Naruto was thrilled.
"Then, use the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to summon me and my Shadow Clones to Konoha and the Hidden Mist Village simultaneously!"
"I want to—"
"Save both the Perverted Sage and Sasuke at the same time!"
Fukasaku and Shima exchanged glances. Their expressions changed, and a glimmer of hope appeared in their eyes.
"I understand..."
"You're planning to fight in two places at once, using both your main body and your Shadow Clones?"
"But if you do that, Little Naruto, your strength will inevitably decrease because your chakra will be divided among the Shadow Clones. What if—"
"There's no 'what if'!"
Naruto's eyes were filled with determination.
"I'll definitely save both the Perverted Sage and Sasuke at the same time!"
"This is my answer to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy!"
Fukasaku slowly shook his head.
"I understand, Naruto."
"My wife and I will return to Konoha with you."
"We've watched little Jiraiya grow up since he was young. If he's in danger, then helping him is certainly our responsibility."
"As for Sasuke, we'll leave him to you."
Naruto's face immediately lit up.
"Wonderful! Thank you, Wise Grandpa and Grandma!"
He slammed his right fist into his left palm.
"Bang!"
"The Perverted Sage... Sasuke..."
"Wait for me!"
---
Meanwhile, in Konoha
With Jiraiya's return, Pain also sensed that the situation had changed.
"Jiraiya... Sensei."
The Rinnegan stared coldly at his former teacher, its gaze as emotionless as stone.
Jiraiya frowned.
"What exactly is going on?!"
"You're clearly Yahiko, so why do you have Nagato's Rinnegan?!"
Pain's Deva Path didn't answer.
Instead, Kakashi Hatake spoke.
"Jiraiya-sama, this man isn't the only enemy we're facing. There are at least five more entities known as the Six Paths of Pain."
"Moreover, even the eyes of these summoned beasts have transformed into Rinnegan."
"Therefore, I suspect that Nagato, who possesses the Rinnegan, is using some kind of secret jutsu that allows him to control the Six Paths of Pain and the summoned beasts simultaneously."
"The clearest sign is that all of their eyes have transformed into the Rinnegan."
Only after listening to Kakashi's analysis did Jiraiya, who had just arrived at the battlefield, begin to understand what was happening.
Pain slowly shook his head.
"As expected of Kakashi Hatake. Your analytical ability really is extraordinary."
"But there's no point in discussing these matters right now."
"Jiraiya-sensei, I don't want to fight you."
"As long as you hand over the Seven-Tails and Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, we can settle our grievances later."
Jiraiya burst into laughter.
"Whether you're Nagato or Yahiko, saying something like that is ridiculous!"
"After all these years, haven't you made any progress at all?!"
Pain's expression remained indifferent.
"Ridiculous?"
"I'm not joking, Jiraiya-sensei."
"Hand over the Jinchuriki, and Konoha can remain safe for now."
"Otherwise, you and Konoha will face God's judgment."
Jiraiya frowned.
"God's judgment?"
"I never thought you would become this twisted..."
"Do you really think you're God?!"
Pain's expression remained calm.
"I don't merely think I am."
"I truly am."
"Jiraiya-sensei, I don't blame you for saying that. You're still an ordinary mortal, so naturally, you cannot understand the thoughts of God."
"Hahahahaha!"
Jiraiya laughed loudly.
"To hear something like that from my own student!"
"If that's the case, then tell me. What exactly are God's thoughts?"
Pain glanced around at the village, which was still shrouded in smoke and flames.
"If it were anyone else, explaining it would be meaningless."
"But since it's you, Jiraiya-sensei, I don't mind telling you."
"As God, I will love humanity and grant this world love and peace."
"After all, I am a God who believes in peace."
Jiraiya looked at the heavily damaged village and couldn't help giving a sarcastic smile.
"Nagato, you've certainly become skilled at telling jokes."
"This isn't a joke. It's the truth."
"Destroying other villages, capturing Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki, carrying out assassinations everywhere, and plunging the entire Ninja World into chaos and destruction..."
"Is this the peace you're talking about?!"
"No."
Pain calmly shook his head.
"Those things are merely necessary sacrifices on the path toward peace."
"Hahahaha! 'Necessary sacrifices'?!"
"If peace requires sacrifices like that, then what's the point of achieving it?!"
Pain looked at Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya-sensei, you're only looking at the trees and failing to see the forest."
