Chapter 429: Time Limit
The air in the chamber seemed frozen. Only Nagato's voice, suppressing despair, flowed slowly.
"Konan."
He raised his head with difficulty, looking at the woman who'd been by his side like family all this time.
"Forget all of this afterward."
"I'm sorry... I broke my promise. I can no longer... continue being this country's bridge to peace."
He remembered Yahiko's smile, remembered the oath the three made together. Everything had become bubbles, shattered by lies and conspiracy.
"Don't think about revenge."
The look in his eyes toward Konan held that final gentleness belonging to "Nagato" rather than "Pain"—carrying a plea.
"Forget Akatsuki, forget the Rinnegan, forget Obito and Zetsu... and forget me. Afterward, find a place far from conflict, safely, peacefully... live out this life."
"This is my final wish."
"No... no! Nagato!"
Konan's voice suddenly rose, choking. "Don't give up... please! There must be another way!"
However, Nagato shook his head. He knew how cruel his decision was. But he knew even more clearly that only this way could sever the possibility of Konan being consumed by revenge, could give her that faint thread of survival. Her pleas—he wouldn't listen, couldn't listen.
He turned his gaze back to Naruto. In those Rinnegan eyes remained only resignation-like calm.
"You were the victor from the start." His voice was unusually calm. "Thank you... for telling me the truth. At least letting me... not die as a fool kept in the dark."
"Do it."
"These eyes are yours."
He closed his eyes, waiting for final release.
"At least, don't let them fall into Obito's hands."
However, the anticipated pain or darkness didn't arrive.
"No."
Naruto's voice rang out.
"I will take these eyes, but not under these circumstances."
Nagato couldn't help reopening his eyes, brows furrowed tightly, filled with incomprehension. What more did his opponent want? Humiliation? More of a price?
"Let's make a deal." Naruto looked directly at him, tone serious. "In exchange for these eyes... I'll give you a time limit for the 'peace' you've pursued."
A deal? A time limit? Extreme confusion appeared on Nagato's withered face.
"I will resurrect Yahiko." Naruto threw out the first condition.
Both Nagato and Konan's bodies shook violently!
"At the same time," Naruto continued, "I will achieve peace in this world—or rather, maintain the peaceful state I've promised."
He seemed to be organizing his words, explaining a massive and complex vision.
"With a common enemy, humanity might temporarily unite, but hidden dangers remain. Mutual understanding is ideal but difficult to cover all hearts. Having experienced pain and fearing war—that fear will also fade with time's passage... The peace these methods create might have a limit of... perhaps one hundred years."
"Honestly, I can't think of any perfect 'good idea.' Human nature is complex, desires endless. The roots of conflict are difficult to eliminate."
"However," his tone shifted, "what if I could... eliminate wars caused by scarcity of basic survival resources?"
Nagato and Konan froze. Eliminate resource scarcity?
"I can create resources. Through my power, from the stars, provide this world with nearly infinite basic materials for survival and development. Food, water, energy, basic materials, land—letting humanity no longer need to slaughter each other fighting over these things."
"On this foundation of extreme material abundance and greatly relieved survival pressure, I will continue using absolutely powerful strength as the ultimate deterrent and maintainer of order. I'll continue and deepen the peaceful ideal that First Hokage Senju Hashirama tried to maintain through 'Tailed Beast balance' and the 'one country, one village' system."
"And this peace I promise and will strive to maintain... its time limit is—"
"My lifespan."
Lifespan?
"...Is that also one hundred years?" Nagato asked hoarsely.
"—No."
A resolute female voice interrupted Nagato's thoughts.
Uchiha Satsuki, who'd been silently observing, stepped forward half a step. Beneath her animal mask, her Mangekyo Sharingan—crimson base with black patterns like frozen time gears—radiated ocular power fluctuations.
"I won't let Naruto die in this world."
"I can continuously pause Naruto's time."
"This is one of my Mangekyo abilities. I can control time... including permanently pausing a specific target's time at a certain moment. As long as I'm willing, Naruto won't age or... pass away due to lifespan."
Nagato remembered that bizarre scene on the battlefield earlier—Konan's ocean of explosive tags, that earth-shattering explosion that should have occurred, had just silently "disappeared," and Konan herself had even forgotten her trump card...
Controlling time... So that's it! This is that eye's ability? It actually touches such a forbidden domain!
Naruto took over Satsuki's words, his gaze returning to Nagato in tremendous shock.
"Therefore, I cannot promise you 'forever.' That's too ethereal—even I cannot define it."
"But I can at least guarantee to you and Yahiko, to this world ravaged by war—"
"One thousand years."
"If there are no irresistible accidents, this world will continue peacefully under the protection of power and rules, on the foundation of non-scarce resources."
One thousand years... peace...
These two words combined viciously struck Nagato's depleted, numb heart!
He suddenly widened his eyes. His skeletal body actually straightened slightly from this extreme impact, like a final burst of energy before death!
One thousand years?!
Ten centuries! A full thousand years without world-spanning war, where people could thrive in relatively abundant and safe environments... This far exceeded his boldest fantasies.
Yahiko could be resurrected... peace could continue for a millennium...
Using these eyes filled with pain, bringing deception, not even belonging to himself... to exchange for such a future...
Nagato's chest heaved violently, like a drowning man finally grasping a lifeline.
He looked at Naruto, at the seriousness in those azure eyes, at the unquestionable protective intent in Uchiha Satsuki's eyes beside him.
Hope's dawn, and the desire for Yahiko's resurrection... washed away his final darkness.
"...Yes."
He exhaled heavily and long.
"Good."
"I agree... to this deal."
He looked at Naruto, his gaze extremely serious. "You must accomplish this—resurrect Yahiko, maintain the peace you spoke of."
"This is our agreement."
He raised his head again, presenting without reservation those Rinnegan that had carried too much pain and secrets.
"So... these eyes..."
"Are yours."
No coercion, no unwillingness—only voluntary, even somewhat relieved, transfer.
And this was precisely the result Naruto wanted—not plunder, but exchange based on consensus and promise.
Naruto nodded. He slowly raised his hand, fingers wrapped in extremely gentle light, reaching toward Nagato's closed eyelids. He wanted to ensure the transplant process minimized burden on Nagato's already broken body as much as possible.
However—
Just as Naruto's fingertips were about to touch Nagato's eye corner!
"Don't even think about it!!"
A roar filled with frantic desperation, shock, rage, even collapse, exploded from nowhere in the chamber!
Space twisted violently like water ripples! A figure accompanied by spatial ripples, directly manifesting from the Kamui dimension, suddenly appearing beside Nagato.
Orange spiral mask. Black robe with red clouds.
Uchiha Obito!
The moment he appeared, one hand viciously grabbed toward Nagato's closed Rinnegan about to be taken!