IW: Chapter 201 - Deterrence Theory! Nagato's Heart is Wavering, Unforeseeable!!!
"Konan, you seem to have something on your mind."
Bai Ye turned his head to look at Konan. How could she not have something on her mind?
At this moment, Konan also clearly understood that peace was hard-won, and what Bai Ye was doing was understandable.
On one side was the peace she had already witnessed, and on the other was Nagato's dream, which naturally put Konan in a dilemma.
"Actually, I've been thinking about something."
Konan hesitated for a moment, then decided to explain some things to Bai Ye.
She felt that the current situation was different from when she first arrived.
Initially, she only intended to infiltrate and gather intelligence, merely for a Ninja mission.
However, the longer she stayed, the more she grew to like it there.
"Speak."
"Why did you choose me to be your secretary?"
Konan was a bit confused; after all, she had only met Bai Ye once before.
What made him trust her so much?
A secretary has access to many confidential matters, even if she hadn't accessed them yet.
"Because I wanted to."
" "
What a blunt reason, yet Konan had an indescribable feeling.
"Never mind. You've been in a bad mood these past few days, so I'll give you a few days off. Get some good rest and go out for a walk."
"Time off?"
Konan was a little surprised. She hadn't had any time off since she came here a long time ago.
She had endless documents to process every day, as friction was inevitable with everyone just integrating.
Many matters were difficult for the other secretaries to handle.
They each represented the interests of their original Ninja Villages, and when Bai Ye found it inconvenient to step forward, everyone immediately thought of Konan.
Konan wasn't from any of their Ninja Villages, and also, because she often followed Bai Ye and was directly promoted by him, others considered Konan to be Bai Ye's direct subordinate.
Many matters that were inconvenient for the other five secretaries to get involved in were brought to Konan to resolve.
So Konan actually had more to do than the other secretaries.
This surprised Konan but also made her happy, happy that she would soon be able to access more secrets.
But this also meant Konan worked almost all year round. Several times she wanted to ask Bai Ye for leave, but Bai Ye always rejected her, initially citing 'the more capable, the more work' and other benefits like treating her to meals to keep her.
But later, Konan felt more and more that something was off.
"You're actually giving me time off?!"
What?!
What do you mean, 'How could I give you time off'?
If I don't give you time off, how are you going to tell Pain?
Bai Ye was speechless.
Before, she kept clamoring for time off, and now that he was giving her time off, she started questioning it.
The main reason he hadn't given Konan time off before was that her efforts during her stay seemed insufficient, so he had to keep her for a while.
Now it was different. He felt that this time had changed Konan's mindset and her thoughts about this place, so Bai Ye decided to let Konan leave for a while.
"If you don't want time off, that's fine too."
"I'll take the time off!"
Konan didn't want to work anymore, and besides, she hadn't contacted Nagato in a long time.
With Bai Ye's sensory abilities, she was aware of everything happening in the entire Ninja Country. To avoid exposure, Konan had endured it.
"Then you may go."
After Bai Ye finished speaking, Konan hesitated for a moment, then left.
Watching her back, Bai Ye shook his head. He also hoped Konan could go back and resolve this matter.
"Jiraiya, you're back."
Bai Ye sat on the former Hokage Rock, looking at the bustling crowd below.
Footsteps behind him grew closer to Bai Ye. He was also curious why Jiraiya had returned this time.
Speaking of which, ever since the Ninja Country was established, he had left to travel.
Although, as people continued to gather in the Ninja Country, there were fewer and fewer places left to travel.
"Yes, the changes here are truly remarkable, changing every day!"
Jiraiya had actually been back for a long time, but he had also been captivated by the situation here.
After wandering for a while, Jiraiya wanted to go back to his old profession, but the moment he returned, he was targeted, which frustrated him. He just wanted to gather material; his books were popular throughout the Ninja World. Why were they treating him like this?
"Yes, ever since you left, everyone has dared to go to the hot springs!"
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you saying!!"
Jiraiya was speechless.
Did he have to bring that up?
What did he mean, 'everyone dared to go to the hot springs since he wasn't here'?
Was he that perverted?
"You are a bit perverted."
" "
Were his thoughts known?
Jiraiya sat beside Bai Ye, looking at the people below, temporarily putting aside his thoughts. He didn't want to dwell on that issue anymore.
