Chapter 80: Peace-loving

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''Kakuzu's realization was bittersweet.''

After all, Kakuzu had lived for over a century, and in his youth, he had once been tasked with assassinating the most powerful ninja of the time—Senju Hashirama!

Although he failed, Kakuzu considered it an honor to have even faced Hashirama in battle.

Originally an elite Jōnin from Takigakure, Kakuzu had been ordered by the village's leaders to assassinate Senju Hashirama.

Kakuzu had pointed at himself in disbelief. "Me? You want 'me' to assassinate Senju Hashirama?"

The village elders had confirmed it. "Yes, you."

Kakuzu had taken on the mission, but when he saw Hashirama from a distance, he threw a kunai at him, hoping to strike from the shadows.

But in an instant, Hashirama locked onto Kakuzu's location with terrifying precision.

The killing intent emanating from Hashirama was so overwhelming that Kakuzu was paralyzed with fear, unable to move.

However, instead of killing him, Hashirama merely glanced at Kakuzu, sparing his life. To someone as powerful as Hashirama, Kakuzu wasn't even worth considering.

But upon returning to his village, the elders of Takigakure, fearing retaliation from Konoha, imprisoned Kakuzu to cover their tracks.

Kakuzu was furious. He had risked his life for the village, yet they betrayed him.

In his rage, he learned the village's forbidden technique—Earth Grudge Fear. With this new power, Kakuzu killed the village elders and defected.

Since then, as a bounty hunter, Kakuzu had lived an almost immortal life due to the effects of Earth Grudge Fear.

Now, as a centenarian, Kakuzu looked over at Hidan, who was yawning while carrying his massive scythe.

Though their personalities were vastly different, Kakuzu couldn't deny that they made a formidable team.

Hidan's immortality came from his worship of Jashin, while Kakuzu's came from Earth Grudge Fear.

The two had become known as the "Immortal Duo."

In the Akatsuki organization, there were five main pairs:

- ''Pain and Konan.''

- ''Kakuzu and Hidan, the Immortal Duo.''

- ''Kisame and Shisui, the Lost Duo (Kisame with no sense of direction, and Shisui being blind).''

- ''Deidara and Sasori, the Artistic Duo.''

- ''And finally, Zetsu and Orochimaru.'' Though Orochimaru had since defected, they were once called the Curious Duo.

Kakuzu's thoughts returned to the present as he looked at the three wanted posters in his hand.

He had no idea where Jigen was hiding, so he decided to head to the Fire Temple in the Land of Fire.

...

''Meanwhile, in another part of the world...''

In a temple within the Land of Hot Water, Jigen, having just finished his prayers, stared coldly ahead.

To Jigen, all gods and Buddhas were nothing more than useless relics.

However, he knew he was currently too weak. He lacked the strength to resurrect fully, and his current body was on the verge of collapse after so many years of use.

'Just a little longer,' Jigen thought. 'Maybe a few more years, or perhaps even decades. Once I find a suitable vessel, I can fully resurrect.'

'And then,' Jigen mused darkly, 'those who betrayed Isshiki will be destroyed! Everything that belongs to me will be reclaimed!'

Just then, a pigeon flew in, carrying a wanted notice in its beak. It landed on Jigen's shoulder.

Jigen gently stroked the pigeon's feathers. "Thank you," he murmured.

But as Jigen opened the wanted notice, his expression froze.

It felt as though the sky was falling.

Inside Jigen's body was the soul of Isshiki Ōtsutsuki—once feared as invincible, a being who feared neither gods nor demons.

But that was no longer the case.

After Kaguya's betrayal had left him near death, Isshiki had become deeply fearful of his consciousness fading away completely.

Jigen's thoughts raced. 'How does Uchiha know my name and what I look like?'

There was only one explanation.

Jigen glanced at the turtle behind him—Kara's treasure, the Karasuki. It had the power to traverse time and space.

'If the Uchiha know my appearance and name, then they must have traveled from the future to kill me!'

