Naruto: Deidara’s Struggle

In the secluded room, Nagato was explaining his philosophy of peace to Deidara and Sasori.

He thought he would gain their approval.

"Naive!"

"Unrealistic."

These were the responses from Deidara and Sasori.

"Force can only bring temporary peace. Just like in the days of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, once they died, war erupted in the ninja world again," Deidara commented.

"Your method, Leader, only treats the symptoms, not the root cause," he added.

"Deidara, do you have a better idea?" Konan asked.

"Unify the Five Great Ninja Villages, abolish the system of one village per nation, and establish a truly unified world. Only then can we achieve lasting peace," Deidara replied confidently.

"With such a system, even if divisions arise occasionally, the periods of peace will far outweigh the times of war. This is the only way to achieve a permanent solution," he continued.

"This..." Konan frowned.

"If we were to directly confront the Five Great Nations, it would be extremely troublesome," she said cautiously, mindful of Nagato's pride.

"Don't worry, Konan!"

"God is invincible!" Nagato declared with absolute confidence.

Deidara couldn't help but roll his eyes. Oh, come on! Do you even realize your own limitations?

With your frail body, no matter how strong the Six Paths of Pain are, how many times can you push yourself?

Take the Super Almighty Push from the original story, for example. It looked impressive, but its actual lethality against strong opponents was limited. Konoha only suffered because they lacked prior information.

If they had known about your physical condition, they could have simply worn you down. They wouldn't need to kill you outright—just exhausting you halfway would suffice.

And don't forget, besides Konoha, there are still four other major ninja villages!

"Leader, I think it would be more convincing if you could manage to put on a bit more weight before making such bold claims."

"Almighty—!"

"Leader, I was wrong! Please save your strength for fighting others later!"

It had to be said, Nagato was indeed the most idealistic and naive among the trio of Yahiko, Konan, and himself. Now that he was the leader of the Akatsuki, he was managing to squander what could have been a winning hand.

"Nagato, let Deidara and Sasori speak their minds," Konan said, her tone tinged with helplessness. Many times, she felt more like an older sister taking care of a younger brother.

"Even the Sage of Six Paths needed companions to help him," she added.

"Earlier, we talked about establishing a unified ninja village. Don't you already have Amegakure, Leader? Isn't that perfect? Especially now that the addition of those defectors from Kirigakure has greatly strengthened Amegakure's power," Deidara pointed out.

"And since the Land of Rain is located at the intersection of the Fire, Wind, and Earth nations, it has long been a battleground for the great nations. But now, using this as a starting point for expansion, you could perfectly control the entire continent."

"Isn't this destiny?"

Destiny? Nagato loved hearing that. After all, a god being guided by destiny perfectly aligned with his identity.

"But right now, the Five Great Nations harbor significant hostility toward the Land of Rain. Especially recently, when Sunagakure and Konoha joined forces to ambush us," Konan said, voicing her concerns.

"That's probably the work of Madara Uchiha. Under such circumstances, it will be difficult for Amegakure to develop," she added.

"That's simple. Just pick a side to ally with, let them fight amongst themselves, and weaken them from within," Deidara suggested.

"Which side should we choose? Iwagakure?" Konan's first thought was Iwagakure, given that Deidara didn't have the typical hostile relationship with his former village. He was more like a rebellious youth who had run away from home.

"Of course not. I know my teacher, Ōnoki," Deidara replied, shaking his head.

"That old man is cautious and cunning. If Amegakure were to ally with Iwagakure, we'd only end up being used by him."

"Then should we choose the Land of Wind? But Sunagakure is too weak," Konan speculated.

"It has to be the Land of Fire," Deidara stated decisively.

"The Land of Fire?"

"So you let those Konoha ninjas go back then for this?" Konan was puzzled. Konoha was the strongest and most conservative of the villages. Cooperation seemed unlikely.

"Exactly. If Hiruzen Sarutobi remains Hokage, there's no way to collaborate," Deidara explained.

"But Konoha has a mysterious man, Danzo Shimura. Arrogant, ambitious, and eager for power—if he becomes Hokage, there's no way he'd refuse an alliance with Amegakure."

Think about it. In the original story, this was the guy who tried to stab Susano'o with a kunai, used Kotoamatsukami just to manipulate a meeting, and squandered lives like they were spare change. If someone like him became Hokage, wouldn't that create opportunities for Amegakure?

"But how could Hiruzen Sarutobi step down so easily?" Konan asked. Changing the leader of a village was no small feat.

"Leave it to me. I'll need to find Orochimaru for this," Deidara said.

"Didn't you say Orochimaru escaped last time and can't be found?" Nagato, who had been mostly silent, seized on this inconsistency.

Sigh. Why did he feel like a figurehead leader, with his subordinates discussing matters he didn't understand?

"Ahaha!" Deidara laughed awkwardly, realizing he had slipped up. "I had a minor collaboration with Orochimaru. Leader, someone with his talents is rare. It would be such a waste to just kill him."

"He's still researching Hashirama Senju's cells. This time, I'll bring some back for you to enhance your body. That way, you won't always look like you're on the brink of death."

Nagato: "Get out!"

The next day, the long-awaited Akatsuki Meeting was held again. This time, Nagato shared his true aspirations and his belief in peace.

While his methods were criticized, his ideals were supported.

Itachi Uchiha felt a wave of inner turmoil. He had always thought of the Akatsuki as an evil terrorist organization. But now, it seemed that wasn't entirely true.

He also yearned for peace. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such an incomprehensible decision when faced with the choice between his clan and his village.

Now, with a higher ideal of peace presented before him, should he dedicate himself to it? Or should he continue protecting his narrow vision of the village?

He was conflicted.

Kisame Hoshigaki felt similarly. This peace plan sounded just as enticing as what Madara Uchiha had spoken of. Which side should he support?

He, too, was conflicted.

Kakuzu: "I only believe in money. But could there really be something more worth pursuing than money?"

Hidan: "I don't care about any of this! All I want is to pray to Jashin!"

Kakuzu: "Hidan, from now on, if you kill people recklessly, don't blame me for killing you!"

Hidan: "Hey! You'd have to kill me first!"

Amid Kakuzu and Hidan's usual bickering, Kisame turned to Deidara.

"Deidara, I still have the Shibuki (Splash) blade from last time. We're in the Land of Birds now. Come and get it."

Shibuki!

What a streak of good fortune!

(End of Volume 1. As you've seen, Volume 2 will introduce more elements in the struggle for dominance. Especially with Danzo as Hokage—what kind of intriguing events will unfold in Konoha? All of this is for Konoha!)

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