Konan

"Then, from today on, you are a member of the Akatsuki. For the time being, you will be partnered with Konan."

"Of course, your probationary period has just begun, so you will not be assigned an official code name yet."

After speaking, he flicked his finger, and a ring landed in Aoike's hand. It bore no engravings; it looked like a blank slate.

As a symbol of identity and a tool for communication, this already made Pain's stance clear.

Having said that, Pain left quickly to study tactics against Madara.

Aoike stretched, his joints, which hadn't moved in a long time, emitting soft cracking sounds as they adjusted.

Thanks to his powerful physique, injuries that might have kept an ordinary person bedridden for half a year had allowed Aoike to begin light training after only two months.

The original angel of the Akatsuki began her instruction.

At this very moment, Sasuke was still training in Konoha, Naruto was still trying to find a way to earn everyone's recognition, Danzo was plotting for the position of Hokage in the shadows, and the elderly Sarutobi was content with the illusion of peace.

Only the Toads in their dreams felt the unease stirred up by the waves Aoike had created.

Year after year passed.

Having turned twelve, Aoike gradually became active on the stage of the Ninja World.

After setting up perimeter traps, Aoike leaned back against Konan and slowly relaxed.

Over these past few years, Aoike's strength had seen a qualitative leap; even without using the Tenseigan, he possessed the strength of a village Kage in his normal state.

Through his own exploration, his standard chakra mode was no longer limited to changes in form. Although it was only a prototype of a cloak, the damage of his ninjutsu had increased significantly.

Simply put, it was like applying a buff to himself that provided a slight increase in defense and a massive increase in damage.

After its second fetal movement, the Tenseigan's various abilities were basically polished.

Furthermore, he discovered that the power of his Fire Release was far beyond that of others; after being amplified by his chakra mode, the temperature approached that of Scorch Release.

Combining Uchiha swordsmanship with the techniques from the anime, all sorts of novel Fire Release ninjutsu were constantly being unearthed.

Just as Aoike was sorting through his own strength, Konan's cold voice drifted over.

"Aoike, do you really think Pain's... no, the Akatsuki's dream cannot be realized?"

Hearing this, Aoike turned his head slightly, looking with some surprise at the woman who had always tried to make him identify with the Akatsuki's philosophy.

After two years of getting along, a bit more trust had grown between him, Konan, and Nagato. Besides, their secrets had been nearly laid bare the first time they met.

Nagato was grooming Aoike as a successor; after all, there weren't many normal people in the Akatsuki.

Aoike turned his head, the dim campfire reflecting on his profile.

Human desire is endless. Setting aside whether the process of collecting the Tailed Beasts would go smoothly, even if it succeeded, it would be like drinking poison to quench thirst.

Even when Hashirama was alive, there were still people who tried to assassinate him, let alone the Akatsuki, who held weapons of destruction.

Those nations might be deterred for a time, but once they recovered, they would covet the power of the Tailed Beasts again. Then it would be a new round of interests, war, hatred... an endless cycle.

Hashirama had suppressed the entire Ninja World with his power while he was alive, but after he passed, the accumulated resentment erupted rapidly.

Relying on the Tailed Beasts as a single trump card to suppress the entire Ninja World for long was unrealistic.

Unless one collected all the Tailed Beasts and blew up the Ninja World directly, there would always be people constantly testing and rubbing against the status quo, trying to seize or dismantle this ultimate weapon of war.

Ninjas were best at doing dirty work.

"Collecting the Tailed Beasts should only be the beginning, not the end."

"The bloody darkness of the Ninja World is driven by human desire. From the moment ninjas appeared until now, the world has been like a dilapidated house, rotting for too long."

Ninjas possessing absolute power submitted to the so-called Daimyo, obtaining resources mostly through commissions and funding from the Daimyo.

The Daimyo were all related to one another, relying on the ninja villages while simultaneously being wary of them.

To put it bluntly, the feudal lords scraped the fat and blood from the people, then threw a couple of bones to the dog, ensuring it wouldn't starve but never letting it be full.

Yet, most ninja villages could not be entirely self-sufficient in their production...

"To create a relatively peaceful world, what is needed is not just power, but reform."

Konan stared blankly at Aoike, his novel words washing over her worldview.

Ever since the Senju and Uchiha united to create Konoha, and the system of ninja villages allied with nations was passed down, everyone felt it was perfect.

If the ninja villages raised the scale of conflict from a single clan to an entire village, then Aoike was looking at the entire Ninja World!

There was no helping it; the map and resource distribution of this world were too strange.

Deserts, mountains, forests, cliffs, islands—every piece of the map was clearly demarcated.

One side was resource-rich, the other was destitute, and the natural environment could not be changed. There was no such thing as "win-win" cooperation here; everyone continued the habit of killing.

It had merely changed from slaughter between ninja clans to slaughter between ninja villages.

That night, Konan thought a great deal. The Akatsuki's original goal was for people to understand one another to achieve world peace, but it failed because they lacked a profound understanding of the world's darkness.

Thus, Pain was born, intending to make the world feel pain so that it would not dare to start wars.

But Aoike was right; blindly suppressing the entire world would sooner or later lead to an even more intense backlash. Once everything was over, the Ninja World would still be the same man-eating place.

If this world did not undergo a revolution of blood and fire, all efforts would be in vain!

Having realized this, Konan no longer hesitated. As soon as dawn broke, she finished her mission, grabbed Aoike, and flew back to the Land of Rain.