Konoha, reported by the Fourth Hokage at the start.

Chapter 378 The Truth Behind Talking Skills

"I've already told my story!"

Tell me your answer!

Inside the tree hollow, after telling Nagato's story, Li Yao looked at Naruto calmly.

At this moment, Naruto lowered his head slightly in thought, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He understood the pain that Nagato and the others had suffered, and he was also shocked by Nagato's efforts for peace, even though these efforts were built on the suffering of others, which he did not agree with.

However, to be realistic, Nagato's peace plan is the most feasible one in reality; at least, he couldn't find a better peace plan than Nagato's.

Compared to a world of mutual understanding, Nagato's peace plan is undoubtedly more convincing.

But this is different from the peace that Jiraiya-sensei has always longed for, and also different from the peaceful world he hopes for.

Compared to Nagato's peaceful world, Naruto's ideal of a peaceful world is one where people understand, help, and love each other.

"Then let's follow our hearts!"

Naruto already had the answer in his heart. He took out a book from his pocket, a novel, the first novel written by Jiraiya.

As Naruto looked at the novel, memories of his time with Jiraiya flashed through his mind. He said, "Reality might indeed be like this. Your peace plan might be the closest to the truth."

"Is that so!" Nagato, transformed by Li Yao, spoke with a hint of disappointment, seemingly dissatisfied with Naruto's answer.

"Although I understand you now," Naruto suddenly gripped his book, looked up at Nagato, and said through gritted teeth, "even so, I still can't forgive you. I still hate you."

Seeing Naruto only utter hatred without taking any action, Li Yao smiled inwardly, knowing that Naruto had made the same decision as in the original story. He coldly said, "Then let's settle this once and for all."

"but!!

As soon as Li Yao finished speaking, the hatred in Naruto's eyes disappeared, replaced by a determined look. He said, "The Perverted Sage entrusted everything to me, so I will try to believe what the Perverted Sage once firmly believed."

"That's my answer!"

"So..." Naruto looked at Nagato and Konan with a simple expression and said, "I won't kill you."

"Believe what Jiraiya-sensei once firmly believed... Heh!" Nagato, transformed from Li Yao, suddenly chuckled coldly. "Is this your answer?"

"Stop joking!!"

Li Yao became somewhat agitated. He strongly disagreed with Naruto's words, saying, "Are you suggesting we continue to wait for peace based solely on your empty promises, believing that there's absolutely no possibility of it happening?"

"When will that be?"

"Is it going to wait until you die, and then your sons and disciples will continue to wait?"

"Does the peace you speak of only arrive when humanity is completely wiped out?"

A simple word: mutual understanding!

I believe!

That day will eventually come!

Look how familiar Naruto's words are.

Isn't this just the kind of rhetoric a boss uses when making empty promises?

They use vague, seemingly wonderful promises that have no basis for reality to fool you into continuing your hopeless wait.

But since they're standing on a moral high ground, you can't say they're wrong.

As expected of someone who relies on words, and that's all they can do.

Li Yao hadn't expected that Nagato in the original story could be persuaded by Naruto in this way.

Li Yao stared coldly at Naruto, now that things had come to this, he wanted to see what Naruto had to say.

"Then let me achieve this peace, in this era, while I am still alive, I will break the curse of this world of hatred."

Naruto's expression was resolute, his voice strong and clear. Looking at Nagato, he continued, "If there is true peace, I will hold onto it tightly. In short, I will not give up!"

Heh... Li Yao chuckled coldly to himself.

As expected, Naruto talked a lot, but in the end it was all empty talk and no concrete peace plan.

What? If there really is peace, I will hold on to it tightly?

What's wrong?

The true peace you speak of will come on its own?

Then you try to hold on tight?

Holy crap, if there were real peace, would you need to hold onto it so tightly?

It's as if true peace will disappear if you don't hold on tight to it?

Li Yao was very annoyed by this tone of being the chosen one.

Naruto's words were essentially a matter of continuing to wait and see if true peace would ever come.

This is just ridiculous!

Li Yao was furious. He couldn't understand how Nagato had been persuaded in the original story.

Naruto truly embodies the saying that peace is all talk and no action.

Li Yao silently complained in his heart, but on the surface he seemed to be lost in some kind of memory, remaining silent.

In reality, Li Yao was speechless. He just wanted to see if Naruto would let Nagato go.

After all, not killing Nagato and sealing and imprisoning Nagato are not contradictory.

Naruto then opened Jiraiya's first novel and continued, "It looks familiar, doesn't it? Yes, I'm saying lines from that book."

Hmm... lines?

Naruto's words made Li Yao's gaze sharpen slightly as he looked at the novel, and then memories surfaced in his mind.

In another Naruto world, he received Madara's order to monitor Jiraiya and Nagato for three years, which seems to be the period when Jiraiya started writing novels.

Thinking of Naruto's lines, Li Yao suddenly had a thought and guessed how Nagato had been persuaded by Naruto's talk-no-jutsu.

Sure enough, Naruto quickly revealed that the inspiration for Jiraiya's lines came from Nagato, Jiraiya's disciple.

This means that what Naruto just said was also what Nagato had said before, and the peace that Naruto hoped for to end the hatred in the ninja world was also the peace that Nagato had longed to achieve.

Trust can be transferred.

Just like Naruto believed in Jiraiya, and Jiraiya believed in Nagato.

That's it!

Li Yao suddenly realized.

In the original work, Naruto used this wave of nostalgia to evoke Nagato's original aspirations, and in addition, the protagonist of Jiraiya's novel is named Naruto.

At that moment, Nagato must have felt a certain resonance with Naruto.

"I have my own pain too..."

Naruto began to recount his painful past: being ostracized by the village, being tormented by Kurama, his bond with Sasuke, and so on.

Just as Nagato said that only by experiencing pain can one understand pain, Naruto's pain, combined with the previous resonance, finally made Nagato fully acknowledge Naruto and regard him as the prophesied child who would bring true peace, as Jiraiya had said.

This is the truth behind Naruto's talk-no-jutsu, and also the beginning of mutual understanding in Naruto's words.

Li Yao learned the reason why Naruto persuaded Nagato.

However, how many people in this world have as many bonds and coincidences as Nagato and Naruto, which just happen to lead to mutual understanding between the two?

Ha ha!

Li Yao smiled coldly to himself. Now that he had replaced Nagato with himself, the so-called mutual understanding had become a joke, and there was no resonance at all.

Because there is no true empathy in this world.

All right!

The play is almost over; it's time to wrap it up and let him watch the show.

(End of this chapter)