NARUTO-KUN, TRAPPED IN A DARK ROOM

"Still refusing?"

"Won't you reconsider? These terms are already quite generous."

Naruto's refusal was well within Natsu Yuu's expectations. The man who could even talk the fiercely resolute Obito into backing down was the Ninja World's greatest smooth talker. If he could change his convictions that easily, he wouldn't be Naruto Uzumaki.

Nor would he have become the Child of Prophecy in the original story.

"I know!"

"But even if I agreed, the other villages wouldn't. Trying to unify the whole world would inevitably lead to war."

"And once war started, countless people would die."

"I'm sorry, but I can't do it!"

"I can't launch an attack on the other villages when they haven't done anything wrong..."

That was Naruto's way of thinking.

He would never hurt anyone except his enemies, let alone his friends.

No matter how tempting the offer was, he wouldn't do it!

"Reality isn't as beautiful as the ideal you imagine. You don't want to hurt anyone, but that doesn't mean they won't want to hurt you."

"Or do you think the other villages and countries could withstand an attack from Jigen and the Shell Organization?"

"Or do you want to wait until Jigen kills Sasuke and Boruto before you regret it?"

Natsu Yuu kept pressing Naruto, hoping to sway him one last time.

"No!"

"I'll never let that happen!"

"Oh? Never? Just like the bold promises you made Nagato? Did you manage to keep them? What can you do now, trapped in here?"

His words struck Naruto like a heavy hammer.

Now that he was grown, he understood all too well that the world wouldn't become the way he hoped.

So often, things were beyond his control...

"I..."

"Then let me put it another way. Between your family and friends, and the other villages and