I just returned to Konoha and found that my entire clan was gone.

Akatsuki was a treacherous organization of rogue ninjas, and it's unexpected that Konoha's high-ranking officials, who held positions of power in a great nation, were so hypocritical and had done such despicable things.

For the first time, Tiandao showed an expression. In a small room in the distance, Nagato, who was originally weak, sat up straight instantly, his two withered hands gripping the handles of his wheelchair tightly.

For a moment, he even felt a touch of gratitude for Ye Lan's act of killing Danzo.

"What happened to Payne?"

Konan almost let slip that she hadn't seen Nagato in so long and quickly corrected herself, unable to control her emotions.

The last time Nagato experienced an emotional breakdown was after Yahiko's death.

Although this time it wasn't as serious as the last time, it was still a rare occurrence. It's worth noting that Nagato didn't seem to care about Orochimaru's betrayal back then.

Ye Lan, who was standing nearby, heard Xiao Nan's incorrect way of addressing her and glanced at Tian Dao almost imperceptibly. He noticed that Tian Dao didn't seem to care, and Ye Lan silently kept this in mind.

"I admit that the Akatsuki organization has connections with the past, and I've also learned about Itachi's situation. So what's your intention?"

With Danzo's records, Pain has confirmed Itachi's identity as a spy. The other party even dug up Akatsuki's past, so this information can only be true.

Seeing that Tiandao had come to believe him, Ye Lan thought it was a good start, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. He had achieved his goal.

"Before I state my needs, I want to ask you a question: Does the thing that seals the nine tailed beasts really exist?"

Chapter 123: Fighting without bloodshed

"I didn't expect you to know even this kind of information."

The Heavenly Dao indirectly acknowledged Ye Lan's words. He recalled what had happened in the Water Kingdom, information that only Shuang knew about.

"The fact that the Hidden Mist ninja told you this shows that he trusts you a lot."

Ye Lan chuckled and didn't continue the topic. Of course, he wouldn't tell Tian Dao that he got the information from the dead, which was related to trust, but not much.

"What does this have to do with you joining us?"

From the moment he finished reading Danzo's records, Pain had already tacitly accepted that Ye Lan was a member of Akatsuki.

"Of course, it depends on the depth of our cooperation."

Tiandao was somewhat dissatisfied with the word "cooperation." In his opinion, Yelan should be the one to join. However, before he could express his opinion, Yelan continued.

"If you just want us to be like the other members, that's fine too. You provide shelter, and we'll help Akatsuki capture the Tailed Beasts, any two except the Nine-Tails."

Ye Lan does have some feelings for Naruto, but not to the point of being unable to kill him. In other words, what the other party is currently offering is not enough for him to attack Kurama; he needs to pay more.

"You can't attack the Nine-Tails? After what's happened, there's no turning back for you and Konoha!"

The Heavenly Dao was very dissatisfied with Ye Lan's answer. Originally, the Nine-Tails belonged to Itachi. If Itachi was eliminated, then the person who took his place would have to be taken back. Now that Ye Lan directly said he wouldn't do this job, Nagato would definitely be dissatisfied.

"Well, that kid who's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki isn't really related to my leaving Konoha. He's probably still unaware of it. I had some connection with his teacher, and if it weren't for them in Konoha back then, I probably wouldn't have left so easily."

After thinking for a moment, Ye Lan still told the truth: what he was most worried about at the time was not Tsunade, nor Kakashi, but those high-ranking officials of Konoha.

Instead, it was Kakashi's best friend, Might Guy.

Ye Lan had witnessed the Eight Gates Formation, and he also knew the legend of Might Guy opening the Eight Gates. Might Guy was just a genin, but after opening the Eight Gates, he was able to defeat all the members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

What about Matt Kay?

His own strength was already considerable, and he really didn't know if he could withstand Might Guy opening the Eight Gates. Fortunately, Kakashi stopped Guy at that time, and he saw it all clearly.

Ye Lan Ji Qing displeased Nagato, who hated this lingering feeling of attachment and lack of self-awareness as a ninja.

"You mean you won't get involved in anything concerning Konoha anymore?"

"No, I'm not a pedantic old man. I can tolerate some things once or twice, but if it conflicts with my goals, I will definitely fight back."

Ye Lan shook his head. Achieving goals sometimes doesn't require force to solve problems; it's just that this world, with the advent of extraordinary power, has become more inclined to use fists.

"Tell me more about deeper ways to cooperate."

"Pain!"

This time, Xiao Nan didn't call him by the wrong name again, but she didn't expect that Nagato would agree to Ye Lan's request.

After thinking it over, Tiandao realized that there would definitely be a conflict with Konoha in the future. At that time, it wouldn't be up to Yelan to decide. Moreover, his bounty was still there, and there was no precedent for an S-rank rogue ninja returning to the village.

The Heavenly Dao indicated to Xiao Nan not to panic, as it had a plan.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Konan stopped. She was never one to have her own opinions, and she would support whatever Nagato did.

"Another way is to gain a deeper understanding of your purpose."

Ye Lan stroked his chin. To be honest, how many people could actually change the world based on the history he learned in his previous life?

They usually died tragically. If Ye Lan hadn't been completely disillusioned with Konoha, he wouldn't have found Akatsuki.

