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

Chapter 344 If someone can do that, then he is a god.

Yuanlitong turned around and saw an old monk, dressed in simple robes and of short stature, standing quietly not far away. It was his teacher, Monk Zhongjue.

“Teacher.” Yuan Litong let out a soft breath, his eyes lowered, and his voice carried a hint of weariness.

As the monk Zhongjue's gaze swept over the traces at the scene—the uneven ground, the scattered charred fragments, and the lingering chill—he understood everything.

"Ugh……"

A deep pity appeared on his wrinkled face. He clasped his hands together and sighed, "All things are impermanent; they are subject to arising and ceasing. When arising and ceasing cease, there is bliss in Nirvana."

"Your Highness, I have witnessed such suffering once again."

Yuan Litong remained silent, his gaze once again falling on the spot where the old woman had collapsed.

“Go back, Your Highness.” Monk Chung-kaku opened his eyes, looked at Enri-tsu, and said gently, “His Highness the Daimyo is sending people to look for you.”

“Teacher,” Yuan Litong slowly shook his head, “I want to bury them.”

The monk Zhongjue gazed at the unwavering compassion in his eyes, offering no words of dissuasion, but simply nodding deeply: "Your Highness's compassionate thoughts are a blessing to the nation. This humble monk will assist you."

The two of them bent down together and began to clean up the mangled remains of the poor mother and child, as well as the few tattered clothes that belonged to the man and were scattered to the side.

They found a relatively clean and secluded corner, and with their hands and the broken tools they found, they silently dug a simple grave.

There was no coffin, no ceremony, only the simplest burial.

After properly arranging the body and clothing, Monk Zhongjue stood in front of the tomb with his hands clasped together.

"Namo Amitabha Night, Duotagadu Night..."

As night fell, the chanting of the monk Zhongjue slowly rose, offering prayers for the innocent deceased: "I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha."

"May the Buddha's light guide us to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, where we may be freed from suffering and attain great liberation..."

Behind him, Yuan Litong knelt before the simple tomb, closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and silently recited the incantation with a focused expression.

After the scripture was finished, Abbot Zhongjue said softly, "May the Buddha have mercy and guide lost souls to find their way home and attain ultimate salvation and peace."

Yuan Litong opened his eyes, looked at the small grave, and murmured, "Teacher, can they really return to that 'pure land' where there is no pain or illusion?"

"A pure heart makes a pure land, and a peaceful heart makes all beings peaceful."

The monk Zhongjue looked at him with profound eyes: "Your Highness, what we can do is to use our pure hearts to light a lamp for those who are lost."

"As for whether they can return, it depends on their own karma and affinity with Buddhism."

Yuanlitong remained silent for a moment, but just then, a calm, almost indifferent voice came from the shadows behind them, breaking the fragile tranquility.

"They're dead."

Yuanli Tong suddenly turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw an unfamiliar-looking boy leaning against the broken wall, looking at him calmly.

"Their souls have also dissipated," Naruto continued, his tone flat and even, as if stating a simple fact.

"I won't be guided to some Pure Land of Bliss by the Buddha you speak of. There is no god in this world who will unconditionally love all people."

"enough!"

Before Naruto could finish speaking, Enrito suddenly stood up as if stung, his voice hoarse with excitement.

"Are you doubting God? Doubting Buddha?" He glared at Naruto and shouted angrily, "Who created this world? God! God is the father of all living beings..."

His voice was initially loud, but when he said the word "father," it unconsciously lowered: "No father would not love his child."

Naruto watched him quietly, unmoved by his anger.

He could see clearly that the second son of the famous man before him, though seemingly steadfast in his faith, revealed his inner fragility and doubt through his anger and roars.

People with truly firm beliefs do not need to use such intense emotions to bolster their courage.

His anger was a questioning of the gods, and also a questioning of his aloof and emotionally indifferent biological father.

"Can gods really save humanity?" Naruto asked calmly. "Does the so-called heaven and pure land really exist?"

"They say the gods love all people, they say good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished, they say cause and effect and retribution, they say the hardworking go to heaven after death, and they say those who commit suicide do not enter the Pure Land..."

"But where is the evidence?"

“There is no evidence.” Naruto said calmly. “Or rather, for people like you, evidence is unnecessary.”

