Chapter 378: The Truth Behind Talk-no-Jutsu
"I've told you my story!"
"Now tell me your answer!"
Inside the tree hollow, after finishing Nagato's story, Li Yao calmly looked at Naruto.
Naruto lowered his head slightly in contemplation, a complex look in his eyes. He understood the pain Nagato and the others had endured, and he was moved by Nagato's efforts for peace. Yet, though those efforts came at the expense of others' suffering, which he couldn't approve of.
Still, to be fair, Nagato's peace plan was the most feasible in the real world. At the very least, Naruto couldn't think of a better alternative.
Compared to a world of mutual understanding, Nagato's peace plan seemed far more convincing.
But it wasn't the same peace Jiraiya-sensei had dreamed of, nor was it the peace Naruto envisioned.
Naruto preferred a peaceful world built on mutual understanding, support, and love between people.
"Then I'll follow my heart!"
Naruto had already made his decision. He pulled a book from his pocket—a novel, the very first one written by Jiraiya.
Looking at it, memories of time spent with Jiraiya resurfaced. Naruto said, "Maybe this is reality. Maybe your plan is the most realistic path to peace."
"Is that so?" said Li Yao, in Nagato's form, his tone carrying a trace of disappointment, clearly displeased with Naruto's response.
"Even though I understand you," Naruto suddenly clenched the book, looked up at Nagato, and said through gritted teeth, "Even so, I still can't forgive you. I still hate you."
Seeing Naruto speaking of hatred without making a move, Li Yao smiled inwardly. He knew Naruto had already made the same decision he had in the original story. Coldly, he said, "Then let's put an end to this."
"But!!"
Just as Li Yao finished speaking, the hatred in Naruto's eyes faded and was replaced by firm resolve. "Pervy Sage entrusted everything to me. So, I will try to believe in what he always firmly believed in."
"That's my answer!"
"So…" Naruto looked calmly at Nagato and Konan. "I won't kill you."
"Believe in what Jiraiya once believed in... Heh!" Li Yao, still in Nagato's form, let out a cold laugh. "That's your answer?"
"Don't be ridiculous!!"
Li Yao became agitated. He didn't agree with Naruto's words at all and said, "You expect us to wait for a peace that has no chance of being realized, just based on your empty words?"
"How long should we wait?"
"Until you die and then your son and disciples continue to wait?"
"Should we wait until all of humanity is dead before your so-called peace arrives?"
Just one phrase—mutual understanding!
Just one phrase—I believe!
Just one phrase—that day will come!
How familiar those words sounded.
Wasn't this exactly the kind of hollow motivational talk bosses use to paint illusions of a better future? Using beautiful-sounding but utterly baseless dreams to string people along into endlessly waiting with no real future.
And the worst part was—they stood on the moral high ground, so you couldn't even say they were wrong.
Classic talk-no-jutsu. That's all it was.
The fact that the original Nagato could be talked down by Naruto like this was something Li Yao never expected.
He stared coldly at Naruto. At this point, he was curious to see what else Naruto could say.
"Then I'll bring about peace myself. In this era, while I'm still alive, I'll break the curse of this world of hatred."
Naruto's gaze was firm, his voice powerful. Looking at Nagato, he continued, "If true peace exists, I'll grab it and never let go. No matter what—I won't give up!"
Heh… Li Yao sneered in his heart.
As expected, Naruto said a whole bunch of grand-sounding nonsense, but still offered no actual plan for peace.
"If true peace exists, I'll grab it"?
What does that even mean?
Is peace just going to appear on its own so you can grab it?
And if true peace really did arrive, would it even need you to grab it?
Saying it like peace would vanish if you didn't grab it. That chosen-one rhetoric seriously rubbed Li Yao the wrong way.
Naruto's whole speech boiled down to waiting—to see if peace would happen.
It was frustrating.
This… This was what had convinced Nagato in the original? Li Yao couldn't understand it at all.
Naruto perfectly embodied "peace through talking." When asked for action, all he gave was more talk.
Li Yao scoffed silently, though on the surface he wore an expression as if he'd fallen into deep memory and remained silent.
In reality, Li Yao had nothing left to say. Now he just wanted to see whether Naruto would actually let Nagato go.
After all, not killing Nagato didn't mean Naruto couldn't seal or imprison him.
Naruto then opened Jiraiya's first novel again and said, "Familiar, isn't it? Yeah, everything I just said is from this book."
Hmm... lines?
Naruto's words made Li Yao narrow his eyes slightly as he looked at the book, and memories began to surface.
In another Hokage world, he had once been ordered by Madara to watch over Jiraiya and Nagato for three years. It was during those years that Jiraiya had started writing that novel.
Thinking of the lines Naruto had just quoted, Li Yao suddenly had a realization. He began to guess how Naruto had managed to "talk-no-jutsu" Nagato.
Sure enough, Naruto soon said that Jiraiya had drawn inspiration for those lines from Nagato—his student.
Which meant, the words Naruto had just spoken were once said by Nagato himself. The peace Naruto longed for was the same peace Nagato had once hoped to achieve.
Trust could be passed on.
Just like Naruto trusted Jiraiya, and Jiraiya had once trusted Nagato.
So that was it!
Li Yao was struck with understanding.
In the original, Naruto had used that wave of nostalgic lines to awaken Nagato's original ideals. Add to that the fact that the protagonist of Jiraiya's novel was named "Naruto."
In that moment, Nagato must have resonated with him deeply.
"I've had my own share of pain too…"
Naruto began recounting his own hardships—being ostracized by the village, tormented by the Nine-Tails, his bond with Sasuke, and more.
Just as Nagato had said that only through pain could one understand pain, Naruto's suffering, combined with their emotional resonance, was what finally allowed Nagato to truly accept Naruto.
He recognized Naruto as the Child of Prophecy that Jiraiya had once believed would bring true peace.
This was the truth behind talk-no-jutsu—the beginning of Naruto's so-called mutual understanding.
Li Yao had finally understood why Naruto was able to convince Nagato.
But how many people in the world could be like Nagato and Naruto—connected by so many bonds and coincidences, just the right mix to create mutual understanding?
Heh.
Li Yao sneered internally. If you replaced Nagato with himself, all this "mutual understanding" would be a joke—there would be no resonance at all.
Because in this world, there was no such thing as truly sharing someone else's pain.
Enough!
The act had played out long enough. Now it was his turn to take the stage.
(END CHAPTER)
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