Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 454 Pain of the Past

"Before today, had you ever been to Konoha? Had you seen the memorial tablets in Konoha? Had you seen the cemetery that occupied one-tenth of Konoha?"

"You keep saying we've never felt pain? How laughable! Does only the loss you 'bestow' count as pain? Just because Konoha is big enough that even with countless bones buried there, it still looks glamorous on the surface, does that mean we're arrogant, that we've never lost anything, that we should be trampled on, denied, and destroyed by you before bowing down to you?!"

"Nagato, do you really think you're a god? Wasn't your motive for destroying Konoha simply primal hatred? You haven't even severed your own hatred, so what gives you the right to force others to accept your twisted logic!"

Sasuke had never spoken so much in one breath before. He was truly furious. He was furious at Nagato's arrogant attitude, and furious that this guy, who clearly treated human life like dirt, still shamelessly came to question Naruto after causing destruction.

What other pain did Naruto have to endure? He was born without parents and grew up amidst so much malice and rejection. Yet, before he was even ten years old, he was already seeking a true path to peace for the world, and he tirelessly worked to fulfill this wish, creating one peaceful haven after another for people to live and work in peace, without ever stopping until he gave his life.

In contrast, what is Akatsuki doing? Even if he prefers to cultivate in seclusion, he has heard about the good deeds Akatsuki has done. They operate in the gray area, serving as mercenaries for various countries as substitutes for combat power, helping them win one small war after another, and occasionally killing people on the bounty list, regardless of whether those people are tyrants or protectors of their respective regions.

After all these years, what has Nagato's actions had to do with so-called "peace"? What right does he have to question Naruto?

And Naruto, that big idiot, was still saying, "You can't say that, Sasuke! Nagato and the others were just limited by their ninja perspective and went astray... That threat theory actually has some merit, but the Ten-Tails isn't a good thing. It can't be used as a deterrent, and something with such immense destructive power shouldn't be used casually in war. Actually, you only need to say the first part; the rest..."

"Shut up!" Sasuke glared at him.

However, Naruto only kept quiet for a moment before continuing to mutter, "No! You have to listen to me today. This isn't how you negotiate. Being so blunt means you're definitely going to..."

Naruto didn't get to finish his sentence because Kurama slammed down with his paw, burying him in his mind's eye. Sasuke actually saw appreciation on the fox's face; even the fox's tail started wagging happily.

"Well said, keep going, I love hearing the truth."

"..."

Because of the immense commotion caused by Pain's attack on the village, birds and beasts near Konoha scattered in panic, and the forest was eerily quiet. But this silence was deafening, because Sasuke unabashedly laid bare the facts that Nagato had been trying so hard to ignore, forcing him to confront the darkest part of his own heart.

Sasuke had walked the path of revenge, which is why he could sense a trace of hatred in Nagato's contradictory actions and words. Nagato must have hated Konoha and the world that caused him so much pain, but this hatred was bound by the idea of ​​"peace." Nagato, deeply trapped in this hatred, was blinded by it and regarded the destruction distorted by hatred as a necessary pain for the world. This is why he forged a theory that would make any normal person shake their head in disbelief.

Seeing that the six people opposite seemed to have been rendered speechless, how could the two seniors miss such a once-in-a-million opportunity? They were not exactly the upright type to begin with.

Tobirama instantly appeared in front of the Animal Path, who was standing at the front. Every Pain he had killed had been marked with a mark, placed in a hard-to-find spot, specifically to prepare for this situation. It was a gamble—betting that Pain wouldn't completely overhaul himself while repairing the puppets—and thankfully, he won.

With all six pairs of eyes sharing the same field of vision, Tobirama simply didn't avoid the gaze, directly exposing his intentions to Pain's eyes. The Animal Path did dodge the horizontal slash, but it couldn't dodge the Water Severing Wave that had been prepared beforehand. Last time, it was beheaded by Tobirama, but this time it was cleaved vertically, and the scene was even somewhat...too bloody.

Taking down the Animal Path first is a reasonable choice. This guy's endless stream of summoned beasts is too difficult to deal with, and this area is near the Naka River. Tobirama doesn't want a bunch of wild beasts to destroy the place.

As for their other target, that was naturally left to Izuna.

The Hell Path, hidden behind the Pain members, is difficult to attack directly, but it stands behind the Deva Path. So Izuna is curious about what the Hell Path will do if he attacks the Deva Path.

The black flames, fueled by the power of the eye, could appear remotely. By the time the Deva Path noticed the chakra suddenly enveloping his area, it was too late to summon the Preta Path back. The Deva Path's power hadn't recovered, and no matter what the attack was, he couldn't deflect it. In Nagato's subconscious, the Deva Path indeed had the upper hand. As he unconsciously retreated, the Hell Path rushed up from behind, grabbing the Deva Path by the collar and throwing him out of the danger zone.

This step was a major misjudgment, because the Hell Path, shrouded in black flames, could not possibly wait for the Hungry Ghost Path's rescue before dying!

"Amaterasu?" Pain recognized the flame. Theoretically speaking, not every Mangekyou Sharingan user possesses that power. Could it be that one of those two Anbu members is Itachi? So Naruto really did turn him against them.

So, was that statement meant to distract him? What was he really hoping for? Naruto just doesn't seem like the kind of person who would understand him.

But... is that really the case? Wasn't his choice wrong?

Nagato wasn't unaware of Konan's resistance, and he never felt that the current Akatsuki shared his ideals, let alone that dangerous guy who called himself "Madara." He felt lonely, that no one in the world responded to his ideals, but was it really because "God" saw the world differently from humans, and therefore could make a more "correct" choice?

Naruto once asked him if what he saw was truly the whole world. He spent some time thinking about it, but he still didn't see what he had overlooked, until Naruto pointed it out to him directly.

He witnessed the slaughter between people, he saw a world forged by hatred, but he overlooked the lives lost and forgot that the world of ninjas was already filled with suffering.

And he was a bastard who rubbed salt into other people's wounds.