"According to my intelligence, you possess something that can absorb all the tailed beasts and eventually become an invincible ultimate weapon."

"I think you want to rely on this weapon to achieve true peace through force."

Tiandao nodded. Yelan's deduction was similar to what he had thought, but he still added some details.

"That weapon is called the Gedo Mazo. It will be fully revived after absorbing all the tailed beasts. At that time, I will use it to make all the great powers feel the pain that our small country once suffered. Only in this way will those great powers not easily start wars in the future."

Ye Lan frowned deeply. This seemed like an unreliable method. The Gedo Mazo was something used to seal the tailed beasts.

Does such a thing still exist in this ninja world? How is it controlled, and what are its underlying principles?

"The Gedo Mazo can only be controlled by the Rinnegan, so there's no need to worry about it going out of control. Our current task is to collect the Tailed Beasts."

Seeing Ye Lan pondering, Tian Dao explained that this was something all the Akatsuki members knew, so there was nothing wrong with telling Ye Lan.

"The Rinnegan, is that so? Then this is even more troublesome."

Ye Lan sighed.

"Why do you say that?"

"Even if your previous plans all succeed and the ninja world enjoys a temporary peace, what happens next? Putting everything else aside, I don't think you're immortal. If you die, who will control this thing?"

"Don't worry about that, I have a solution."

Nagato had also considered this, which was nothing more than finding a suitable person to inherit his Rinnegan. Although it was an unreliable method, it was the only way to proceed at present.

The main goal right now is to collect the tailed beasts in the first phase, which is not even finished yet. It's too early to talk about what comes next. Nagato felt that these were minor issues compared to the complete revival of the Gedo Mazo.

"Fine, even if you can resolve the Rinnegan issue, you don't think that will bring peace, do you?"

Ye Lan shrugged; Nagato's answer clearly showed that he hadn't considered anything else.

"Any other questions?"

Once he has complete control of the Outer Path Statue, he will use it to wipe out any village that starts a war, as he doesn't believe there will be any more wars.

"When discussing this issue, I want to ask you something: why do you think wars happen?"

"Benefit."

Nagato was certainly not a child in the ninja world. Yahiko's death had made him mature, and he would never talk about hatred or will. War is driven by self-interest.

Ye Lan nodded, it seemed they could still communicate. He was just afraid the leader of the Akatsuki would say something as naive as hatred.

"That's right, it's about interests. All wars are actually about satisfying some kind of interest or need."

"However, in my view, war is also a political tool. When ordinary means fail to meet the needs, war is used. In other words, war serves politics."

"On the other hand, when war is not an option, other villages have other methods, methods that can leave corpses strewn across the fields without bloodshed."

Ye Lan's tone was somewhat melancholy. Peace was something that couldn't be achieved in that world, and humans were the least forgetful animals, repeating all the lessons of history.

"There's another way?"

Heaven does not believe that anything other than war could cause such great suffering.

Ye Lan sighed, "Humans don't learn from their mistakes, but they do become smarter and their methods become more and more varied."

"Putting everything else aside, your country buys all its food from other countries, right? What if other countries stopped exporting food to you, or sold it to you at ten times the price?"

When Ye Lan arrived in Yu Yin, he specifically inquired about the situation there and learned that the country relied on imports for most of its food.

If the situation described by Ye Lan were to actually occur, a terrible famine would break out, and apart from nobles and wealthy people, no one would have anything to eat. Large numbers of people would either leave or starve to death.

This is something even more terrifying than war. War can last for days, months, or years, while a person will die if they don't eat for even a week.

"If that happens, I will use the Gedo Statue."

The Way of Heaven spoke without hesitation.

"So, what's the difference between you and those so-called great powers you talk about?"

Chapter 124 The Conflict

"I just..."

Tiandao was speechless when Ye Lan asked him a question, and he didn't know where to begin to defend himself.

"Clothing, food, housing, and transportation—these are all essential aspects of human life, and they can be solved by things other than war, such as currency devaluation, the lack of humanities and arts, and the failure of education."

"These effects may not be immediately apparent, but in the long run, the gap between countries will widen."

"Putting aside other things, one thing Konoha has is that the quality of its ordinary ninjas is significantly better than that of other villages. It has only been a few decades since the village was founded, and it has already reached this level. What about a hundred years from now?"

"If you want to change the world, you can't just look at what's in front of you."

As Ye Lan spoke, Nagato began to reflect, but the more he thought about it, the less he felt there was a solution.

It felt like I was trapped in a vicious cycle, wondering if everything I did would ultimately be in vain.

During the Warring States period, wars never ceased, but they were mostly battles between clans and were not large in scale.

The current situation is that a Ninja World War is about to break out, with a scale and conflict on a new level, and in some ways even more brutal than the Warring States period.

"Is there really no solution?"

Even Xiao Nan was captivated by the story and couldn't help but start thinking about how to solve this absurd world.

"There is no complete solution, but there are ways to maintain world peace for hundreds of years."

As for how to achieve peace, even Earth in its previous life couldn't fully accomplish it. So-called experts and professors have researched countless times but still can't solve this ultimate problem.

However, there is a theory that most people believe can achieve peace.

"What exactly is the method?"