" Yahiko, Nagato..."
Konan placed a bouquet of colorful flowers on an inconspicuous little mound. No one could imagine that this unassuming mound was the burial site of the founder of the Akatsuki, an important figure who continued to influence the world's development even after his death.
" Nagato, I will avenge you. Those who disrupt peace are unforgivable, and then I will fight you all..."
" Konan, it's time to go."
Naoki Senju, who had been secretly eavesdropping with his Wood Clone, loudly interrupted Konan's oath from afar. However, Konan had seemingly lost all purpose in life except for revenge. If this situation were not changed, Konan would eventually embark on an irreversible path.
Although I'm not very good at using Talk no Jutsu, maybe they'll work?
Naoki Senju decided to give it a try!
Konan wiped away the tears on her face, and with a gentle wave of her hand, white paper covered the small grave, turning it into a camouflage color that matched the surroundings, ensuring that no one would disturb the sleeping Yahiko. Konan had previously used this same Ninjutsu to hide three million Explosive Tag.
After calming herself down and making sure she wouldn't reveal any weakness, Konan nonchalantly walked towards the direction from which the sound came.
"Is the burial complete?" Naoki Senju wanted to exhale a smoke ring symbolizing maturity at this moment, but unfortunately, Tsunade didn't like the taste of tobacco.
"Yes, thank you for retrieving Yahiko's body for me. So, is our next destination Konoha?" Konan tried her best to hide the fact that she had been crying, but her swollen eyes still betrayed Konan sadness.
"No rush. Are you interested in talking about the Akatsuki, such as why your organizational philosophy is peace, and your purpose in collecting the Tailed Beast? It's okay if you don't want to talk about it."
Naoki Senju took out a map to confirm the direction and continued heading towards the Land of Waterfalls.
Konan paused for a moment, then caught up with Naoki Senju again.
Can't say? What else is impossible? Yahiko is dead, Nagato is dead, and the Akatsuki is now under the control of the Masked Man. What does it have to do with her?
"... These two questions are actually one. The Five Great Shinobi Villages all launched wars under the pretext of peace, but their true motives were nothing more than resources, land, population, and hatred. Yahiko wanted to protect Amegakure and prevent the Land of Rain from suffering the ravages of war again, while Nagato perfected this plan, which was also the true purpose of collecting the Tailed Beast."
"--Tailed Beast Weapon Plan! A further refinement of the First Hokage's Tailed Beast Deterrence Plan, using absolute violence to intimidate the Five Great Nations, forcing them to abandon war and resolve conflicts peacefully."
Konan recounted her understanding of the Tailed Beast Weapon Plan word for word, since Nagato had already been killed by the Masked Man, and the plan had no chance of being realized.
"A very good plan. So, Konan, what do you think are the chances that this plan will succeed?"
Naoki Senju suddenly stopped, catching Konan off guard. She almost bumped into Naoki back. Konan hadn't slept for four whole days since leaving Sunagakure.
If it weren't for the fact that Konan had taken a short rest for several tens of minutes after rescuing Yahiko's body yesterday, she probably would have already crashed into it.
After glaring fiercely at someone behind her back, Konan said irritably:
"There's not even a one percent chance. Without the One-Tail, Three-Tails, or Eight- Eight-Tails within you, the Tailed Beast Weapon Plan has absolutely no chance of success."
"If we exclude the influence of these external factors, and assuming that the Akatsuki has already gathered Nine Tailed Beasts, what do you think the chances are of achieving peace?" Naoki Senju pressed on relentlessly.
"Probably... 80% or 90% chance. If we destroy one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages as Nagato suggested, the Shinobi World will surely usher in peace."
Konan didn't resist chatting with Naoki Senju. She had neither the ability nor the reason to refuse. From beginning to end, Naoki Senju never showed any hostility towards her or the Akatsuki. Nagato's death wasn't directly related to Naoki Senju; on the contrary, it was the Akatsuki that repeatedly targeted him...
If he weren't Jinchūriki, or Konoha ninja, he probably would have gotten along very well with Nagato...
But unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in this world.
"No, you don't even have a one percent chance of achieving peace." Naoki Senju shattered Konan's illusions with the coldest words.
Konan didn't rush to refute, but instead thought it over and calmed down before asking curiously:
"Why?"
They've taken the bait... Naoki Senju breathed a sigh of relief. Since his Talk no Jutsu skills weren't enough, he'd have to compensate with other methods, such as—
" The First Hokage's Tailed Beast Deterrence Plan failed because the power of the Tailed Beast was too dispersed, while the Kage of each village possessed the strength to fight against Tailed Beast. Therefore, instead of having a deterrent effect, it even intensified the war."
Naoki Senju spoke eloquently, commenting on the First Hokage's mistakes. Konan nodded in deep agreement, as she, as a member of a small ninja village, was the one who could best feel the increased intensity of the war caused by the Tailed Beast.
Tailed Beast are ineffective against top-tier fighters, but on the battlefield, they can be a one-sided massacre of ordinary ninjas. Without decisive rearguard action, no one on the entire battlefield will survive.
The Tailed Beast, which the First Hokage planned to use as a deterrent against each other, ultimately became weapons used by the Five Great Nations to intimidate smaller nations. A single Tailed Beast was practically a game-changer for a small ninja village.
"So what's wrong with the Tailed Beast Weapon Plan, which gathers all the Tailed Beast to create the ultimate weapon to deter the Five Great Nations?"
"Leaving aside what exactly this Tailed Beast weapon you're talking about is, and whether it has the power to destroy an entire village, please think carefully: if the Akatsuki possessed such a Tailed Beast weapon, how would the other Five Great Nations react?"
"We'll unite and attack Akatsuki," Konan said without hesitation, clearly indicating that they had considered this scenario many times before.
"That's right. Because the Five Great Nations couldn't tolerate you possessing such a powerful weapon, and then the Akatsuki wiped out one of the ninja villages. Do you think peace will follow?" Naoki Senju looked at Konan with a playful smile.
"... Is there a problem? Faced with a force that is fundamentally insurmountable, isn't it better to choose peace without any loss?"
Konan couldn't understand Naoki Senju's thinking at all. Were there any other options in this situation?
"You and Nagato underestimated the will of humanity. Peace forced by superior power will not be accepted by them. The Five Great Shinobi Villages will temporarily retreat and continue to try to copy and seize the Tailed Beast weapons from the Akatsuki. When they find that they can do nothing, they will regroup their forces and attack the Akatsuki."
Naoki Senju directly reveals the cruelest truth: it is the essence of humanity's continuous progress, and also the weakness that hinders humanity.
"This war will only have two outcomes: the Akatsuki will be destroyed, and an endless war will reignite over the Tailed Beast weapons; or the Akatsuki will use the Tailed Beast weapons to wipe them all out, killing everyone who tries to resist, thus ushering in true peace..."
"But... the number of people who die from this will far exceed the number of deaths caused by the war."