Being honest with each other

"The one who awakened the Rinnegan wasn't Nagato, but Madara Uchiha!? That's impossible!"

Konan could not accept the shock that had shattered her beliefs!

Naruto piled on another revelation. "Oh, the Madara I'm talking about isn't the masked man in the Akatsuki. He calls himself Madara, but he's been lying to you..."

Konan lost heart. "One of you claims to be Madara, and the other says Madara is someone else. You're both liars. I don't believe either of you!"

"That makes things a little tricky..." Naruto sank into thought, unconsciously tapping his left fingers on the desk.

It was worth mentioning that Naruto had lost his right arm in his battle with Sasuke in his previous life. Although he had replaced it with a prosthetic, he had developed a habit of using his left hand, becoming left-handed later in life.

When his soul traveled through time, that habit had stayed with him.

Naruto searched his mind for information that might sway Konan.

It had been so long ago that recalling it took considerable effort.

"That's right, you made careful preparations to kill that masked Madara! Hmm, I remember it was sixty million... no, six hundred billion Explosive Tags, wasn't it?"

"How did you know!?" Konan's face instantly turned deathly pale.

No one knew about the contingency she had prepared in secret. Even Nagato had been kept in the dark!

"Did you... look through my memories?" Konan could think of only one possibility!

Naruto smiled helplessly. "Hey, hey, I don't know the first thing about genjutsu! Without help from the Yamanaka Clan, how could I do something like that, believe it?"

During the Fourth Shinobi World War in his previous life, he had seen Obito's memories while extracting the Ten-Tails from him. That was how he had learned about Konan's six hundred billion Explosive Tags!

Seeing that Konan was still shaken, Naruto pressed his advantage. "Well? Doesn't that offer at least a little proof that I'm not just making things up?"

Konan worked to calm herself, restoring her usual cool expression. "Even if you know that secret, it doesn't prove that everything you said about Madara is true!"

Naruto replied candidly, "That's true. Whether you believe me is for you to decide. But before that, could you hear me out?"

By revealing Konan's greatest trump card with perfect accuracy, Naruto had gained a substantial advantage.

Konan partially relented. "Fine. Let's hear it..."

Naruto began explaining. "This happened when you were very young. After losing his battle against Hashirama Senju, Madara obtained his former opponent's power and awakened the Rinnegan. The Rinnegan is the final evolution of the Sharingan, and awakening it requires the powers of both the Senju and the Uchiha [to keep the amount of information manageable, Naruto deliberately omitted the matter of Indra's and Asura's reincarnations]."

"By the time Madara awakened the Rinnegan, he was already near death and could no longer fulfill his ambitions. So he transplanted those eyes into Nagato when he was a child. Nagato is a descendant of the Senju and carries the Uzumaki Clan's blood. His red hair, just like my mother Kushina Uzumaki's, is the best proof. Madara was certain Nagato could wield those eyes."

"The reason Madara gave Nagato his eyes was to prepare for his own resurrection. Rinne Rebirth was the technique Madara had prepared to bring himself back to life, and Nagato was the one meant to perform it."

"In other words, the real Madara is already dead."

Following Naruto's explanation, Konan asked the natural question. "Then who is that masked man who calls himself Madara?"

Naruto answered truthfully. "Obito Uchiha, the Uchiha hero believed to have died in the battle at Kannabi Bridge during the Third Shinobi World War. In reality, Madara chose him and saved him. His job was to guide Nagato into resurrecting Madara. He's the one actually driving the Eye of the Moon Plan..."

Konan's heart sank. He even knows about the Eye of the Moon Plan... could everything he's saying be true?

But she still could not believe that the ideals they had upheld for so many years were nothing more than lies woven by someone else!

Seeing Konan's dejection, Naruto could not bring himself to tell her... that Black Zetsu was the one hiding deepest of all!

Naruto said, "Konan, my fellow student, I know this truth is cruel to you all. But it's not too late to see things for what they are..."

Konan countered sharply, "No! Your perspective doesn't make sense. The Akatsuki investigated you. You spent years in Konoha and only left to train with Jiraiya these past three years. How could you know all this?"

