Chapter 289: The First Step to Persuading Nagato
"Four hundred million ryo." Nagato named the price.
Kenichi could not help curling his lip when he heard it. He had to admit, Obito was truly stingy. He was only offering four hundred million ryo.
Was four hundred million ryo a lot? It sounded like a lot, but in truth, it was not that much. After all, the production cost of a thermobaric bomb was fixed. Once the expenses were deducted, the profit was not especially high, and that was still under the assumption that he already had the design for the thermobaric bomb.
What if there was no design? Then he would have to develop it himself from scratch, and the research cost would also have to be factored into the total expense. That was why many high tech products were so expensive when they first appeared. The cost of research and development had to be spread out.
For example, if Kenichi wanted to handcraft a thermobaric bomb in the ninja world, he would spend an unknown amount of money just on formulating the explosive itself.
Even if Kenichi were a professional in explosives and knew the formula for thermobaric materials, it would still cost a lot to produce them.
"Not much," Kenichi said. He was reluctant to go. The price was too low.
Moreover, for missions introduced by the Akatsuki Organization, a portion of the payment had to be handed over to the organization. That meant after deducting the cost and the organization's cut, he would only be left with a little over one hundred million.
"If you don't want to go, then I'll refuse it." Nagato did not care much. Although an income of over one hundred million ryo was not small, Kakuzu was now a very dedicated money making machine, and the Akatsuki Organization's financial situation had improved significantly.
Of course, what Nagato did not want to admit was that part of the Akatsuki Organization's income actually came from Sasori.
Sasori had blown up many things within the organization before, so the compensation money alone had become one of the organization's major financial sources. Nagato still remembered Kakuzu's excited expression after calculating those numbers. He had even suggested that Sasori be allowed to come back more often.
Nagato had rejected the idea with a dark face on the spot. What kind of joke was that? How could he let Sasori come back? Was he not afraid that Sasori would blow up the entire Land of Rain?
Although blowing up the Land of Rain would definitely bring in more money, it would also attract the attention of the other ninja villages. The Akatsuki Organization did not want to be exposed to the entire ninja world so early.
"No, I'll still go." Kenichi licked his lips and finally decided to accept the mission.
Although the mission itself was not offering much, it involved Obito.
Kenichi felt there was definitely something off about Obito suddenly issuing a mission to the Akatsuki Organization and specifically asking for him to carry it out.
The only question was whether Nagato was involved in it.
If Nagato was involved, then he would definitely know that Hidden Mist Village was actually under Obito's control. If that were the case, suddenly issuing this kind of mission should have aroused Nagato's suspicion.
But Nagato's expression and tone were completely normal, which made Kenichi begin to suspect that Nagato might not actually know about Obito controlling the Mizukage.
And if someone wanted to expose another person's true intentions, the best method was to walk right into their trap and see what they really intended to do.
The only problem was that he needed to make enough preparations to guarantee that he could get out again.
A trap for catching rabbits could catch rabbits, but it could not catch a tiger.
"Oh? Then I'll take it. Hidden Mist Village has already paid in full." Nagato instantly became a little happier. An income of over one hundred million was still acceptable. At the very least, it could help solve some of the organization's problems. In this world, it was truly impossible to move even an inch without money.
"By the way, Pain," Kenichi suddenly said before leaving, "I want to ask you something. What do you think is the way to achieve peace?"
Nagato was taken aback.
To be honest, although he had inherited his friend's dying wish and continued leading the Akatsuki Organization, he had never fully revealed the organization's ultimate goal.
That goal was to gather all the Tailed Beasts and then achieve peace in the ninja world.
Of course, there were some details he had never disclosed. What he truly did not understand was why Kenichi would suddenly ask him something like this.
That made Nagato recall the information he had once gathered on Amamiya Kenichi.
In truth, Nagato had not investigated every single person who joined Akatsuki. He had only looked into a few people he found especially interesting, and naturally, the investigation itself had been entrusted to someone else within the organization.
