A new Path

Deafening silence covered the rooms as everyone watched the pair of eyes swimming around in the glass Yuna was holding.

"Why did the atmosphere suddenly change? She was certainly joking about getting a Sharingan, right?"

Well, everyone except for Nagato, who still couldn't see.

"N-Nagato, she is currently holding up a pair of Sharingan."

"Huh!?"

While Nagato was shocked by that revelation, a frown appeared on Hinata's face as she looked at the two floating eyes.

"Could you put those away, Yuna? This is a little disgusting."

Yuna shrugged her shoulders and hid the pair of eyes away again while thinking about how she acquired them.

'Well, I found these eyes in one of Sasori's puppets. Although I pretended to crush them in front of Sakura, why would I destroy a decent pair of eyes? Who knows what I could use them for in the future, after all.'

[Hoarder.]

'I prefer calling it: being prepared for the future.'

[Oh, okay. And I prefer calling it: Being a hoarder. Don't think for even a second that I don't know how much garbage you are hiding in those storage seals.]

'Garbage!? I will let you know that every item I carry with me is something that I might need in certain situations.'

[Sure, keep telling that to yourself.]

While Yuna and Kurama were bickering, a spark of ambitions reignited inside Nagato's soul.

'A Sharingan, the initial form of the Rinnegan. Maybe, it's too early to abandon my goal. I still desire peace. This time, I will choose another path. Pain does not bring peace. Obviously, I won't use the three methods Yuna mentioned either. I will find my own path.'

"I want a pair of Sharingan."

A small smile appeared on Yuna's face when she noticed the change in Nagato's disposition.

"Oh? Could you tell me why you made that decision?"

"I still desire peace. Although I still have to look for another way to achieve it, I'm confident I will need a lot of power for it. I will take the Sharingan and evolve it to reacquire the Rinnegan. This time, the Rinnegan will truly be mine."

Yuna's smile widened as she approvingly nodded her head while everyone else was looking at Nagato like he was crazy.

"You do realize that that is practically impossible and pretty much insane, right?"

"It does not matter. Whether it is impossible or not does not matter. I will make it possible. Insane? If seeking peace is insane, then I don't mind being called a madman..."

Nagato's demeanor changed even further as his whole body seemed to radiate determination.

"...I will bring this world peace."

"Hahaha, excellent! That is how it should be! Impossible? That's only because no one has ever succeeded, but will you be the same?! Who knows? But why would you give up before even trying? Insane? Yes, only someone insane would try to do the impossible, but so what? Insanity is the first step to accomplishing something great."

Yuna's facial expression distorted, giving her an insane vibe.

"Embrace it, Nagato. Someone who wants to change the world like you can not possibly be sane. The earlier you accept your true self, the better."

Nagato couldn't help but shiver a little when he heard Yuna's speech. Frankly, he never considered himself to be insane, but now that Yuna pointed it out, there were undoubtedly some... indicators. Nagato shook his head to get rid of those thoughts.

'It doesn't matter. Whether sane or not, the only thing that matters is my goal.'

He was just about to resume speaking when a small snowball materialized in Yuna's hands, which she casually threw at Anko, who was still kneeling in the corner, hitting the back of her head.

"No Substitution."

While Nagato had no idea what Yuna meant by that, Anko had couldn't help but be bewildered.

'How the hell did she find out that I considered substituting myself with a clone while she was doing her speech. Can she read my mind?'

"Yes, I can read your mind."

Anko couldn't help but flinch when Yuna answered her internal question.

'Damnit, how did she know what I was thinking?'

"As I said, it's because I can read your mind."

Yet again, Anko flinched, causing Yuna to chuckle in amusement. Obviously, she could not read Anko's mind. However, Anko was a relatively straightforward person. After over three years of spending a lot of time together, Yuna could more or less guess what she was thinking in certain situations.

Although Nagato wasn't entirely sure what was going on, he decided to continue the conversation after Yuna finished talking with whoever she was talking to.

"I still have a question. Why are you doing this for me? We are pretty much enemies, after all. Why did you spare my life, and why are you willing to go to such lengths to help me?"

[Because I want to snatch your woman.]

'Hush, Kurama.'

"Because I find you interesting. Your huge ambitions are not something anyone can have. Your willingness to do things that even you yourself clearly acknowledge as wrong for the sake of peace is something I can respect. Obviously, I'm not fond of the method itself, but that is beside the point."

Nagato pondered Yuna's words for a moment before nodding in acknowledgment.

"However, don't you want revenge for all the things I have done. I have done a lot of stuff that I am not proud of. I killed a lot of people, some of them even innocent. You don't appear like a forgiving person to me."

Yuna shrugged her shoulders in indifference at Nagato's words.

"I'm certainly not a forgiving person. However, you might have done a lot of things one might consider to be evil, but none of those caused any harm to my people and me. Yes, you attacked the Uzumaki compound, but that attack was repelled without any causalities.

Frankly, I should kill you for that attack, but you were just manipulated at the end of the day. Additionally, I deem you to be more valuable alive than dead, outweighing the attack on the Uzumaki clan compound.

As for the offense of trying to kill me, I don't give a shit. As I said, you are more valuable to me alive rather than dead, so I will just overlook that offense.

Well, that is only if you manage to regain your determination, which you did. If you didn't, I would have just gotten rid of you and buried you somewhere."

Nagato felt a chill go down his spine and could only obediently nod his head.