Konoha, reported by the Fourth Hokage at the start.

Chapter 379 Payne escaped on his own.

"You're an incredible guy!"

Li Yao looked at Naruto and said, "Although I still can't believe that the peaceful world you speak of will exist, I'm willing to wait."

"Let me see what you can bring to the future of this ninja world."

After saying this, Li Yao clapped his hands together and used a spirit summoning technique to bring back Yahiko's corpse.

Konan held Yahiko's body. Li Yao glanced at Naruto one last time, and seeing that he didn't seem to care, he smiled inwardly. Then he said to Konan, "Konan, let's go home."

Konan removed the giant tree created by her paper jutsu, and Nagato summoned the giant bird again. The two of them, along with Yahiko, rode away on the summoning beast, the giant bird.

Naruto watched the whole thing without intervening, but he didn't say a word either.

Indeed, hatred is not so easily resolved.

Not killing Nagato was already Naruto's biggest concession; it was impossible for him to live in harmony with Nagato.

But... even Naruto is like this, how could the hatred in the hearts of the others whose sons and fathers were killed by Nagato possibly be resolved?

……

"No, this isn't right!!!"

Li Yao left, and his fate did indeed undergo a huge change, just like in the original story, but this change was clearly different from that in the dream!

At Mount Myōboku, by the waterfall and pond, Gamamaru, who was using the telescope technique to watch Naruto and Nagato meet, had his brows furrowed in a frown.

"No, this isn't right!"

"What's wrong..." Gamabunta, who was standing to the side, asked in confusion, his pipe dangling from his lips.

Gamamaru ignored Gamabunta and recalled the world in his dream.

In that world, after Nagato was persuaded, all the people who died in Konoha during that battle came back to life. Although it wasn't seen that Nagato was the one who did it, only the Rinnegan could perform this kind of ninjutsu that revives people.

As someone who once trained under the guidance of the Sage of Six Paths, Gamamaru was well aware of the Rinnegan's abilities.

Only Nagato could revive the dead of Konoha.

But now that Nagato has been persuaded and has accepted Naruto's peace, why hasn't he taken action to revive those who died in this battle in Konoha?

The toad pill was completely baffled.

But one thing he knew was that the world had gone terribly astray.

Peace or destruction?

The future became blurry again at this moment.

"No, I need to go to sleep!"

Feeling uneasy, Gamamaru hopped away, wanting to sleep and dream, to see what would happen in the future in the world of dreams.

The prediction went wrong, which made Gamamaru feel very insecure.

……

"That's...Pain's summoned beast!"

"Naruto!"

At the foot of the mountain, Shikaku and Inoichi were startled when they saw the summoning beast bird that suddenly flew away from the mountaintop. Pain was gone, what happened to Naruto?

Worried about Naruto, the two ignored his instructions to wait and hurried up the mountain with a fellow ANBU ninja.

"Naruto!"

Upon reaching the mountaintop, the three saw Naruto standing in the same spot, gazing in the direction where his summoning beast, the giant bird, had departed. He appeared unharmed, and his chakra was stable.

The three of them quickly glanced around and found no signs of a fierce battle.

The three approached Naruto, and Inoichi asked in confusion, "What happened? Where's Pain? Did he escape?"

Naruto said, "I didn't kill them."

"What?!" The ANBU ninja who followed asked urgently, his tone accusatory, "Naruto, that's Pain, the one who turned the village upside down! How could you let them escape?"

This ANBU ninja was very unhappy with Naruto's decision. He was the only one left in his team. His three other companions had died at Pain's hands, and his family members were probably also in grave danger.

Under these circumstances, how could Naruto just let Pain escape?

Naruto said, "They will no longer be enemies with Konoha."

Just because you say they're not hostile doesn't mean they're hostile.

Naruto's words stunned the ANBU ninja. He couldn't accept this explanation and said, "So... because of this... you let the enemy who killed so many of Konoha's comrades go?"

So what if the other party stops being an enemy of Konoha in the future?

Pain killed so many people in Konoha and destroyed Konoha like this. Should we let him go just because he is no longer hostile to Konoha?

The ANBU ninjas really don't understand Naruto's logic.

Shikaku and Inoichi were also looking at Naruto with complicated expressions, not knowing why Naruto would make such a decision.

However, out of trust in Naruto, or rather, in trust in Jiraiya and Tsunade, and considering the current situation of the village, neither of them blamed Naruto.

The key issue is that the enemy has escaped, and they lack the means to fly. The only one who could fly, Sai, died in the previous battle, so even if they wanted to chase after them, they couldn't.

And without Naruto, what could they possibly do even if they caught up?

Judging from the summoning beast, the giant bird, the main body controlling Pain behind the scenes is likely to use the abilities of all six Pains.

They chased after them but couldn't catch the enemy.

So even though the two disagreed with Naruto's decision, they didn't say much.

However, the Anbu ninjas are different. They are a secret force directly under the Hokage, and their mission is to protect the Hokage, protect Konoha, and eliminate any enemies that threaten Konoha.

Pain is no longer just a threat to Konoha; he is an enemy who has already caused significant damage to the village.

Their duty and their insistence told him that he must not let Payne go.

"snort!"

"I will not let anyone who harms my comrades get away with it."

Seeing that Naruto had no intention of making a move, the Anbu ninja snorted coldly, then turned and chased after the direction in which the summoning beast, the giant bird, had flown.

call out!

Naruto suddenly stepped in front of the Anbu ninja and said, "Please believe me, Nagato and the others will no longer be enemies with Konoha. They are no longer enemies. We cannot let the hatred continue, otherwise more people will die."

"Get out of the way." The ANBU ninja drew kunai with both hands, ignoring Naruto's explanation, and stared at Naruto coldly, saying, "I don't care about hatred. The ANBU's duty is to eliminate all enemies that threaten Konoha."

"Please." Naruto suddenly knelt down and said, "They are not enemies. They were once Jiraiya's students, and their parents were killed by Konoha ninjas. They... they have entrusted me with the peace that Jiraiya longed for. I believe..."

"That's enough!"

The Anbu member interrupted Naruto loudly, his eyes sharp, "Naruto, don't forget your place. You're just a genin. Do you know what it means for a genin to obstruct the Anbu's mission?"

"Naruto!"

Shikaku came to Naruto's side, helped him up, and said, "Listen, you didn't let Pain go. They escaped after you defeated them, understand?"

"Ah..." Naruto was stunned, somewhat confused. Nagato and the others were the ones who let them go, right? Why say they ran away on their own?

Inoichi added, "That's right, Naruto. Listen to Shikaku; Pain escaped on his own. Don't hinder the Anbu's operations."

As a genin, even with Naruto's special status, being accused of obstructing the ANBU's operations is tantamount to betraying the village.

Moreover, the difference between Pain being defeated and escaping by Naruto and Naruto letting Pain go is too great, too great for Naruto to bear.

The two were somewhat worried, not wanting Naruto to become alienated from the village because of this.

The village can no longer afford to lose Naruto.

Shikaku and Inoichi simultaneously gave the ANBU ninja a signal: now is not the time to push Naruto to the opposite side of the village.

The ANBU ninja understood the exchange between Shikaku and Inoichi, frowned and thought for a moment, then put away his kunai, too lazy to say anything more to Naruto, turned around and left, without continuing to chase Pain.

Seeing this, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he had convinced the other party. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, as if the era of mutual understanding had finally arrived.

(End of this chapter)