The report that came back had been very detailed.
Kenichi was a war orphan from Konoha. His parents had once been a pair of Konoha ninja. Because they died in war, Kenichi became an orphan and was taken in by an orphanage.
His parents had not left him much money, and even that money seemed to have been conveniently forgotten rather than handed over to him, which meant he had lived a very difficult life. His family home had later been sold off as well.
Then, later, he met Orochimaru and became his disciple. Orochimaru bought back Kenichi's parents' house and returned it to him.
After that, Kenichi followed Orochimaru and got involved in all kinds of shady business. He also appeared to have some unclear connection with Konoha's higher ups. Then came his defection, and it was also said that he had made one or two friends in Konoha.
"Why do you suddenly want to ask something like that?" Nagato looked at Kenichi deeply.
He did not believe Kenichi was asking for no reason.
But judging by the information he had, while Kenichi's early experiences were indeed somewhat tragic, that was only before he met Orochimaru.
After meeting Orochimaru, Kenichi's life had taken a completely different path, becoming the sort of life many people would consider extremely comfortable.
Logically speaking, someone living such a life should not be asking questions like that. He had not truly seen the cruelty of war, nor personally experienced the Pain of it. At most, he had lost his parents because of war.
Although that was tragic, the fact remained that war orphans were everywhere in the ninja world. Kenichi had at least been able to live in an orphanage, while Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko had wandered the streets and fought stray dogs for scraps of food.
His suffering had been even greater.
"Because I find this chaotic world very boring," Kenichi said with a slight smile. "Extremely boring."
He had always felt that humans were contradictory creatures.
The universe was vast. People could have explored outer space, found other habitable worlds, and expanded beyond their current limits. And yet humans seemed especially fond of endlessly stirring up trouble on the single planet beneath their feet.
War, the plundering of resources, the seizure of wealth, the deliberate creation of conflict and division.
And all the while, above them was the starry sky.
That immense universe should have been the destination people longed for most.
"It is indeed very boring," Nagato replied. Then he glanced at Kenichi again.
He always felt that Kenichi was speaking with some hidden meaning.
"I actually have a completely new idea for how to achieve peace in the world," Kenichi said with a smile. "But I plan to test it myself first and see whether peace can really be achieved that way."
The peace he spoke of was, in truth, the unification of the entire ninja world.
Then, after enough time passed, people's national identity would gradually change. Once the older generation who still remembered the Five Great Nations and the smaller countries had all died off, a new era would begin.
"Oh? What is it?" Nagato had become somewhat interested.
If the topic had been anything else, he would not have cared. But the peace of the ninja world was something he cared about greatly.
After all, his friend had once wanted to create a world where people could understand one another.
Although his friend had failed and died, Nagato had inherited that dying wish.
"Unify every nation in the ninja world and establish a single complete country," Kenichi said simply. "That way, people will only have one identity. They will no longer be people of the Land of Fire, the Land of Rain, or the Land of Earth. They will all be people of the same country. Naturally, there will be no more war."
Originally, Kenichi had not intended to say any of this. But since Nagato had asked, then he could say it.
And more importantly, this was Nagato's space. No matter how capable Black Zetsu was, he could not sneak in here and eavesdrop. So perhaps this was a chance to slowly win Nagato over and make him gradually lean toward his side.
Nagato was stunned when he heard that.
Then, almost unconsciously, he began comparing Kenichi's idea with his own.
Immediately, he realized the two ideas actually had a point of overlap. For example, he could rely on the Tailed Beasts to force all nations into unification...
"Of course, this method is somewhat troublesome," Kenichi added, "but it's far more effective than relying on temporary military deterrence. After all, temporary military deterrence only works while that military power exists. Once that power dies, then there's nothing left to talk about."
Nagato's expression darkened, and he looked at Kenichi suspiciously.
Why did he keep feeling like Kenichi was talking about him?