"The Pain organization—or rather, the Akatsuki's capture of Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki—is merely a means to an end, not the objective itself."
"The ultimate goal is to combine the chakra of all nine Tailed Beasts and create a true Tailed Beast Weapon."
"With that ultimate power, we will establish absolute peace throughout the Ninja World."
Jiraiya's expression became even more serious.
"How could something like that possibly bring peace?!"
"It's very simple."
Pain's voice remained calm.
"When a major nation goes to war, the Akatsuki can join one side as mercenaries."
"We can then activate the ultimate Tailed Beast Weapon and unleash enough power to destroy both heaven and earth."
"That power would be capable of destroying an entire village or even a country with a single attack."
"Under such power, tens of thousands—or even millions—of people could die in an instant."
"Only then would both people and nations truly understand what fear and pain mean."
"Faced with endless fear and suffering, wars would eventually be forced to end, allowing the Ninja World to enjoy a temporary period of peace."
"Then, once people forgot their pain and forgot history, the Tailed Beast Weapon would be activated again."
"It would once again make the world experience pain."
"In this way, through continuous cycles of pain, the Ninja World would periodically experience peace."
Jiraiya and Kakashi exchanged glances.
"That's ridiculous."
Kakashi couldn't hold himself back any longer.
"What meaning does peace have if it's achieved by killing millions of people?!"
"That's even more cruel and brutal than war itself!"
Pain's Deva Path gave Kakashi a cold look.
"Kakashi Hatake, that's merely the foolish opinion of a mortal."
"Just like this world, if one hasn't experienced true pain, one can never grow."
"It's like a child who touches fire once and experiences its pain. After that, the child will never willingly touch fire again."
"This world is still like a child."
"Only by experiencing pain can it mature."
"The duty of God is to make this world experience pain and force it to grow."
Jiraiya listened in disbelief.
"What a twisted theory!"
"Do you really need to make sacrifices on such a massive scale again and again in the name of so-called 'world development'?!"
Pain remained completely unmoved.
"Without the pain of childbirth, there can be no new life."
"Rebuild after destruction."
"Learn courage through shame."
"Experience true happiness by enduring pain and hardship."
"In the same way, peace can only be understood through war."
"Without knowing the pain of war, it is impossible to understand the value of peace."
He paused before continuing.
"Therefore, for the sake of peace in the Ninja World, the Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki must be sacrificed."
"Jiraiya-sensei, if you can understand this point, then you will realize that your actions are disrupting the peace of the Ninja World."
"You're preventing the people of this world from achieving happiness."
Jiraiya's expression turned furious.
"Nagato, stop spouting this nonsense!"
"What happened to the kind-hearted person you used to be?"
"Why have you become so twisted?!"
"What exactly did you experience?!"
Pain looked at him.
"What did I experience?"
"Perhaps..."
"God was originally human."
"Only after experiencing suffering did he evolve."
"But God's evolution is different from that of ordinary humans."
"He transcends humanity, rises above it, continues to grow eternally, and eventually undergoes a complete transformation."
"Until finally, he becomes a supreme and compassionate God."
Jiraiya was speechless for a moment.
It was like trying to reason with a madman.
A ridiculously powerful and incredibly stubborn madman.
Words seemed to have lost all meaning.
Kakashi, however, appeared to be deep in thought.
After a moment, he finally spoke.
"No, Pain. You're wrong."
"Even if there is some truth in what you're saying—that people cannot truly mature without experiencing pain, and that they cannot understand the value of peace without experiencing war—there is fundamentally no need for a 'Tailed Beast Weapon.'"
"Because something like that already exists in the Ninja World."
For the first time, Pain's expression showed a trace of hesitation.
"Oh?"
"What do you mean?"
Kakashi spoke in a deep voice.
"The Great Ninja Wars."
Jiraiya's heart trembled.
He immediately understood what Kakashi was getting at.
"You're right, Nagato."
"Your Tailed Beast Weapon's deterrent power is essentially no different from the Great Ninja Wars."
"In both cases, people suffer unbearable losses and casualties because conflicts over unequal interests lead to war."
"And afterward, everyone is forced to maintain a temporary peace."
The battlefield suddenly fell silent.
Jiraiya stared at his former student.
The boy he once knew had changed so much.
The ideals they had once shared had now taken completely different forms.
One sought peace through understanding.
The other sought peace through fear and suffering.
And neither side was willing to take a step backward.
________________________________________
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