At this moment, the only surviving members of the Akatsuki were Konan and Nagato, aside from Itachi, who had been deliberately spared by Dak, and Zetsu, who had been captured by Darkrai.
Everyone else had been wiped out.
While Konan's fate was of little consequence, Nagato had to die. Even without Zetsu or "Uchiha Madara" (Obito), Nagato would still continue to pursue the Moon's Eye Plan.
All for the sake of peace.
The Akatsuki's goal, as much as it had become distorted, was indeed for peace. From Madara to Nagato, Konan, Kisame, Itachi, and even Obito, each member had fought for their version of peace. Of course, their individual desires and twisted interpretations of what "peace" truly meant varied.
Dak was no different. He, too, sought peace in the shinobi world. However, his vision was not for human peace, but for a future where Pokémon could live happily and freely in the shinobi world, guiding it into a new era—the Pokémon Era.
At this point, the question wasn't about who was right or wrong. It was about who was stronger.
Because in the end, the stronger one would shape the future.
"Palkia, shrink the space," Dak commanded, though there was no verbal response. He knew that Palkia was reducing the enclosed space as ordered. For a god of space, such a task was simple. Even in a world like this, far smaller than the Grand Line, it was trivial.
Closing his eyes, Dak expanded the reach of his Observation Haki, letting it stretch until it could no longer extend further. The limitation wasn't his ability—it was the space around him that had reached its boundary.
In the world of One Piece, when a person's Observation Haki reached its limit, it sometimes developed unique abilities. These could range from foreseeing five seconds into the future, to affecting others' emotions, or even reading minds.
For Dak, the ability he developed was simple but powerful—range.
His Observation Haki surpassed even Enel's Mantra in range. Enel had used the power of the Goro Goro no Mi (Thunder Fruit) to enhance his Haki, but Dak achieved the same level purely with his Haki. If he added his maxed-out Psychic powers to the mix, his range would become even more terrifying.
While the full extent of his abilities had yet to be tested, Dak had once managed to sense and cover the entire Pokémon League City, including its outskirts. His telepathic range also extended that far, though the greater the distance, the weaker the effect.
For example, while he could communicate clearly over short distances, at the farthest edges of the city, his words would come through faint and incomplete.
"Found them," Dak murmured after just two seconds. He had located Konan and Nagato at the far edge of the enclosed space. They had already realized that the area was cut off from the rest of the world.
With a flicker, Dak teleported behind them, his Teleport ability snapping him into position instantly.
"What exactly are you?" Nagato demanded, his voice cutting through the ever-present rain of the Land of Rain. Using his Rain Tiger at Will Technique, Nagato could sense any movement within his territory as long as the rain fell.
At this moment, he could feel the presence of another Akatsuki member coming to a halt. Likely, another one had died.
Nagato's face darkened. Considering Zetsu had disappeared earlier, he assumed that the one who had just fallen was "Uchiha Madara" (Obito).
Even that guy had been killed.
"They call me the God of Creation," Dak said after a brief thought, offering his introduction. "Though some know me as the 'King of Peeping,' what do you think of that title?"
"…"
Nagato and Konan were stunned into silence for two full seconds.
At this point, Nagato's Six Paths of Pain had been entirely destroyed by Dak. Incidentally, all six bodies had once been shinobi who had crossed paths with Jiraiya. Perhaps Nagato had chosen them because of that connection.
Jiraiya had authored multiple books throughout his life. His only serious work, the Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, had three parts, with Naruto as the main protagonist, though the inspiration came from different sources.
The first part was inspired by Jiraiya's experiences with the Prophecy of the Great Sage and his journey to find the prophesied child. In this tale, the protagonist's teacher was a reflection of Jiraiya himself, and the story revolved around the prophecy's influence.
The second part was inspired by Nagato, who Jiraiya once believed to be the prophesied child. Nagato had read this part, and perhaps, in seeing those written characters, he found the other five paths to complete the Six Paths of Pain.