After all, his own idea was precisely to use overwhelming military force to make the ninja world feel Pain, understand Pain, and thus ultimately achieve peace.
But when he looked at his own body, even Nagato had to admit that he did not seem to have much time left.
In that case, even if he truly managed to subdue all the Tailed Beasts and achieve his goal, what then?
If he himself died, then to whom would the peace of the ninja world be entrusted?
Konan?
Konan could not do it.
Without the Sage's eyes, Konan had no way to suppress the rogue ninja inside Akatsuki, nor could she suppress the monstrously talented geniuses scattered across the ninja world.
That seemed to be a dead end.
Kenichi looked at the silent Nagato and knew he was already thinking about it.
Kenichi was in no hurry.
These things could never be resolved in a short time.
He was not Naruto. He did not possess Talk no Jutsu. He could not directly persuade Nagato to change his way of thinking.
In fact, anyone who had ever tried persuading another person would know exactly how difficult it was.
Back in his previous life, Kenichi had advised a friend to stop chasing after other women after getting married and just live properly with his wife. He had tried for six or seven years, and the man still had not changed at all. In the end, Kenichi had simply stopped trying.
After all, what was the point of persuading someone if it never worked?
And this situation was far more serious than that. It involved a dead friend's final wish and the conviction a man had carried for his entire life. To think someone could abandon all of that after hearing just a few sentences...
That would require something closer to hypnosis than persuasion.
"Leader, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving." After waiting for a while, Kenichi grew a little impatient.
He knew Nagato would need a great deal of time to think through something like this. Only when Nagato reached the conclusion himself would it matter. If Kenichi spoke too much now, Nagato would only grow suspicious and begin second guessing his motives.
That would backfire.
So the best approach was to say nothing more, carry out the mission, and let Nagato think it through on his own.
Nagato gave a distracted "oh," then let Kenichi leave.
Soon afterward, Nagato returned to the real world. Feeling the things embedded in his body, he could not help letting out a rough breath.
He stared blankly into the dim room around him. There was no visible sunlight here, only candlelight. That was also part of maintaining Pain's mystique, preventing others from approaching too closely.
In the entire Akatsuki Organization, the only person allowed to approach him directly was Konan.
"Peace?" Nagato muttered as he took a deep breath.
He had never really thought about what would happen after his own death before. That question had always seemed too far away. He had not even begun gathering the Tailed Beasts yet.
But now, after hearing Kenichi's words, Nagato suddenly felt that the question was indeed crucial.
While he was still alive, he was confident that, with the Sage's eyes and his own power, he could suppress the people of the ninja world and force them into peace. Anyone who did not want peace, he would personally make peaceful.
But what if he died?
Could Konan inherit his ideals?
Yes, but Konan was not strong enough.
The Sage's eyes consumed a terrifying amount of chakra, far more than her body could bear. And maintaining the Gedo Statue also required an enormous chakra supply. Only someone with a physique like his could support it.
What about the other members of Akatsuki?
Kakuzu? Forget it. That guy only cared about making money.
Sasori and Deidara?
Forget that too. If things went badly, the ninja world might not be destroyed by war at all, but by those two blowing it apart.
Orochimaru and Amamiya Kenichi?
Those two clearly had their own motives.
Nagato still could not figure out what they truly wanted, especially Kenichi.
Orochimaru was easier to understand. He was a fanatical researcher, someone with little interest in anything outside experimentation. As far as Nagato was concerned, Orochimaru's danger was at least straightforward.
But Kenichi was far more complicated.
Now Nagato even began to suspect that Kenichi knew something. Otherwise, why would he choose to say those things now?
For a moment, Nagato sank deep into thought.
Still, he did not forget to make Pain contact Kakuzu and have Kakuzu inform Hidden Mist that the Heavenly Demon had accepted the commission.
"Accepted?" In Hidden Mist Village, Obito showed the faintest smile after hearing the report.
At last, that plan could begin.
Obito licked his lips.
It seemed it was time for him to make a trip to Konoha.
.....
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