Nagato's tone was very calm; clearly, he had already sensed something for a long time.
The words Konan just spoke merely served to confirm his own predictions.
A trace of sorrow appeared in his eyes, and the bitterness at the corners of his mouth grew more intense. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
This was also normal!
After all, before it was just speculation, but now it was completely confirmed.
In the past, even if he felt like he was just a pawn, the reason he was still willing to work hard was simple: he could use these Rinnegan to achieve his own goals. But after this clash with Konoha, he truly understood that he was just a clown.
They didn't care about his Rinnegan at all, and were even willing to give this information to Konan. This was enough to show his position in their hearts.
"Nagato..."
Konan's gaze was complex. At this moment, she didn't know how to console him.
As a friend, she could feel Nagato's pain, but now, other than staying by his side, she could do nothing else. This feeling made her very uncomfortable.
And to this...
Nagato clearly noticed Konan's pain. He took a deep breath before slowly speaking: "It's okay, Konan!"
"Now I have completely realized that I am just a mortal, not a god. Since Yahiko's wish is destined to be unfulfilled, my only goal in living now is to do everything possible to settle you well."
"I don't plan on changing the plan; it's still as I just said."
"First, I'll use Black Zetsu and Obito to rescue you, and then through Jiraiya-sensei, I'll have you proactively join Konoha."
"Only in this way can you get rid of the label of a prisoner; otherwise, you will definitely be looked down upon in Konoha in the future."
Nagato spoke unhurriedly, revealing his thoughts.
He indeed had some planning ability, especially when facing Konan, his only friend. He wouldn't allow her to have any stain in Konoha.
He would rather pay the price to rescue Konan and then have her rejoin Konoha using Jiraiya's status than let Konan live as a prisoner.
Konan was deeply moved by this.
In this world, the only person who would choose to be good to her unconditionally without talking about interests was clearly the Nagato before her.
She sighed and immediately shook her head: "Nagato, it's not necessary."
"I'm living very well in Konoha now. No one looks down on me. There is no such thing as discrimination within Konoha. I've been living very leisurely in Konoha during this time."
"I don't think it's necessary to go through all that trouble. You can just join Konoha later, Nagato."
"I can feel that Uchiha Jin is very sincere. Likewise, he is also very proud; he disdains lying!"
At this moment, Konan was truly sincere.
She really felt that life in Konoha was quite good now, and she believed that although someone with Uchiha Jin's character was proud, there was no need to worry about him going back on his word in the future. After all, the Uchiha brand was quite persuasive.
And on the other side.
Nagato fell silent upon hearing this.
He could naturally see that Konan wasn't just comforting him. While this made him feel slightly relieved, he also couldn't help but fall directly into silence for a while.
Is it really not necessary to go through all that trouble?
Regarding the Uchiha brand, he was naturally willing to believe it too.
Although the Uchiha had many flaws, they disdained lying. As long as they promised something, they would definitely follow through.
But, forget it!
After shaking his head, Nagato spoke again.
"We'll talk about this later!"
"First, tell me why Uchiha Jin wants me to stay in the Akatsuki Organization for the time being. What exactly does he want to use me, or the Akatsuki Organization, to do?"
"What exactly is Konoha's goal?"
He chose not to think about Konan's matter for now, although he still had to think it through carefully.
Even with Uchiha Jin's guarantee, even if Konan was living well in Konoha, he still didn't want Konan to bear the title of a prisoner.
However...
Since he couldn't make up his mind for the moment, he would first see what Konoha wanted to do.
Although Konan still wanted to persuade him, after a brief hesitation, she slowly said: "Konoha's goal and the Akatsuki Organization's goal are actually the same; it's just that everyone's way of achieving the goal is different."
"What Konoha wants is to unify the Ninja World and establish a rigorous management system, thereby eventually achieving long-term peace."
"Yes, not permanent!"
"In Uchiha Jin's words, eternal peace is a hopeless delusion, because as long as one is human, there will be desires and ambitions. These contradictions can never be reconciled. If humans truly had no ambition or desire, then what would be the difference between a person and a rock?"
"Whether it's the development of Ninjutsu or technology, they are all various forms of progress forced out by people in order to strive for a better life..."
"I think it makes a lot of sense, and I agree with Uchiha Jin's thoughts!"
"The benefit of unifying the Ninja World is that it can limit conflicts. Even if there are careerists who want to cause trouble in the future, it will be limited to internal power games. Such power struggles will be confined to the upper echelons and will not affect the lives of the common people, and it will be absolutely impossible for cruel Ninja World wars like the ones in the past to break out."
"As long as this unification lasts for a long time, even if the entire power framework becomes corrupt in the future, and even if a long-term chaotic war breaks out after this power framework collapses, as long as people have accepted the concept of unification, future careerists will not be split into several major countries like they are now. Instead, they will use a short-term battle to decide the winner."
"After future careerists unify again, they can still maintain a long period of peace."
"This is the best way to pay the least price and win the longest possible peace."
"On the other hand, the Akatsuki Organization's method of peace is very naive. Not to mention the many internal issues within Akatsuki, even if we could really collect the nine Tailed Beasts to deter the Ninja World, the entire Ninja World would only welcome an era of absolute reign of terror."
"The Akatsuki Organization cannot provide a management structure and doesn't know how to develop the Ninja World. People's lives would be even more miserable than they are now."
"Moreover, this plan cannot last. Once you, a powerhouse with the Rinnegan, die, can you guarantee that your successor will still be able to control the nine Tailed Beasts?"
"What if an accident happens?"
"What if someone else takes advantage of your death to start a war and snatch the nine Tailed Beasts back?"
"There are too many problems, and they are even unsolvable."
"So from this point of view, Konoha's plan actually has a higher feasibility."
Konan spoke unhurriedly, trying to convince Nagato.
And after living in Konoha for this period of time, after truly coming into contact with Konoha's ideas and plans and thinking carefully, she really felt that their plan was better.
Conversely.
The Akatsuki Organization's so-called peace plan seemed more like children playing house; it didn't have any feasibility at all.