This is my ninja journey

Indeed, plans change faster than expected. Although the moment Otonashi saw these three in the ANBU headquarters, his mind started working mischievously, he never expected things to proceed so smoothly.

At that time, he had prepared two scripts.

The first was to volunteer as a spy to join the three, but whether ANBU would approve was hard to say, and there was also the risk of exposure to Danzo.

The second script was that if ANBU clashed with the three, he would deliberately hold back, leaving a favor to be used in the future.

So Otonashi prepared a disguise, prepared a special voice-changing technique, and even prepared several contingency plans. But who knew that none of those plans were needed? Sasori of the Red Sand killed his way in halfway through.

Wonderful.

Not only did the life-saving grace eliminate many troubles, but crucially, the accompanying Konoha ANBU were all wiped out (that puppet killed the fellow ANBU but was killed by Otonashi). When the news got back, he himself would also be classified as missing.

Now that the Great Ninja War was in full swing, no one had the energy to care about a missing ninja. Even if they wanted to, they would have to wait until the front lines were free.

'Without becoming a rogue ninja, I've left a fallback path outside. When the time comes to return to Konoha, handing over the Third Kazekage puppet will be another great merit.'

Sitting by the window, the profound 'Pain' was inwardly overjoyed. The battle process could just be covered with a casual lie. As for those suspicious points, they would all be shrouded in the brilliance of the achievements!

This was equivalent to opening a branch base outside Konoha. If Danzo really wanted to make a move, he could just leave directly. Maybe he could even pull some reinforcements to challenge the Konoha pursuit team.

Otonashi had his own goals. Trying to fool him into 'passing the fire'?

Find someone better.

The rain outside the window continued ceaselessly. Otonashi had stayed in this village for three days. With careful calculation against the unprepared, he had more or less figured out Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.

Akatsuki, infamous in the future, hadn't even been established yet. The strength of these three wasn't as strong as imagined; they should still be in the猥琐 (low-key/猥琐 often implies sneaky/underhanded) development stage.

Naive ideas, gentle methods, goals also slightly immature, not showing the slightest appearance of a terrifying organization forcing people to carry rice sacks.

The core of the three was Yahiko, who was still unconscious. The strong yet gentle Konan, and the introverted but extreme Nagato were more like followers, lacking many ideas or decisiveness themselves, especially Nagato, who almost regarded Yahiko as the sun in his life.

However, he also noticed that the relationship between these three had long surpassed companionship, reaching the level of family. If one of them died, the other two would definitely fall into darkness (blacken).

'Truly, blackening makes one ten times stronger, even the art style can collapse.' Otonashi recalled a certain famous scene, but his mind was already made up.

This painful lesson and Yahiko's coma had practically delivered the opportunity right to him. It would be unreasonable not to carry out some soul-touching transformation.

"Pain-senpai, I've brought you lunch." The thin teenager approached quietly, as if afraid of disturbing the other's thoughts.

"Just call me by my name like Konan does." Otonashi glanced at the fish soup, pointed to the opposite seat, and said gently, "Nagato, how have you been feeling these past two days?"

Mysterious yet gentle, more like an elder than a dominator. His attitude made Konan and Nagato feel increasingly at ease.

"Yes, much better these past two days." Nagato supported his head with his hand, his ripple-patterned eyes revealing a hint of hatred. "But Yahiko hasn't woken up yet!"

"He will wake up, but there will be aftereffects later. Whether he can be a ninja depends on his fortune." Otonashi's voice remained gentle. That Yahiko had good potential but hadn't reached the level of a cheat; he wasn't very concerned.

"It's all my fault." Konan suddenly walked over, filled with deep self-blame.

"I said it's not anyone's fault. If we really have to assign blame, the responsibility still lies with Yahiko himself."

"Why?" Nagato and Konan couldn't help frowning tightly. Hearing someone talk about Yahiko, they immediately perked up.

"Because the path was his choice. Choosing dialogue over extreme force to resolve disputes means taking corresponding risks." Otonashi sighed, drinking the fish soup, "The opponents you encountered before weren't very strong and could be dealt with. But against a strong person like Sasori of the Red Sand, holding onto that kind of naive thinking, isn't that courting death?"

Growth trajectory is also part of fate. Encountering Sasori of the Red Sand just as they were starting out was also bad luck for Nagato and the others.

