Mastermind of the Akatsuki

"What is the current situation in the ninja world?"

Yahiko and the others fell into deep thought, unsure of how to answer Byakuya's question.

After exchanging glances, they all turned to look at Byakuya, their eyes seemingly saying: stop keeping us in suspense.

Byakuya, not holding anything back, directly stated, "The ninja world is currently in a rare period of peace, but this peace will not last long. At most, it will last another ten years, and after that, the next great ninja war will break out."

Upon hearing this, Yahiko and the others were taken aback.

The peace in the ninja world can only last another ten years? But looking at the current situation, the war between Konoha and Iwagakure is just a small skirmish and shows no signs of escalating.

Moreover, after experiencing three brutal ninja world wars, all the major ninja villages should have learned how terrible war is and should be less likely to start a war again.

But on second thought, the intervals between the past ninja world wars were all within a range of ten to twenty years.

Why is this?

It seemed that Byakuya had sensed their thoughts and began explaining in detail.

In essence, the major ninja villages chose to negotiate peace at the end of each great ninja war, not because of a love for peace, but because the higher-ups in each village realized that continuing the fight would bring no benefits.

Rather than continue fighting aimlessly, it was better to sign a peace treaty and temporarily cease hostilities.

During the time of peace, a new generation of ninjas would grow in each village, gradually restoring the strength of their villages. At the same time, the increase in the number of ninjas would lead to growing internal conflicts within the villages.

Once the internal conflict accumulated to a certain extent, the villages would either fall into prolonged civil unrest or be forced to expand externally.

For any ninja village, external expansion is the best way to divert internal conflict. If they can defeat other opponents, that would be ideal.

Even if they cannot defeat their enemies, they can still exhaust their own and the enemy's ninjas, reducing the number of potential competitors.

After hearing Byakuya's explanation, Yahiko and the others nodded repeatedly. Byakuya had given a good explanation for why ninja world wars start and end, but from one angle, it seemed that the wars would never stop.

Does this not mean that the ideals of the Akatsuki will never be realized?

Thinking of this, Yahiko turned to Byakuya and said, "Byakuya, is there any way to stop the next great ninja war? I feel that even if the number of ninjas is restricted, the internal conflicts of the major villages won't decrease."

Byakuya gently shook his head and then said, "I can't stop the internal conflicts of the major ninja villages, but I do have a way that can maintain peace in the ninja world for decades, during which no large-scale wars will break out."

"What method?" Yahiko asked, his face serious.

"Do you remember the era when Konoha ruled the ninja world? Under the intimidation of the First Hokage and the Shura of the ninja world, even if the four major ninja villages wanted to start a war to shift internal conflicts, they wouldn't dare to easily start a war."

After hearing this, Yahiko fell into thought, and the other two showed thoughtful expressions as well.

Although they hadn't lived through the era when the two great powers suppressed the ninja world, they could still catch glimpses of that era through history books.

In the textbooks of Amegakure, it was described as an extremely oppressive time.

For the ninjas of Amegakure at that time, the two great powers—Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara—were so imposing that their mere names made the entire ninja world hold its breath. All the ninjas lived cautiously, fearing angering Konoha.

However, during the era of the two great powers, the ninja world had indeed never seen large-scale wars break out.

But the problem was, while Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were alive, their presence did deter the ninja world and prevented the other villages from easily starting a war.

However, the conflicts between the major villages never disappeared, and they only deepened over time.

After Hashirama's death, Konoha, once the ruler of the ninja world, was immediately besieged by the four major ninja villages. That war lasted for over a decade and indirectly led to the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars.

The most crucial point was that the Akatsuki Organization currently did not possess the strength to intimidate the ninja world.

Thinking of this, Yahiko turned to Byakuya and said, "Are you suggesting that the Akatsuki replace the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha? But our current strength is not enough to intimidate the entire ninja world. Right now, we've developed rapidly, but at most, we can only match one of the five major ninja villages in terms of power. We don't have the strength to suppress them."

Yahiko spoke sincerely, not opposing Byakuya's idea but feeling that it wasn't realistic for the Akatsuki Organization.

Byakuya smiled lightly, shook his head, and said to Yahiko, "Yahiko, Amegakure's current strength may be on par with the lower-ranked of the five major ninja villages, but that doesn't mean the Akatsuki is at that level. Don't forget that Kusagakure, Yugakure, and the countries of the Grass and Rice are also under the Akatsuki's control.

