Without warning, Tendō Pain extended a palm, and Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were thrown off their feet and sent tumbling head over heels away from the Six Paths of Pain. Past a certain range, the invisible, repulsive force acting upon them abruptly vanished, and they twisted their bodies in midair, landing on their feet.
"Hold," said Tendō Pain, raising one hand towards Sakura as she prepared her next attack. "I had planned on exchanging a few words with the Hokage, but seeing as she is no more, I would speak with you, her disciple… and with you as well, Naruto, my fellow disciple."
Sakura knew he was simply buying time for his universal push and pull ability to come off cooldown, but she also wanted to exchange a few words with Nagato.
"If Lady Tsunade were still alive, I'm sure she'd tell you the Leaf doesn't negotiate with terrorists… but I'm not her," Sakura said, her fists clenched at her sides. "I know about the pain the smaller nations have suffered in the wars between the Five Great Nations. I've seen it myself on my travels. Collateral damage, civilian casualties… all the things that get swept under the rug as acceptable losses once the fighting's over. I won't apologise for what my village did to yours, but neither will I condemn you for wanting to break free of the status quo."
Peace?
Pain laughed at the very idea of peace between the Five Great Nations. To him, the so‑called status quo was anything but just. Only hypocrites, he believed, would call his attempt to rebuild his country, and indeed this very world, an act of terrorism… even if it came at the cost of this false peace.
At the end of the day, Amegakure remained stuck between three major powers, and peace or not, the rain never stopped. Its geography did it no favours: it sat at the foot of a mountain range that caught rain clouds and wrung them dry over its people's heads. To make matters worse, its altitude was lower than that of the neighbouring Lands of Rivers and Waterfalls— both very wet countries as well— so Amegakure was perpetually flooded.
Even in times without war, the people went hungry. With so little sunlight, growing crops was nearly impossible, and what few stalks of rice managed to take root were soon crushed under the sandals of invading shinobi.
Nor was it possible to build the infrastructure to import food: the floods made construction difficult; roads and bridges leading outside facilitated enemy invasions, so they were rarely built; and lastly, no foreign engineering expert dared set foot within their borders— not to mention they had no money to pay for materials, skilled workers, or even food itself.
"I see you've given this a great deal of thought," Tendō Pain said, his tone devoid of emotion. "So, you must understand why I have to do this. I must gather all the Tailed Beasts and visit suffering upon the shinobi world such as it has never known before; only then will the Five Great Villages understand the pain they've wrought upon others, and only then will the continent know true peace."
"Are you even listening to yourself? That doesn't make any sense!" Naruto interjected. "Why would you even think that would ever work, ya know!? You're only going to make things worse!"
In theory, it was possible that Nagato's plan could work… but Sakura didn't believe it was worth the cost. So many innocent lives… what had they done to merit annihilation? Just because they lived in the hidden villages, hoping only for a better life?
"I understand why you would think that would work, but it's only a stopgap measure." Sakura said, shaking her head. "You call yourself a god, but you won't live for ever. In time, people will forget their pain, and they will begin fighting again… and you won't be alive to scare them any more."
War was a fact of life.
Even if the shinobi continent chose disarmament, it would only invite more men like that Hyde fellow to invade from overseas, catching the shinobi nations with their trousers down. And even if all the people of this star miraculously chose peace, with no one left who knew how to fight, who would rise to defend this world when the godlike Ōtsutsuki at last descended from the sea of stars?
War was necessary, even crucial to this world's continued existence.
"Then, have you a better alternative than the plan I proposed?" Tendō Pain asked. "Has Master Jiraiya discovered another path to peace? If not…"
"Master Jiraiya…?" Naruto said, frowning. "And earlier… fellow disciples…?"
Sakura sensed Pain's chakra swell. He was about to attack!
"Big breasts!" Sakura shouted, thinking fast. "Big breasts will save the world! It's not a coincidence that big breasts are as round as the world itself, you know!"
Naruto and Sasuke goggled at her. A hundred kilometres away, hidden in his tree fort made of paper mâché that had been painted to look like a tree trunk, Nagato frowned. What on earth was this silly bimbo talking about?
"Men will fight for all sorts of reasons; it's in their nature. Natural resources will always be scarce, so they will always compete for them, breeding hatred," Sakura said matter‑of‑factly. "But what if I could solve the problem at its source?" She straightened, eyes bright with improbable conviction. "I'll make it so every woman in the world grows enormous breasts… and their daughters, and their daughters' daughters, will inherit them too! I'm not quite there yet in my training… but I will make it happen! I'll drag down the Land of Eternal Bliss from the heavens and create a paradise for the living, right here on this star!"
Sakura held her chest high.
"After all, no man with a handful of breasts in each palm can possibly hold a weapon in his hand!" she proclaimed. "Or even walk in a straight line while pitching a tent! At least, I think. It's been a while, I can't quite remember."
Nagato's eyebrows twitched. A while since what?
"I see now this talk has been a colossal waste of time," Tendō Pain said coldly. "Prepare yourself… Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
"You idiot, there's no way your stupid plan is any more realistic than mine," Sakura said sardonically, planting her hands on her hips. "If true peace was ever possible, then it would have to start with our generation, because we grew up without hatred. By killing all of us, you're only setting the clock back another eighty years. After all, you've got to start somewhere…"
Sakura's voice died in her throat.
"Start… forgiving… ugh."
Sakura's voice trembled. She knew it was hypocritical of her to say these things. She still hated those other villages for killing her Lady Tsunade, hated them enough to kill… but as she had said, forgiveness had to start somewhere, and it might as well be with her. That's what Naruto would… no, that's what she should do. Even if it was painful enough to make her heart burst.
"You would forgive even Pain? Despite my having destroyed your village?" Tendō Pain said coldly. "You're lying. I can see the wrath in your eyes."
"Sakura wouldn't lie about such things," Sasuke said coldly. "She showed me there was more to life than revenge, so, I… I believe her. I'll still put Danzō down… but not to avenge my clan, but because it's the right thing to do. For the sake of the peace Sakura believes in, I'll put aside my vengeance."
"Sakura‑chan's telling the truth, and if you won't believe her, we'll just smash your ugly mugs in until you do, you weird Piercing‑Faces!" Naruto said, glaring fiercely at the six Pains. He lowered his gaze. "Honestly, I dunno if I can bring myself to forgive you," he growled, his fists shaking in anger as he thought of everyone who'd died in the Akatsuki's invasion. "But you can't make up for your mistakes if you're dead, you know? So… I'll settle for giving you a good beating."
Looking at the three shinobi standing before his puppets, Nagato saw nothing but hatred in their eyes, and for good reason; he had just killed all their friends and family. In his opinion, the pink-haired girl was simply babbling because she knew she was outmatched; she was simply talking to delay her inevitable fate.
"Oh, we're very angry, make no mistake about it. We don't hate you, but even so, we can't let you bring any more ruin to our home, because the villagers are relying on us," Sakura hissed, her eyes blazing now. "For the sake of our comrades fighting with all their strength right now, I'm hitting the pause button on this conversation. We'll finish this at our leisure once we've pounded each of your six puppets into dust… and found the real you!"