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As Pain's speech ended, the people on the ground erupted in even louder cheers.
"Lord God!"
"Lord God!!"
"Long live the Rain Country!!"
"Long live peace!!"
...
"Is this Pain's dream?" Kaito, looking at the scene before him, didn't mock the other's idea but instead reflected, "Even if all this could truly be achieved, how long can peace maintained through terror and oppression last? I guess after his death, the suppressed ambitions will burst out even more fiercely."
"Then, what method do you think should be used to achieve peace?" Izuna, hearing this, posed the question to Kaito.
As a ninja who lived during the Warring States period, having started killing at a young age and continuously experiencing the loss of loved ones, wondering when he himself might die on the battlefield, how could he not yearn for peace?
But compared to his elder brother Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, who had established great dreams from a young age, he and Tobirama Senju were actually more alike.
They were more realistic and never indulged in impractical dreams because they knew all too well the gap between dreams and reality.
At this moment, he suddenly wanted to hear what new ideas this descendent, who had left the ninja identity, had.
Yet, Kaito shook his head: "True peace? That's an absolute fantasy that can never be achieved."
"How so?" Izuna raised an eyebrow, pressing for an answer.
"Human beings are a collection of desires. As long as humans retain desires, conflicts will arise between them," Kaito was not stingy in discussing this topic. "Individuals have their own desires, and groups will generate collective desires."
"Even if all the people in the world formed a unified group, they might still take the battle to the cosmos. Isn't the invasion by the Ōtsutsuki Clan a case in point?"
"On the other hand, if humans were devoid of desires, how would they continue to survive and develop?"
"Therefore," Kaito spread his hands, "I don't harbor any thoughts of pursuing true peace."
Izuna laughed: "That's a cunning statement. But it somewhat resembles my own thoughts. Although I sometimes dreamed of a peaceful life, my thoughts were merely born out of weariness of war and were never as serious and intense as my brother's."
His tone carried a hint of helplessness: "My brother devoted his life to chasing a dream of peace, making things too hard for himself."
Obsessively chasing a dream not only troubled himself but others as well.
Kaito thought so but didn't voice it out loud.
"It seems staying here won't yield more clues." He turned to Yūrei, who had been quietly standing by, "Miss Yūrei, can you take us to where the true owner of this dream resides?"
"No problem at all, especially since it's Kaito's request."
As Yūrei spoke, her form exploded into numerous fluttering butterflies, enveloping the other two.
Such a grand gesture went unnoticed by the bystanders.
"Let my magic power carry you there. As long as I don't reveal myself actively, the dream's owner won't detect us."
"Then please, lead the way."
In the dream, Kaito and Izuna were merely segments of their consciousness, actually weightless, and were directly swept up by the butterflies.
The butterflies swiftly navigated between the towering buildings of the Hidden Rain Village, finally making a beeline for a spacious underground space.
"Long time no see, Nagato."
"It's all worth it for Yahiko's dream."
Voices could be heard speaking, but the intruding butterflies moved as if entering an uninhabited land, settling in a corner of the space.
Yūrei's magic had isolated them from the dream, making them invisible and inaudible even to the dream's owner.
Kaito looked up to see the two speakers. The true Nagato, a skinny man with red hair, looked nothing like the godlike Pain persona known to the world.
The woman with purple hair was the so-called angel, Konan of the Akatsuki.
It seems the Konan outside is also a clone? Wait, why am I looking for logic in a dream?
Kaito ceased his train of thought, observing the two before him, especially the dream's owner, Nagato.
Their conversation continued.
"Are you sure about placing that thing here, Nagato?"
"Yes, it's necessary to maintain deterrence."
As Nagato finished forming hand signs, he summoned.
"Summoning Jutsu, Gedo Statue!"
Following Nagato's summoning, a massive humanoid creature made entirely of wood appeared within the space.
"Is this... the God Tree?" Feeling the creature's presence, Kaito was shocked, "Miss Yūrei?"
"Correct." Yūrei's voice grew heavier, "This is the husk of the Chakra Tree after its energy was drained. However, it should have been sealed on the moon by Kaguya."
"Does Nagato's ability to summon it have something to do with the Rinnegan?" Kaito frowned.
He had thought Nagato's goal was merely to control the Tailed Beasts, not to use the God Tree's husk to absorb their chakra.
According to the "plot" of the dream, the husk had already absorbed all the Tailed Beasts without undergoing any changes.
This suggests that Nagato, as the public face of Akatsuki, was unaware of the relationship between the God Tree and the Tailed Beasts.
Interesting. It seems everything has been meticulously planned by someone behind the Akatsuki.
Kaito mused, "Luckily, this is just a dream, or we'd be facing the God Tree in its complete form after regaining its chakra."
"So this is the so-called God Tree?" Izuna remained calm, "My senses tell me it's not invincible."
"The nature of dreams is unstable; everything within comes from the dreamer's subjective consciousness," Yūrei's voice rang out.
"Does that mean, in Nagato's consciousness, this entity is controllable?" Kaito summarized.
However, it appears that while Nagato, as the current leader of Akatsuki with the Rinnegan, holds power, he knows little of the real secrets.
"We can't find more secrets here. Please take us to the next dream, Miss Yūrei."
"Kaito really knows how to make use of others."
Although Yūrei complained verbally, her actions were swift. With a flutter of butterfly wings, their surroundings transformed once more.
In a boundless sea of flowers, a young boy and girl faced each other, gazing deeply into each other's eyes.
The wind stirred, causing the flower sea to ripple and numerous petals to be swept into the sky.
Tears streamed down the black-haired boy's face, his voice trembling slightly: "I finally see you again, Rin! I knew it, the real you is here. The Rin who died was just a fake!"
The brown-haired girl smiled tenderly, squeezing the boy's hand tighter: "Yes, I could never die. I've always been watching over you, Obito."
"Rin!"
"Obito!"
...