Chinya found it somewhat strange when the White Snake mentioned that the White Snake Sage likely knew about Yahiko being in Ryuchi Cave.
From what Chinya knew of the White Snake Sage, he was a moody, capricious, and ill-tempered character who could be quite malicious and difficult to deal with.
Truthfully, Chinya had been prepared at any moment to be reverse-summoned back to Ryuchi Cave. If things had been really inconvenient back then, Chinya wouldn't have allowed the White Snake to bring Yahiko to Ryuchi Cave either.
Since the White Snake Sage already knew, how come he allowed Yahiko—who lacked a contract—to remain there?
It seemed odd.
Still, Chinya didn't dwell on it. He said to the White Snake, "Thanks for your trouble. There's no need to bother you further; just spit him out now."
Yahiko was once again spat out by the White Snake.
"Alright then, Lord Chinya, don't forget our agreement. I'll return to Ryuchi Cave first."
Chinya nodded. "Hmm, I won't forget. Go ahead."
The White Snake vanished into thin air, enveloped in mist.
Chinya squatted beside Yahiko, frowning slightly. He wrinkled his nose at Yahiko's sticky, blood-covered body, clearly disgusted.
Chinya checked Yahiko's condition. He was still very weak, but no longer in mortal danger.
He started to lift Yahiko's shirt to check his wounds.
Suddenly, Yahiko woke up and grabbed Chinya's hand, which was already pulling up his shirt.
Their eyes met. Yahiko looked confused as he asked, "What are you doing?"
Without expression, Chinya let go of Yahiko's shirt and answered, "Nothing."
Yahiko looked around, puzzled. "Where is this place? Where's the divine messenger?"
Chinya's eye twitched.
Was Yahiko really taking that snake for some messenger of god?
Chinya explained, "That snake isn't some divine messenger; it's my summoned beast."
Yahiko's eyes went wide with shock. "A summoned beast?! Then…"
"That's right," Chinya continued. "You're alive."
Yahiko stared at Chinya intently for a moment.
In the next second, he swung a fist straight at Chinya's face.
Chinya simply raised his hand, effortlessly caught the punch, and immediately subdued Yahiko with a countermove.
Struggling furiously, Yahiko shouted, "I know who you are! You're the one who stood beside Danzo that day!"
Chinya scratched his cheek, feeling annoyed. "Hey, I just saved your life, you know."
"Funny way to save me!" Yahiko snapped. "You've taken me prisoner!"
Chinya sighed helplessly. "Just like the White Snake said—what an idiot. Captured you? What value do you have now that I'd need to capture you? And if I hadn't pulled my punches back then, Nagato and Konan would've died right there."
"Did you really think your suicide would convince Sanshouo Hanzo to spare them? Hanzo never intended to spare any of you three from the beginning."
Yahiko stopped struggling and frowned tightly. "Then tell me exactly what happened!"
Chinya proceeded to explain everything that had occurred.
Seeing that Yahiko no longer attempted resistance, Chinya released him.
Yahiko clutched his head, clearly in pain. "Why? Why did this happen? And why would Hanzo—who also wanted peace in the Shinobi World—betray us?"
"Chinya sat down on a chair and said to Yahiko, "Because your Akatsuki Organization has already infringed upon the interests of most people."
Yahiko looked at Chinya in confusion. "Infringed upon...interests? But wouldn't bringing peace to the Shinobi World serve the best interests of most people?"
Chinya snorted. "Hey, you're supposed to be an organization leader. How can you be this naive?
Certainly, world peace does align with most people's interests. However, you must understand that most people are governed by a small group of powerful individuals.
When you threaten that small group's interests, you're essentially threatening the majority under their control — the very people they rule."
Yahiko still looked bewildered.
After thinking for a moment, Chinya went on explaining, "Let me first clarify why Sanshouo Hanzo wants to eliminate you. He's actually the easiest to understand. Because the existence of your Akatsuki threatens his ruling authority."
"But we've never sought any ruling power," Yahiko protested.
Chinya smiled slightly. "You might not have intended that, but your actions provoked him into thinking this way. In Amegakure, an uncontrollable organization has emerged — and no ruler could tolerate that.
Your Akatsuki grows stronger each day, and many of its members were originally ninja from Amegakure who served under Sanshouo Hanzo. Now they've joined your ranks, which makes them appear as traitors in Hanzo's eyes.
Tell me yourself, how could Hanzo possibly allow your existence? Honestly, it's already generous of him not to have acted against you sooner."
Yahiko opened his mouth but finally just murmured softly, "We really didn't mean it that way..."
Ignoring Yahiko's murmur, Chinya continued, "Now let me explain why Konoha is collaborating with Sanshouo Hanzo. The shinobi wars have been going on for many years now.
Due to various circumstances, the current situation has become quite stagnant. But one thing is certain — all Five Great Nations have suffered considerable losses, and none of the ninja villages have truly gained anything from this war.
You know exactly why this war started, right?
Konoha was too prosperous, so Iwagakure and Kumo allied together to carve out a share for themselves.
But now it's clear that Iwagakure and Kumo's plan has failed — Konoha's situation has improved significantly.
With all the pressure and losses Konoha endured previously, our situation has finally improved. Do you really think we'd just stop fighting now? Konoha definitely wants to gain benefits from future conflicts to compensate for past losses.
If peace were declared now, how would those losses ever be recovered? Therefore, your organization — which pursues peace and represents an unpredictable variable — must be eliminated according to Konoha's perspective."
Seeing Yahiko dazed, Chinya picked up his glass and took a sip to summarize everything. "Actually, even if Konoha weren't involved, even if you actually managed to initiate peace talks, the final result would still end in failure.
Iwagakure, one of the parties that initiated this war, would never agree to peace without achieving its original objectives."
Now that the Third Kazekage from Sunagakure Village has disappeared, if you propose peace talks now, they might suspect the Akatsuki Organization of killing the Third Kazekage and staging these talks as part of a scheme.
No matter what, if the Akatsuki tries to initiate peace talks, the only result will be its destruction!
Yahiko was stunned. He had believed that if everyone was willing to sit down, discuss their differences, and resolve their conflicts, peace could be achieved.
In his opinion, nobody truly enjoyed war.
But after hearing Chinya's explanation, Yahiko felt as if his entire belief system had been shattered to pieces. It seemed like once he proposed these peace talks, there would be no way for their Akatsuki Organization to survive.
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