Sigh... there's no avoiding it after all, is there?

Naruto sighed inwardly, stood, and went over to untie Konan. Then he held out his left fist. "Bump fists with me. Then you'll understand everything..."

Konan remained skeptical, but seeing the intense, complex emotions swirling in Naruto's right eye, she ultimately could not resist finding out the truth!

"Whew..." She took a deep breath and extended her hand.

Drip!

The instant her fist met Naruto's, ripples spread across the lake of her heart, and image after image flooded in!

"This..."

Konan's heart remained unsettled for a long time, her orange eyes flickering intensely. "Is all of this real?"

"Every bit of it!" Naruto said gravely. "This is the real future. I escaped to this era when I was on the verge of death. Heh, ironic, isn't it? I only managed to return by using a treasure belonging to that clan. With our own strength alone, we couldn't do anything!"

"Now that I'm back, I have only one goal: defeat those people and protect this world. For that... I need power. Power strong enough to stand against them!"

Konan now largely believed Naruto... after all, words could be fabricated, but the thoughts and feelings in his heart could not lie!

She asked, "What do you intend to do?"

Naruto said, "Use every means possible to become stronger! Everything I do will be based on that overriding goal. As for what I have in mind right now, I'll gather the secret techniques and Kekkei Genkai of the major shinobi villages, then unite the power of all the Tailed Beasts!"

Konan said, "Secret techniques and Kekkei Genkai are each village's most closely guarded secrets. The Tailed Beasts are crucial to maintaining the balance of military power among the Five Great Nations. You're planning to make an enemy of the entire shinobi world."

Naruto smiled. "That's right. To save this world, I first have to make the whole world my enemy! Nobody would believe that kind of nonsense, would they? There's only one person in this world willing to believe me unconditionally, and I don't want to drag her into this too soon..."

"Also, I have to defect from Konoha first. Otherwise, as a Konoha ninja, everything I do would bring disaster down on the village!"

At that, Naruto said earnestly, "Konan, now that you know the whole story, can you understand why I did what I did?"

Konan asked in return, "Where is Nagato's body?"

"Come with me..."

Naruto turned, and the doors to the stone chamber rumbled open, revealing two coffins.

Konan stepped forward to look. Nagato lay peacefully in the first coffin. Apart from his empty eye sockets, his remains were undamaged.

She looked toward the second coffin, which held the remains of Pain's Deva Path.

This surprised Konan greatly.

Naruto smiled faintly. "He's Yahiko, isn't he? Someone very important to you."

Konan stroked Yahiko's face. "Yes. He was both my comrade and my lover..."

Naruto said, "Only a guy that handsome could be worthy of you, Konan!"

Konan gave a radiant smile. There could have been no better answer. She had forgiven Naruto.

Outside the cave, Konan surveyed their surroundings. Although a barrier protected the place, there was still a risk of discovery.

Konan said, "We're inside the Land of Fire. Konoha must be searching everywhere for you..."

"My Sage Mode can detect the slightest disturbance. They won't find me easily." Naruto pressed a hand against the bandages over his left eye. "I'll stay here until I've adapted to this left eye..."

"Where is Nagato's right eye?"

"I've put it away. I heard transplanting the Rinnegan carries quite a risk, so I thought I'd do it one eye at a time to be safe. So far, I haven't felt anything unusual..."

"If you can't return to Konoha, where will you go?"

"I'll make my home wherever I can. The shinobi world is so big, there has to be somewhere I can stay..."

After a long silence, Konan said, "Then... come with me to Amegakure."

Naruto looked startled. "Konan, you...!?"

At last, Konan revealed her true feelings. "You can't carry out such a dangerous plan alone. You've inherited Nagato's will and his eyes. I have no reason not to support you with everything I have... Amegakure is willing to stand firmly behind you!"

Naruto's gratitude was beyond words. Everything he wanted to say became a single phrase. "Thank you so much..."

Konan asked calmly, "When do we leave?"

Naruto's gaze grew intent. "We'll have to wait a little longer, because there's someone I absolutely have to see!"