ROAR!
The Ten-Tails beneath him suddenly let out a roar. Nagato quickly turned to look behind him and saw a figure that had appeared, unnoticed, on the Ten-Tails' rear.
"Using Adamantine Sealing Chains to block the Ten-Tails' interaction with the outside world, cutting off its continued absorption of natural energy to prevent further evolution... a very good method." After assessing the Ten-Tails' condition, Naruto couldn't help but nod. Although the Ten-Tails in this state was a bit weaker, it was more than enough to deal with the Allied Shinobi Forces.
"How does it feel to have achieved your ideal?"
"There's excitement, and also some... bewilderment." Nagato looked up at the boundless blue sky and sighed softly. Towards an enemy he should have been fighting to the death, he now felt not a shred of fighting spirit.
"How long do you think the current state can be maintained?" Naruto slowly walked to his side. The plain, which should have been perfectly flat, was now pockmarked and devastated by the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bombs. Upon it, many Allied Shinobi Forces ninja, having broken down, cried out helplessly.
"Have you ever thought about achieving your ideal in a different way? You should understand, the two of us are not enemies." Naruto looked at him. Perhaps they had been enemies before, but that didn't mean they would be in the future. Grudges and rights or wrongs were no longer so important, having reached their current stage.
"Annexing the Five Great Nations?" Nagato was somewhat aware of Naruto's recent actions. Strictly speaking, this man was also a target for him to strike down.
"Yes, and no." Naruto sat down cross-legged beside Nagato, seemingly unconcerned that the other might take this opportunity to attack. Nagato felt the same. In a sense, both had reached the summit, yet it's lonely at the top. There were too few people with whom they could truly communicate and confide. The Kage of the Five Great Nations might have been qualified, but the differences in their ideologies and understanding destined them never to sit down and talk together. Naruto yearned for Nagato's understanding, and was Nagato not also yearning for Naruto's acknowledgment?
"Annexing the Five Great Nations is merely a means, not the end. Ever since the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara established Konoha, the 'One Country, One Village' system has blossomed throughout the shinobi world. The Daimyo desired trustworthy military partners, and shinobi hoped to be supported by a nation's power to advance further," Naruto explained his thoughts and ideas to Nagato. "Under the family/clan system, the scale of ninja forces was limited. Even if the number of non-productive personnel increased, it would naturally be kept within a reasonable range. State sponsorship is different. Hidden villages, freed from worries about survival, would do their utmost to expand their ninja forces, and the Daimyo were happy to see this, as stronger military power could better maintain national rule. This created a vicious cycle. A nation's finances are not inexhaustible. The Daimyo need to coordinate various interests. Once the number of ninja reaches a certain point, if a hidden village wants to continue expanding its forces, it can only rely on missions. But the shinobi world is only so big; how can it simultaneously meet the demands of all hidden villages?"
"So, ninja began to wage external wars to compete for the number of missions," Nagato continued, following Naruto's line of thought. This was an angle he had never considered before. Following this train of thought, he found that many things he couldn't understand before now had answers.
"The root of war is hatred, a hatred that has stretched back since the era of the Sage of Six Paths. Initially, it might have stemmed from fighting over something—a piece of land, a mouthful of food, a well... because of these things, people began to kill each other," Nagato also voiced his past thoughts. "It continued into the Warring States Period, evolving into conflicts between ninja clans. After the hidden village system was established, it became conflicts between nations. After each conflict, people felt pain—the pain of parting with loved ones, the pain of friends dying. Under the influence of this suffering, the shinobi world would enter a brief period of peace."
"So you believe that widespread pain, profound enough to penetrate people's hearts, can bring peace to the shinobi world?" Naruto asked.
"That's right." Nagato nodded. This was indeed his past idea, and the philosophy he was currently practicing.
"The First Shinobi World War was in Konoha Year 18, the Second in Konoha Year 37, and the Fourth in Konoha Year 47. Do you notice anything?" In response, Naruto simply stated a few sets of numbers, not forcefully correcting Nagato's perception with his own words.
"The intervals are shortening," Nagato also realized something was amiss.
"Correct. The intervals between the outbreaks of Shinobi World Wars are continuously shortening. This means that to create peace, pain alone is not enough," Naruto said, pointing to the battlefield not far away. "Do you think they know what this war is for?" Before Nagato could answer, Naruto provided the answer himself. "I believe most of them don't know. They are here simply because of the orders issued by their respective Kage. No matter how heavy the pain of their predecessors, it doesn't stop them from accepting their Kage's orders. If they disobey, it means betraying their villages. For those born and raised in hidden villages, the village is the foundation of everything for them. Betraying their village means they would lose everything—a comfortable material life, a warm family... They simply have no choice."
"The Five Kage are the source of war... No, that's not right. Even without the Five Kage, there would be a Rain Kage, a Grass Kage..." The more Nagato thought, the more he felt the intricate complexity of it all. "What truly is the source?!" he questioned loudly. The Ten-Tails beneath him also let out roars due to his intense emotional fluctuations.
"Resources. Without enough resources to distribute, no matter how much or how great the pain you inflict, war will still come," Naruto explained. "A comfortable material life requires resources, hidden villages need resources to support ninja, and Daimyo support hidden villages also for the sake of resources. As long as resources are sufficient, hidden villages will not easily resort to war."
"...Then what do you intend to do?" Nagato smiled bleakly, looking somewhat disheartened.
Naruto wasn't surprised. Anyone who realized that years of struggle had amounted to nothing would be considered strong-willed if they didn't go mad.
"Annex the Five Great Nations, reform the ninja system, control the number of non-productive ninja to a reasonable level, vigorously develop productive forces, eliminate exploitation, and achieve equality for all. Create a true golden age of peace!"
"Unrealistic." Even if Nagato had lost all reason at this point, he understood just how difficult it would be to achieve everything Naruto described.
"Where there's a will, there's a way. How will you know if it's possible if you don't even try? If we don't leave a seed for future generations, then it will truly be impossible forever," Naruto didn't refute him directly.
"Why not just eliminate all ninja directly?" A fierce killing intent flared in Nagato's eyes. Wiping out all non-productive ninja—he was truly capable of doing that. He didn't dare imagine eliminating exploitation and achieving equality for all, but creating an environment with sufficient resource distribution—that he could do. He even felt that Daimyo and nobles, those bloodsuckers, all needed to be cut down.