Plus, the organization's accumulated manpower over the years has far surpassed Konoha. Although we haven't yet joined the ranks of the five major ninja villages, we've already surpassed them."

"Our strength surpasses Konoha?"

Yahiko looked surprised, but after thinking about it carefully, he understood. While Amegakure might not match Konoha in terms of the number of ninjas, its high-level combat power had already surpassed them.

But even if they had surpassed Konoha, so what? Konoha, once the number one ninja village, had frequently been besieged.

Moreover, their surpassing Konoha wasn't just because they had become stronger, but also because of the suffocating actions Konoha had taken in recent years. If Konoha had the opportunity to recover, it would quickly regain its former strength.

Amegakure should continue to quietly grow rich without taking huge risks to bring peace to the ninja world.

Thinking this, Yahiko shook his head. "I still think this plan is too impulsive. The Akatsuki only needs to be responsible for the ninja villages under its control. The rest of the world isn't our concern. If wars break out in other parts of the ninja world or if people suffer, it has nothing to do with us."

As soon as Yahiko said this, he immediately regretted it. How could he say such irresponsible things?

The original goal of the Akatsuki was to stop the major countries from bullying the smaller ones. They wanted to unite like-minded ninjas and bring peace to the entire ninja world, ending all wars.

Now, Amegakure was already considered one of the major nations, and he had become the kind of person he once despised.

However, if they acted impulsively as they did in the past, not only would they fail to bring peace to the ninja world, but they could lose everything they had gained.

After hearing Yahiko's words, Byakuya didn't say much.

However, Konan and Nagato exchanged stunned glances, their faces filled with disbelief.

They couldn't believe that Yahiko had said such a thing. Was this still the same Yahiko who once shone like the sun and persuaded everyone to never abandon their ideals?

Although Yahiko's appearance hadn't changed much, the shadow of Hanzo of the Salamander had begun to appear within him.

Sensing the gazes on him, Yahiko turned to look at Konan and Nagato. Seeing their disappointed expressions, he took a deep breath and said, "Alright, the Akatsuki can't abandon its ideals. But I won't let you lead your comrades to their deaths. I absolutely disagree with starting a war against other ninja villages."

"Who told you I'm going to war with other ninja villages?"

Byakuya looked at Yahiko suspiciously, then said, "This is just your misunderstanding. Or are you saying that you, Yahiko, want to start the next great ninja war more than I do?"

Yahiko's expression shifted. He realized that the resolution he had just made was like a punch thrown at cotton—completely meaningless.

After a moment of silence, Yahiko asked, "If we don't start a war, how do we deter the five great ninja villages? Are we supposed to rely on our words?"

"Of course, a war must happen, but not a long, drawn-out great ninja war. To deter the five great ninja villages, we must have the strength to erase them whenever we want, and that's how we make them listen."

As he spoke, Byakuya's gaze landed on Nagato.

Yahiko followed his gaze and saw Nagato. Upon seeing Nagato's Rinnegan, he finally understood Byakuya's plan.

Byakuya intended to use Nagato's power to intimidate the ninja world, but was Nagato's strength enough?

Nagato had the Rinnegan, the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, but his physical strength was at best on par with the Five Kage. He didn't have the overwhelming advantage necessary to crush the five great ninja villages.

Thinking of this, Yahiko turned to Nagato and asked, "Nagato, how strong are you now? Do you have the confidence to defeat the Five Kage? How much stronger are you compared to before?"

"I haven't fought the Five Kage, so I don't know if I can defeat them."

After a pause, Nagato continued, "However, I'm much stronger than I was seven years ago. If I were to face Hanzo of the Salamander again, I'm confident I could easily defeat him. But if I were facing two enemies of Hanzo's caliber at the same time, I'd be powerless."

Hearing this, Yahiko turned to Byakuya and said, "Byakuya, it seems that Nagato can't crush the Five Kage either. He might be able to defeat them, but the Five Kage usually have their elite guards with them. Although the Rinnegan is said to be the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, it's just a legend. If the Sage of Six Paths were truly as powerful as a god, he would still be alive today, not a figure in unverifiable legends. Perhaps the Sage of Six Paths was just a powerful ninja from a thousand years ago."

