[Kirigakure Anbu: "Silly child, you still don't think your father is strong?"]
[Kakuzu: "Which bastard took my money!!"]
[Konan: "."]
The footage continued.
"I see, but you said you wanted to go alone... what for, exactly?" Inoichi looked at Naruto worriedly.
"There's something I want to confirm." Naruto hesitated.
"Confirm?"
"I want to talk to Pain's true body!"
"What are you saying, kid? You're being unreasonable.
We're grateful you defeated Pain, but this isn't a problem that can be solved through negotiation..."
Inoichi's expression was complicated.
"Then, would everything be resolved if we defeated Pain's true body, his subordinates, and the enemy village?"
Naruto sounded angry.
Inoichi hesitated. He didn't agree with Naruto going to talk to Pain.
"Then I... feel the same way.
The guy who did this to Konoha,
who did this to everyone, I'll never forgive him!" Naruto said angrily.
"But..."
Inoichi was about to say more when Shikaku interrupted him.
"Let's do as Naruto says and let him go alone!" Shikaku interrupted Inoichi, his gaze calm.
"But Naruto..." Inoichi was worried.
"Naruto was the one who stopped Pain. Only Naruto has the right to talk to him, and besides, he must have his own ideas," Shikaku said firmly.
After apologizing,
Naruto left the three of them and rushed off into the distance.
"Shikaku, why did you let Naruto go alone?" Inoichi asked worriedly.
"What if Pain has set a trap out there? Wouldn't Naruto be in terrible danger?"
"Because of my son."
Shikaku recalled the past. "My son trusts Naruto a great deal. He knows his son's personality well.
If Naruto can get along with Shikamaru, there must be something special about him..."
The scene changed.
"Someday, he'll definitely become a very important ninja to the village!
With Naruto, I want to keep going with that guy. I can't help thinking that!"
Shikamaru turned his head and chuckled.
Shikaku could still picture the scene clearly.
"Shikamaru rarely praises anyone, but he went that far. I believe there must be something about Naruto..." Shikaku's gaze was especially firm.
"In any case, let's leave this to Naruto!"
The scene changed.
After entering Sage Mode,
Naruto soon found a hollow in a tree. He reached out
and pulled apart the bark covering it.
Soon, he could see the dimly lit scene inside.
"Konan, stand down..." Nagato said weakly.
"Nagato..."
"It's all right, listen to me..." Nagato shook his head.
Naruto slowly walked in.
When he saw Nagato before him, his eyes filled with surprise.
"Are you Pain's true body?"
Pain's true body was skin and bones, without a healthy piece of flesh on him...
"Peace has arrived without a shred of shame..." Nagato said weakly.
"Do you hate me? Your enemy is right before your eyes. You must want revenge, don't you?" Nagato began provoking Naruto.
Naruto clenched his teeth and closed his eyes.
"Kill Nagato here and now, and complete your revenge.
The world won't change at all. It would only be for your own satisfaction," Konan said coldly.
Inside Naruto's mind,
several thoughts kept flashing and colliding.
He now had two choices before him:
The first was to kill Nagato
and avenge his fallen comrades and teacher.
The second was to forgive Nagato and let go of his past hatred.
After all, the person facing him was also a pitiable soul.
Even if he killed him, it wouldn't change anything...
"You, who can't provide any answers, can't accomplish anything.
Your mission is to sacrifice yourself for the peace I create. That is the right answer!"
Pain controlled the launcher and rapidly fired it at Naruto.
Naruto didn't dodge.
Instead, he let the Black Rods pierce his abdomen.
"At this close range, my Chakra can control your movements however I please.
Don't worry, I avoided your vital organs. After all, you're an important Jinchūriki," Nagato explained weakly.
[Jiraiya: "Nagato, why did you become like this..."]
[Nagato Uzumaki: "Sensei, I..."]
[Konan: "I'm so sorry, Jiraiya-sensei..."]
[Yahiko: "So, did you two kill Jiraiya-sensei?"]
[Nagato Uzumaki: "I controlled you and used you to kill Jiraiya-sensei. It had nothing to do with Konan..."]
[Fourth Kazekage Rasa: "So this is the relationship between teachers and students in Konoha? How thrilling..."]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Lord Kazekage, is there something about Konoha that displeases you..."]
[Orochimaru: "Ahem, ahem..."]
[Tobirama Senju: "Monkey, why do I feel like something's not quite right..."]
In the Hokage's office,
Hiruzen stared at the Kazekage, who kept coughing in front of him, utterly bewildered.
He was growing more and more suspicious
that the person before him was Orochimaru...
Of course,
that was only his suspicion.
When dealing with an ally of Konoha,
Hiruzen wouldn't readily reveal his thoughts.
"Konoha is quite nice,"
Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage, chuckled, then added,
"I misspoke just now, misspoke."
At that moment, Orochimaru wanted nothing more than to kill Rasa.
That guy was such an idiot.
He had almost exposed Orochimaru's plan!
[Tobirama Senju: "Monkey, be careful..."]
The footage continued.
Naruto was furious now.
The Nine-Tails' Chakra instantly swept toward Nagato in the distance.
Nagato's body was already weak,
and after taking that hit, he was even more like a candle flickering in the wind.
"What's wrong, Nagato?" Konan asked, her face full of concern.
Nagato slowly raised his head and looked at Naruto in the distance, his eyes full of surprise.
"He deliberately didn't dodge..."
"I came here to talk to you.
There's something else I want to confirm, too."
Naruto's expression was just as complicated.
"There's something you want to confirm?" Nagato asked.
"I want to confirm what I feel in my heart.
If my enemy were right in front of me, even I wouldn't know what I'd do," Naruto said, clutching his abdomen.
"So what?"
"Just as I thought, I can't forgive you..."
Naruto pulled the Black Rods out of his abdomen.
"I want to kill you right now. I can't stop my body from trembling..."
"How is that possible? At such close range, you can resist Nagato's Chakra..."
Konan watched in astonishment.
Naruto threw the Black Rods to the ground, then rushed toward Nagato.
At that moment,
Konan began to defend against Naruto's attack.
The scene changed.
A memory of Jiraiya's teachings appeared in the footage.
Naruto, who had been about to fight,
suddenly suppressed the hatred in his heart and stopped.
"Jiraiya-sensei said an age when people truly understand one another would eventually come...
He firmly believed that."
Naruto slowly unclenched his fist.
"When he said that, I barely listened and didn't really think about it."
"He said he was entrusting me with finding the answer to how to make that happen...
But at the time, I thought he was just acknowledging me as his student, and I was too busy being happy."
"Thinking back on it now, I finally understand that what Jiraiya-sensei meant wasn't that simple..."
"But you still can't forgive me, can you?" Nagato said slowly.
[Ōnoki: "Different perspectives mean different standpoints. Neither side did anything wrong..."]
[Mizukage Mei Terumi: "That's true. Meeting violence with violence can't solve anything..."]
[Fourth Raikage A: "So, we should understand each other? That's a little ridiculous..."]
[Hashirama Senju: "Sigh, what will it take for the Shinobi World to achieve peace..."]
[Tobirama Senju: "Brother, if you were still alive, the Shinobi World would have remained at peace..."]
(If you've read this far, could you add this to your bookshelf? Please? (ᐡっ ̫ •̥⸝⸝ᐡ))