Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 455 How to Resolve Hatred

When it comes to mastering the rhythm of battle, probably no one in this era can surpass the ninjas from the Warring States period.

Pain had just gone through a fierce battle and was severely weakened by the Shinra Tensei. His opponent, on the other hand, was an Edo Tensei who was tireless and would not run out of chakra in a short period of time. Once the opponent gained the upper hand, it would be too late to turn the tide.

Destroying the Animal Path was a powerful vanguard to eliminate Pain, while burning down the Hell Path severed Pain's ability to revive, preventing them from engaging in a prolonged war of attrition. Having lost two major arms, not yet regaining the power of the Deva Path, and with all his intelligence leaked, Pain was no match for the two ruthless old ninjas.

The Asura Path encountered the Uchiha, renowned for their speed and skill, while the Preta Path suffered a brutal beating from the Senju. As for the Deva Path, he was struck by the Dark Travel Technique, losing all his vision and only able to hear the muffled groans of his two puppets.

Tobirama and Izuna knew that it was only a matter of time before Pain's abilities were restored. They figured that the simple abilities of gravity and repulsion would be a huge problem in actual combat, which is why they chose this swift and decisive approach. However, they weren't so brutal towards Pain; instead, they used a barrier that could isolate chakra, rendering Pain immobile.

"According to the intelligence, we just need to remove these black rods." Tobirama squatted down and pried at Tendo for a while, quickly removing all the black rods from his upper body.

Izuna observed Sasuke carefully for a while. Having been in contact with people who were close to blindness, he quickly noticed Sasuke's abnormality.

"Next, we're going to face Nagato head-on. Do you want me to carry you?"

“…No need.” Bright blue eyes glared in Izuna’s direction, but did not look him directly in the eye.

Thanks to Naruto's efforts, Sasuke's eye meridians finally became less chaotic. The world he could see through frosted glass was now clearer, allowing him to make out the colors of some objects through a water-soaked frosted glass. Fortunately, mastering the Uchiha's signature shuriken technique requires not only photographic memory but also keen hearing, enabling one to detect subtle differences in the clanging of metal and find the perfect angle.

With the aid of his color vision and hearing, Sasuke didn't fall behind and walked into Nagato's barrier as if he were still alive.

"Boom!"

A black rod that was heading straight for Sasuke was knocked away. At the same time, three completely different streams of chakra erupted, with sharp, profound, and violent forces intertwining and pressing down on Nagato and Konan, who was standing in front of Nagato.

"Nine Lama, please don't do this."

The first thing to subside was the raging power. Kurama was already used to Naruto's influence on him, and as soon as Naruto spoke, his chakra naturally receded. The two elders also knew that Naruto was watching them from inside Sasuke's body, and since Kurama obediently withdrew his power, they knew when to stop, having achieved their initial deterrent effect.

"Xiao Nan, step down."

A voice, somewhat similar to but not exactly the same as the Heavenly Dao, rang out. Sasuke used that voice to locate Nagato. The light here was so poor that he was practically blind, so he couldn't see Nagato's current state.

He was so thin he was almost unrecognizable, his back was covered in black rods, and his hands and feet were stuck in a machine. He didn't look like the person who controlled Payne to kill indiscriminately at all.

"Your enemy is right in front of you, do you hate me?" In the brief moment of silence, Nagato had already figured some things out, but he still needed to confirm them one last time.

Konan knew that the three were coming with great force, and that she was no match for them. But she had already lost Yahiko, and if she lost Nagato as well, she would truly be all alone.

Therefore, she said, "Killing Nagato here to complete your revenge will not change anything. The world will not change; it will only be your self-satisfaction."

This time, Naruto remained silent. Sasuke's mental space showed no ripples, as if the storm had never occurred, indicating that Sasuke had completely calmed down. In truth, Naruto was also very curious about Sasuke's answer; in terms of understanding "hatred," he was probably far inferior to Sasuke.

“I know, you don’t need to teach me this.” Sasuke’s style is completely different from Naruto’s. He said coldly, “You are the ones who should understand this sentence.”

“…You don’t understand us at all,” Nagato said.

Sasuke actually smiled, but the smile was extremely bitter and sorrowful, which shocked the two people opposite him.

Sasuke said, "You don't understand me, so why do you think I don't understand 'hatred'?"

"Destruction, annihilation, and slaughter—these are all weapons that spread hatred. Nagato, you said you would use the Tailed Beasts to create weapons and use war to let the world witness the power of these weapons. Do you really understand how many people this will cause to die?"

"...This is a necessary sacrifice; only by letting the world feel..."

"Hold on, I just want to ask you one question." Sasuke didn't want to hear that question again. "If Konan was within range of a weapon, and you couldn't save her, what would you do?"

Nagato was stumped again when asked the question.

Was she a necessary sacrifice?

Is Konan a necessary sacrifice?

Nagato had never considered this question. He had promised Yahiko he would protect Konan, and even though what they were doing was so dangerous and meant going against the world, he never felt he would break his promise. But what if Konan became a "necessary" sacrifice?

“If my death can bring peace, then of course I…” Surprisingly, it was Konan who answered first. Pursuing Nagato’s dream was an extremely dangerous thing, and Konan had long been prepared to sacrifice herself, but her words were interrupted.

“No! I promised Yahiko…” Nagato paused. When he said this, it meant that he had lost his fairness and could no longer treat all lives equally. He was no longer a “god”, but a person with love and hate.

Humans cannot sever hatred.

"That's right. Death creates new hatred, and tens of thousands of deaths spread tens of thousands of hatreds. Temporary deterrence may have some effect, but hatred doesn't just disappear. I know that very well."

When discussing "hatred," Sasuke's expression wasn't ferocious; rather, it was mostly regret. "I was once deeply mired in 'hatred,' using it as my driving force, constantly chasing after the strongest power. Therefore, I neglected the most important thing; I allowed myself to be twisted by 'hatred,' pointing the sharpest blade at the person most important to me."

Sasuke lowered his head, hiding his eyes in the shadows.

"For a time, I had the opportunity to extricate myself from the 'hatred,' if I had been willing to confide in him and reveal my truest self. But I didn't. I believe that the 'hatred' did not control me; I was simply seeking an answer, justice. I did nothing wrong!"

"Someone once warned me not to use dangerous, lethal moves in sparring with those I cherish, but I didn't listen..."

"So, I lost him because of 'hate'."