"People who are completely desperate for reality desperately need a lifeline to escape from."

He looked at the monk Zhongjue behind Yuanlitong: "At this time, someone just happened to give you an excuse about the 'afterlife,' and you naturally chose to believe it."

"There is nothing wrong with that in itself."

Naruto's tone was calm to the point of being cruel: "Because ignorant and suffering people need such an excuse to numb themselves and endure the suffering before them in order to live on."

"However, I must remind you, this is not the truth, it's an excuse..."

His voice turned cold again: "If people go to heaven after death and live happily ever after, then what about animals? Plants? Good people? Bad people? Men? Women?"

"Therefore, the redemption you crave is merely biased."

“If farmers are favored and grain prices are raised, then non-farmers will suffer; if farmers are favored and grain prices are lowered, then farmers will suffer.”

"Everything is like a balance scale. Once there is bias, then some people will inevitably benefit from bias and some people will suffer from bias. With bias, He is no longer God."

He looked at the new grave one last time and said calmly, "If there really is a god, then He would not redeem anyone, because He loves everyone."

"Death is the only thing He gives to mankind, because it is true equality in the world. Everyone will stand before Him and face the inevitable end."

“If conditions are added to death, whether those conditions are reasonable or not, it will no longer be just.”

"Therefore, by refusing to acknowledge death, you are merely deceiving yourself."

These words completely shattered Yuanlitong's protective shell.

“You…” Yuan Litong staggered back a step, his face pale. He opened his mouth, but found that the words “You’re talking nonsense” were stuck in his throat and he couldn’t say them.

The monk Zhongjue, who was standing to the side, kept his eyes closed and remained silent, but his fingers, which were twirling the prayer beads, paused almost imperceptibly for a moment.

"God will not favor the world, but will only allow the world to become chaotic."

Naruto looked deeply at Enrito and murmured, "If you can't turn a blind eye to the suffering of others, if you know there's no Pure Land after death where they can find happiness..."

"Then you only have one choice."

These words were less about advising others and more about the answer he had found.

He already knew what he was going to do next.

Therefore, without expecting any response, he started walking, ready to leave.

but……

"Wait a minute." Yuan Litong's voice came from behind. "What kind of choice are you talking about?"

Naruto paused slightly, then turned his head and smiled, "Use these hands."

"On this land, let us create a pure land for the living, a place where more people can be free from suffering and attain happiness."

As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't linger, his figure completely disappearing into the deep night.

Yuan Litong stood there, stunned, for a moment before asking in a bewildered tone, "...Teacher, do you think what he said is right?"

Monk Zhongjue slowly opened his eyes, looked in the direction Naruto had left, put his hands together, and softly chanted a Buddhist mantra.

"This humble monk does not know," he said, his eyes lowered. "At least, this humble monk does not know how to do it."

"If someone can do that, then he..."

"It is God."

------

Meanwhile, in the sealed space inside Naruto's body.

How to do it is not important.

Hearing Naruto's question, Yunshiki slowly opened his eyes, calmly looked at Naruto, and asked in return, "What do you think drives human progress?"

Naruto pondered deeply, trying to list examples: "The accumulation of knowledge? The development of technology? The progress of thought? The power of faith?"

Yun shook her head slightly, rejecting these seemingly correct answers.

“From ignorance to enlightenment, from weakness to strength, what is the key to taking this crucial step is not what you have said.”

His voice carried a chilling insight: "It's recklessness."

"Reckless?" Naruto was stunned; this answer was completely unexpected.

“Yes, reckless,” Yun Shi said softly. “‘How to do it’ is never the most important thing. ‘Whether to do it’ is the most important thing.”

"When faced with a seemingly insurmountable mountain, the first to climb it is often not the smartest or most cautious person."

"Instead, it is that reckless person who disregards everything, dares to bear the consequences of failure, and takes the first step."

"For others, too many possibilities have been stifled by too many 'impossibilities'."

Upon hearing this, Naruto fell into a long silence. After a moment, he suddenly raised his head, and a glint of madness appeared in his usually rational and calm eyes.

“Teacher,” he said, “I want everyone in the world, including ordinary people, to have chakra.”

"I want to know if that kind of world could be a better place."

"That's my 'recklessness'."

(End of this chapter)