Chapter 279: To Bring Peace

Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 279: To Bring Peace

Naruto stared at Pain and the woman he had called Konan.

She seemed to be ready to pounce on him at any moment. On the other hand, he noticed that Pain looked a lot more relaxed in comparison.

This could mean that he had another trick up his sleeve, or perhaps…he had already given up and realized he had no chance of winning.

"So you are the Leader of Akatsuki," Naruto fainly said.

"Only in name…I merely accepted the responsibility," Pain responded.

"Are you saying that someone else is in charge of the group?"

"That is correct," Pain answered, earning a harsh look from Konan.

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"You will have to find that out yourself. But I doubt it would take long."

Naruto could think of a few ways to make him talk, but he was not that interested in the answer to go through that effort.

"But you are the one who killed Jiraiya."

He noticed that Konan reacted at hearing that name.

"I am…" Pain did not hesitate in his answer. "Was he important to you?" He did his best to pretend that he did not care about it.

"You could say that. And there are few people who fall into that category."

"Then you must want to avenge him," Pain responded.

"There are several reasons for wanting to kill you. That is one of them." As Naruto said this, Konan stood in his way.

"I won't let you take him!" Konan shouted. She jumped and launched a kick aimed at his face. "I will kill you first!."

Naruto blocked it with little effort before countering with a kick of his own. "Obviously, you cannot do that."

"Urgg!" Konan groaned in pain as she felt some of her ribs break from the impact, but she was not deterred. Her arms began to transform into pieces of paper.

"Maybe is not that obvious to you..." Naruto commented.

"Konan, enough! I told you to stand back," Pain exclaimed with enough force to shake the ground. Even when he was nearing exhaustion, he was still a powerful individual.

This seemed to have an effect on her, and she stopped her jutsu midway. Konan bit her lip and held her injured torso with one hand, but did not try to attack Naruto again.

Naruto moved his eyes to Pain. "What did you want to tell me before you die? Let's not drag this out unnecessarily."

"Did you know that Jiraiya was also our sensei? We met him years ago, when the Country of Rain was still in the middle of an intense war. He saved us and taught us how to defend ourselves…he shared with us his values and ideals," Pain explained.

"And killing him was your way to thank him for that?. And they say that I am the strange one." Naruto said.

"Nagato never wanted to kill Sensei!" Konan snapped.

"Konan…there is no need to defend my actions. I will take responsibility for what I did," Pain said. "But it is true that I would have preferred not to kill him. However…our goal was too important, and his efforts were putting it all at risk. I could not let him go... our mission is too crucial for that."

"Akatsuki's goal? You mean, other than gathering the Bijuu?" Naruto still didn't know what their plans for the chakra beasts were.

"What is it that you are trying to accomplish?"

"Peace."

"Is that a joke?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"You don't need to believe me, but that is the truth," Pain said.

"You have no idea what we have gone through…what the war has done to us," Konan added. "When Nagato says that he wishes for peace…he means it."

"And you were planning on using the Bijuu towards that purpose…how exactly?" Naruto was now curious.

"Great power can serve as a deterrent. The First Hokage of Konoha knew this when he gave the Bijuu to all the major ninja villages. As long as each village had their weapons of mass destruction, they would avoid going to war against each other," Pain explained.

"I'm not a history expert by any means, but…weren't there already two more wars after that?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, that didn't work," Pain admitted. "Spreading the power in such a way only made people more greedy, eager to take what others had. But if all the weapons were held by a single entity…everyone would have no choice but to obey. Holding absolute power is the only way to enforce a lasting peace."

"That's the conclusion you reached?" Naruto shook his head. " You foolish boy."

"It is the only way! You may have defeated me, but I still believe that my actions were correct. I fought to obtain peace…I fought to make the world a better place. You are the villain here for stopping me!" Pain exclaimed.

Naruto shrugged. "Please…if you truly believe that, then you don't know anything about the nature of people. A peace obtained with an iron fist would never last."

"They wouldn't have a choice! They would have to obey their God," Pain said.

"And that's why you are a foolish boy," Naruto responded. "The one thing that is more important to mortals than anything else…is freedom. If you take that away, they will reject it and fight you for it. No matter how powerful you are, they would still try to find a way to get rid of you."

"Then they would die," Pain said.

"Yes…then they would die, and you will rule over nothing. That's where your road to peace ends." Naruto added.

"No…" Pain shook his head. "This is…you are wrong! This is the way…the only way to break the curse of hatred that plagues this world. They need someone to guide them in the right direction."

"Believe what you want. It doesn't matter anymore." Naruto took a step forward. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Then what is it that you are trying to accomplish?!" Pain shouted at him. "What is your goal? Why are you gathering all the Bijuu?"

"Me?" Naruto asked. "I'm afraid I don't have any lofty goals like yours. I just want to be stronger… break free from the shackles of mortality and see what lies beyond the Heavens. I have no intention of staying here and ruling over some mortal countries. That is not going to make anyone's life better. Including mine."

Pain remained silent for a moment. "I have lost to such a selfish person?..."

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