"What insight do you have, Sixth Hokage?"
Nagato's voice was sharp with anger.
Even now, when his life and Konan's rested in someone else's hands, that didn't mean his beliefs could be trampled on without consequence.
"Insight?" Fujimoto Tōma shook his head lightly. "That's too big a word. I just think world peace belongs to the realm of ideals. Something you can imagine, but never fully achieve."
"If you don't try, how can you know it's impossible?" Nagato shot back.
"So you think you can?" Tōma countered calmly. "By capturing all nine tailed beasts and turning them into weapons, you believe peace will follow?"
Nagato opened his mouth, ready to answer without hesitation, but paused.
"…At least it's possible."
"It isn't," Tōma said flatly. "Oppression works for a while, sure. But resistance always follows. And when that resistance finally breaks your control, the chaos will be worse than anything before it."
He paused, then added casually, "That said, collecting all nine tailed beasts could achieve peace. Just not the way you think."
Nagato's eyes widened. "What way?"
Jiraiya and Konan both turned toward Tōma, startled by the sudden shift.
"Relax," Tōma said. "I'll tell you a story first."
He spoke of a man obsessed with justice and peace, someone who believed any sacrifice was acceptable if the goal was noble enough. He told of impossible wishes, cruel answers, and choices where saving one group meant condemning another. A story where every decision carved away what little humanity remained.
"And in the end," Tōma concluded, "if you use that power to erase all life, then yes. You'd have peace. No people, no conflict."
Silence fell.
"…That kind of peace is meaningless," Nagato said hoarsely.
"I never said it wasn't," Tōma replied. "But can you deny that it is peace?"
Nagato couldn't answer.
When nothing exists, neither does war. The logic was flawless. And horrifying.
"That's why peace is an ideal," Tōma continued. "You can chase it, struggle toward it, even dedicate your life to it. The effort itself has value. But once you treat it as a goal that must be achieved, no matter the cost, you lose everything you were trying to protect."
He shrugged. "So let's stop arguing about the impossible. It's pointless. A more practical question is how the two of you survive."
"…How?" Konan asked quietly.
She had always valued Yahiko's and Nagato's ideals, but she valued their lives more. And now, she could sense Nagato wavering. This was her chance.
Tōma hesitated.
For a brief, dangerous moment, an absurd thought surfaced in his mind.
Konan, you don't want Nagato to—
"Cough."
He cleared his throat, face stiffening slightly.
Konan blinked, confused, but waited.
Tōma silently scolded himself. Focus. This wasn't the time for stupid memories from another life.
"You've noticed I never intended to kill you," he said instead.
Konan nodded. Otherwise, Jiraiya wouldn't be standing here.
"My verdict is simple," Tōma said. "Death sentences waived. Punishment remains. Konoha needs manpower."
Nagato stiffened.
Tōma looked at him once, then shifted his gaze to Konan. Nagato's body was too damaged, his eyes gone. He wasn't combat-ready anymore.
Konan, however, was different.
"If it's a mission," she said after a pause, "I'll obey orders. I won't fail."
She looked genuinely surprised at the outcome. This was far better than she had hoped for.
Nagato wanted to speak, but stopped himself. For Konan's sake, he couldn't refuse.
Jiraiya said nothing. He didn't need to. The gratitude in his eyes was obvious.
Tōma wasn't being generous out of sentimentality. Nagato's group had been tragic, misguided rather than malicious. And one crucial line had never been crossed.
Besides, he really did need help.
"Your residence will be near Jiraiya's," Tōma added. "For now."
Konan understood immediately and nodded. Supervision, protection, and a shield against hostility. It was fair.
Jiraiya exhaled slowly. Looks like I'm staying in the village after all.
Tōma glanced at Nagato one last time.
"Now," he said, tone shifting, "let's talk about how your Rinnegan was taken."
...
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