"Peace really has arrived in the most unexpected way."
Naruto remembered those words clearly.
Sixteen years ago, after he defeated Pain, he had torn apart the paper tree barrier and found Nagato sitting atop his mechanical apparatus, emaciated to the bone.
Those were the sarcastic words Nagato had spoken upon seeing him.
And now, sixteen years later, Naruto heard the same words from the lips of Konan—the senior sister who had once placed a white flower symbolizing peace in his hands.
A suffocating sensation engulfed him.
Naruto lowered his pale face, fists clenched tightly.
"Senior Sister Konan… I always thought you were dead…"
Konan replied expressionlessly.
"That's right. The woman who foolishly believed in the beautiful future you painted for us died long ago in the sea of Amegakure."
Naruto raised his head, guilt written all over his face.
"Senior Sister… do you blame me?"
"I don't blame you."
"I only blame myself for judging you so poorly and watching Nagato throw away his life for your empty promise."
Naruto's Rinnegan trembled, the whites of his eyes tinged red.
"Can you tell me what happened? How did you survive? And why are you here?"
"It doesn't matter."
"What matters is that you failed to fulfill your promise."
"You know better than anyone what Amegakure became."
Naruto's face twisted with pain.
"Please listen, Senior Sister Konan! I had my reasons!"
"After I became Hokage, I realized things weren't as simple as I thought."
"I couldn't override the authority of the daimyō and interfere in another country's internal affairs!"
Konan's voice remained icy.
"So what happened to your ninja way?"
"The one about never going back on your word?"
"The one about charging forward headfirst and changing others with your convictions?"
"That was always your specialty."
"So why did your ninja way lose to reality when it came to us?"
She stared straight into him.
"To put it plainly, Naruto."
"You were addicted to the feeling of saving others."
"You enjoyed the satisfaction of changing them."
"Maybe your feelings were genuine when you made your promise."
"But you never possessed the wisdom or methods of a mature and responsible adult."
"You simply assumed you could do it."
"So you made the promise."
"You never measured your actual abilities against reality."
"And when you discovered you couldn't do it, your mind rationalized everything so that your failure seemed natural."
"In the end, Uzumaki Naruto…"
"You have always been an immature idealist living in your own world."
"Unfortunately, your strength—and your natural charisma—made your words incredibly persuasive."
A self-mocking smile touched Konan's lips.
"When we finally realized that…"
"We understood that we had been the same kind of naïve idealists."
"No one has the right to laugh at anyone else."
"We brought it upon ourselves."
"If Nagato had wanted to escape that day, even in his weakened state, and with my help…"
"Leaving you and Konoha alive would have been easy."
"He didn't have to die."
"And I still think his faith in you was wasted."
Every sentence struck Naruto like a boomerang returning to its thrower.
The joy and validation he had once felt from the approval of Nagato and Konan had become a source of unbearable pain.
His legs nearly gave out.
Gaara stepped forward and supported him.
The Allied Army behind them began murmuring.
"What's going on?"
"Why have we stopped?"
"Who is that woman?"
"She seems to know Naruto."
"They're talking about old promises and ninja ways."
"This is personal business. It has nothing to do with us."
"That's right! We answered Naruto's call prepared to risk our lives!"
"The entire army can't be delayed because of one woman!"
Naruto heard the voices behind him.
He knew that as the spiritual leader of the Allied Army, he could not let personal matters interfere.
Gently pushing Gaara away, he steadied himself.
"Senior Sister Konan, can we discuss our past later?"
"For what happened to Amegakure, I'll accept any punishment."
"But right now, the Allied Shinobi Forces are about to attack the Hidden Dark Village."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because this Hidden Dark Village was built by the people of Amegakure."
"Under the leadership of Uchiha Jin, it has become the peace we always dreamed of."
"This is the village I will protect."
Naruto staggered back as though struck by lightning.
"You… what?"
"You're saying Amegakure is the predecessor of the Hidden Dark Village?"
"That's right."
"And you're saying Uchiha Jin brought peace to the Rain?"
"That's right."
"The people of Amegakure live here in safety and prosperity."
"The children no longer go to war."
"They grow up carefree."
"The elderly are cared for."
"The young are protected."
"No one worries about survival."
"There is no crime."
"No punishment."
"People are materially comfortable and spiritually fulfilled."
"They can discuss rice and salt—or dreams and life itself."
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"The promise you failed to fulfill…"
"Uchiha Jin fulfilled it for us."
"He is both my savior and my spiritual pillar."
"You already destroyed Amegakure."
"Do you intend to take this village from me as well?"
"The arrival of you and the people behind you will only bring misfortune to me and to everyone here."
"Go back."
"Get out of my Hidden Dark Village."
Every word hit Naruto like a hammer blow.
Suddenly he shouted.
"Senior Sister Konan!"
"You've all been deceived by Uchiha Jin!"
"This peace is an illusion!"
"You've been tricked!"
Frost settled over Konan's face.
"You have some nerve saying that, Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto spoke urgently.
"It's not just me saying it!"
"It's the prophecy of the Great Toad Sage!"
"Uchiha Jin has been possessed by a celestial demon—a member of Kaguya's clan!"
"His goal is to destroy this world and devour all life on this planet!"
"So please, Senior Sister, don't be fooled by the false peace he created!"
Konan began trembling.
Naruto continued.
"You're Jiraiya's student too!"
"You know the Great Toad Sage!"
"His prophecies have never failed!"
"Master Jiraiya set out to find the Child of Prophecy because of that prophecy—and that journey led him to you and Nagato!"
