Traveling through Nagato, from conquering Konan to dominating the ninja world

"Danzo-san...conspiring with Hanzo to ambush the Akatsuki?"

Minato raised his eyes in shock.

"Yes, it happened half a year ago." Nagato spoke calmly, drinking the boiled water in the cup. "Your other junior fellow apprentice, Yahiko, died at that time."

"This..." Minato's azure eyes trembled violently and he clenched the cup tightly.

Nagato raised his eyes and said, "Why, you don't believe what I said?"

Minato took a sip of water slowly, and when he put down the cup, his eyes had returned to calmness.

"No, it's just that what you said was too much like Mr. Danzo's style, so I hesitated for a moment. Did you deliberately put the blame on him?"

"Oh?" Nagato's expression changed slightly: "Hesitation? In other words, you believe me now?"

Minato nodded heavily, "Teacher Jiraiya talked about the relationship between the three of you. I think my junior brother, no matter what, you would not make such an obviously not funny joke with your own senior brother about the death of your best friend..."

His eyes dropped.

"But now... I can understand a lot of things now."

"Why did Danzo behave so abnormally during your attack on Konoha? And why was he so evasive when the Third Hokage mentioned 'Hanzo' during the meeting to analyze the information about you?"

"All signs indicate that what you said is true... But what makes me most terrified is the thought that comes to mind."

He clenched his fists.

"Danzo knew from the beginning that Pein's true identity was you! Not only did he conceal it, but he also intentionally or unintentionally directed suspicion towards the Uchiha clan. This shows his prejudice against the Uchiha clan, and his intentions..."

"Boom." Nagato put down his teacup and said with a sullen face, "Brother Minato, I emphasize again that the person who attacked Konoha was not me. If this matter of principle is wrong, I'm sorry, I have to send you away!"

"Ugh." Minato showed a helpless expression: "Nagato-kun, you really can't tolerate any grain of sand in your eyes. Well, the one who invaded Konoha was Pein."

"As for Pain and Nagato, apart from breathing the moist air of Yugakure and sharing the Rinnegan, and the leader being your closest friend and my junior fellow apprentice Yahiko, there is no other connection between you and them. At least at this stage, I cannot prove that you were the one who controlled them to attack Konoha. Is this all right?"

Nagato laughed and said, "Oh, you are being sarcastic. Well, you are my senior brother, so I won't bother with you."

He refilled the water for Minato and himself.

Minato did not forget the fundamental purpose of this trip, to learn more about Nagato. He took a sip of water, his eyes flashing, and was about to change direction.

But Nagato was the first to break the silence: "Brother, you are married, right?"

"Eh? Yes, you are quite well-informed..." A rosy color flashed across Minato's face.

Nagato said with a smile: "Can you tell me about Master's Wife?"

There was a gentle light flashing in Minato's eyes, and his tone was soft, as if he was telling a fairy tale: "Your sister-in-law, Kushina, is the most beautiful girl in the world. No one else can combine the excellent qualities of all girls in the world like she does! In my mind, she is simply the embodiment of an "angel"..."

Sorry Minato, Kushina may be nice, but "Angel" is the only thing that remains constant in my heart.

Nagato raised a faint smile as he listened to Minato talking about Kushina's good points like a treasure.

My throat became dry after talking so much, and then I remembered to drink some water to moisten it.

After putting down the teacup, Minato wiped the corners of his mouth and showed a smile that was not enough: "Come to think of it, my wife Kushina has the same red hair as you. I was wondering if you are related by blood?"

This seemingly casual question actually has profound meaning.

Minato thought to himself: That was a close call, I almost lost the rhythm with him, it's my fault that I got so carried away when talking about Kushina.

Nagato thought: Minato looks like a big-headed person, but he is actually very thoughtful. He said so many things about Kushina, but he didn't mention that she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki or that she was pregnant. He even cleverly avoided mentioning that she was from the Uzumaki clan. However, your last question was too obvious...

Nagato smiled slightly, "I don't know much about my origins. I only know that my parents were civilians who migrated to the Rain Country during the war. As for my hair color, I inherited my mother's red hair. I have never met my sister-in-law, so I don't know if I have any blood relationship with her. So, can you tell me more about the 'same clan' that my brother mentioned?"

Minato thought: Nagato... does he really not know? Or is he pretending not to know? Regarding the Uzumaki clan. I am not sure if Jiraiya-sensei has mentioned it to Nagato. After all, not all Uzumaki clan members have red hair, and not all red hair members are Uzumaki clan members.

Well...the only thing I'm sure of is that Nagato has as much chakra as Kushina.

I felt it when I used Sage Mode to reverse track him!

Just as Minato was thinking about how to cleverly evade this question... Nagato suddenly put down the cup.

"More than that, Minato-san, regarding what I mentioned earlier about Danzo's actions, are you going to give me an explanation?"

This unexpected question caused Minato to fall into silence.

Nagato decided to take advantage of the situation at this point and said, "Also, since we just talked about 'parents', I will be frank now. My parents were killed by Konoha ninjas in front of my eyes during the Second Shinobi World War in the Hidden Rain Village, a battlefield in the great country led by your Konoha. They were killed in our home in the civilian area of ​​Hidden Rain Village."

