In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Nagato launched a black Chakra rod at Naruto. At such close range, dodging was nearly impossible, and even Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a bit nervous for Naruto.

Jiraiya instinctively reached out to intervene, but then he saw Naruto casually toss the black rod into his seal space. The rod vanished silently, cutting off Nagato's control over it as if it had disappeared into the void.

Seeing this, Jiraiya was shocked for a moment. If he was not mistaken, it should be the Four Symbols Seal, but upon closer inspection, there were some subtle differences between the Four Symbols Seal and it.

Naruto stared at Nagato without saying a word, then spat on the ground.

The act wasn't particularly harmful, but it was deeply insulting.

"Even if you..." Nagato began to speak, but Naruto cut him off coldly.

With a stern expression, Naruto said, "Peace, ideals, whatever. Without Pervy Sage, you would've died in Amegakure's war a long time ago. Don't talk to me about pain. Those civilians who die in wars never get a chance to voice their suffering."

"I'm doing this to build the ideal world of peace that Yahiko envisioned! Is that so wrong?" Nagato demanded, his head bowed in frustration.

By this point, Nagato had exhausted almost all his means. The mask of Pain had been torn away, and he had been defeated by Jiraiya. On this high tower, he suddenly found that he couldn't even do anything to a yellow-haired brat.

For anyone, it would be a crushing blow to their spirit.

His ideal world was collapsing, and he had been violently awakened to reality. The once mighty 'god' had been reduced to a broken, almost insane shell of a person.

Jiraiya was feeling a bit complicated. He watched his two disciples arguing and decided not to intervene for the time being. Konan, too, remained silent, perhaps waiting to see how things would unfold.

Naruto turned to Nagato and asked, "Your ideal world is to continue killing people?"

"It's a necessary sacrifice. Only pain can make people give up war and cherish peace." Nagato replied.

Hearing this, Naruto sneered, "I get it now. You lack the power to do what Senju Hashirama did, to crush all your enemies. So instead, you go for widespread destruction, targeting the weak, right?"

"You pick the low-hanging fruit, destroying the world indiscriminately and letting ordinary people die. You want to create fear, so the survivors are too afraid to start another war."

"This is the only solution I can think of!" Nagato raised his head, "As long as we stay on this path, peace will surely come."

Naruto turned his gaze to Konan and asked, "What about you? Do you think so too?"

Konan frowned but said nothing.

"A bunch of lunatics." Naruto muttered under his breath, and then raised his voice again, "I say, you can fool Konan, but don't fool yourself."

"What did you say?" Nagato frowned.

Naruto pointed at Nagato and then at Konan, "Look at yourself, and then look at her. Do you even know what you've been doing all these years?"

"You never suspected anything? Yahiko's death wasn't an accident. What if it was part of someone's plan? And those eyes of yours… where did they come from? Do you know the real purpose of the Rinnegan?"

Constant debate is the weakest strategy. The truth, on the other hand, is a sharp blade.

Naruto had been holding onto this sharp blade the whole time. From the moment he began confronting Pain, he had thought seven steps ahead. In the end, it wasn't justice that pierced the heart, but the raw, naked truth.

Nagato and Konan both froze and they turned their heads sharply to stare at Naruto.

"What do you mean?"

"Speak clearly!"

"I'm not completely sure, it's just a theory." Naruto sneered in his heart, but his expression did not change, "Have you never doubted it?"

"Such a pair of powerful eyes appeared on you inexplicably. The Uzumaki Clan's bloodline does not have a Kekkei Genkai related to Dojutsu. The Rinnegan and the Sharingan, though, now that's a different story."

"These things can be discovered if you look into them carefully. It's just that you don't want to think about them. Revenge is like a taut chain. If you stop, it will snap."

"So, in the final analysis, if had formed an organization solely for revenge, I wouldn't have cared." Naruto said, glancing at Nagato, who was now dazed.

"But what you should never have done is drag everyone into your twisted version of justice, wrapping your revenge in the guise of peace. From any angle, it just looks cowardly and pathetic."

[Ding! The option has been completed, Shinigami's Blade (A rule-based technique that dealt soul damage to enemies) has been given.]

A synthesized mechanical voice echoed in Naruto's mind, and his gaze lowered, finally feeling a little more confident, 'Sure enough, the good things are all in the back. It was right not to choose Kato Dan's Spiritual Transformation Technique before.'

Spiritual Transformation Technique allowed the user to attack and kill others by projecting their spirit outside their body. However, it had its risks. If an enemy discovered their weakness, it would be easy for them to be destroyed.

Apart from being able to communicate with the soul, Naruto couldn't think of any additional benefits from this technique. Even if mastered to perfection, it couldn't reach the heights of soul ability in Xianxia World, where the body meditates while the spirit travel far away to visit friends, and return home under the moonlit night with satisfied desire.

Naruto knew long before that his soul was stronger than that of an ordinary person. Ordinary Genjutsu and possession techniques were ineffective on him, and he figured only something like Tsukuyomi or the Genjutsu of the two Toad Sages could challenge his soul.

However, having an unbreakable soul didn't mean he could actively attack others with it. In fact, like Jiraiya, his weakness is that he is not good at Genjutsu.

In the Shinobi's evaluation system, Genjutsu is also a very important measurement indicator.

Although Naruto hadn't gained any new power in Genjutsu, he has gained the ability to attack the soul, which is not bad. According to what happened to Orochimaru, damaging a soul would lead to the body's death as well.

'This Shinigami's Blade… Can it cut off the soul? Next time, I will use Black Zetsu to test its power.'

After a long while, seeing that the atmosphere was silent and depressing, Naruto couldn't help but add a few more words, "In fact, how to deal with you all depends on Pervy Sage's will. I've had my eye on you for a long time. Whether you live or die today, that's for him to decide."

"As for what happens afterward, I don't care to participate or even hear about it. That's it."

Naruto didn't do anything further, allowing Nagato to search for the truth on his own. Since Nagato hadn't yet razed Konoha, their conflict hadn't reached the point of no return for the time being.

From the start, Naruto's goal had always been clear: to dismantle the Akatsuki and go back to his peaceful life.

Whether it's Nagato, Obito, or Madara, they were merely tools in Black Zetsu's toolbox. Even if Naruto killed Nagato and took his Rinnegan, he'd still have to deal with Obito and Black Zetsu.

Once Obito and Black Zetsu realized his strength, they would undoubtedly set aside their differences and join forces to eliminate him first. At that time, Naruto could kiss his peaceful life goodbye.

After Obito, there would still be Madara and Kabuto. And if Black Zetsu managed to escape by chance, then Sasuke or other future troubles would surely arise.

Otsutsuki, aliens, endless streams of problems.