Byakuya's eyes lit up. Yahiko had suggested that the Sage of Six Paths might have simply been a very strong ninja rather than a god-like being above all others.

Yahiko's insight was on point, but unfortunately, the Sage of Six Paths truly was above all ninjas.

Even though his physical body had been dead for over a thousand years, his soul still existed in the Pure Land and could transcend the boundaries of life and death, ready to return to the ninja world at any time.

After a moment of contemplation, Byakuya slowly spoke, "I need Nagato's Rinnegan, but that doesn't mean I only need the power of the Rinnegan. Over the years, I've gathered a lot of information and received some startling intelligence."

"What intelligence?" Yahiko and the others were intrigued and turned to Byakuya.

Byakuya spoke slowly, "Nagato, do you remember the Outer Path Samsara Statue we summoned? That thing is actually the shell of the Ten-Tails, and it once housed the power of the Nine Tailed Beasts."

"The Outer Path Samsara Statue is the Ten-Tails' shell, and it once housed the power of the Nine Tailed Beasts?"

Yahiko and the others were shocked. They couldn't help but exclaim, "Byakuya, if the Outer Path Samsara Statue is the shell of the Ten-Tails and once housed the power of the Nine Tailed Beasts, how powerful would the complete Ten-Tails be?"

"I don't know, but it's definitely more powerful than the Nine-Tails..."

After a pause, Byakuya continued, "As long as we can capture the one to nine Tailed Beasts and seal them inside the Outer Path Samsara Statue, bringing the Ten-Tails back to life, we'll have the power to surpass the five great ninja villages.

With such world-destroying power, no ninja village will dare to start a war again. The peace could last for twenty, thirty years, or even longer. After all, the power of the Outer Path Samsara Statue is different from the strength of the First Hokage. It can be inherited. As long as we're still alive, there will be no large-scale wars in the ninja world."

After hearing Byakuya's plan, Konan and Nagato were filled with excitement. They couldn't wait for the day when peace would finally come.

They didn't expect peace in the ninja world to last forever; even if it lasted just a hundred years, that would be enough.

At this moment, Yahiko seemed to remember something and spoke up, "Even if the Ten-Tails has the power to crush everything and bring decades of peace to the ninja world, I recall that the Nine Tailed Beasts are mostly under the control of the five great ninja villages, heavily guarded. How can we possibly sneakily obtain all the Nine Tailed Beasts?

Heck, maybe before we successfully get our hands on them, we end up in a full-scale war with the five great ninja villages. Your plan to collect the Tailed Beasts and revive the Ten-Tails doesn't seem much different from declaring war directly."

Byakuya shook his head and replied, "Of course, there's a difference. The operation to collect the Tailed Beasts will be carried out secretly by elite ninjas. Even if a ninja village loses a Tailed Beast, they will keep it a secret and not inform the others."

"Byakuya, you plan to take advantage of the discord between the five great ninja villages?!" Yahiko narrowed his eyes, now realizing Byakuya's plan.

Byakuya's approach to hunting the Tailed Beasts wasn't as loud and obvious as he had imagined. Instead, it would be done secretly, so even if one of the villages lost a Tailed Beast, they wouldn't dare reveal it due to mutual suspicion.

After all, the Tailed Beasts and their Jinchūriki were the greatest powers of any ninja village. If a village lost its Tailed Beast, the other villages possessing them would likely use their Tailed Beasts' power to launch an all-out attack.

"This plan is clever, but if one village informs the others, they'll surely increase their security around the Jinchūriki or even imprison them," Yahiko cautioned.

After a brief pause, Yahiko raised a pressing question, "If we want to capture all the Tailed Beasts at once, we need to act simultaneously. Does the Akatsuki have enough manpower for such a large-scale operation?"

Byakuya nodded slightly, "Do you think the organization has just been expanding aimlessly over the years? I've already recruited many powerful ninjas. We're just waiting for the right opportunity to launch the Tailed Beast hunting operation. Also, these ninjas are not from Amegakure. Even if the hunting operation is exposed, they won't trace it back to us."

Seeing that Byakuya had already thought everything through, Yahiko couldn't argue any further. He reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Moreover, Yahiko understood that even if he didn't agree, Byakuya had already started acting in secret. It would be better for him to participate directly and ensure that the boundaries were properly managed.