Nagato blinked, finally noticing the person he'd just overlooked.
"Konan… I'm sorry. I got too excited…"
He looked at her with genuine guilt. With peace feeling so close he could touch it, he'd forgotten everything else around him.
Konan didn't blame Nagato—she knew his obsession well, and even she found herself tempted by the system Naruto described.
But…
Feeling that bold hand stroking where it made her burn with shame, Konan's face flushed scarlet; tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She ground out, "Let me go…"
"My bad, my bad—slipped my mind…" Naruto said as if just realizing, and released the golden chains coiled around her.
Konan bit her lip in anger. As if he'd "forgotten." If that were true, why had those hands kept roaming? He'd obviously just wanted to take advantage of her.
Nagato, meanwhile, noticed none of it. Without the Rinnegan (Samsara Eye), his sensory ability was nothing special. He looked to Naruto, excitement filling his eyes. "Naruto-dono, what do I do next? Do you need me to fight with you?"
In his old plan, he could only risk turning against the Five Great Nations after collecting all nine Tailed Beasts. But judging by Naruto's power—and that of the people under him—they could challenge the Five Great Nations even without the nine.
"Not the fighting—yet," Naruto shook his head. "For now, help me manage the Akatsuki rogues."
Stripped of the Rinnegan, Nagato had lost more than half his strength. Better to leverage his experience running Akatsuki as Tendō (Deva Path) to keep the defectors in line—putting the right tool to its best use.
Nagato felt a twinge of regret, but he knew his limits. He nodded without hesitation. "Understood."
Konan turned to follow him out—only to be stopped by Naruto's voice and a smile.
"Konan, your Kami (Paper Release) has too many uses. Stay with me for now. When we fight Konoha, I'll need your strength."
"Excuse me!?" Konan glared, teeth clenched. "Don't joke with me!"
She didn't believe him for a second. This infuriating man was keeping her close because he lusted after her beauty. Hadn't he just touched her nearly everywhere?
Naruto lifted a brow and stepped close, lowering his voice so only she could hear. "Nagato has no Rinnegan now. His strength isn't even on par with a typical elite jōnin. You don't want him stumbling into danger… do you?"
Konan's eyes widened; she looked at him like he was a devil.
Nagato faltered. "Naruto-dono, about Konan… she might not be willing…"
"I'm willing," Konan said at once, eyes locked on Naruto with a look that promised to bite. "Nagato, I want peace for the shinobi world too. For that, I'm more than willing to serve under Naruto-dono."
Nagato exhaled in relief. He'd worried she would balk because Naruto had been an enemy. But like him, Konan would give anything for peace. That settled his heart.
"Then I'll go talk with Kakuzu and Sasori…" Nagato said, spirited, and left the room. Law hurried after him.
Once the two were gone, Konan couldn't hold it back any longer. She swung a hard punch into Naruto's chest.
"You bastard! Threatening me with Nagato—"
Of course she couldn't hurt him. In fact, that soft fist thudding against him felt… comfortable.
Naruto's lips curled. He caught her slender wrist and tugged—lightly—and she stumbled straight into his arms.
"I didn't threaten him," he said.
"Then what did you just—" Konan glared.
"If I didn't want you, do you think I'd have saved him? Or let him live?" Naruto smiled.
Konan's pupils flared.
Idly playing with her hand, Naruto went on, almost offhand, "As long as you behave, I'll have someone treat Nagato properly. It won't be long before he's back to a normal body."
"And you'll witness peace with your own eyes."
"But if you don't behave…"
He didn't finish the sentence—but cold seeped into Konan's bones anyway. Helplessness washed over her. The golden-haired youth before her was absurdly strong. Even if she threw everything into the fight, she probably couldn't bring him down—and would only doom herself and Nagato.
Yet if she listened—Nagato would recover, and she would see peace…
As that thought took hold, her body softened. She stopped resisting, cheeks burning as she muttered, "You… I'm thirty this year. How can you…"
She didn't know his age, but judging from that face, he was likely not even twenty—a kid.
"Age isn't a problem for me." Naruto's smile tilted. Under her puzzled gaze, he opened a shimmering doorway in the air—Kūkan Mon (Space Gate).
Beyond it lay a bright room, anchored by a bed that could easily hold a dozen.
Konan's face went even redder. "Menma… you—"
Instinctively, she turned her body to white sheets of paper—too scared to step across the threshold.
"Be a good girl," Naruto's whisper slid across her ear like a devil's murmur. Her body stiffened, lashes fluttering shut. Then, crimson-cheeked, she let him lead her into the room.
…
Hours later.
Naruto walked out with Konan—face still rosy—at his side. Flames roared up over his body as he rose into the air. His voice turned cold.
"Move out. To Konoha."
The pirates answered with fanatic cheers, and the whole force surged toward the Hidden Leaf.
Under Naruto's overwhelming might—and Nagato's persuasion—the S-rank Akatsuki rogues joined the column as well.
Kisame couldn't help muttering, "He's even taking in the likes of us… that Uzumaki Naruto's a little insane, huh?"
(End of Chapter)
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