Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 278 Nagato: You don't understand anything at all!

At this very moment, in the ruins of a residential street.

"Kakashi Hatake!"

Pain's voice had lost its godlike calm and indifference.

Instead, as if his deepest taboo had been touched, a hoarse voice was forced out from between his teeth: "What...what did you do?!"

The chilling killing intent contained in that voice made Kakashi break out in a cold sweat.

The ability of 'jealousy' is indeed useful, as it can summon a 'mirror image' of the enemy, but every time it is used, the enemy will be enraged.

At this point, if the 'mirror image' is weak and unable to restrain the enemy, the person wielding the knife will be in great danger.

The current 'mirror image' doesn't seem very strong, completely different from the cold and powerful enemy, and even seems somewhat unreliable and lacking in threat.

And, does he seem a little dim-witted?
However, looking at this 'mirror image,' Kakashi had a strong sense of déjà vu...

"Ok?"

Yahiko on the wall seemed completely unaffected by the murderous aura. He shifted his gaze from Kakashi to Pain and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, hey." He tilted his head slightly, looking a little confused. "You look terrible."

"Wait a minute, I feel like you look a little familiar."

He scrutinized Pain's cold, stern face, subconsciously raising his head as if trying to recall something, muttering to himself, "It feels like somewhere..."

"Are you an idiot like Guy?" Kakashi couldn't help but retort. "Why can't you even recognize yourself?!"

"Kakashi, stop joking."

Hearing Kakashi's words, Yahiko maintained his somewhat comical pose with his hands clasped together, and shook his head earnestly: "How could I be so bitter and expressionless?"

"Besides, how could I be so perverted as to stick these weird black sticks all over my face?"

"However, she does look a lot like me."

He sized up Pain, the Deva Path, and said thoughtfully, "He's practically like my long-lost twin brother who's unfortunately expressionless and a late-stage chuunibyou..."

At this point, he suddenly had a look of realization: "Could it be that when Mom and Dad were alive, they were out there..."

"But that's not right, the Rinnegan belongs to Nagato, not me... Hmm, could it be that you're actually my dad and Nagato's mom..."

"Wait!" Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply upon hearing a certain keyword, immediately interrupting his seemingly far-fetched guess, and he asked urgently, "Rinnegan? Nagato?"

“Yes, the Rinnegan.” Yahiko nodded, confirming it in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it were common knowledge.

However, seeing Kakashi's bewildered expression, he seemed to understand something: "It seems that in this world, the relationship between Konoha and our Akatsuki organization is not very good?"

"You don't even know anything about the Rinnegan? Actually..."

"enough!"

A chilling voice interrupted Yahiko's words, and Pain suddenly raised his hand.

All things are attracted by heaven!

A powerful gravitational force instantly acted on Yahiko on the wall.

however……

As if he had anticipated this, Yahiko nimbly dodged the gravity and landed steadily on another broken wall.

"Stop playing these pointless word games and feigning ignorance."

Pain slowly lowered his hand, his Rinnegan coldly fixed on Yahiko: "Did you think your little tricks could escape my eyes?"

Upon hearing this, Kakashi was taken aback and looked at the 'mirror image'. Meanwhile, Yahiko on the wall, upon hearing Pain's words, slowly lost his somewhat naive smile.

He was silent for a moment, then shrugged.

"As expected, I can't fool you after all." Yahiko sighed. "No matter which world we're in, you're always the smartest of the three of us, right..."

"Nagato."

He called out that name directly, causing Pain's eyes to freeze.

“However,” Yahiko slowly grinned, “this is enough.”

hum! !

As soon as he finished speaking, a vast and pure energy burst forth from his body!
Suddenly, bright orange marks, like eyeshadow, appeared on both sides of Yahiko's eyes, and the shape of his pupils changed to a horizontal line like a toad's.

At that moment, Kakashi finally understood where that strange sense of déjà vu came from.

"Sage Mode?" He stared intently into Yahiko's eyes. "Jiraiya-sama's Sage Mode?!"

No wonder, no wonder it felt so familiar.

This unreliable and frivolous manner is just like Jiraiya-sama.

So, the 'mirror image' that was summoned was actually Jiraiya's disciple?
Moreover, judging from the looks of it, this guy in front of me can even use the true Sage Mode, instead of the incomplete version like Jiraiya who needs to summon two great sages for assistance.

"Nagato."

Standing atop the broken wall, Yahiko's eyes were sharply defined, his pupils deep and unfathomable. Looking down at Pain, he said, "Now, let's have a proper talk."

"Why did you become like this? And..."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic streets, the burning houses, and the lingering smoke.

Finally, returning to Pain, his expression turned serious, and he said in a heavy tone, "Did you do all of this?"

"..."

Pain remained silent, his Rinnegan eyes fixed on the face on the wall, a face so familiar it was etched into his very bones.

“So,” Yahiko seemed to understand something from the silence, a complex, knowing smile appearing on his face, “the me of this world is dead, isn’t I?”

"Was he killed by a Konoha ninja? Or by Hanzo-sensei?"

His tone was calm, as if he were stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.

"you are wrong."

Pain didn't answer his question directly, but slowly said, "The path you chose for Akatsuki and the Land of Rain was wrong from the very beginning." "I'm not wrong." Yahiko shook his head, unwavering. "I have already verified the feasibility of this path in another world."

"No matter what difficulties we encounter, as long as the three of us—you, me, and Xiaonan—are still together, there is no problem that cannot be solved."

"Communication and understanding, though difficult and slow to progress, are indeed the way to peacefully resolve disputes."

Even if I, in this world, unfortunately die.

"But as long as you and Xiao Nan don't give up on communicating, as long as you have the courage to trust others and let go of hatred, there will definitely be more people willing to be like you..."

