Naruto gazed deeply at Nagato, his tone utterly solemn:
"But! I've experienced all that pain and felt all that hatred, yet I've never thought of taking it out on innocent people, of making them suffer for my revenge!"
"I've suffered, so I don't want anyone else to suffer."
"I've been hurt, so I don't want anyone else to be hurt."
"I won't be like you, swallowed by darkness, fighting violence with violence and pain with pain."
At that moment, everyone across the Shinobi World watching the Sky Screen fell silent.
At last, they all understood.
The principle Nagato had believed in all his life was this-those who had been hurt would inevitably hate the world and take revenge on it.
Yet Naruto, standing before him, was living proof that shattered that dark, ironclad rule.
Both bore blood debts and had endured the worst suffering imaginable. One had fallen into darkness and inflicted pain, while the other had held fast to the light and sought to save others.
For the first time, the belief Nagato had clung to for half his life was shaken to its core.
Seeing the shock on Nagato's face, Naruto slowly took an old, yellowed booklet from inside his clothes.
It was the novel Jiraiya had poured his heart and soul into-The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.
Naruto opened the book and spoke softly, revealing the truth that would overturn everything Nagato believed.
"Master Jiraiya spent his whole life searching for the Child of Prophecy who could bring peace."
"The main character of this book is named Naruto."
"But I wasn't the original inspiration for this book, or the person its hero was first based on."
"You were Master Jiraiya's original hero-the young man who held on to his ideals, who wanted to save a world