Chapter 141 - Konan: Infiltrating Konoha From the Start! Want to Be My Secretary?
"I'm just strolling around here. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Konan was somewhat surprised that her identity seemed to have been recognized by the man before her, but she hesitated for only a moment before deciding to admit it outright.
Since the other party had already openly acknowledged her identity, there was no point in denying it further.
Besides, before leaving, she had intended to find Renji to discuss his plans for the future development of the Ninja Nation.
Even so, Konan still maintained a slight sense of caution.
"It's not a problem. How do you feel about this place? Would you consider staying here?"
Renji stood atop the former Hokage Rock of Konoha. It had become a symbolic landmark of the village and hadn't been torn down despite the merging of other ninja villages.
The former Kage of the other villages had also been commemorated in different forms.
This place served as a memorial of the Ninja Nation. From here, one could see the entire village in full view.
Approaching Konan wasn't on a whim. Renji's invitation for her to stay was actually a move to invite Pain as well.
At the very least, Renji believed that Pain still had a chance to be redeemed. But Senji, on the other hand, was not coming back. That guy was the Uchiha clan's number one love-struck fool.
In the entire Uchiha clan, no ninja had ever been more infatuated than Senji.
"Stay here?"
Konan had initially assumed that Renji had approached her because of her identity.
After staying here for some time, she had noticed that ninjas from various villages were starting to re-register.
Although she had hidden herself well, she was aware that Renji might have seen through her last time.
He had managed to subdue the Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure alone—his strength, in Konan's eyes, was definitely on par with Pain.
No matter how well she concealed her chakra, there would still be flaws visible to someone like him.
So when a powerful, unfamiliar ninja appeared, it would have been strange if Renji hadn't paid attention.
"That's right. Wouldn't it be nice to stay here? Everyone is a ninja, and even if you don't want to take missions in the future, you can still do something else here. At least you can make a living. Missions will probably get harder and harder to come by. Isn't having a big platform here better than wandering outside?"
With more and more ninjas and civilians gathering here, the number of people and available missions outside would only continue to decline.
This setup was somewhat similar to the system the Ninja Sect tried to establish after ending the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Besides, hadn't Konan and Nagato always pursued peace?
Now that peace had arrived, surely there was no reason to make the great nations suffer any longer?
"Sorry, I've grown used to wandering. I'm not really accustomed to staying in one place."
Konan shook her head and declined Renji's offer. Although her time here had brought an unprecedented sense of ease,
she believed it was the happiest period since Yahiko's death and Nagato's descent into darkness. If she were alone, she might have considered staying.
But she still had Nagato. Because of her, Nagato had become what he was, and Akatsuki had collapsed. All of it was her fault. Konan felt the need to atone.
This time of comfort had been enough for her. As for Renji's invitation—she would not stay.
"I see. Wandering ninjas have their own freedom. Once you join a village, that freedom no longer exists."
Renji didn't push her. After all, if Konan really stayed that easily, that would've been more surprising.
"What kind of Ninja Nation are you trying to build? Is it really about equality for all?"
Konan asked seriously, her eyes fixed on Renji, watching his every expression. If he lied, she would notice it immediately. She wanted to understand what he truly thought.
Over the past few days, she had noticed the lingering hatred among the people, but for the sake of a better life, most were gradually letting go.
Konan had observed all of this clearly.
But none of it outweighed Renji's intentions. Here, it was clear that he had absolute authority. Though there were five decision-makers,
anyone with sense knew they held no real power over Renji.
At least during this generation, he wouldn't be restrained.
This gave Konan a troubling thought: if Renji wasn't truly willing to change things and only said what people wanted to hear, then the tragedy of the ninja world would never end.
Just like that day in Ichiraku Ramen when she overheard Renji speaking with Naruto and the others—Konan couldn't tell whether Renji had meant what he said.
"Of course, the goal is to achieve equality for all. Though, to be honest, I don't think it's fully realistic. Does this matter that much to you?"
