Chapter 138: The Price of a Promise
Yahiko sat on the cold floor, the last vestiges of his idealism crumbling to dust under the weight of Kagenori's brutal logic. His shoulders slumped in utter defeat.
"Is it... is it wrong to work for peace?" he whispered, his voice hollow. "Is true peace impossible for this world?"
Kagenori observed the broken young man with a detached air. "The desire for peace is not wrong in itself. In a time of peace, it would be a noble pursuit. But we are not in a time of peace. We are at war. And when your pleas for peace threaten the interests of those in power, it becomes a fatal error."
Yahiko's brow furrowed in confusion. "But that's a contradiction! In peacetime, no one would need an organization like Akatsuki!"
Kagenori let out a short, humorless sigh. "Yahiko, your naivete is a rare, almost fascinating, artifact. Wars begin for concrete reasons: conflict over resources, perceived injustice, the ambition of leaders. The very fact that this war is being fought means the conflicts were deemed irreconcilable through dialogue. Do you truly believe that after so much blood has been spilled, after so many have invested their lives and pride in victory, that it can all be undone by simply 'talking'? How do you settle the accounts for the dead? For the losses? War only ends when one side is victorious, or when both are too exhausted to continue, with the victor dictating the terms. Do you understand now?"
Yahiko's hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. He didn't want to understand. But his own experience—the betrayal, the massacre—was a brutal testament to the truth of Kagenori's words. His dream had gotten his family killed.
He looked up at Kagenori, a last, desperate hope in his eyes. "Is there no path to lasting peace? None at all?"
Kagenori shook his head slowly. "No easy one. But the path your companion has chosen… it is a method. It could bring a form of lasting peace."
"Companion?" Yahiko's eyes widened as the meaning dawned on him. "You mean Nagato and Konan! They're alive! I knew it… I always said Nagato was the savior!" A wave of relief washed over him, and a genuine, weary smile broke through his despair.
A subtle, almost predatory smile touched Kagenori's lips. "Aren't you curious about the method Nagato has chosen?"
Yahiko's smile faltered. "What method?"
"Nagato has concluded that this world is cursed," Kagenori explained, his voice taking on a malicious, instructive tone. "He believes that as long as it exists in its current state, true peace is impossible. People will never truly understand one another. So, he has devised a new plan. He will gather the Tailed Beasts. He will forge them into ultimate weapons, capable of annihilating a nation in an instant. He will use the raw, primal fear of that pain to suppress all conflict. He will guide the world toward a forced, terrified stability—a peace born from the threat of unimaginable suffering."
In truth, this was the plan Obito would later propose. But Kagenori saw no harm in presenting it as Nagato's own, born from his fresh grief. The effect was immediate and devastating.
Yahiko stared, his face a mask of horror. "That's… that's not possible… Why would he become so… extreme?"
Kagenori feigned confusion. "Why the disbelief? To be frank, Nagato's way is the most pragmatic. It is a peace that can actually be enforced. When everyone lives under the shadow of a shared, overwhelming threat, they become… manageable."
"No! That's not peace!" Yahiko cried out, scrambling to his feet. "That's tyranny!"
"And what, precisely, is your peace?" Kagenori shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "The one Jiraiya filled your head with? A world where everyone holds hands and understands each other? It's a children's story. You speak of mutual understanding, yet your first instinct upon waking was to try and punch me. If you, an idealist, cannot practice what you preach, how can you expect the cynical and the powerful to do so?"
"I… I…" Yahiko stammered, completely disarmed.
Kagenori closed the distance between them, his gaze boring into Yahiko's. "Your dream is a fantasy, Yahiko. And I will be blunt: the only reason I saved you is because Nagato, for all his grim purpose, is being manipulated. Your existence, your ideals, would have interfered with that."
"Manipulated?!" Yahiko latched onto the word, his concern for his friend overriding his own despair. "What do you mean? How is he being used?!"
"Think," Kagenori commanded. "Where do you suppose Nagato's Rinnegan came from?"
Yahiko answered without hesitation, "He was born with them."
Kagenori's derisive sneer was sharp enough to cut. "Born with them? Then he would be a member of the Uchiha clan." To emphasize his point, the tomoe in his eyes swirled and morphed into the intricate, terrifying pattern of his Mangekyō Sharingan. "The Rinnegan is the final evolution of these eyes."
Yahiko was utterly bewildered. "The final form…? Is… is Nagato an Uchiha?"
Kagenori's eye twitched in genuine irritation. The white snake had been right; the boy was profoundly dense. "Uchiha have black hair. Exclusively. Nagato is of the Uzumaki lineage."
"Then… how…?" Yahiko's mind was a whirlpool of confusion.
"How?" Kagenori repeated. "Someone gave them to him. From the moment those eyes manifested, Nagato became a pawn in a conspiracy far greater than he can imagine. If this continues, his story has only one ending: death."
Yahiko's breath hitched. "Who? Who gave them to him? What is this conspiracy?"
"I will not tell you that," Kagenori said flatly. "Not now. If you go to him, you will both be killed. You would be an unforeseen variable, and Nagato would have outlived his usefulness. The Rinnegan can be given to him; it can be taken from him and given to another. His value is solely in those eyes."
Yahiko collapsed back to the floor, the world spinning around him. "Why…?" he mumbled, his spirit shattered. Then, a surge of desperate energy shot through him. He lunged forward, gripping Kagenori's shoulders with surprising strength.
"You have a plan!" he insisted, his eyes wild with a newfound purpose. "You saved me for a reason! You want something from me! Tell me what to do! I'll do anything, anything, if it means saving Nagato and Konan!"
Kagenori looked down at the desperate hands clutching his jacket, a slow, calculated smile spreading across his face. "Now you're beginning to think like a survivor. Yes, there is something you can do. But there is one, non-negotiable condition. Until I give you leave, you will not make contact with Nagato or Konan. This could be five years. It could be ten. It could be forever. Can you live with that?"
Yahiko's hands trembled on Kagenori's shoulders. The internal war was visible on his face—the desire to run to his friends warring with the chilling understanding that it would sign their death warrants. He was silent for a long time, the weight of the decision pressing down on him.
Finally, he took a deep, shuddering breath and met Kagenori's gaze, his own eyes now hard with resolve. "Can you promise me they will be safe?"
Kagenori held his gaze without flinching. "As long as you uphold your end, I will ensure they survive."
Yahiko released his grip, his decision made. "Then… I promise."
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