The Ninja Country now was much better than Konoha used to be!
Old man, it seems you were truly mistaken.
Jiraiya thought silently. He once believed that if Bai Ye rebelled and brought the Uchiha to the center of Konoha's power, it wouldn't lead Konoha to a better position.
After all, in everyone's minds, most Uchiha were responsible for combat, and they had little talent in politics, especially with such a successful rebellion. This would only make other powerful families in the Village restless.
Therefore, he deeply regretted Hiruzen Sarutobi's death, but at that time, Jiraiya clearly knew that the old man had indeed gone too far.
But everything here now made Jiraiya think that perhaps he had overthought things before.
After Bai Ye unified the Ninja World and brought peace to it, he went to see the Great Toad Sage, which made him even more confused.
The prophecy seemed to have failed, yet he had spent most of his life walking for this prophecy.
But the facts told him that it was all wrong, that all his efforts in the first half of his life were in vain, which left Jiraiya wandering aimlessly in the Ninja World.
For a moment, he didn't know what he was supposed to do anymore.
"Bai Ye, do you believe in prophecy?"
Jiraiya looked up at Bai Ye and asked.
Hearing Jiraiya's words, Bai Ye pondered for a moment. Was the prophecy really wrong?
No, it wasn't.
In the anime, wasn't it Naruto, Jiraiya's disciple, who resolved this crisis and brought peace to the Ninja World?
So the prophecy wasn't wrong; it was just that his arrival changed everything. But Bai Ye simply didn't believe in so-called prophecies.
This prophecy was simply a negation of Naruto's efforts!
Speaking of which, was this fate?
Ashura's reincarnation saved the world, just as Ōtsutsuki Kaguya once wanted to turn the entire Ninja World into a White Zetsu cultivation ground and was stopped by the Six Paths' two brothers.
It seems the Ninja World's safety is tied to the Six Paths' family.
Wait...
I seem to be part of it too...
Just as Bai Ye was about to complain, he suddenly realized that he was also part of that family!
If he kept drawing prizes, his abilities would probably become like Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's.
However, the Ninja World is still not peaceful. There are still Ōtsutsuki clan members on the moon, as well as Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. Also, the current situation of the Akatsuki Organization is unclear. Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki could arrive here at any time, plus the Uchiha Madara problem has not been resolved.
So, the current peace in the Ninja World seems to be only temporary.
"I don't believe in prophecy. There has never been a 'Child of Prophecy'."
Bai Ye said calmly.
There used to be, but not anymore.
"Jiraiya, I only believe that everyone's destiny should be firmly in their own hands, and not dictated by fate. I am like this, the so-called Child of Destiny is like this, and so are you. Why do you wander the Ninja World for this elusive Child of Destiny?"
In Bai Ye's view, among the Sannin, only Orochimaru lived the most clearly. The others all had some problems.
Orochimaru was obsessed with immortality and the Uchiha's power, Tsunade was immersed in the grief of her loved ones' deaths, and Jiraiya lived for his destiny.
The former lived for himself, the second lived in the past, and the last lived in destiny.
"You've heard my story?"
"Your face is full of stories."
Not many people knew about the Child of Prophecy. Of course, Jiraiya wouldn't go around publicizing it.
But if one investigated, they would know. Jiraiya was surprised that Bai Ye even knew about these things.
However, after hearing Bai Ye's words, Jiraiya also pondered what he said.
It seemed he had indeed been wandering the Ninja World for this matter.
In the Ninja World, Jiraiya only did two things: look for Orochimaru and look for the Child of Prophecy.
Everything else Jiraiya did was incidental, like writing the Icha Icha Paradise series.
"Indeed, even the Great Toad Sage admitted his prophecy failed!"
Jiraiya sighed. It seemed he no longer needed to search for the so-called Child of Destiny.
Even the Great Toad Sage had admitted the failure of this matter, so why should he keep searching?
But he was unwilling to accept that he had been doing this for so many years.
Now, it seemed there was nothing else he could do.
"Try living for yourself. Conveniently, the Village also needs your contributions."
After Bai Ye finished speaking, Jiraiya suddenly burst out laughing, but he didn't directly agree to Bai Ye's request. Instead, he spoke to himself: "I want to bring Orochimaru back."
