival has already disrupted that prophecy," Daniel said with a shrug.

"You've told us all this—what's your true objective?" Konan pressed.

"I don't have any grand ulterior motives. I simply don't want to see you meet the tragic fate you're headed for. In the future, Nagato, you'll die. And you, Konan, will also perish at the hands of the fake Madara. Even though you'll prepare six billion paper bombs, it won't be enough. His Sharingan has a technique called Izanagi, which allows him to rewrite reality for a short period, turning any harm or even death into a dream. You'll fall to that ability."

"If you know that he's a fake, what's his real identity?" Nagato asked.

"Uchiha Obito. He, like you, was a pawn of Madara's. He's the one responsible for killing most of your original Akatsuki comrades. He's also the one who killed Minato-sensei and his wife during the Nine-Tails incident."

Nagato and Konan exchanged dark looks. The name "Uchiha Obito" carried no weight for them, but the revelation that he was responsible for so much death struck a chord.

"There's also Black Zetsu. He was created by Madara as a failsafe, imbued with a portion of Madara's will. His job is to ensure that Madara's plan is carried out, even after Madara's death. Black Zetsu is the real mastermind you should be worried about."

"Uchiha Madara..." Nagato and Konan both muttered, their voices laced with bitterness.

"Yahiko can be revived. Your Rinne Rebirth technique can bring him back, right?" Daniel asked.

"You know the consequences of using that jutsu, don't you?" Konan quickly interjected, trying to stop Nagato from entertaining the idea. Nagato had once considered using Rinne Rebirth to revive Yahiko, but Konan had talked him out of it. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Nagato to bring Yahiko back.

"Rinne Rebirth is said to drastically shorten the user's lifespan, right? But what if I told you there's a way to restore that lost life? Not only can I help bring Yahiko back, but I can also heal Nagato's body entirely."

"You've told us so much. Are you really saying you have no other motives?" Konan questioned again, still wary of Daniel's intentions.

"I won't say I'm entirely selfless. I have two goals: First, I want Madara's Rinnegan once everything is resolved. I'll return his original eyes to him, of course. Second, I intend to take the nine tailed beasts."

Konan gave Daniel a look that seemed to say, I knew it.

"I don't mean you any harm. If I wanted to, I could've taken Nagato's eyes already," Daniel said as he vanished and reappeared beside Nagato, his fingers hovering dangerously close to the Rinnegan. 

"Nagato!" Konan panicked, launching three paper shuriken at Daniel.

"If I wanted to harm you, you wouldn't stand a chance." Daniel's form flickered as he disappeared from Nagato's side and reappeared in his original spot, completely unharmed.

"Shinra Tensei!" The Deva Path activated its almighty push, sending a massive wave of force toward Daniel. However, the attack didn't even move him.

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon!" Daniel clapped his hands, summoning a wooden dragon from his palm. The dragon swiftly grew in size, coiling around the Deva Path, binding it tightly.

Choosing to summon only one dragon, Daniel used a variant of the Wood Release technique, Wood Dragon Hand, which allowed him to summon smaller, more precise

 dragons.

"Paper Rain!" Konan, now with massive paper wings, unleashed a flurry of paper projectiles toward Daniel from above.

"Wood Dragon Hand!" Another wooden dragon spiraled upward, wrapping around Konan and restraining her in midair.

"You're too impulsive," Daniel sighed as he held Konan and the Deva Path in place with ease.

Nagato, seeing both his ally and his Deva Path incapacitated, prepared to use the full power of his Rinnegan. He was ready to risk everything if it meant protecting Konan. Though the Deva Path could only use one ability at a time, Nagato's true body could wield the full power of the Rinnegan.

Nagato's actual strength far exceeded that of the Deva Path alone. The true power of the Rinnegan lay within him, not the six paths. The six paths, after all, could only utilize fragments of the Rinnegan's potential.

"If you continue this, I'll have to knock you out," Daniel said before swiftly rendering Nagato unconscious.

As Nagato collapsed, the Deva Path went limp, and Konan, though still struggling in her wooden restraints, ceased her resistance.

"Don't worry. I'm not your enemy. I only wanted to show you my strength. Now that Nagato's out, I can finally take a proper look at his body. Just relax," Daniel said, seeing Konan's continued defiance.

Eventually, Konan stopped struggling, realizing that Daniel could have killed them at any moment but chose not to.

"His injuries are severe, but it's nothing that can't be treated. The main issue is the extreme overuse of his body," Daniel muttered as he examined Nagato's condition.

Nagato's legs had long been rendered useless, but that was something Daniel could easily fix.

"He's overdrawn his life force far too much. The only real solution is to fuse him with the cells of the First Hokage." Daniel sighed before starting the necessary medical procedures to heal Nagato.

With the powers of the Ope Ope no Mi (Operation Fruit), Daniel didn't need conventional medical tools. He could work far more efficiently using his abilities.

"Nagato's awake," Konan said, her voice filled with relief.

"Nagato, how are you feeling?" she asked, her concern evident.

"I've never felt better," Nagato replied, looking around in surprise. The constant pain that had plagued him for years was gone. His body felt stronger, almost as if he'd been reborn.

"Of course you feel better. I've infused you with the cells of the First Hokage. You can even learn to use Wood Release if you want," Daniel said casually.

"Konan..." Nagato looked at her, seeking confirmation.

"He seems to mean us no harm," Konan said, her voice more certain now. The brief battle had shown her the futility of opposing Daniel.

"Now, let's have a proper discussion," Daniel suggested. "Let's talk about your dreams, about why you created Akatsuki in the first place."

The name "Akatsuki" meant "dawn," a symbol of hope. Yahiko had originally created the organization to foster peace through dialogue and mutual understanding, much like Naruto's ideals. Yahiko had even hoped to gain Hanzō's cooperation to engage in peace talks with the five great ninja villages. Unfortunately, Hanzō saw Yahiko and the Akatsuki as a threat and chose violence.

After Yahiko's death, Nagato shifted Akatsuki's focus toward using force to achieve peace. He aimed to gather the nine tailed beasts to create a weapon so powerful it could obliterate entire nations, forcing the five great nations into submission. Nagato's peace was one founded on fear—similar to nuclear deterrence in the modern world.

Had the plan succeeded, Konoha would likely have been the first village targeted as an example.

Nagato's methods were the complete opposite of Yahiko's peaceful approach.

However, neither Yahiko nor Nagato had ever considered unifying the entire ninja world to bring about lasting peace. For them, maintaining the current world order was enough.

Even someone as ambitious as Danzo only sought control over the five great nations, not the entire world.

"Your plan is sound, but it can only bring temporary peace. Why have you never considered uniting the entire world? Why stop at just the five great nations?"

"The current five great nations were born from the Warring States Period. In the beginning, not everyone accepted their rule, but over time, they did. Look at the five great ninja villages now—they all follow their respective nations. If you can unite the world under a single rule, even if people resist at first, after a few generations, the division between nations and villages will disappear." Daniel finished, proposing a far grander vision for peace.

This was the same argument he had used to convince Sasuke, and now he was presenting it to Nagato and Konan.

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