The air in the sealed room seemed to freeze. Only Nagato's suppressed, desperate voice flowed slowly.
" Konan."
He struggled to lift his head and look at the woman who had always been by his side, like family.
"Forget about all of this afterward."
"I'm sorry... I broke my promise. I can no longer... serve as a bridge to peace for this country."
He remembered Yahiko's smile, the vows the three of them had made—all of it had vanished like a bubble, shattered by lies and conspiracies.
"Don't think about revenge."
The look in his eyes when he looked at Konan was one that belonged to " Nagato " rather than " Pain," a pleading tenderness.
"Forget Akatsuki, forget the Rinnegan, forget Obito and Zetsu... and forget me too. Then, find a place far from conflict, safe and peaceful... and live out the rest of your life."
"This is my last wish."
"No... no! Nagato!"
Konan's voice suddenly rose, choked with sobs. "Don't give up... please! There must be a way!"
However, Nagato shook his head. He knew how cruel his decision was. But he also knew that only in this way could he cut off the possibility of Konan being consumed by revenge, and only in this way could he give her a slim chance of survival. He would not listen to her pleas, nor could he listen to them.
He turned his gaze back to Naruto, and in those Rinnegan, only a resigned calm remained.
"You were the winner all along." His voice was unusually calm. "Thank you... for telling me the truth. At least... I didn't die as a fool kept in the dark."
"Let's do it."
These eyes are yours now.
He closed his eyes, awaiting final release.
"At least, don't let them fall into Obito's hands."
However, the expected pain or darkness did not come.
"No."
Naruto's voice rang out.
"I will take these eyes, but not in this situation."
Nagato couldn't help but reopen his eyes, his brows furrowed, his eyes filled with confusion. What else did the other party want? Humiliation? More consequences?
"Let's make a deal." Naruto looked directly at him, his tone solemn. "In exchange for these eyes... I'll give you a deadline for the 'peace' you're seeking."
A transaction? A deadline? Extreme confusion appeared on Nagato's withered face.
"I will revive Yahiko," Naruto stated his first condition.
Nagato and Konan's bodies trembled violently at the same time!
"At the same time," Naruto continued, "I will achieve peace in this world—or rather, maintain the kind of peace I have promised."
He seemed to be organizing his thoughts, articulating a vast and complex concept.
"Humanity may unite temporarily with a common enemy, but hidden dangers remain. Mutual understanding and ideals are difficult to encompass everyone's heart. Having experienced pain and fearing war, this fear will also fade with the passage of time... The peace created by these means may only last for a hundred years at most."
"To be honest, I can't think of any perfect 'good idea' either. Human nature is complex, desires are endless, and the root of conflict is difficult to eradicate."
"But," he added, "What if I could...eliminate wars caused by the scarcity of basic resources for survival?"
Nagato and Konan were stunned. Eliminate resource scarcity?
"I can create resources. Through my power, I can provide this world with a near-limitless supply of basic necessities for survival and development from the stars: food, water, energy, basic materials, and land, so that humanity no longer needs to fight each other for these things."
"On this foundation of abundant resources and greatly alleviated survival pressures, I will continue to use my absolute power as the ultimate deterrent and maintainer of order. I will perpetuate and deepen the peace ideals that the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, attempted to maintain through the ' Tailed Beast Balance' and the 'One Country, One Village' system."
"And the timeframe for this peace that I have pledged to, and will strive to maintain... is—"
"My lifespan."
life?
"... So, a hundred years?" Nagato asked in a hoarse voice.
"--No."
A resolute female voice interrupted Nagato's thoughts.
Uchiha Satsuki, who had been silently observing, took half a step forward. Beneath the animal mask, the Mangekyō Sharingan. On the scarlet background, black patterns resembled frozen time gears, radiating fluctuations of Dojutsu.
"I will not let Naruto in this world."
"I can pause Naruto's time indefinitely."
"This is one of my Mangekyo abilities. I can control time... including permanently freezing the time of a specific person at a certain moment. As long as I want, Naruto will not age and... pass away due to lifespan limitations."
Nagato recalled that bizarre scene on the battlefield— Konan's sea of Explosive Tags, the earth-shattering explosion that should have occurred, simply vanished without a trace, and Konan herself had even forgotten her trump card...
Manipulating time... So that's how it is! Is this the power of those eyes? It actually delves into such a forbidden realm!
Naruto picked up where Satsuki left off, his gaze returning to Nagato, who was still deeply shocked.
"Therefore, I cannot promise you 'forever.' That's too vague and undefined, even I cannot define it myself."
"But I can at least assure you and Yahiko, and this world ravaged by war—"
"Within a thousand years."
"Barring unforeseen circumstances, this world will continue to live in peace, protected by power and rules, and built on a foundation of material abundance."
A thousand years... peace...
These two phrases, taken together, struck Nagato and numb heart like a thunderbolt!
His eyes widened suddenly, and his emaciated body straightened slightly from the extreme impact, as if he were experiencing a final burst of energy before death!
millennium?!
It was ten centuries! A full millennium, without a world war, and people could thrive in a relatively affluent and safe environment... This far exceeded even his boldest fantasies.
Yahiko can be resurrected... Peace can last for a thousand years...
To exchange a pair of eyes already filled with pain, deception, and not even one's own... for such a future...
Nagato's chest heaved violently, as if a drowning person had finally grabbed onto a life-saving piece of driftwood.
He looked at Naruto, at the seriousness in those deep blue eyes, and at the undeniable protectiveness in Uchiha Satsuki's eyes beside him.
A glimmer of hope, and the yearning for Yahiko's resurrection... dispelled his final moments of despair.
"... Um."
He let out a heavy, long breath.
"Good."
"I agree to... this deal."
He looked at Naruto with utmost seriousness in his eyes, "You must do it, revive Yahiko, and maintain the peace you speak of."
"This is our agreement."
He raised his head again, revealing his Rinnegan, which held so much pain and secrets, without reservation.
So... these eyes...
"It's yours."
There was no coercion, no resentment, only a voluntary surrender, even tinged with a sense of relief.
And this is exactly the result Naruto wanted—not plunder, but an exchange based on consensus and commitment.
Naruto nodded, then slowly raised his hand, his fingertips shimmering with an extremely soft light, and reached towards Nagato's tightly closed eyelids. He wanted to ensure that the transplant process would minimize the burden on Nagato's already damaged body.
However--
Just as Naruto's fingertips were about to touch Nagato's eye!
Don't even think about it!!!
A roar filled with exasperation, rage, and even despair exploded out of nowhere in the secret room!
Space distorted violently like ripples on water! A figure appeared directly from the Kamui Dimension, accompanied by the ripples in space, and suddenly appeared beside Nagato.
An orange spiral mask, a black robe with red clouds.
Uchiha Obito!
As he appeared, one hand fiercely grabbed at Nagato's tightly closed Rinnegan, which was about to be taken away!