Although there had been some misunderstandings and differences of opinion between the two sides at the very beginning, this exchange meeting regarding the assassination incident ultimately concluded in a relatively normal manner.
Sunagakure, which had gained no benefit from the incident and might instead provoke hostility from Konoha and Kirigakure because of the trouble caused by that group acting in the dark, naturally had no desire to take the blame for the mastermind.
After the two sides fully exchanged intelligence and their views, Sunagakure's intelligence system was mobilized in its entirety.
It began searching nationwide for intelligence and clues that might be related to this incident.
And after receiving Sunagakure's official assistance, Nagato no longer needed to secretly collect intelligence alone within the Land of Wind.
He accepted Rasa's invitation and moved into the residence Sunagakure provided for foreign delegations.
As a guest, he let this investigation journey enter a brand-new stage.
"To be honest, if Shisui, who is diligently collecting intelligence, knew that you can not only lie in a comfortable bed and rest peacefully right now, but also order Sunagakure's shinobi to run around collecting intelligence and clues for you, he might be so angry that he would want to stab you."
It was still the familiar Magic Lantern Body Technique.
However, this time, Rei's illusion was no longer dressed in his Mizukage attire.
Instead, he had changed into an extremely casual, homely outfit, sitting leisurely and relaxedly in the chair inside the room as he spoke to Nagato.
"But I have to say, your method is clearly smarter than Shisui's. Although part of that is because you are the leader of a neutral organization while Shisui is one of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen, which makes it much harder for people to trust him, I am still quite glad you could change in this way."
"A neutral organization? Looking across the entire shinobi world, you are probably the only person who would acknowledge Akatsuki as a neutral peace organization, Rei Kaguya."
Nagato helplessly shook his head and sighed.
"In the eyes of the surrounding countries, Akatsuki is simply a shinobi organization that replaced Hanzō's Amegakure and now rules the Land of Rain. Neutrality, peace, dialogue—those are merely excuses to conceal our desire to infiltrate their countries and conduct espionage."
"But starting from this assassination incident, they should understand that Akatsuki's ideals are not false."
Rei's illusion waved his hand soothingly, then continued asking.
"But speaking of which, Konoha's shinobi are also among the victims of the assassination incident… Is that information true?"
"Yes. Absolutely true."
Nagato nodded.
"The Konoha shinobi corpses that appeared on the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain also had some wounds very similar to those on the murdered Kirigakure jonin. Although we cannot determine for now whether these things were done by the same group, being vigilant is never wrong."
"What about the timing? Did Akatsuki's intelligence personnel estimate the time of death for those Konoha shinobi?"
"When they were discovered, they had basically been dead for more than a week."
Nagato sighed and said somewhat helplessly, "And we are not sure whether these are the only victims. What about your side?"
"When the two victims were discovered, neither had been dead for more than three days. As for the missing Aoba Minazuki, judging from the blood traces left at the scene, no more than two days had passed since he was attacked."
Rei's expression also became serious.
"Assuming those attackers are the same group, then their assassinations began with Konoha's shinobi, not against Kirigakure… I originally thought these people might be remnants of the former Root, beginning their revenge against me because they thought they had accumulated enough strength. But now, it seems their actions have a different reason behind them."
"Those renegades from Root? If that is the case, it is not impossible to understand why they discarded Konoha shinobi corpses inside the Land of Rain."
Nagato smiled bitterly and sighed, then sat on the bed with a tired expression.
"War brings pain. Pain gives birth to hatred. Hatred forms chains. Chains create cycles… Standing within this chain and cycle of pain and hatred, I truly do not know what must be done to sever it, then create a new order and peace."
"Simple. Unify the shinobi world. Make everyone obey the orders of one government. Use a long enough period of unity to build the economic foundation that can support the arrival of peace. Then use economic development and long-term social stability to smooth over those intense, sharp hatreds, letting new generations accept peace and the concept of unity from the very beginning… If that happens, it should be able to bring peace for quite a long while."
Hearing Rei say this, Nagato instinctively developed some resistance.
He looked at Rei's illusion and asked seriously, "Is there truly no way to reach the other shore of peace while still preserving the independence and autonomy of each country?"