If he lost the purpose of finding the Child of Prophecy, then for Jiraiya, the most important thing now was to find Orochimaru.
"By the way, did you know that in some intelligence I've been investigating recently, I seem to have discovered an incredible organization?"
Jiraiya looked at Bai Ye. Based on his investigation into Orochimaru, he found that Orochimaru had joined an organization after leaving Konoha.
And the name of this organization was...
"Akatsuki!"
Jiraiya looked at Bai Ye seriously. The implication of his words was to tell Bai Ye that peace in the Ninja World was still far from being achieved, and there were still many people hidden in the Hokage's who wanted to destroy this peace.
"Bai Ye, I want to protect the current peace, but after I find Orochimaru."
He half-agreed to Bai Ye's request to stay, but he also had a goal, which was to find Orochimaru. Before finding Orochimaru, he didn't want to stay here.
Bringing Orochimaru back was Jiraiya's lifelong obsession.
If searching for the Child of Prophecy was living for the prophecy, then finding Orochimaru was his own idea.
"Alright, but don't go looking for Akatsuki. I have my own plans."
Bai Ye nodded. This so-called bond...
He didn't quite understand it. Bai Ye didn't have any bonds, or rather, when he first transmigrated, Bai Ye thought about cultivating, but when he realized he couldn't change the Uchiha's situation, he thought about running away. Later, when his strength increased, he directly became the clan leader.
He truly seemed to lack bonds!
Bai Ye had no objection to Jiraiya going to find Orochimaru.
These two friends would probably just have a fight in the end, but they wouldn't kill each other. Besides, Orochimaru might not even be Jiraiya's match.
But Pain was another matter. If Jiraiya went now, it would probably end the same way as in the anime: 'The dragon should return to the sea, but the sea does not welcome me, Jiraiya.'
"Alright, Bai Ye, I must warn you, Akatsuki is an organization composed of powerful rogue Ninja from various Ninja Villages. It's not clear who is currently in it, but Orochimaru was once in that organization!"
Orochimaru's strength, well...
Jiraiya originally wanted to warn Bai Ye.
But then he thought it wasn't necessary. It was much better to let Bai Ye investigate than for him to do it. That person directly fought against three Ninja Villages during the Ninja World War.
"Konan?"
"Nagato, I'm sorry I only just returned."
Land of Rain.
After returning, Konan inexplicably felt a sense of heaviness, especially after the establishment of the Ninja Country. The number of people in the Land of Rain had significantly decreased, and she indeed felt more oppressed here.
"Konan, are you alright?"
Nagato asked with concern. Konan nodded, then comforted him, "I'm fine. It's actually quite good over there."
"Quite good..."
Nagato murmured, then asked, "What did you see?"
After robbing Gato, the Akatsuki Organization was no longer short on money. They could act now, and recently, the Masked Man had been urging him to start acting quickly.
Nagato had actually been hesitant about whether to start a war, because if he waited any longer, it would truly be difficult to capture them.
"It's very good, Nagato. I think we no longer need to start a war."
Konan hesitated for a while, then spoke her mind.
She actually believed there was no longer any need for war with the other side.
"Then what if I capture the Nine Tailed Beasts and merge them into the Gedo Statue to deter them?"
"Nagato, why do you still want to do this?!"
Konan looked at Nagato in disbelief. Peace had already arrived, so why would Nagato still want to do such a thing?
But Nagato shook his head, somewhat unwilling to trust the great nations. During Konan's absence, Obito had frequently sought out Nagato, and ultimately, Nagato had been very conflicted about whether to start a war.
This gave Obito an opportunity. He saw that Nagato seemed unwilling to start another war, so he approached him from the angle that great nations were not to be trusted.
He also stated that collecting the Ten-Tails could deter them, and that it wasn't necessarily about starting a war.
With the deterrence of the Ten-Tails, they would maintain this peace, which made Nagato somewhat hesitant. He believed it made sense.
Great nations would never understand the Pain of small nations, and as the expansion of the great nations ended, an unconstrained Bai Ye might go to another extreme. At that point, there would need to be a deterrent to make Bai Ye hesitant to act!
----
Want to read 40+ chapters ahead? Join my Patreon! Want to read 10 FREE chapters ahead? Join as a free member!
patre*on.com/Rogue_Reader