Sand Village
Granny Chiyo:
"Another terrifying Akatsuki powerhouse?!"
"How many members does Akatsuki have? How many monsters are hiding in that organization?"
Mist Village
Mei Terumi:
"That's impossible! Someone who can control the Nine-Tails actually exists?!"
"And he's from Akatsuki?! Who in the world can stand against them now?!"
Amegakure — Akatsuki Base
Everyone was stunned into speechlessness.
All eyes turned toward A-fei.
Under his mask, Obito was utterly speechless.
He still wanted to continue playing the fool…
quietly being the real mastermind of Akatsuki.
But his teacher had just exposed his greatest secret—
that he was the one who controlled the Nine-Tails during the attack on Konoha.
Deidara:
"A-fei!? The mask guy in the footage is you, right? I won't mistake it! Hmm!"
Hidan:
"Boss! What's going on?! Isn't A-fei just a newbie who joined recently?!"
Kakuzu:
"Right! Then how come A-fei was wearing our Akatsuki cloak YEARS ago, controlling the Nine-Tails?"
Sasori:
"A-fei, you look like an idiot. You really have the power to control the Nine-Tails?"
Everyone except the few who already knew the truth stared dumbfounded at A-fei.
The person who destroyed Konoha using the Nine-Tails was…
the goofy idiot right in front of them?
And back then, THEY hadn't even joined Akatsuki yet!
Could it really be like Minato said in the footage?
That their "leader"…
had actually been manipulated by A-fei the entire time?
Nagato's expression sank.
Deidara:
"A-fei! Stop pretending! Hmm! You ARE a spy!"
Hidan:
"Yeah! Spit it out! What's going on?! And how can you control the damn Nine-Tails?!"
This time A-fei dropped the silly tone
and spoke seriously:
"Let's finish watching the footage first.
Afterward, I'll explain everything clearly."
"I'm not a spy. And yes, I've been with Akatsuki since long ago.
If you don't believe me, ask the leader."
Everyone turned to Nagato.
Nagato nodded.
"That much is true."
A-fei:
"Watch first. Ask questions later."
Pure Land
Mito Uzumaki:
"That masked man could control the Nine-Tails… do any of you know who he is?"
As the First jinchūriki,
she knew better than anyone how impossible controlling the Nine-Tails was.
Hashirama Senju:
"Madara! He looks like an Uchiha. Do you know who he is?!"
Madara Uchiha:
Cough cough
"How would I know? And didn't you hear? The Uchiha clan was wiped out!"
Tobirama Senju:
"Hmph! Looks like an Uchiha to me! As expected of that evil clan—controlling the Nine-Tails to destroy Konoha!"
Fugaku Uchiha:
"Stop slandering us! I know that period well. No clan member had that level of power."
Mikoto Uchiha:
"Nonsense. If he were one of ours — especially one capable of controlling the Nine-Tails — I'd definitely recognize him."
One by one, all Uchiha stood out to defend themselves.
Meanwhile, countless others in the Pure Land joined the speculation.
Trying to guess the identity of the masked man…
The Footage Continues
Naruto: "Used? That guy was that strong?!"
"And why are they all targeting Konoha?!"
Minato: "As long as the ninja system exists, true peace is impossible."
Naruto remembered Pain's words:
"How will you face hatred to create peace?"
Minato:
"To protect what's precious, one starts war."
"Where there is love, hatred is born."
"And ninjas are exploited by that hatred."
"As long as the ninja system remains, new Pains will continue to appear."
"Jiraiya-sensei was killed by Pain…
But in truth, he was killed by the chaos of the ninja world."
"Being a ninja means fighting against hatred.
All ninjas must."
"Jiraiya entrusted the answer — the answer to ending hatred — to you."
Naruto (furious):
"Even so, I'll never forgive Pain!"
"Never!"
Naruto grabbed Minato:
"Fourth Hokage! Tell me—what should I do?!"
Minato:
"You must find the answer yourself."
Naruto:
"How am I supposed to know something even Ero-Sennin and the Fourth Hokage couldn't figure out?! I'm stupid! I'm not strong!"
Minato placed a hand on Naruto's head:
"You will find the answer."
"A parent always believes in their child."
Shinigami's Stomach
Kushina Uzumaki:
"Beautiful! That was beautiful! Naruto will definitely find hope after hearing you!"
Minato:
"If it were you, you'd say it even better."
Kushina lifted her chin proudly:
"Of course!"
The Ninja World
Every shinobi and villager pondered Minato's words.
"What IS peace?"
"If love creates hatred… is peace even possible?"
"If the ninja system naturally creates war,
do we even need ninjas?"
"But without ninjas, wouldn't war still exist?"
"So what's the real answer…?
Can there even BE an answer?"
Even legendary elders like Ōnoki and Chiyo couldn't find one.
Yet the future asked Naruto to find the solution.
Can he really do it?
Konoha — Chūnin Exam Hall
Naruto scratched his head in despair.
"WHAT EVEN IS PEACE?! Aaaah!!
Why give ME that kind of headache question?!"
The Rookie Twelve stared at Naruto in silence.
This kid…
will one day shoulder the fate of the entire ninja world.
Chōji nudged Shikamaru.
"You're the smartest… do you know the answer?"
Shikamaru shook his head.
"No way. But if Jiraiya-sama and the Fourth entrusted it to Naruto…
then Naruto will find it someday."
Sakura frowned.
"Naruto? Can he really?"
Hinata:
"Naruto-kun definitely can!"
Sasuke stared blankly at Naruto.
He had always believed he would be the protagonist of destiny.
But now…
It seemed the true protagonist…
was Naruto.
He couldn't accept that.
To Sasuke, two things mattered most:
First —
He must kill Uchiha Itachi.
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