Konan raised her eyes and stared directly at him.
"Then answer me this."
"Did the Great Toad Sage explicitly say that Uchiha Jin is that celestial demon?"
Again.
That same question.
Every person unwilling to accept Naruto's conclusion asked it.
And because Naruto had no definitive answer, he had grown to hate the question itself.
Inside his mind, Hagoromo urged him.
"Naruto! Don't get dragged into that argument! Bring up Kaguya!"
Naruto spoke through gritted teeth.
"Before I answer, I want to ask you something."
"Did you know that Uchiha Jin revived Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and is sheltering her in the second layer of Paradise?"
Naruto expected shock.
Panic.
Anything.
Instead, Konan looked at him with pity.
"Of course I know."
Then she said the unthinkable.
"Not only has Kaguya been revived, but through Uchiha Jin's efforts, she has let go of her hatred and obsession."
"She has chosen to live peacefully with humanity."
"What…?"
Naruto stood frozen.
Behind him, eighty thousand shinobi were equally dumbfounded.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
The progenitor of chakra.
The tyrant who had enslaved the world with the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
And Jin had changed her?
If that were true…
Did this war even need to happen?
Inside Naruto's mind, Hagoromo burst into laughter.
"That confirms it!"
"Konan has been placed under Kaguya's or Uchiha Jin's illusion!"
"She's lost her mind!"
"How else could she say such nonsense?"
"This village is the same."
"It's living in a fabricated peace, just like the Infinite Tsukuyomi!"
"Naruto!"
"Will you stand by while these people die smiling in a dream?"
"Strike Konan down!"
"Invade the village!"
"If I'm right, this place is one of Mother's key nurseries."
"If it suffers damage, Kaguya will have no choice but to appear."
"And then you can seal her at once!"
"What are you waiting for!?"
But Naruto did not move.
Perhaps it was guilt.
Perhaps something else.
He clenched his fists and asked:
"Is it true?"
"Did Kaguya really let go of her hatred?"
"Did Uchiha Jin really accomplish what the Sage of Six Paths and his brother—and even Sasuke and I—failed to do?"
Konan answered without hesitation.
"Just because you couldn't do something doesn't mean Uchiha Jin can't."
"Naruto."
"Don't assume you're the only one capable of changing others."
"And don't assume the Sage of Six Paths and the Great Toad Sage are the only authorities in this world."
"The world is far larger than you imagine."
"For the sake of the last shred of fellowship between Jiraiya's students, I'll give you one final warning."
"A frog in a well will eventually sink into the sea."
"No matter how strong someone is, if they cannot think independently and judge for themselves, they remain a giant infant."
"Paradise does not welcome you."
"If you wish to preserve the last bit of dignity between us…"
"Turn around and leave."
Hagoromo's voice thundered in his mind.
"Naruto!!!"
Naruto answered inwardly.
"I know, Six Paths Grandpa."
"I just wanted to see how deeply she'd fallen."
Now he was certain.
Konan had been completely brainwashed by Kaguya or Uchiha Jin.
Even with his heightened senses, he could detect no trace of the illusion.
Had he not gone through everything he had recently, he might have been deceived as well.
Seeing that Naruto still refused to retreat, Konan lost her patience.
She hurled the sheathed sword planted before her.
Clang!
The blade spun through the air and embedded itself in the ground at Naruto's feet.
Her voice was cold and final.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"If you insist on attacking the Hidden Dark Village…"
"Then use Yahiko's sword to cut me down."
"Otherwise, take the people behind you and get out."
"Get out."
"And never let me see your hopelessly foolish face again."
Naruto lowered his head into shadow.
Slowly, he bent down and pulled the sword from the earth.
"I accept punishment for the promise I failed to keep."
Then, before the stunned eyes of everyone present, he drove the blade into his own abdomen.
He pushed it all the way through.
Blood poured from the wound and spilled from his mouth.
Konan did not react.
There was not the slightest flicker in her expression.
The Allied Army erupted in outrage.
"Lord Naruto! Why would you do that!?"
"Why waste your words on a woman who's chosen to sink this low?"
"She doesn't deserve this!"
"Enough! Just attack!"
Naruto pulled the bloody sword free and tossed it back at Konan's feet.
Clang.
"That settles what I owed."
"I promise I will not harm the innocent people of Amegakure."
"On the contrary, I will free them from the false peace created by Uchiha Jin and Kaguya."
"And after this war, I will help rebuild Amegakure."
"This time, I'll keep my word."
"No matter what it takes."
"Consider it my small act of atonement."
Clutching his bleeding abdomen, Naruto raised his head.
The whites of his Rinnegan were bloodshot red.
"So, Senior Sister Konan…"
"I'm giving you my final warning."
"Step aside."
"I don't want…"
"I truly don't want…"
"To kill you here."
Hearing this, Konan smiled.
It was a breathtaking smile.
And a heartbreaking one.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"With those words…"
"Our bond is finally severed."
"I no longer need to cling to our last shred of fellowship or hope you might turn back."
"You."
"The Sage of Six Paths."
"And the fifty thousand among these eighty thousand who are truly loyal to you…"
"You can all stay here."
Rumble…
Naruto stared blankly as the great bronze gates of the Hidden Dark Village swung open behind Konan.
But his mind was no longer on the gates.
It was fixed entirely on her final words.
"The fifty thousand who are loyal to me…"
"What does that mean?"
"What does that mean?"
Enjoyed these chapters? Access 60+ ahead avanced chapters and exclusive content by visiting my Patreon. https://patreon.com/WillOFD129?