The two couldn't help but fall silent. If Otonashi hadn't appeared, they would all be dead. Creating a world of mutual understanding would have been just a delusion.

If Yahiko were here, he might still argue with Otonashi, but Nagato and Konan really couldn't find any fault.

"Do you mean to make the enemy also feel pain?" Nagato hesitated for a moment and asked back, with a glimmer of hope.

"Make everyone in the war feel pain, then make both warring parties afraid, thereby avoiding war?" Otonashi met their hopeful eyes and slowly shook his head:

"But humans are always very forgetful. After every Great Ninja War, everyone felt the pain, and then what did they do?"

He threw the question back at them, making the silence even more oppressive.

Otonashi had long thought about these issues. After a Great Ninja War, there would be about ten years of peace, but this wasn't peace, it was a truce. When a new generation grew up, war would start again.

"As long as ninjas exist, no, as long as humans exist, war will not stop. Before there were ninjas, was there less killing in the world?"

"What if one becomes the god of the new world?" Nagato suddenly interjected, following Otonashi's train of thought, remembering Yahiko's childhood dream.

"Are you referring to using overwhelming power to force peace? Like what the First Hokage of Konoha, Senju Hashirama, did?"

"Yes!"

"That's only temporary peace. Its length depends on the lifespan of this god." Otonashi still shook his head. Seeing the dejected expressions of the two, he said softly:

"However, the First Hokage of Konoha did do something practical. The establishment of ninja villages finally gave the world some breathing room. At least there's peace periodically, and within each ninja village, things are generally stable."

During the Warring States period, families fought chaotically. Perhaps few died in a single battle, but they fought every day. The cumulative death toll was much higher than now.

This sentence resonated deeply with the two children from the Land of Rain. At least within the range Hanzo could control, there was some order.

"Do you mean to say there will never be peace in the world?"

This voice came from the side. It was Yahiko, who had forced himself to get up. He had clearly heard the previous conversation and had been listening all along.

"Yahiko! You're awake!"

Nagato and Konan quickly ran over but were stopped by the teenager's outstretched hand. Those brown eyes stared fixedly at Otonashi.

Strong-willed, passionate like fire. Yahiko, suddenly awake, wouldn't be easy to fool. But Otonashi wasn't afraid, because this person's thinking was wrong from the start.

"At least your current methods cannot pursue peace. Not to mention exhausting your entire life, it's more likely you'll die a martyr midway." Otonashi stared at him quietly. "It's just the routine of beating others into submission and then reasoning with them. But people's hearts are complex. Forget about those who might only obey outwardly but not inwardly; what if they deceive you?"

"Never judge others by your own standards. Just because your heart is bright doesn't mean others are bright."

People's hearts are hidden. Feigning agreement and going back on their word afterward—if they organized another ambush, that would be spectacular. From ancient times to the present, countless idealists have died at the hands of assassins.

Yahiko was silent for a moment. He had just been brutally beaten by reality. You don't kill people, but people want to kill you, almost getting his companions killed.

But he was just unwilling!

"Then do you mean to give up the pursuit and continue living in this world of hatred!?" The teenager emphasized his tone.

Otonashi looked at his appearance, remembered the rows of tombstones at sunset, and calmly retorted:

"No, pursuing peace itself is not wrong. But you must understand, there has never been absolute peace, only relative peace. There is no eternal peace, only peace that is maintained as much as possible!"

"Rather than achieving it all at once, your starting point should be finding a path that allows peace to last longer."

Yahiko struggled to support himself, not letting himself fall back, roaring, "Then by making people understand each other through shared pain..."

"You're wrong." Otonashi reached out and interrupted him, his eyes cold: "The pain created is not meant to place hope in others, expecting them to understand each other! Instead, it should be about what the pain created by our hands brings to others!"

The words were direct enough. Perhaps Nagato and Konan were still a bit confused, but Yahiko, who thought about the path every day, somewhat understood.

He placed hope in others, while this person decided to implement something with his own hands. In short, they shared the same ambition, they were fellow travelers.

Yahiko moved his dry lips: "Then what do you want to bring to the world?"

Otonashi stood up proudly and answered without hesitation:

"Like Senju Hashirama, build a new order for this chaotic world!"