That night, at the Akatsuki's camp.
After several hours of travel, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan finally returned from Amegakure well past midnight.
They greeted the members on watch, confirmed that nothing unusual had occurred, and then gathered in Yahiko's room.
There was no way they could sleep tonight.
The conversation with Uchiha Jin had given them far too much to think about.
Konan lit an oil lamp. A warm orange glow pushed back the darkness, casting long shadows across the wooden walls.
Yahiko and Nagato sat across from one another at the low table. Konan placed dried rations and water before them before taking her seat.
Yahiko broke the silence first.
"Nagato. Konan… what do you think about Jin-nii?"
Though Yahiko had a good impression of Jin, they had only just met. There were things he couldn't say openly in front of him.
But between the three of them?
There were no walls.
They had grown up together. Survived together. Starved together.
Closer than family.
Konan spoke after a moment of thought.
"I don't think he means us harm. But everything he said… it overturns what we thought we knew."
"Whether it's true or not, it's hard to accept immediately."
She wasn't accusing Jin of lying.
It was just that some truths were too heavy to swallow in a single day.
Nagato slowly raised a hand and pressed his fingers against his eyes.
"Jin-nii had no reason to lie to us," he said quietly.
"Especially about the Rinnegan."
He paused.
"To be honest… I've always felt something."
"These eyes… reject me."
"I've never been able to draw out their true power."
"They were never mine to begin with."
He smiled faintly, bitterly.
Nagato possessed enormous chakra reserves, abnormal vitality, and endurance that far exceeded ordinary shinobi. By all logic, his body should have been incredibly robust.
Yet he was tall and thin. Frail-looking.
It didn't add up.
Like someone who scored perfectly in every subject… yet somehow failed the overall exam.
The Rinnegan was draining him.
Feeding on him.
He had once assumed the fault was his own—that he simply wasn't strong enough.
But he had never even fully used its power.
Now, after Jin's explanation, the truth was obvious.
A vessel does not command what it carries.
Nagato exhaled softly.
"It's hard not to feel like… my entire existence was arranged for someone else's sake."
Yahiko's expression tightened.
"Don't think like that."
"No matter what anyone planned for you, you've always acted by your own will."
"You are you."
"You are Nagato."
Nagato nodded slowly.
"Maybe."
"But whatever happened in the past…"
"I've found my own path now."
"I won't let anyone move me like a piece on a board again."
Yahiko frowned slightly.
"Nagato, don't decide too quickly."
"A decision made in the heat of emotion isn't always your true will."
"Especially about something like this."
Nagato didn't waver.
"Don't act like you're above it, Yahiko."
"You were just as moved by Jin-nii's words."
Yahiko froze.
The serious expression he'd carefully built collapsed instantly.
"…Was it that obvious?"
Nagato shot him a flat look.
Between the three of them, hiding thoughts was pointless.
Yahiko scratched the back of his head and sighed.
"Alright. I admit it."
"His ideas… they shook me."
"I can't think of anything better right now."
He hesitated.
"But…"
Nagato leaned forward.
"But what?"
Yahiko gave a helpless smile.
"His way of thinking is… extreme."
"It scares me a little."
Nagato blinked.
"Why?"
Yahiko leaned back slightly, recalling something.
"Jiraiya-sensei once told me about Konoha. About the Uchiha clan."
"He said they're proud."
"And that they tend to walk extreme paths."
"I didn't think much of it back then."
"But after meeting Jin-nii…"
"I understand what he meant."
He continued slowly.
"Look at Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan."
"That's practically world annihilation."
"And in a way…"
"Jin-nii's path isn't any less radical."
"One wants to destroy the old world."
"The other wants to destroy the old order."
"Either way… it means standing against the entire world."
Yahiko trailed off.
He didn't finish the thought.
He didn't want to say he was afraid Jin might one day lose himself.
Nagato, however, shook his head.
"Your worries are unnecessary."
"Yes, his ideas are radical."
"Maybe even crazy."
"But that doesn't mean they're wrong."
"The one that's wrong…"
"…is this world."
He looked down at his hands.
"For thousands of years, it's been drowning in war."
"This world is sick."
"And sickness like this cannot be cured with gentle medicine."
He raised his gaze again.
"As for whether Jin-nii might change one day…"
"That doesn't matter."
"All that matters is whether his thinking is correct right now."
"What we uphold isn't a person."
"It's an idea."
"As long as we hold onto our own hearts…"
"Why fear shadows that haven't even appeared?"
Yahiko stared at him.
For a moment, he was speechless.
Nagato—who had once followed quietly at his side—
Was now debating him.
Correcting him.
And strangely…
Yahiko didn't feel threatened.
He felt proud.
Truly proud.
Nagato had found something.
A direction of his own.
Yahiko exhaled and then smiled broadly.
"You're right."
"I was overthinking."
"We don't need to follow anyone blindly."
"We can take his foundation…"
"And walk our own road."
He straightened up.
"Next time we see Jin-nii…"
"Let's ask him more."
"And decide for ourselves."
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