After infiltrating Konoha, Nagato—who, let's be honest, was never a fan of doing things halfway—gave Animal Path a simple command:
"Release the birds."
But not just any birds. No, he wasn't sending them out to deliver birthday messages or news of the latest ramen shop opening. These were his reconnaissance squad. Konoha, with its lush green streets and peaceful ambiance, seemed like a picturesque village, but Nagato wasn't fooled. He had one thing in mind: information, and a lot of it.
The birds soared above Konoha, surveying everything in sight, but Nagato's real focus was the cemetery. Why? Because even the dead had secrets to share—if you were clever enough to listen. Meanwhile, in a display of practicality that could only be described as "Nagato-level genius," he had ordinary birds transporting centipedes. Not for any creepy-crawly reason, mind you, but to help with a little digging operation. Because why wouldn't you use animals to do your dirty work? You could practically hear him thinking,
"If animals can help in the kitchen, they sure can help with grave robbing."
Nightfall came, and Nagato stood before the Hokage Building, eyes fixed on the shadows. The security—or rather, the lack of it—was laughable. If you watched Naruto, you'd know this. Konoha was basically the ninja equivalent of a "Welcome" mat. Sure, Sarutobi Hiruzen's love for Naruto kept things semi-secure, but what about Kakashi? And Orochimaru? Don't even get him started on the ninja soap opera that was Hiruzen and Danzo's relationship. If they couldn't protect their own people, how could they safeguard their precious village?
Nagato mused to himself,
"Is this why Kakashi and Naruto can just waltz in and steal the Book of Seals?"
He shook his head with a smile.
"This place really is a mess." But that was the beauty of it. Nagato was playing a long game, and it was easy—too easy.
"Let's place my seal first, and then I'll keep an eye on it from a nice, safe distance. Maybe grab some tea while I wait for things to blow up."
He'd been in Konoha for a week, but tonight felt different. His eyes narrowed. He'd noticed something strange. All the ANBU had suddenly vanished, presumably sent out to the front lines. The timing was perfect. He could feel the atmosphere shift, as though the village itself was holding its breath. Nagato was about to take the next step in his meticulous plan.
He'd already done some light excavation work—nothing too fancy, just digging up a few Hokage coffins like it was his personal treasure hunt. He had found Hashirama's body, or what was left of it. The First Hokage's heart had been preserved against time, a mystery in itself.
"Impressive," Nagato muttered, inspecting the dried remains of the once mighty Hashirama.
"No rot. Just dried up, like an old leaf."
As for Tobirama, the Second Hokage, well... let's just say his body was now barely recognizable. But Nagato didn't need much. A small part would suffice for his plans.
In the span of a week, Nagato had also made a series of strategic arrangements. He'd planted paper bombs around Root's base, making sure no stone—or secret—was left unturned. This was the advantage of being a transmigrator: he knew all the locations. The Root base, storage units, even the secret stash where Naruto had once "borrowed" the ninjutsu scroll. With this knowledge, Nagato didn't need to get his hands dirty. No, he had animals do the legwork for him. Rats, bats, you name it—whatever could be useful for his cause.
As for the physical barriers, those were no match for his Animal Path. Digging through the earth? Child's play. A quick burrow here, a clever maneuver there, and he was in. Sensors would only send alarms if they detected large chakra signatures. Ordinary animals? Not a problem.
As for the transformation jutsu, danzo wasn't worried about it. Root had a chakra disruption barrier to deal with ninja transformations. But as with most of his enemies, they underestimated the little things. The birds, the rats, the bats—they were far more resourceful than anyone could guess.