Hiss
Chinatsu was leaning against the wall of the tree hollow, sleeping soundly in a posture that was practically full of openings.
For a shinobi, exposing yourself like this in front of an enemy was almost suicidal.
This was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity to attack her.
Yet after an entire night of contemplation that resembled a monk chanting sutras, Nagato Uzumaki no longer possessed any desire to attack.
Peace.
True peace.
The peace described in Jiraiya's novels was too idealistic.
But the peace Nagato pursued through fear and pain was clearly not true peace either.
Such a simple truth.
Yet after Yahiko's death, he had walked further and further down that path until he reached a point of no return.
At this moment, Nagato felt deeply disappointed in himself.
If there was anyone he wanted to punch, it was himself.
Unfortunately, after years of maintaining the Six Paths of Pain and continuously supplying chakra to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, his body was so weak that even throwing a punch had become difficult.
Uchiha Itachi, Ward Number One.
Uzumaki Nagato, Intensive Care Unit.
"Uchiha Chinatsu."
"Wake up."
"Wake up."
Nagato called out several times.
Only then did Chinatsu slowly open her eyes.
"Good morning~"
chinatsu stretched lazily, extending her arms before letting out a long breath.
Seeing this, Nagato immediately understood.
She wasn't pretending.
She had genuinely fallen asleep.
"...Good morning?"
Nagato's lips twitched.
"How can you still say good morning? You actually fell asleep right in front of me. Aren't you afraid I might attack you while you're sleeping?"
Nagato frowned slightly and asked.
"Ah? It's fine, it's fine."
chinatsu waved her hand casually.
"If it were someone troublesome like Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, or maybe the Sage of Six Paths himself, I definitely wouldn't dare sleep in front of them."
She grinned.
"But you? There's really no need."
"I don't have that kind of weird hobby."
Nagato's eyebrow twitched violently.
The meaning behind those words was obvious.
You aren't strong enough.
That's really excessive!
Unfortunately, Nagato knew she was telling the truth.
"What? Finally figured things out?"
chinatsu tilted her head.
"More or less."
Nagato sighed.
"Perhaps true peace really doesn't exist."
Although his eyes had regained some clarity, they were now filled with confusion.
For years he had been moving forward driven by a single belief.
Now that belief had collapsed.
He had lost his direction.
He had even lost his reason to continue living.
After all, Yahiko's dream had been the pillar supporting him all this time.
Because she had spent years dealing with Naruto's emotional instability and Sasuke's obsession with revenge, chinatsu had developed an unusually sharp sense for these kinds of emotional changes.
The moment she saw Nagato's expression, alarm bells rang in her head.
This is bad!
This guy is about to swing from one extreme to another!
"Just because true peace doesn't exist doesn't mean reducing war is impossible."
chinatsu crossed her arms.
"Preventing more children from becoming war orphans like you, Konan, and Yahiko."
"Preventing villages from fighting endless wars."
"Helping more people live normal, happy lives."
"Those things are absolutely possible."
She pointed directly at Nagato.
"Are you seriously going to give up just because perfect peace doesn't exist?"
"If that's all it takes to break you, then I'll look down on you."
chinatsu immediately launched into what could only be described as an ideological lecture.
To be fair, she had been doing similar things ever since arriving in the Naruto world.
There were simply too many people in this world whose way of thinking had become distorted.
Madara.
Obito.
Nagato.
And eventually even Sasuke.
chinatsu estimated that if the future continued following the original plotline, she would probably have to repeat this process several more times.
After all, being raised with modern values and possessing knowledge from another world gave her a completely different perspective from the shinobi of this era.
Nagato listened quietly.
Gradually, his expression transformed into one that practically screamed:
"Strange knowledge acquired."
Then he lowered his head.
And started muttering again.
Peace.
War.
Hope.
Despair.
Yahiko.
Peace.
War.
Hope.
Despair.
Yahiko.
"..."
A vein bulged on chinatsu's forehead.
Enough!
You've gone too far!
She immediately strode over.
Without hesitation, she grabbed both sides of Nagato's face.
SMACK!
A crisp sound echoed through the tree hollow.
Nagato froze.
"Stop thinking so much!"
chinatsu stared directly into his eyes.
"Just follow me!"
Their faces were only inches apart.
Nagato looked into those determined eyes.
For a brief moment, his thoughts completely stopped.
"...Okay."
The answer slipped out unconsciously.
chinatsu finally let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
If Nagato kept chanting philosophy all day like some monk reciting scriptures, she genuinely felt she wouldn't survive it.
She snapped her fingers.
The paper restraints around Konan immediately unraveled.
The giant dumpling finally disappeared.
Normally, after being released, Konan should have done one of several things.
Option one:
Remain wary of Chinatsu.
Option two:
Protect Nagato.
Option three:
Attack Chinatsu.
Option four:
Collapse immediately.
Thud.
Konan fell straight onto the ground.
"Konan!"
Nagato immediately panicked.
chinatsu quickly crouched beside her and performed a simple examination.
"What did you do to Konan?!"
Nagato demanded.
"I forgot to block her hearing."
chinatsu shrugged.
"She listened to your nonstop chanting all night."
"Her mental energy has been completely drained."
"She's asleep."
"..."
Nagato's face instantly turned red.
Embarrassing.
Far too embarrassing.
After making sure Konan was only sleeping, chinatsu walked back over to Nagato.
She placed one hand on his forehead.
"What are you doing?"
Nagato asked.
"Don't talk."
"You look like you're about to die."
"I'll help you recover a little."
chinatsu closed her eyes.
A massive amount of chakra immediately surged from her body.
Ever since obtaining Wood Release and repeatedly strengthening her vitality, her chakra reserves had grown to an astonishing level.
Although they couldn't compare to a true tailed beast, they already far exceeded ordinary Kage-level shinobi.
The chakra flowed continuously into Nagato's body.
If Nagato could withstand natural energy directly, chinatsu would have simply poured Sage Chakra into him.
Unfortunately, that would probably turn him into a stone statue.
So she settled for ordinary chakra.
Her goal was simple.
Improve his condition.
Even restoring a little color to his pale face would be a success.
Nagato closed his eyes and began absorbing the chakra.
Then suddenly
His eyes snapped open.
"What?!"
The moment chinatsu's chakra entered his body, a dramatic transformation occurred.
The vitality contained within it was terrifying.
His previously withered body rapidly recovered.
His pale complexion regained color.
Even his long dark-red hair became noticeably brighter.
Ever since summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and exhausting his life force, Nagato had never felt this comfortable.
The Uzumaki Clan possessed extraordinary vitality.
Their chakra could even heal others through direct transfer.
Yet what Nagato sensed from chinatsu's chakra seemed even more astonishing.
It felt strangely familiar.
As though it contained traces of the life force possessed by Hashirama Senju.
Nagato stared at her in disbelief.
For a brief moment, he even wondered whether chinatsu possessed Uzumaki blood.
But he quickly dismissed the idea.
She was clearly an Uchiha.
And the chakra he had just felt seemed even more extraordinary than ordinary Uzumaki vitality.
"Who..."
Nagato asked sincerely.
"Who exactly are you?"
chinatsu blinked.
Was he asking her?
That was useless.
Even she didn't know the answer.
After all, she still hadn't figured out why she could use Wood Release so naturally despite being an Uchiha.
Honestly, she wanted someone to explain it to her too.
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