"Since you are my senior brother and the Hokage of Konoha Village in the Land of Fire, can you tell me what you think of the harm caused to innocent civilians in small countries by Konoha ninjas in the past wars? How can the hatred deep in the hearts of those children who lost their loved ones due to being involved in the disputes of your great country, and have nowhere to vent, be vented?"

"This...I." Minato was speechless for a moment.

Yes, no one... can face this problem directly. Even Naruto in the original work fell into confusion and hesitation after hearing it.

After Naruto defeated Pain, he faced this question again during his conversation with Nagato. However, he still did not give a direct answer, but instead awakened Nagato's lost original intention through his sincerity and unyielding determination.

Strictly speaking, Naruto did not solve the problem, but solved the person who raised the problem.

But the Nagato today is no longer the same as before.

Minato is not Naruto either.

Almost the moment Nagato asked the sharp question, Minato understood.

So that's how it is. The reason why Nagato was willing to sit down and talk with me, his uninvited senior brother, was not because he was averse to fighting with me.

He told me about Danzo's conspiracy and the matter of his parents, all because... the three most important people to him all lost their lives directly or indirectly because of Konoha.

But I didn't understand his thoughts, but was busy testing his background...

To be honest, I feel a little ashamed.

They were obviously brothers, but when they sat face to face like this, they were full of defense and could not communicate with each other sincerely.

It seems... I have to be sincere!

Minato put away all his tentative thoughts, raised his head, looked directly into Nagato's eyes, and spoke in a paused and forceful voice.

"As the Hokage, I have never denied the mistakes Konoha made during the war, and I am not denying it now, and I will not deny it in the future!"

"I can't completely make up for the damage that Amegakure, and small countries like Amegakure, have suffered in the conflicts between big countries in the past. As Hokage, what I can guarantee is that with Konoha in my charge, the same tragedy will not happen again!"

"Because... the Konoha that I rule will never be the first to start a war. From now on, we will only fight a defensive war. The so-called defensive war is a war that will only take place in our own home or on the territory of the warring countries. It will never affect innocent countries!"

"But at the same time, I hereby declare that as long as Konoha is under my leadership, I will not allow anyone to do anything to harm my village and my partners for any reason!"

Nagato said, "Does your companion include Danzo?"

Minato said without hesitation: "That's right! Mr. Danzo's way of doing things is very extreme, and I personally hate it to the extreme! But as long as he is still a Konoha ninja, he is my partner and is within my protection!"

"Of course, after I have a clearer understanding of his style of doing things, I will not protect and condone him like the Third Hokage did. From now on, I plan to gradually keep him away from the power center of Konoha and reduce the power of the Root!"

"As for... the hatred you mentioned that has nowhere to vent, I will speak frankly, Nagato."

"If you have a knot in your heart about Konoha because of your parents' or Yahiko's death, then come to me, your senior brother. Whether you want to communicate peacefully or use force... I will accompany you to the end."

"To be honest, Nagato-san. I cannot fathom your strength, so I don't think I am your opponent."

"But my determination to protect Konoha has nothing to do with strength."

"I believe that if that day comes, those I trust and my companions who trust me will fight alongside me."

After he finished speaking, Minato pressed his five fingers lightly on the table and stood up.

"The above is what I really want to convey to you when I come back to see you on behalf of Jiraiya-sensei."

"Well...after all, Jiraiya-sensei and I both broke into your territory, so how about we call it even on your part? From now on, we both put aside our past grudges and let Konoha and the Hidden Rain Village try to communicate in a friendly manner, how about that?"

Nagato lowered his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth slightly, then he stood up and said in a deep voice: "What do you mean by mine? I emphasize it one last time. I don't know if the one who attacked Konoha was Pein, but it wasn't me, Nagato!"

Hearing that Nagato would not admit his guilt even if he was beaten to death, Minato could only sigh helplessly in his heart: Now, there is no need to mention the matter of the "Book of Sealing"...

……

In the end, Nagato still failed to reach a consensus with Minato on the alliance between Amegakure and Konoha.

However, after this interview, the two seemed to have reached a subtle tacit understanding... a tacit understanding of being both enemies and friends?

"It's getting late, I should go back too." Minato stood on the tongue of the tower relief, looked back and said: "By the way, give my regards to my junior sister. To be revered as an 'Angel' by the people of Yugakure, she must be the second best girl in the world after Kushina."

Nagato said firmly: "No, you are wrong. She is the only angel in this world."

Minato was startled, then smiled knowingly and held out his pinky finger: "Is that so... She's yours, right?"

Nagato remained noncommittal. Not yet, but certainly in the future.

Minato smiled and said, "But...Kushina is one of a kind. There is no better girl in the world than her!"

After saying this, Minato disappeared without even giving Nagato a chance to refute him.

Nagato smiled helplessly, "Go home Minato, you are still a dark character as always."

His eyes slowly turned to the wall beside him: "Well, it's about time for you to come out."