After casting the forbidden technique, Nagato's life burned away like the final flicker of a dying candle.
Amid Konan's grief-stricken sobs and Naruto's complicated gaze, Nagato gathered the last of his strength and looked at Naruto.
"The dream of peace… I leave it to you, Naruto. Don't… repeat my mistakes…"
"And… I'll entrust my Rinnegan to you. I hope it can help you… and let me see the future through your eyes."
With that, his head fell forward. His breath faded completely.
Thus ended the life of a tragic man who had brought immeasurable destruction, yet never fully abandoned his longing for peace. In death, he sought atonement—and entrusted the future to another.
Konan guarded his body in silence.
She then removed the Rinnegan and handed it to Naruto. Without another word, she carried Nagato's body away, paper wings unfolding as she departed.
"Hey, dead last."
Sasuke's voice cut through the silence.
"Were you serious just now?"
"That man killed Kakashi."
"Even if he's dead now—even if he paid with his life—does that erase his crimes? Does your 'understanding' just wipe away all that hatred?"
"What about the dead? What about the people who suffered? How are you going to answer them?!"
Sasuke's heart burned with vengeance.
He could not understand—could not accept—Naruto's near absolution of their enemy.
Naruto remained calm.
"Sasuke… if everyone chooses revenge—if hatred answers hatred—then it'll spread like wildfire. It'll burn down one forest, and when the wind blows, it'll ignite another. It'll never end."
His voice was soft, yet something about him felt different—steadier, older.
"Someone has to start by breaking the chain of hatred. Even if it's only one link. Even if it hurts. At least it won't keep spreading."
He looked at Sasuke, eyes clear and sincere.
"I know it sounds stupid. I know it's hard. But Sasuke… I think there's a part of you that longs for peace too. For a world where we don't have to kill each other. Where we don't keep losing the people we care about. Isn't there?"
"Why not try another way? Start with understanding. Try to find a path where… everyone can live."
Sasuke fell silent.
Then, suddenly—his Sharingan flared scarlet.
"Enough. You don't understand anything…"
"My parents. My clan. Their blood can't be meaningless. The ones responsible must pay. That's my path. That's the reason I'm alive!"
But at that moment, as Naruto met Sasuke's Sharingan—
Naruto stiffened.
A crow suddenly forced its way out of his mouth, flapping frantically into the air.
Sasuke's body trembled. His Sharingan spun instinctively—
Because in the crow's eye… there was a Sharingan as well.
He quickly regained composure, but before he could speak, the crow burst into smoke and vanished.
"What was that?!" Naruto and Sasuke exclaimed simultaneously, stunned.
Far away, in some hidden corner of the shinobi world, Uchiha Itachi frowned slightly.
"So… in the future, I entrusted Shisui's eye to Naruto?"
He considered this carefully.
"But if Sasuke has awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan… how effective would it be?"
Sasuke was furious.
The sight of a Sharingan outside the Uchiha—even within Naruto—filled him with murderous anger.
Naruto, seeing Sasuke like this, could only offer a bitter smile.
He didn't understand it either. So he changed the subject.
"But Sasuke… even if you want revenge… maybe… you won't get the chance."
The words struck like thunder.
Sasuke's face went pale.
Konoha had nearly been erased from the map.
What about the elders?
What about Danzō?
Were the people he swore to kill… even still alive?
"Yeah…" Sasuke muttered hollowly. "Konoha's… almost gone…"
If his enemies had already died in Nagato's destruction—
Then who was left to avenge?
Naruto sighed.
"So, Sasuke… start over. Your revenge… might already be over."
Sasuke had no reply.
Across the shinobi world, viewers felt their minds momentarily freeze.
"What… is this even?"
"Naruto… is his brain just filled with Jiraiya's books? How can he 'understand' that?!"
"And Nagato—one second he wants to destroy the world, the next he repents after a few words?"
"These two… are they even normal?!"
"And what was that crow with the Sharingan? I'm telling you—that's important!"
The absurdity. The emotional whiplash. It left many numb.
Yet what came next overshadowed everything.
As Nagato's life burned away, waves of radiant green light—brimming with life force—descended upon Konoha's ruins like a miracle.
Then, something unimaginable happened.
The shinobi who had died in battle.
The civilians caught in the devastation.
One by one—
They rose from the earth.
Revival.
Mass revival.
A single technique—restoring the countless dead of Konoha. Shinobi and civilian alike.
"My God… the Rinnegan can do that?!"
"I thought it was just a combat dōjutsu! It can reverse life and death?!"
"Reviving an entire village at once… this is divine power!"
The shinobi world erupted.
Compared to philosophical debates about hatred, this was tangible—undeniable.
Power over life and death.
Had the projection not just shown Nagato annihilating Konoha with overwhelming force, countless factions might already have been plotting to seize the Rinnegan for themselves.
Its dual nature—destruction and creation—reached a terrifying apex in that moment.
And just as the world reeled from the miracle of Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique,
The projection shifted abruptly.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789