If absolute equality were the goal, even Renji couldn't make that happen.
He more or less understood what Konan was thinking. Over these past days, she had felt the presence of a certain emotion here—hope.
"I was born in a small country. When I was very young, war tore it apart and everyone suffered. Being from a small nation meant enduring the oppression of the great nations.
Every time war broke out, we were the first to suffer.
And within small nations, life was even harder. That's why I want to see the ninja world at peace, without war ever again."
Konan spoke of the helplessness of small nations. The Land of Rain was wedged between three major villages. To avoid implicating themselves, the major villages would tacitly choose to fight their wars elsewhere.
And the small nations became their battlegrounds.
They once dreamed of changing the world, only to realize how laughable that dream was when faced with bloody reality.
"Peace must be won through bloodshed. The previous wars were all for self-interest, but no one ever aimed for unification. I can't offer you comfort."
Madara had proposed it once—but Hashirama rejected the idea.
In truth, Madara's proposal wasn't bad. If Konoha had refused to hand over the Tailed Beasts to other villages, then perhaps no one would have dared to start another war.
After all, when Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama were still alive, no one dared to make a move. Ultimately, peace requires deterrence by strength.
Hashirama's philosophy of mutual understanding among people, to Renji, simply didn't work.
Even if Madara's approach might have collapsed later, it wouldn't have led to this level of chaos. Each Ninja War had only grown more intense.
"That's why we've always longed for peace."
"It has already arrived now."
Konan didn't answer. Instead, she looked down at the peaceful village life below. Perhaps peace truly had arrived.
But what did that have to do with the Land of Rain?
That country, which had cried for years, still suffered. Maybe things would only get worse if they followed the others. No wonder people from the Land of Rain had started coming here to seek a better life.
"Can peace gained through force really last forever?"
Konan murmured. She understood deep down that relying on Renji was no different from relying on Nagato. His ideal might bring temporary peace, but what about afterward?
Once Nagato died, would that peace still remain?
In truth, wasn't Renji walking the same path Nagato once took?
"Miss Ninja, since you love peace so much, how about becoming someone who helps maintain it?"
"Maintain peace?"
"Exactly. I can see from your posture and bearing that you're a rare ninja genius. From today onward, the mission of maintaining peace in the ninja world is yours.
Stay here and take a look. If you find this place agreeable, you could join us in keeping the world peaceful."
Renji didn't expect to win over Konan immediately. What he hoped was for her to seriously consider it, and later, when she returned, to gradually relay the changes here to Nagato.
He believed Nagato would change too. After all, wasn't this peace exactly what he had always pursued?
"Sorry, I haven't made up my mind yet."
Konan shook her head. She had no intention of staying here and was already preparing to leave.
"Alright then. Until fate brings us together again."
Renji nodded. The two exchanged a glance, then each nodded and parted ways.
Konan had observed enough here. It was time to return and report everything to Nagato.
"Konan, you're really slow, huh?"
As Konan exited the Ninja Nation, Zetsu emerged from within a tree trunk and glanced at her with a complaint.
He had finished his investigation days ago and had been waiting outside all this time. If it weren't for Konan being one of Nagato's staunchest supporters, he would have suspected her of defecting.
After all, it shouldn't take this long to gather intel—especially given how chaotic things were lately, which made it much easier to collect information.
"Let's go."
Konan cast a glance at Zetsu. As someone affiliated with the masked man, she had never treated him warmly.
She gave one final look toward the direction of the ninja village and pushed down the last ripple in her heart. There had indeed been a moment where she was moved by Renji.
He painted a beautiful picture—but unfortunately, she could not stay.
"So cold!"
White Zetsu pouted but didn't say more. He had long grown used to Konan's attitude.
The two quickly returned to the Akatsuki base and reported the intelligence they had gathered from the Ninja Nation to Nagato.
