Naruto lowered his vo ice.
"I… can't measure up to him."
At Naruto's murmur, a fleeting, nearly imperceptible smile crossed Nagato's face.
But it was swallowed at once by darkness. His entire aura turned cold—violent.
"Everything… was going well."
His voice suddenly rose, brimming with hatred and pain that had burned undiminished for years.
"Yahiko was walking the right path. Our Akatsuki was gradually changing the Land of Rain—perhaps even influencing lands beyond it…"
"Even I, because of Jiraiya-sensei, had begun trying to let go of my hatred for Konoha. I was willing to believe that Yahiko's path of 'mutual understanding' might truly work…"
Nagato's frail body trembled, the black chakra receivers embedded in his back giving off faint metallic sounds.
"But then—once again—it was your Konoha!"
He roared, the Rinnegan blazing with terrifying intensity.
"It was your Danzō of Konoha, colluding with Hanzō! They feared Yahiko's growing influence. They feared the change the Akatsuki would bring!"
"They laid a despicable trap—pretending to negotiate while preparing an ambush! They forced Yahiko to his death—right before my eyes! Forced him, to save Konan and me, to throw himself onto my kunai!!!"
The air inside the cave seemed to freeze.
"Yahiko died… by my hand… beneath Konoha's conspiracy!"
Nagato's voice was soaked in fury.
"In that moment, all my hope—all my light—was crushed by your hands!"
"What mutual understanding? What path to peace? Before the military might and schemes of the great nations, those words are nothing but lies!!!"
He turned sharply to Naruto, his gaze filled with accusation and bitter mockery.
"You believe in 'mutual understanding,' don't you? You think Yahiko's path was right?"
"Then tell me! After such betrayal—such despair—such pain—can you still 'understand' Konoha?! Can you still cling to such naïve ideals?!"
Naruto opened his mouth. His face was pale.
For a moment, he had no answer.
Beside him, Sasuke—silent until now—felt his gaze sharpen and turn glacial at the name.
Danzō.
Konohagakure — The Hokage's Office
A deathly silence filled the room.
Tsunade's expression was darker than ever. She turned sharply toward Hiruzen Sarutobi, her eyes practically blazing.
Hiruzen's face had gone ashen. He closed his eyes and let out a long, heavy sigh.
Jiraiya covered his face, his shoulders trembling faintly.
Now he understood.
Why the bright, idealistic Yahiko had become the cold, godlike "Deva Path."
Why Nagato had descended into such extremity.
And he—had known nothing.
When Minato needed him.
When Nagato and the others needed him.
When Naruto needed him most—
He had never been there.
Tsunade's voice struck like thunder.
"And you still dare say this wasn't on 'your' side?!"
"Danzō! Always Danzō! How many filthy deeds have you people committed in the shadows?!"
"Must Konoha be destroyed again and again before you're satisfied?!"
"Old man! Don't tell me Danzō stirred up something this big in the Land of Rain and, as Hokage, you truly knew nothing?!"
Under Tsunade's furious interrogation—and Jiraiya's icy, scrutinizing gaze, laced with killing intent—Hiruzen's already fragile composure finally shattered.
"I…"
His voice was dry and strained. He avoided their eyes.
"I truly did not know the specifics. I did not know Danzō went to the Land of Rain to target Yahiko and the Akatsuki."
"But… one year, Danzō did dispatch a considerable portion of Root's elite forces to the Land of Rain."
"When they returned, they had suffered heavy losses. Danzō was evasive, claiming they had encountered an 'accident' and a 'formidable enemy.'"
"At the time, Konoha was facing pressures of its own. I… did not pursue the matter."
"Hmph!"
Tsunade snorted coldly.
Before a teacher like this, her fury had nowhere to go.
Should she send him to join the dead as well?
Jiraiya's face turned utterly cold. He slowly unclenched his fists, his voice frigid as a northern wind.
"Danzō…"
Just two syllables—yet filled with undisguised killing intent.
Yahiko had been his beloved student. So were Nagato and Konan.
Danzō had not only destroyed Yahiko's life and ideals—he had pushed Nagato and Konan into the abyss.
That blood debt had carved itself deep into Jiraiya's heart.
Across the Shinobi World
After the initial shock and outrage, a strange numbness began to spread.
"So… once again, it's Danzō…"
"That old bastard… how does he keep pinpointing every future powerhouse at their most vulnerable turning point and ruining them?"
"Naruto's childhood ostracism—check. Sasuke's clan massacre—check. Sakura being forced to defect—check. Kabuto being driven into tragedy with his adoptive mother—check. Now even Nagato of the Rinnegan—check…"
"What is this, collecting stamps? Targeting high-potential stocks and crushing them early?"
"At this rate, if an S-rank missing-nin doesn't have 'Persecuted by Danzō Shimura of Konoha' in their backstory, are they even qualified?"
The bitter sarcasm masked something darker.
Because if this pattern was true—
How many more tragedies had begun in Konoha's shadows?
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