As for the third part, which was never finished, it would have focused on the real child of prophecy—Naruto Uzumaki. Sadly, Nagato would not live to see this story's conclusion, as his life would end before that chapter began.
But at this point in time, Jiraiya had only finished the second part of the story, unaware that his encounter with Naruto would change everything.
"You're close to death already, so it doesn't really matter who I am. What should concern you is the truth about the Moon's Eye Plan."
Dak shook his head at Nagato and Konan's wary expressions.
Ironically, these two were probably the least deserving of death in the entire Akatsuki. They truly wanted peace in the shinobi world, but Nagato had been manipulated by Obito into believing that the Moon's Eye Plan was the key to achieving it, with the belief that people would learn to yearn for peace after suffering endlessly in an illusionary cycle of pain.
Konan, though she had her own thoughts about peace, lacked a strong will of her own. She had followed Nagato's lead, never questioning his vision.
Had Yahiko survived, the Akatsuki would have likely remained an entirely different organization—an idealistic, but ultimately out-of-place faction in a war-torn world.
"What do you mean?" Konan asked, her voice tense.
"Well, let me explain…" Dak proceeded to reveal the entire truth about the Moon's Eye Plan, exposing Obito's true goals, Madara's influence, the role of Zetsu, and finally the resurrection of Kaguya.
By the time Dak finished, Nagato and Konan stood in shocked silence.
"Do you believe him?" Konan asked Nagato softly.
Nagato shook his head. "No."
But the truth was, Nagato had already begun to believe. Too many details lined up, and the fact that Dak knew so much was unnerving.
A mole? But that made no sense—almost all of the Akatsuki members were dead.
"…"
Konan, however, had fallen into silence. As she recalled Obito and Zetsu's strange behavior over the years, Dak's story seemed increasingly plausible.
But if what Dak said was true, then everything they had fought for was meaningless.
"Konan, we did nothing wrong. Only through pain can the people of this world understand what peace truly means," Nagato said, sensing her hesitation.
But he remained steadfast in his beliefs. Even if the Moon's Eye Plan had a different purpose, it didn't change the fact that they were working to make the shinobi world feel the pain needed to achieve peace.
"You're even more naive than Yahiko was… No, you're worse," Dak said, shaking his head.
This belief—that pain could lead to peace—was foolish. Just look at what pain had done to Sasuke and Obito. Despite all the suffering they had endured, both of them had descended into darkness.
The same could be said for the Five Great Nations. They had experienced so much pain and bloodshed, yet war still raged on. Peace, if it ever came, was merely a temporary break to recover from the toll of battle.
And if the world needed pain to achieve peace, what about the people who had already suffered?
"You're an idiot!" Nagato shouted, his voice trembling with anger. He was on the verge of losing his composure. "Thanks to you killing Obito and Zetsu, I can finally move forward with the Moon's Eye Plan without interference! Once I cast Infinite Tsukuyomi, I will bring true peace to this world!"
He raised his hand, preparing to use Universal Pull or Almighty Push.
Nagato wasn't wrong—without Obito and Zetsu, there was no one left to stop him from using the Moon's Eye Plan to plunge the world into an endless cycle of pain. No one, except Dak.
"This is why I have to kill you," Dak said calmly.
From the beginning, Dak knew that trying to reason with Nagato was pointless. He wasn't Naruto, who had an emotional connection to Nagato or the power of talk-no-jutsu to sway him.
But that was fine. Dak had something even better: strength.
Without Naruto around to stop Nagato's destruction of Konoha and prevent the continuation of the Moon's Eye Plan, Dak had to step in.
Otherwise, the shinobi world would be lost to Nagato's cycle of pain. Without the intervention of Naruto or Jiraiya, who could save the world?
"Universal Pull!" both Dak and Nagato shouted in unison.
"?"
(End of Chapter)
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