After arriving at his secluded hideout, Nagato stood silently at the edge of the forest clearing. The wind brushed against his red hair as he stared at the pile of corpses behind him—remnants of his ambush. There were sixty-eight bodies in total: forty from Iwagakure and twenty-eight from Konohagakure. Most of them, he had observed, were mere foot soldiers—low-ranking shinobi with little mastery beyond the basics of ninjutsu. Disappointing. But even among the weak, there were always a few who stood out.
He extended his hand slightly, and from a hidden seal on his arm, several small black rods materialized into his palm—his chakra receivers.
"Let's begin," he muttered.
With a flick of his wrist, the rods shot forward, embedding themselves precisely into the necks, spines, and chests of two of the stronger corpses. One was an Iwa jonin with mastery over Earth Release, and the other a Konoha ANBU operative with high physical agility and keen sensory perception. As the black rods pierced their flesh, the transformation began. Their bodies stiffened, then relaxed unnaturally. Slowly, their eyes opened, no longer their own, but glowing with the unmistakable ripple pattern of the Rinnegan.
Nagato narrowed his own Rinnegan eyes as he reached out with his chakra.
"...I can feel them."
The two reanimated bodies twitched, then stood upright as if pulled by invisible strings.
"...I can move them just by commanding them through thought. It's... easier than I expected."
He examined their movements—precise, responsive, and completely under his control. Yet, there was something troubling him.
"Their eyes... they're too distinctive," he murmured, frowning. "If anyone sees them, especially someone from the villages, they'll realize something is wrong."
He thought for a moment, then gave his new puppets an order.
"Return to your respective villages. Place this kunai in a hidden location outside your gates. Somewhere I can use later as a summoning point or escape route."
He handed them a marked kunai, then gave the signal.
Wssh!
Both bodies vanished using the Body Flicker Technique, their movements crisp and lightning-fast.
Nagato let out a long breath, his energy drained from the exertion. His vision swam, and his legs gave out.
"Ah… finally done… but my body…" he murmured. Before he could finish the sentence, he collapsed—unconscious for the second time that day. Despite his enormous power, his body was still only ten years old, undeveloped and lacking proper training. The chakra drain was too much.
Several hours passed.
Nagato stirred awake on the cold floor of the hideout. His breathing was shallow at first, but his strength returned rapidly. Perhaps it was the effect of his Uzumaki bloodline—famed for its vitality and rapid recovery.
"…Still alive," he muttered, half-smiling.
He sat up and looked around. In the corner of the room were Yahiko and Konan, his only trusted companions. They were awake now, and had finished setting up the space to live in. Yahiko looked energetic as always, fiddling with a makeshift training dummy, while Konan sat quietly, folding a small piece of paper into a delicate crane.
"How is it?" Nagato asked, his voice hoarse. "Are you two comfortable in our new home?"
"It's great! I can finally sleep without worrying about someone trying to stab me in my sleep," Yahiko grinned.
Konan glanced at Nagato, then nodded slightly. "It's... better," she said softly, her voice as quiet as a mosquito's hum.
Nagato chuckled lightly. "Alright. Starting tomorrow, you both will begin your training routine. In the morning, you'll practice by yourselves—stretching, chakra control, and physical drills. In the evening, one of my shadow clones will come to teach you ninjutsu and basic taijutsu."
"YES, BOSS!" Yahiko practically shouted, his eyes lighting up.
Even Konan seemed visibly pleased, a small smile appearing at the corner of her lips. For the first time in a long while, there was something like hope in their eyes.
"But boss," Yahiko said, tilting his head, "what about you? What will you be doing during the day?"
"Me?" Nagato raised an eyebrow. "I'll be out... recruiting new members, stealing jutsu, gathering intel. You know, villain stuff."
Yahiko laughed. Konan looked like she wasn't sure whether to believe him.
Nagato smiled faintly, but his mind was already elsewhere. He had little time to waste.
After settling them in, Nagato returned to his first base—a hidden cave behind a waterfall several kilometers away. It was one of many temporary stations he had created for surveillance and storage.
He glanced up at the sky. Time was moving too fast.
"I need to make the most of it before White Zetsu shows up," he said under his breath.
He opened a scroll and unsealed several stolen items—scrolls from Konoha's outskirts, some explosive tags, and a preserved brain of a sensory-type ninja he had taken earlier. He wasn't proud of what he had done, but he reminded himself—this wasn't about pride anymore. It was about survival, preparation, and power.
To win against the hidden villages… against the old system… he would need an army.
And he had just begun building it.
Let me know if you'd like help continuing the next chapter, want a more anime-style tone, or want to see this adapted into dialogue format or a light novel format!