Jigen sneered inwardly. 'It must be my future self, resurrected in a perfect vessel, that led them to travel back in time to stop me!'

However, activating the Karasuki required an immense amount of chakra, which Jigen currently lacked.

He couldn't start it now. To survive, he would need to travel through time, inhabiting different time periods to evade his pursuers.

'This is the only way,' Jigen thought. 'Even though it's risky, I have no other choice.'

In this timeline, he would be found eventually.

...

''Meanwhile, back in the Land of Fire...''

The Uchiha clan was negotiating with Onoki, the Tsuchikage, and Terumi Mei, the Mizukage.

Gaara, the Kazekage, was easy to deal with since he was Sasuke's friend. Thanks to that relationship, Jigen's wanted posters were quickly distributed throughout the Land of Wind.

Among the Five Great Nations, the Uchiha had rarely clashed with Kirigakure.

However, there had been frequent conflicts with Iwagakure, as the Earth Country had been Konoha's primary enemy in past wars.

Onoki, with his usual gruffness, demanded, "One hundred million ryō!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a bit steep, old man?"

Onoki, standing firm, replied arrogantly, "One hundred million ryō, or there's no deal!"

Sasuke smirked. "Then I'll just hire the Akatsuki and have Deidara bomb your country's skies!"

Deidara's services cost only 10 million ryō per day. With 100 million, Sasuke could hire him to bomb Iwagakure for ten days straight.

Onoki's beard bristled in anger. 'Sasuke's move is simply despicable!'

But it hit Onoki where it hurt. Deidara was Onoki's disciple. Even though Deidara had defected, Onoki still saw him as his pupil and dreamed of him returning one day to become Tsuchikage.

Onoki's favoritism and affection for Deidara were well-known.

The thought of Deidara bombing his own homeland—Onoki couldn't bear it.

Finally, Onoki relented. "Fine! I'll post the wanted notices throughout the Land of Earth. But you have to let Deidara come to the Tsuchikage Building!"

Sasuke agreed. "Deal."

Onoki planned to detain Deidara once he arrived. To him, Deidara was still a child going through a rebellious phase. He couldn't allow Deidara to continue down this path of defiance.

''Sasuke finds Obito.''

Obito is currently in the Land of Snow with Rin, enjoying a peaceful life far away from the mainland and its conflicts.

The tranquil environment is exactly what Rin loves, and Obito's presence there also ensures the safety of the Land of Snow.

Using a walkie-talkie developed by Orochimaru, Sasuke contacts Obito.

"I need you to use your connections to mobilize the Akatsuki. Have them protect Deidara when he goes to the Earth Country. I suspect Onoki might try something against him."

Obito agreed.

Although he had withdrawn from the Akatsuki, he still wielded considerable influence over the organization, having provided Nagato with the Rinnegan and played a key role in its formation.

Generally, Nagato and Yahiko were inclined to honor Obito's requests unless they were particularly challenging.

Using Kamui, Obito teleported to the Hidden Rain Village.

No longer needing to hide behind a mask, Obito now appeared openly, despite the scars that marred his face.

He had returned the eye Kakashi had borrowed and had gained a new ability from mastering both Kamui powers: the "Mark of Power."

Like the Flying Thunder God Technique, it allowed him to leave a mark at specific locations, enabling him to teleport there almost instantly.

However, unlike Flying Thunder God, which was instantaneous, Kamui required a brief moment of intangibility, making it slightly slower in comparison.

Nevertheless, Kamui's versatility far surpassed that of the Flying Thunder God Technique. Even so, it was still not as powerful as Sasuke's 'Heavenly Hand Power'.

...

Obito relayed the message to Nagato, explaining that Deidara needed to go to the Tsuchikage Building and that a few people should be assigned to protect him.

Yahiko volunteered to protect Deidara himself, confident in the power of his "godly" abilities.

''Earth Country, Tsuchikage's Office''

Deidara stood outside the building with a reluctant expression. This place had once been where he trained, but he had never enjoyed his time here.