Zetsu emphasized the situation with the Tailed Beasts.
"Right now, all nine Tailed Beasts have been collected by Konoha!"
Some of the smaller nations used to possess Tailed Beasts, but now they had all been gathered in Konoha.
The jinchūriki were not under surveillance, but they weren't allowed to leave the village for now. According to earlier intel, it seemed Renji was considering extracting the Tailed Beasts while ensuring the jinchūriki survived.
He intended to restore freedom to the Tailed Beasts without sacrificing the lives of their hosts.
This had been unanimously accepted by the jinchūriki. Many of them, especially those who had achieved harmony with their Tailed Beasts, now regarded them as friends and naturally wanted to see them free.
As for the former Kage, they no longer cared.
Now that the Tailed Beasts were no longer strategic assets, there was no need to create more jinchūriki.
Likewise, the Tailed Beasts were thrilled—who wouldn't long for freedom? Even if, after unsealing, they were still restricted to the vicinity, it was far better than being imprisoned inside a human.
From Black Zetsu's perspective, separating a jinchūriki from their Tailed Beast was possible—but whether Renji could pull it off was another matter.
At the same time, it actually reduced the difficulty for them. After all, jinchūriki were even harder to deal with than the Tailed Beasts themselves.
"So, if we want to collect all nine Tailed Beasts now, we'd have to declare war on Konoha?"
Obito was quite eager for war, but when he thought about his own combat strength, he figured he wasn't even a match for Renji. As for the Akatsuki, they certainly weren't a match for the current Ninja Alliance. What would they fight with?
Sure, he had a hundred thousand White Zetsu, but their lack of high-level power was a problem. They had to resurrect "those guys," and he still needed "her" to provide raw materials. Without that, Orochimaru's experiments couldn't proceed quickly.
"For now, we'll leave it at that. We can't go to war yet."
Nagato outright rejected the idea. Was this a joke? He was well aware that facing nine Tailed Beasts, plus Renji, plus the other Kage—even with all his pride, he knew he couldn't win.
First of all, even if the others didn't kill him, the burden would destroy his body.
Even with the Akatsuki's help, it wouldn't change the outcome.
"Then we'll just gather intelligence for now and act when the time is right!"
Obito and the others weren't in a rush. Since they were already cooperating with Orochimaru, he could afford to wait.
When the time came, he could seize Nagato's Rinnegan—that wouldn't be impossible.
After all, they would eventually need to resurrect Uchiha Madara. And frankly, having Madara in Edo Tensei form would be more advantageous to him.
So Nagato's Rinnegan—he would have to keep it for himself in the end.
After the others left, Nagato turned to ask Konan about Konoha's situation.
Had that place really entered a so-called era of peace?
After listening to everything Konan had seen and heard recently, a trace of longing flashed across Nagato's face. That truly did seem to be the peace he had always yearned for.
It seemed peace really had arrived. So should he still pursue the Tailed Beasts?
If he continued, it would only spark war. And after this last war, others too had begun to understand pain—had begun to realize how hard-earned peace was.
"Konan, do you think we still need to go through with this plan?"
Nagato recalled the days when he, Yahiko, and Konan had first founded the Akatsuki.
Back then, wasn't this exactly what they had hoped for? Though Yahiko's approach was to persuade the villages to stop fighting, after his death, Nagato had changed their course.
But now, the plan no longer seemed necessary.
"Nagato, I support you."
After a moment of hesitation, Konan ultimately chose to support him.
No matter what Nagato decided—whether to start a war or something else—she would support him unconditionally.
Upon hearing her words, Nagato hesitated, then looked at her with resolve and said, "For now, we don't have the chance to act anyway. Since the organization is still preparing, why don't you go to Konoha for a while? He did invite you, after all. While you're there, observe things closely. See whether everything is truly as Renji said.
If possible, try to rise through the ranks. Only at the top can you really see the whole picture."
[End of Chapter]
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