"One million!"
Naruto held up one finger, his face filled with the confidence and composure of a mini-Batman.
Without a second word, Jiraiya tossed Naruto a million, "Say it!"
"Dead."
"..."
For some reason, even though he learned Uchiha Madara was already dead, he wasn't as happy as he had imagined.
Was it because this answer was already the one in his heart?
"Uchiha Madara is dead, why do you say he's the mastermind?" Jiraiya asked, puzzled.
Naruto shook his head and said, "Some people may be dead, but as long as someone remembers them, they can live! Aren't there many ways to bring people back to life in this world?"
"So there's a saying that goes like this: A person's true death isn't the moment their life ends, but when everyone forgets them."
"When no one remembers any trace of you in this world, then the world beyond is no longer related to you, and you are truly separated from this world."
"But if someone always remembers you, you will live forever! Either live in people's hearts, or... be resurrected!"
Jiraiya was shocked. "Are you saying Uchiha Madara will be resurrected? Who wants to resurrect him? That Black Zetsu? Or the person pretending to be Uchiha Madara? Is their goal in capturing the tailed beasts to resurrect Uchiha Madara?"
Naruto didn't say anything, but rubbed his thumb between his index and middle fingers.
Jiraiya understood and tossed Naruto two million.
Naruto was about to answer Jiraiya when he got the money, but Jiraiya suddenly stopped him. "Wait! Let me change the question!"
Including these two million, he had already given Naruto ten million, spending a third of the thirty million he brought!
If he continued asking nonsense questions like this, fifty million wouldn't be enough!
So Jiraiya decided to think for a moment to get the most information for the least money!
First of all, knowing who wants to resurrect Uchiha Madara wasn't that meaningful. Instead of asking who wants to do it, he should ask what method they plan to use to resurrect Uchiha Madara. That way he could find a way to stop them!
Secondly, the purpose of capturing the tailed beasts might be to resurrect Uchiha Madara, or it might not be.
Jiraiya wasn't sure if capturing so many tailed beasts could resurrect someone, but he knew it wasn't a good question to ask.
Instead of asking if it was, he should ask – what exactly is the Akatsuki organization's goal in capturing the tailed beasts!
Assuming Naruto knows!
After thinking it over, Jiraiya asked Naruto again, "The first question I want to ask is, what is the Akatsuki organization's goal in capturing the tailed beasts? The second question is, what method do they plan to use to resurrect Uchiha Madara?"
"I can answer question two, but question one... do you want to know Nagato's purpose in capturing the tailed beasts, or the purpose of the person pretending to be Uchiha Madara, or Black Zetsu's purpose in capturing the tailed beasts?"
"..."
Again?
Jiraiya's forehead was covered in black lines, but when he found out these people were the so-called masterminds, he should have known that their goals were different.
But was it necessary for him to know their goals?
Maybe he could ask what the collected tailed beasts are used for?
But if they each have their own goal, then collecting the tailed beasts might have more than one use!
No... it's also possible that collecting the tailed beasts only has one use, but someone is lying!
Jiraiya thought for a long time and realized he couldn't avoid this question, so he took out another two million for Naruto.
"Nagato's purpose in reviving the tailed beasts is to obtain absolute power to use as a threat to create peace! He believes that only by letting everyone experience the pain of loss, the pain of war, can people empathize and understand each other!"
"Nagato, he..."
Jiraiya was stunned when he heard this answer.
He suddenly remembered saying something similar many years ago when he was teaching Nagato. At that time, Nagato couldn't control the power of the Rinnegan and killed the Iwagakure Village he was going to sell Yahiko to. He told Nagato that people could only empathize if they experienced the same pain...
Could it be that his teachings turned him into this?
Jiraiya couldn't help but question whether he was qualified as a teacher.
Without waiting for Jiraiya to digest the information, Naruto continued, "The person pretending to be Uchiha Madara wants to collect the tailed beasts to implement the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"Eye of the Moon Plan?"
"Yes, he believes that humans can never understand each other. The way to permanently solve the problem of war, the way to achieve permanent world peace, is to trap everyone in a permanent illusion!"
"What? Trap everyone in a permanent illusion? How could that be possible? Even the legendary Sage of Six Paths couldn't do such a thing, right?"
Jiraiya was shocked and then subconsciously asked, "Who is this person pretending to be Uchiha Madara?!"
"Um... more money."
Jiraiya was about to take out money subconsciously, but hesitated and put it back.
Who this person pretending to be Uchiha Madara was wasn't as important as he thought. What was important was how to stop them and prevent them from achieving their goals!
Thinking of this, he looked at Naruto with burning eyes.
As long as he protected Naruto, no matter who the other party was or what their goal was, they would never be able to achieve their evil goals!
"Finish what you were saying," Jiraiya said.
Naruto shrugged and continued, "Here's a free message for you: Uchiha Madara and the person pretending to be Uchiha Madara have the same goal. In a sense, you can say they are master and student, inheritors of the same will. But they're not that close. If Uchiha Madara's life hadn't been coming to an end..."
"Then there's Black Zetsu, whose goal is to break the seal on its mother. You can think of it as a find-mom plan. Resurrecting Uchiha Madara or Nagato collecting the tailed beasts are just part of its plan."
"As for what method it will use to resurrect Uchiha Madara, I can only say that it will most likely use the Rinnegan's powers, but there are many other ways to resurrect the dead. No one knows what method it will use to resurrect Uchiha Madara later."
"It?"
Jiraiya keenly noticed the information contained in this word.
Naruto nodded. "Yes, this information should also be considered a free gift. Nagato thinks the person pretending to be Uchiha Madara is Uchiha Madara, so naturally he wouldn't have the idea of resurrecting Uchiha Madara. As for the person pretending to be Uchiha Madara, he doesn't want to resurrect Uchiha Madara! After all, there's only one pair of Rinnegan! There can only be one ruler of this world!"
"And according to the Eye of the Moon Plan, everyone except the person using the ninjutsu will be trapped in the illusion. If Uchiha Madara is resurrected, wouldn't the person pretending to be Uchiha Madara also be trapped in the illusion and become a puppet?"
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