In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

The world would never have eternal peace. The only lesson humanity had ever learned from history was that they never learned any lessons from it. This was an inevitability, a trend dictated by history.

Yet peace would always remain the dominant theme, and war would always be waged for the sake of achieving a better peace.

The reason why wars have broken out in the Shinobi World for decades is mainly because the power of Shinobi is too overwhelming. When such power couldn't be contained, it inevitably became a weapon of war.

The problem stemmed from imbalanced power. Power awakened human desire. True peace could only be achieved if someone as powerful as Hashirama emerged to suppress all opposition.

You can be as strong as you want, but you are not as strong as me. Whether it is Biju or Kekkei Genkai, in the face of Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands, they all had to bow. When power was unbalanced, order would collapse.

Nagato's mistake was that he wasn't strong enough. He couldn't suppress the Shinobi World like Hashirama, nor could he let go of his hatred and grow into an idealist like Jiraiya.

The greatest pain of human beings comes from the gap between reality and ideal. Yahiko's death proved that Akatsuki's ideals were flawed, and Nagato only understood the importance of strength.

But unfortunately, he is still not strong enough. Not as strong as Madara, not as strong as the Otsutsuki. Peace required absolute power, so every peace plan Nagato proposed was destined to fail without exception.

In summary, just like how poverty is the root cause of suffering, Nagato's downfall was due to his lack of strength to support his ideals.

Naruto, on the other hand, never felt lost.

It either had nothing to do with him, and he'd stand back with his hands in his pockets, smiling and watching the show, or he'd dive deep and obliterate his enemies without hesitation. He didn't suffer because his mind was clear, and also because he had the system by his side.

Naruto understood very well that in the face of overwhelming strength, all reasoning became insignificant.

Whether it was the Akatsuki, Kumogakure, or Iwagakure, whoever dared to disrupt his peaceful life deserved to die. It didn't matter who claimed to hold righteousness… he would crush them all.

Tsunade had taught him a lesson a long time ago. In this world where the strong are respected, there's only one form of justice: procedural justice.

'I am strong and I am right. I will just beat you until you are convinced.'

"You!! How do you know about Yahiko?!" Deva Path was clearly rattled.

"How I know doesn't concern you." Naruto sneered, and subtly pulled Tayuya, who remained expressionless, closer to him. He looked at Deva Path and said, "I'm too lazy to reason with you. You're not worthy of listening to it."

Nagato, who was controlling Pain from his tower, felt suffocated, and his already low blood pressure soared.

In the shadows of the throne at the tower's peak, Nagato's emaciated figure grew even paler as rage boiled within him.

He thought to himself, 'You're the one who started spouting your own theories, but now, when I respond, you're suddenly 'too lazy' to talk? I'm not worthy? Damn it!'

"Die!"

Nagato seethed, preparing to attack through the Deva Path. But before he could act, Naruto turned his gaze towards Konan, who floated silently in the air, and spoke again, "Yahiko's path was the right one. Stability and balance are the keys to maintaining peace in the Shinobi World. Your only mistake was that you were too weak back then. Your strength was not enough to support your ideals."

"In a sense, Yahiko died for you. Do you really think what you're doing now is what he wanted to see? The way you are now, what purpose do you even serve?"

"Is it revenge? Or continuing Yahiko's ideals?"

"The so-called pain in your mouth is because you're neither evil enough nor passionate enough for true good. Peace is just a convenient excuse, a cover for your desire for revenge."

"In this regard, you're not even as decisive as someone I know. If it's revenge you want, then carry it out freely and thoroughly. Since you killed Hanzo of the Salamander, why not take down Danzo as well?"

"God? Angel? These are just masks."

"You're nothing but cowards, rats hiding in the shadows. You've dragged Yahiko's ideals into the dirt, manipulating his corpse for a shallow and petty vengeance."

"You're talking nonsense!" Konan, who is more easily triggered than Nagato, was already breaking down. Every word Naruto spoke was like a dagger to her heart, reopening the wounds left by Yahiko's death.

The pain from over a decade of suffering came flooding back to her.

The endless rain in Amegakure had long extinguished the flower of hope in her heart. It had also drowned out the idealistic dreams she once held dear, dreams of love and family that had once seemed so within reach.

Lies numbed her, but the truth was like a sharp blade.

Konan didn't know how Naruto knew about the past, but his clear and blunt description of it forced the painful truth right in front of her eyes.

The boy she remembered, Yahiko, had always been so resilient and passionate. Even in choosing death, he didn't hesitate. He had been the type to cry at the slightest provocation, yet he had always liked to act tough.

Clumsy, always getting caught even while stealing food, yet boasting grandly about conquering the Shinobi World. He had been nothing more than a war orphan, with peace always a distant and unreachable dream.

Yet, despite being a crybaby himself, he had said such profound words?

Konan's voice broke the silence as she softly whispered, "Yahiko once said, 'If you cry at the first taste of hardship, you won't be able to change anything'."

Tayuya, who was hiding behind Naruto, was confused by what she heard and didn't know how Naruto knew so many strange things.

But seeing that he performed normally, she couldn't help but admire him. Watching him in action, she realized he had truly broken through their defenses and left them speechless. She now understood that Naruto had a knack for rubbing salt in people's wounds and twisting the knife on the wound.

He looked serious on the outside, but he was full of schemes inside.

As Nagato and Konan sank into their painful memories, with Nagato silent and Konan's tears rolling down her cheeks, Naruto took advantage of the moment.

He reached back and squeezed Tayuya's hand, and while turning his head slightly, he actually winked at her.

"Get ready to run."

"What?"

"I said, get ready to run." Naruto repeated, his voice barely escaping through clenched teeth, "Leave this place. Don't look back. Go home and wait for me."

The battlefield was unpredictable, and Naruto had long been prepared.

In an instant, Naruto vanished from his spot and attacked suddenly. Moving swiftly, Naruto used the Rasengan to blast the Human Path away.

Since the Pains were all corpses, there was no blood. Under the tearing force of the Rasengan, the Human Path's body was instantly shattered, leaving its limbs scattered and unrecognizable.

"You're courting death!" Deva Path moved, and in a flash, he appeared in front of Naruto.

Konan, too, had snapped back to reality, and countless paper sheets materialized in mid-air, ready to rain down on Naruto. But just then, a voice echoed out.

"Toad Oil Bullet!" Jiraiya, leaping down from a nearby rooftop, spat out toad oil while summoning Gamabunta.