"As long as there is war, true peace will never be achieved" Naruto said with conviction. Looking at Nagato still apprehensive about his identity, Naruto decided to create one.
"You must be wondering who I am." Naruto chuckled, with a deep dry voice. "I'm just an old man from the Uzumaki clan."
Naruto, deep down, found himself agreeing more with Nagato's philosophy of peace, a peace achieved through violent suppression. He saw it as more pragmatic than the naive idealism of the 'Talk-no-Jutsu' approach, or the deceptive escapism of Madara Uchiha's 'Eye of the Moon Plan'. The former, pure idealism, the latter, escapism. To Naruto, only Nagato's approach offered any true pragmatism.
The idealistic path sought permanent peace by inspiring people through love, tolerance, and understanding. While not inherently flawed, it struck Naruto as far too idealistic and naive. As long as humanity existed, so too would desires, and where desires thrived, conflict would inevitably erupt, a vicious, unending cycle.
Madara Uchiha's 'Eye of the Moon Plan' was even more absurd. It proposed using the Rinnegan to cast 'Infinite Tsukuyomi' from the moon, trapping everyone in an illusionary world to achieve permanent peace within a fantasy. Setting aside its feasibility, what true difference was there between humanity being plunged into an illusion and humanity being utterly wiped out? One might as well detonate a planet-destroying bomb and call that 'peace through annihilation', no people, no war.
Then there was Nagato's philosophy: letting the world undergo a brutal baptism of hatred and war, ensuring everyone understood and remembered the agonizing Pain it inflicted. Only then, through absolute military suppression, could further conflict be prevented, thereby achieving a fragile, forced peace. Such a peace, while temporary, destined to collapse upon Nagato's death, could at least be maintained for a significant period. It was, at the very least, a far more robust path than the idealism or the outright deception that the others offered.
Nagato was speechless. This man's power was immense, maybe even rivaling his own as the wielder of the Rinnegan. That alone made his story seventy percent believable. But then he spoke of knowledge only a select few could know, and he did it with a conviction that pushed that Nagato's belief to ninety.
'How?' Nagato thought from his hidden chamber. 'How could some random person I meet have power on par with me, a god of this new era?'
After his decisive defeat of Hanzo the Salamander, Nagato, now fully embracing the power of the Rinnegan, saw himself as a god. He held no regard for ordinary ninja, not even Kage of a village. How could he possibly accept that a stranger he'd just met possessed power equal to his own? But if this person had truly survived from era of Sage of Six Paths till now, it would be far easier to reconcile.
After all, Kakuzu was standing right beside him, a man nearly a hundred years old. Living a few more centuries didn't seem so impossible in a world like this. Strength bought credibility.
Naruto had completely flipped the script. Just moments ago, Nagato had been considering extending an invitation to Akatsuki. Now, this man was asking if Nagato was worthy of inheriting the Sage of Six Paths will. The line that truly struck him was, 'As long as there is war, true peace will never be achieved.'
Naruto's bold assertions had left Nagato's mind reeling.
"There's no need to rush your reply, young man," Naruto said, waving a hand dismissively. He then pressed his advantage. "I have waited this long. I don't mind waiting a little longer. If you come to a decision, contact me. And I will lend you my strength."
"But... how do I contact you?" Nagato began, his thoughts already thoroughly diverted by Naruto's calculated performance.
"I've already memorized 'your' chakra," Naruto said, his gaze seeming to pierce through the Deva Path. He emphasized 'your' in a way that left no room for misinterpretation."When you are ready, unleash your full power. I will come."
He'd seen through him. He knew Pain was just a puppet. 'As expected of someone who had lived for ages.' Further away, the real Nagato nodded to himself, his certainty growing.
"Elder..." Pain's voice, usually devoid of emotion, carried a rare hint of respect. "Then... how should I address you?"
"Me? I'm just a remnant of a bygone era," Naruto said quietly. "A name is just a label. You can just call me Uzumaki."
"Uzumaki..." Pain's eyes drifted to Karin, to her clan's signature red hair and the dense bite marks covering her arm. A sudden realization dawned on him.
'When the Land of Whirlpools fell, there were hardly any Uzumaki left,' Nagato reasoned. 'This girl must have been captured by Kusagakure. No wonder he destroyed the entire village. It was retribution.'
It was a logic he understood. He had done the same to Hanzo and all he represented.
'Still,' he wondered, 'if he is so powerful, why did the Uzushiogakure fall in the first place?'
As if seeing through Nagato's thoughts, Naruto's voice came. "Longevity... doesn't come without a price."
'Was he restricted for some reason back then? That made sense.'
Seeing that the old man had no intention of explaining further, Nagato filled in the blanks himself and didn't press the issue. "Why would you help me? Is it because of these eyes?"
"That's just one reason," Naruto paused, turning his head in another direction.
At that moment, a shiver ran down Nagato's spine. The direction Naruto was looking was precisely where his real body was hidden. 'My location had been seen through. Even with his supposed restrictions, he is terrifyingly powerful.'
Naruto continued, "After all, you're one of my clansmen too."
Naruto Uzumaki and Nagato Uzumaki were indeed from the same clan.
"There aren't many of our clan left in this world."
'Clansmen...' This was the first time Nagato had been called that. If he had this man's help... For the first time in a long time, Nagato's unshakable heart began to stir. Compared to the masked man claiming to be Madara Uchiha, this Elder from his own clan felt infinitely more trustworthy.
'If Obito could pass himself off as Madara,' Naruto thought with slight smirk under the mask, 'then why couldn't I create an ancient Uzumaki of my own?'
He was the 'incarnation' of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Spreading chaos and misinformation was practically in his nature. Besides, a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki joining Akatsuki made a certain kind of sense. The group's stated goal was to use the Tailed Beasts to create a weapon that could enforce peace. The Ten-Tails was Obito and Madara's goal, not Akatsuki's original one. A Jinchuriki willingly joining them didn't conflict with their mission at all.
As Naruto and Karin vanished into the sky, Pain turned to Kakuzu, his tone graver than ever. "Not a word of this gets out."
"I don't waste my time on pointless things," Kakuzu replied flatly. "My silence is guaranteed."
'Of course,' he thought, 'prying into the leader's secrets would cost extra, cost might even be my life. Some things are not worth it.'
--**--**
Narrator:
Naruto just gaslit Nagato into believing he's a mythical boomer murder-wizard... and it worked?!
Nagato find's 'Elder Uzumaki' more trustworthy than Obito claiming to be Madara, the real question is, compared to Obito who isn't trustworthy?
Naruto: 'War is bad.' Also Naruto: nukes an entire village as a message. Is that irony or just good marketing?
They say you can't spell 'philosophy of peace through war' without Pain... and like 50,000 civilian casualties.
This guy's name is Pain and he's getting schooled in emotional manipulation? Now he knows true pain.
Next time on The Talk-no-Jutsu That Broke the Pain Barrier: "Nagato updates his resume. Kakuzu debates inflation. And Naruto? Naruto invents a second fake identity just to mess with Obito."
===============
Dear Readers and Fans,
For those eager to dive into next chapters earlier before others, I invite you to join us on Patreon. By becoming our Patron, you not only gain access to exclusive advanced chapters but also help us continue this endeavour and expand it further.
https://www.pat reon.com/8Ashes8
(no space)
You can read upto 7 Chapters in advance.