Qianyu's words hit hard.
Yahiko stood there, utterly lost. "Had…had we been wrong all along?" he murmured, voice hollow. "Is true peace… truly impossible for this world?"
Qianyu watched the despair settle on the young man's face. "Wanting peace isn't wrong," he stated flatly. "The timing is. In an era of peace, your ideals are fine. Admirable, even. But we're at war. Your talk of peace threatens the powers that be. Their profits. Their control. That makes you a target. That makes you wrong."
Yahiko frowned, the gears turning slowly. "But that's a contradiction. If the world were already peaceful, we wouldn't be needed."
A sigh escaped Qianyu. "Naivete like yours is a rare breed, Yahiko. Why do wars start? Conflict. Grievances. Greed. Injustice. The list goes on. Once the fighting begins, it means talk has failed. The differences can't be smoothed over with words anymore. Only blood settles it." He leaned in slightly. "If sitting at a table could end it, what about the cost? The villages burned? The people dead? No. War only ends when one side wins. Understand now?"
Yahiko's fists clenched. Knuckles white.
He didn't want to understand. But every lesson, every betrayal, screamed that Qianyu was right. His push for a peace summit had led the Akatsuki to ruin.
"Isn't there any way?" Yahiko's voice was raw, desperate. "Any path to lasting peace?"
Qianyu shook his head. "No." A pause. "But your friend… he's chasing the closest thing to it."
"Friend?" Yahiko blinked, then his eyes widened. "Nagato? And Konan? I knew it! I knew Nagato was the destined one!" A flicker of hope, a genuine smile breaking through his gloom.
Qianyu's lips curved into a subtle, almost cruel smile. "Aren't you curious how he plans to achieve it?"
"How?"
The smile turned into a full, wicked grin. "Nagato believes this world is cursed. That people will never truly understand each other. So his plan is simple. Gather the Tailed Beasts. Forge a new weapon of unimaginable power. A weapon that can erase a nation in an instant. He'll use that power—the fear of total annihilation, the memory of shared pain—to force the world into line. To bully it into peace."
In reality, this was Obito Uchiha's plan, planted in Nagato's mind later. But telling Yahiko now? It changed nothing. Qianyu had no intention of letting these two reunite.
The words didn't just hit Yahiko. They shattered him. "That… that can't be… Why would he… go so far?"
"Why the shock?" Qianyu asked, genuinely puzzled. "Honestly, it's the most viable plan on the table. A deterrent. Everyone fears the gun to their head. No one moves. Peace through absolute power. Simple."
"No, no, no!" Yahiko grabbed his own head, fingers digging into his red hair. "That's not peace! That's tyranny wearing a mask!"
"Then what is your peace?" Qianyu's tone was pure ice.
"A world… where people understand each other. Truly understand."
A short, harsh laugh burst from Qianyu. "Still drinking Jiraiya's kool-aid, I see. That peace is a fantasy. You talk of mutual understanding. So why did you throw the first punch at me? If understanding is the answer, why didn't you try to understand me? You can't even practice what you preach. What gives you the right to demand it of the world?"
"I… I…"
Yahiko opened his mouth. Nothing came out. No rebuttal. No defense. He had none.
Qianyu paced forward, stopping right in front of the defeated man. "Your peace, Yahiko, is a children's story. It will never happen. And let me be clear—the only reason I saved you is because Nagato is being used. His method, however brutal, could work. You… you're just an obstacle to him."
"Used?!" Yahiko's head snapped up, desperation overriding his shock. "What do you mean, used?!"
"Where do you think Nagato's Rinnegan came from?"
"He was born with it!" Yahiko answered immediately.
"Born with it?" Qianyu scoffed. "Then he should be an Uchiha."
Yahiko stared, uncomprehending. "An Uchiha? What are you talking about?"
Qianyu's eyes bled into crimson. The tomoe spun, twisted, evolved. The intricate pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan blazed to life. "Because the Rinnegan… is the final evolution of the Uchiha's Sharingan."
Yahiko's jaw went slack. "Final evolution… Is Nagato… an Uchiha?"
Qianyu's eye twitched. The White Snake Sage was right. The kid is dense. "Uchiha have black hair. Only black. Nagato is an Uzumaki. A redhead."
"An Uzumaki… But then… the Rinnegan…" Yahiko's mind was a whirlwind, struggling to process.
"How?" Qianyu finished for him. "Someone gave it to him. The moment those eyes settled in his sockets, Nagato became a pawn in a game he doesn't even know he's playing. Stay on this path, and his only end is death."
Yahiko's pupils constricted to pinpricks. "Who gave them to him? What's the plan?!"
Qianyu shook his head. "I'm not telling you. Not yet. Go to Nagato now, and you're both dead. You'd disrupt the master's design, and Nagato would lose his value. The Rinnegan can be given… and it can be taken back. Given to someone else to continue the plan."
All the strength left Yahiko's body. He slumped to the floor. "…How…"
Then, a surge of adrenaline. He scrambled up, hands seizing Qianyu's shoulders. "You have a plan! You saved me for a reason! You want something! Tell me! I'll do anything—anything—if it saves Nagato and Konan!"
Qianyu looked at the desperate grip, then at Yahiko's face. He smiled. A real one this time. "Now you're thinking. Yes. I have a use for you. But there's one condition. An absolute rule. Until my business is finished, you do not see Nagato. You do not see Konan. Not a glimpse. Not a message. This could take five years. Ten. Maybe forever. Can you do that?"
Yahiko's hands trembled where they gripped Qianyu's shoulders. Seconds stretched. His jaw worked. Finally, he met Qianyu's gaze, his own eyes hard with a newfound resolve. "Can you promise me… swear to me… that they'll be safe?"
Qianyu held the stare. "You keep your word. I'll keep mine."
A deep, shuddering breath. Yahiko released his grip, his posture straightening. "Then… I agree."
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