Inside the meeting hall of the Uzumaki clan compound, the three Akatsuki members—Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan—were seated on one side in a parallel arrangement. Opposite them sat Todoroki, Erza, and Guy, the atmosphere heavy with quiet tension.
Soon, the gates of the meeting room opened.
What entered Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato's view was a man in his early twenties, clad in a white kimono with a black haori draped over his shoulders, the Uzumaki emblem emblazoned clearly upon it. A sword rested in his right hand. The moment he stepped inside, an oppressive aura flooded the room, pressing down on everyone present.
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato immediately understood. The fact that even the Uzumaki siblings rose to their feet with clear respect made it unmistakable. This man was none other than Shanks Uzumaki—the clan head of the Uzumaki clan and the Uzushiokage of Uzushiogakure.
Though he had not stepped onto a battlefield for nearly three years, the pressure radiating from him alone was enough to affirm his identity beyond any doubt.
All three Akatsuki members stood up as well, offering their respect. Shanks walked forward and took the main seat at the Clan head seat. As he settled into his chair, his gaze shifted calmly toward the Akatsuki members.
"I was told that some people wished to meet me today," Shanks said evenly. "And honestly, not even in my dreams did I expect someone from Akatsuki to come knocking on my door."
His eyes sharpened slightly as he continued.
"So tell me—what is it that you seek, and what do you wish to discuss with me?"
Yahiko looked toward Shanks and spoke, his voice steady.
"Today, I have come to make a request of you, Uzushiokage."
The moment Shanks heard those words, a flicker of interest crossed his eyes. He lifted his hand slightly, gesturing for Yahiko to continue.
Yahiko nodded and went on. "I know that in the past, the Uzumaki clan and the people of Uzushiogakure have suffered greatly at the hands of Kumogakure and Kirigakure. But if this cycle of hatred continues, then true peace can never be achieved."
He drew a quiet breath before continuing. "The Uzumaki siblings are constantly traveling and targeting the shinobi of Kumogakure and Kirigakure. As a result, the enmity between your villages is only deepening. This path will inevitably lead to an even greater war—one that will consume not just you, but the entire world."
Yahiko's expression hardened with sincerity. "War demands an unbearable price. We know this better than most. The three of us have lived through its suffering firsthand. It was because of that pain that I created Akatsuki—with the hope of bringing peace."
He lowered his head slightly. "That is why I ask you to stop the killing of Kumogakure and Kirigakure shinobi. Let go of this hatred, and seek peace with those two villages."
With those words, Yahiko bent deeply at the waist, offering a respectful bow to Shanks.
After hearing that the Akatsuki members had come to preach peace and urge the Uzumaki to let go of their hatred toward Kumogakure and Kirigakure, the expressions of Guy, Todoroki, and Erza darkened. None of them looked satisfied with what they were hearing.
Shanks spoke calmly, "Please, raise your head. I do not like it when someone bows to me as if I were some kind of lord."
He continued, his voice steady but heavy with meaning. "What you're saying does contain truth. If one truly wishes to achieve peace in this world, then they must let go of the hatred within their heart. Only then can true peace exist."
Then his tone shifted slightly, growing firmer. "But the greatest contradiction in your ideals lies right there. Almost no one in this world—very few, if any—can actually reach such a state of mind. It is not something we, the Uzumaki clan, can simply do."
His gaze remained fixed on Yahiko. "You say you have suffered through war. You say you have seen what war truly is. But it's not as if we haven't."
For a moment, the room felt heavier.
"One day, we were living peaceful lives," Shanks continued. "The next, we were forced to flee. Forced to hide in unknown forests, to live between trees and inside caves like wild people. You cannot truly understand how much that pain lingers."
He paused, then added more quietly, "Or perhaps you do. I cannot say that what you suffered was greater than ours—or lesser. Pain does not work that way."
"But the most important point is this—we Uzumaki have already let go of a great deal of our hatred," Shanks continued. "Right now, we are only targeting the shinobi of Kumogakure and Kirigakure. If we truly wished to erase them or inflict even greater damage, we could have done so long ago."
His voice remained controlled, yet every word carried weight. "We could slaughter their civilians. We could plunge their villages into chaos. But I despise the idea of civilians suffering because of conflicts between shinobi. That is something I will never tolerate. That is why I ordered restraint."
He leaned back slightly, his gaze unwavering. "We will kill their ninja—and we will continue to do so for the next few years. By then, most of the older generation of Kumogakure and Kirigakure—the ones who plotted against us—will have been dealt with. The new generation will be given a chance. A chance to build better relations with us."
Shanks's tone hardened. "But that is the future. Right now, the current generation fighting this war has the blood of our kin on their hands—directly or indirectly. For that reason, they must die. And they will die. That is a fact. It cannot be changed."
He then shifted his attention back to Yahiko. "As for your idea of peace—it is noble. But it is not sustainable in this world."
"Before one can even speak of peace, they need strength. They need standing. If you were not the Akatsuki—if you were not already known—I would not even be meeting you. You would be nothing more than nameless rogue ninja to me, possessing some strength but not worth my time."
His eyes sharpened slightly. "I am meeting you because you have shown potential. You have shown just how powerful your organization could become in the future—with this ideal of peace you carry."
"But in the end," Shanks continued, "in a world where ninjas, chakra, and such supernatural forces exist, strength is what truly speaks. And even that authority lasts only for a certain period of time."
He leaned forward slightly. "You don't need to look far back for an example. Take the First Hokage. He was a kind man—someone who genuinely wished to bring peace to a world where clans fought only for their own benefit, killing one another without end. And he succeeded, in a way. By uniting the strength of many clans, he established a new system: the hidden village. One that other major villages later imitated."
Shanks's eyes grew colder. "But you know what happened next. The moment the First Hokage died, the peace he had enforced with his overwhelming strength—the very strength that earned him the title of the God of Shinobi—began to crumble. Once he was gone, that peace shattered."
He straightened. "So yes, with enough power, you may be able to bring peace for a time. But eventually, you will fail. Or when you die, your ideals will die with you."
His voice was firm, final. "Your ideals are different. The ideals of the Uzumaki are different. And we will not stop. That is my conclusion."
Hearing Shanks's words, Yahiko slowly nodded. He had expected an answer like this, even before coming here. Still, he had chosen to try.
He had failed—but so be it.
Yahiko was not ignorant of the truth that strength was necessary to achieve peace, or even to be heard in this world. That was precisely why he believed in Nagato—why he believed that Nagato was not only his strength, but the true strength of Akatsuki as well.
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