Dust Release, Earth Release—these techniques were dull to him. Explosions, with their fleeting beauty, were far more captivating.

But Onoki had never appreciated Deidara's art, leading him to defect from the village.

Deidara had found joy in his time with Akatsuki, where his art was free from restrictions.

He even had a "brother" in Sasori with whom he could discuss art, despite their differing philosophies.

Behind Deidara stood Yahiko, now Pain, with his orange hair and face marked with black rods, giving him a fearsome appearance.

When Onoki saw Deidara, he was overcome with emotion and immediately grabbed his sleeve, trying to pull him inside. "Deidara, take off those ridiculous clothes. You look terrible."

Deidara frowned, pulling away. "Get off me, old man!"

Onoki, almost like a pleading parent, let go and said, "You won't even call me 'sensei' anymore, Deidara?"

Deidara crossed his arms. "If you have something to say, say it quickly. I've got to get back to the Hidden Rain Village."

Onoki frowned. "Child, don't leave once you're here."

Pain watched the exchange quietly, and then said, "Tsuchikage, I'm afraid I can't allow you to take Deidara. He's a member of Akatsuki now."

At this point, Akatsuki was well-known as a mercenary organization, often hired even by Onoki. However, Onoki had never fully understood the true extent of Pain's power.

Yet, when he looked into those Rinnegan eyes, an inexplicable fear flickered within him, as though he had seen those eyes before, even though he knew he hadn't.

Onoki, still trying to assert his authority, said, "Deidara is originally from the Earth Country..."

But Pain cut him off. "That may be, but Deidara is now a member of Akatsuki.

We share the same goal: to bring true peace to the ninja world, a world where there are no wars, where no small country is bullied by a larger one."

Onoki bristled at this. "It's not as simple as big countries bullying small countries!"

Pain raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Onoki continued, "When we go to war with a small country, we, the big countries, also suffer greatly!"

Hearing this, Yahiko's stoic façade cracked.

He, Konan, and Nagato had all been war orphans, their lives torn apart by the Third Great Ninja War, which had ravaged their home in the Hidden Rain Village.

The wars fought between the Earth Country, the Wind Country, and Konoha had brought nothing but death and destruction to their land.

Yahiko's mother had been killed by a Konoha ninja during that war.

'Big countries suffer too?' Yahiko thought bitterly. 'If they truly suffered, why are there so few war orphans in the big countries?'

Most war orphans in big countries were the children of shinobi, raised with some measure of security, while in smaller countries, war orphans were the children of civilians, left to fend for themselves.

Pain's eyes grew cold, and he lost all patience with the Tsuchikage. "You don't understand what true pain is."

Deidara tensed up. He had seen this before—whenever Pain began to talk about "carrying the weight of the world's suffering," it meant he was getting serious. Deidara knew he had to get out of there fast.

Pain slowly rose into the air, his figure becoming more imposing with each passing moment.

As he floated, he declared, "You people from the big countries have never known real pain."

"Feel pain."

"Contemplate pain."

"Accept pain."

"Understand pain."

"Those who do not know pain can never understand peace."

"And now... let the world feel pain!"

Onoki stared up at Pain, confused. "What's with all this gibberish? You sound like a kid with delusions of grandeur."

Pain ignored him and spread his arms wide, his figure shining in the sunlight.

"Chibaku Tensei!!!"

Suddenly, with Pain at the center, a massive repulsive force erupted, leveling half of the Earth Country in an instant.

Onoki was left speechless. 'Didn't we just exchange a few words? How did it come to this?'

One strike from Chibaku Tensei had reduced half the country to rubble.

Pain was determined to teach the Tsuchikage a lesson about the cost of war and the true meaning of peace.

...

Perhaps, in a few years, a child from the Earth Country will ask his mother:

"Mom, why is the Land of Earth built in a giant crater?"

And the mother will reply thoughtfully, "Well, back then, there was a man who loved peace..."

...