Before Yahiko could finish speaking, Pain's eyes flashed with a sinister glint.

"absurd!"

Pain let out a low roar, and his chakra surged forth.

"Communication? Trust? Letting go of hatred?!" His voice trembled slightly with anger. "What makes you think your trust and forgiveness will be reciprocated in the same way?"

Do you think these naive words can satisfy the insatiable appetite of those great powers? Can they stop their ambition to ignite war on every inch of their land?

"Do you know how many lives your naiveté will cost you by killing those who trusted you?!"

He stared intently at Yahiko and said, word by word, "The naive and childish theory you firmly believe in has long been ruthlessly and repeatedly crushed into dust by reality! Yahiko!"

When he finally called out that name, his voice carried an extremely complex pain.

Upon hearing this, Yahiko remained silent for a moment, the light in his eyes dimming slightly, but then he slowly shook his head: "You may have experienced a lot of pain that I cannot imagine."

"However, precisely because there is so much hatred in the world, the Akatsuki should strive even harder to become the light of dawn that illuminates the darkness. Pain and hatred cannot solve any problems."

"We have also faced countless difficulties and suspicions."

He continued, his tone steady, "Master Hanzo's initial conservatism and distrust, the continuous pressure from the great powers on the border, the poverty and suffering within..."

“Each of these was a huge challenge, but we never believed that conquest by force or the creation of fear was the answer.”

“We spoke with Professor Hanzo, showed him our plan and sincerity, organized the people to help themselves, dredged the river, and rebuilt their homes, so that everyone could see real hope.”

"We even managed to establish unofficial communication channels with insightful people in the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind to gradually resolve misunderstandings."

At this point, he looked at Pain again, his gaze sharp and sincere, as if trying to pierce through that cold shell and look directly at the soul behind it.

"Trust is not naivety, but a bridge that requires courage and sacrifice to build."

"It is indeed fragile, but it is precisely because of its fragility that we need to protect and repair it, rather than easily giving up on it and destroying it completely."

"If even we give up, then there really is no future."

Undoubtedly, he is depicting a picture of an idealist struggling in reality but never giving up and achieving tangible results.

Yahiko's voice lowered: "What I see now is a soul consumed by pain, but to inflict one's own pain on the entire world is not..."

"enough."

A cold, stiff voice interrupted Yahiko's composed narration.

Pain stared intently at Yahiko's still clear eyes, filled with "foolish" hope, his anger and disgust almost bursting out of his chest.

Thinking about how this imposter claimed to have made "tangible progress" through "dialogue and communication," Nagato, who was manipulating Pain from behind the scenes, found it all laughable!
"Look around you."

Pain raised his hand and pointed to the surrounding ruins, the wounded groaning in pain, and the civilians trembling with fear, and said coldly, "I can forgive Konoha for what they did to us."

"So, do you think they will forgive me?"

Upon hearing this, Yahiko opened his mouth as if to say something, but then looked at the corpses around him and fell silent.

Why can't it be done?
The turbulent emotions that Pain had been feeling earlier were replaced by coldness and disgust in his eyes, as if he were looking at a distorted, deformed, and repulsive counterfeit.

The Yahiko before me comes from a world so lucky it's almost unreal, a world that has never been filled with desire and hatred!
The very existence of Yahiko is meant to negate everything about him, and to mock the real, bloody, and desperate world he inhabits!

At that moment, Nagato felt nauseous looking at that familiar face!

"You don't understand anything at all."

Pain's tone turned cold and lifeless again, but beneath that coldness lay a murderous intent that was about to erupt and destroy everything.

"This is not the world you describe that can become better through 'communication,' nor is it the world you describe that can function properly through 'understanding.'"

"War, death, betrayal, pain, despair, hatred... this is the true face of this world, the eternal keynote of this world."

"And you are merely a pathetic, fate-favored mirror image. If your sole purpose in coming here is to disgust and enrage me..."

Having said that, Pain slowly raised his hand, palm facing the "mirror image" that disgusted and angered him, and said coldly, "I admit, you succeeded."

"Then let me use pain to let you feel the reality."

All things are attracted by heaven!

hum! !

An irresistible and terrifying gravitational force instantly gripped Yahiko tightly against the wall!
Yahiko's body stiffened abruptly, as if grabbed by an invisible giant hand, and he was dragged by that brute force towards Pain at high speed!

It was so fast that it even created a piercing whistling sound in the air.

During this involuntary flight, Yahiko neither formed hand seals nor was able to do so, and his cheeks suddenly puffed out.

Sage Art: Water Escape: Water Chaos!
A massive water cannon, brimming with abundant natural energy, roared out of his mouth.

The size and power of this water cannon far exceeded that of ordinary water waves. With the blessing of Sage Mode, it carried an overwhelming impact as it blasted towards Pain, who was using "Universal Pull"!

Pulled by gravity, the enormous water cannon suddenly increased in speed and slammed towards Pain!

"A ninjutsu that Jiraiya-sensei once taught me," Pain thought to himself, watching this scene. "So, after entering Sage Mode, he can use it without hand seals?"

The Hell Path, which had not yet made a move, stepped forward, attempting to use its body to block Pain's path.

Swish! Clang!
Kakashi Hatake seemed to have anticipated his movements, blocking Pain's path with even greater speed.

Both swung their wakizashi and black clubs simultaneously, producing a piercing, sharp sound and sending sparks flying!
A tremendous force struck, causing Kakashi's hands to go numb and his body to be jolted backward.

Pain took in everything, and as he watched the water cannons hurtling towards him, the coldness in his Rinnegan eyes intensified.

"Shinra Tenzheng!"

boom!
An irresistible repulsive force suddenly erupted from him!
(besides)
(End of this chapter)