"Then, Nagato, which do you think is easier? Communicating with a group that shares roughly the same basic ideals, or communicating with a crowd of people who each have their own views, positions, and vastly different interests?"
Rei's illusion patted Nagato's shoulder after Nagato was briefly left speechless.
Then he turned and stood before the window.
Looking at Sunagakure, which had fallen silent under the night sky and gone to sleep together with the desert where the chill was gradually rising, he slowly spoke.
"This world is too small. So small that for every country, they each possess disadvantages they cannot easily change. They cannot achieve true self-sufficiency. Those disadvantages become core interests they are absolutely unwilling to concede. And every great war that has occurred in the shinobi world has revolved around those core interests."
"But if the shinobi world is unified into a single country, then overall resource allocation can be used to make up for each region's deficiencies, allowing them to devote their energy to developing industries where they hold advantages.
Instead of being like the countries now, stubbornly developing industries they are naturally disadvantaged in despite those weaknesses, just to prevent other countries from seizing them by the throat."
At this point, Rei paused.
He looked toward those barren mountains in Sunagakure that seemed very suitable for carving Hokage Rock-style faces and let out a long breath.
"Nagato, the attempt you mentioned—maintaining peace while preserving the independence and autonomy of each country—is something the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, already tried.
While he was alive, each country could barely suppress the dissatisfaction in their hearts. But the moment he died, the Shinobi World War began immediately. The Second Kage of every village were nearly wiped out in that war.
Such a tragic backlash is enough to show just how deeply the dissatisfaction hidden within each country had been suppressed."
"But your idea of unifying the entire shinobi world has the same problem, doesn't it, Rei Kaguya?"
Nagato looked at Rei's back, and at the tiny abnormal tremor in his illusion, then asked in a low voice.
"Only you alone can fully understand the ideal of unifying the shinobi world. Only you alone know what must be done to make each country in the shinobi world live better than before after they are transformed into regions…
After you die, wouldn't a successor unable to make everyone submit through both strength and ideals the way you do become the trigger for another chaotic age?"
"Even if I fail, that will still be a failure after walking an entirely new road."
Rei turned around and looked at Nagato meaningfully.
"My failure will accumulate experience for those who come after me. At the same time, it will also spare them from walking the same old road I took. Changing things generation after generation like this will eventually give birth to truly perfect ideas and methods capable of bringing peace to humanity."
"There is no need to make everything perfect in one's own era. Since humanity was born, it has grown to its current point by relying on one generation after another to replace the old with the new in the ideas and techniques left by their predecessors…
If I can leave behind the ideas of unity, peace, international trade, and regional complementarity for future people, that is already enough."
"Passed down generation after generation, replacing the old with the new… Is that what you think, Rei Kaguya?"
Nagato helplessly shook his head and smiled, speaking thoughtfully.
"Then according to your thoughts, my goal is to let everyone know that peace can indeed be partially realized through dialogue and communication, and that the shinobi way of doing things is not necessarily the only correct way."
"Then you first need to find a successor willing to inherit your ideals."
Rei's illusion yawned, then looked at the Rinnegan in Nagato's eyes with interest and teased him.
"But Nagato, you have the Rinnegan. I heard that every inheritor of the Rinnegan can inherit the power and will of the previous owner. If that idea is true, then when you reach the end of your natural lifespan, would handing those eyes directly to the young person you choose count as completing the inheritance and continuation of your will?"
"…Since when did the Rinnegan have such a strange ability?"
Nagato waved at Rei's illusion speechlessly.
"Have you been too busy and tired lately? Is your head not clear?"
"I just wanted to verify a rumor I heard from somewhere with the owner of the Rinnegan."
Rei smiled and cut off his connection with the Magic Lantern Body Technique.
Nagato looked at the place where he disappeared and shook his head.
Then, with a calm expression, he lay down on the bed inside the room.
He had not forgotten that his purpose for coming here was to capture those shinobi attempting to provoke war.
Once Sunagakure's intelligence personnel found their traces, there would inevitably be a battle against those dangerous lunatics.
"I will not let you have a chance to destroy this hard-won peace…
Absolutely not."
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