Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 427 Future

"...Before that, let me talk about something else."

Menma did not immediately answer Nagato's question about "purpose," but instead chose to start with a topic that was closer to Nagato's starting point of understanding.

"Your plan is to capture all the Tailed Beasts and create the ultimate weapon capable of destroying nations. Then, instead of using it to conquer directly, you will launch a controlled but brutal war. Let the world taste enough pain through real sacrifice and destruction, thus instilling a deep-seated fear of war itself. Use this fear as a deterrent to forcibly suppress the ambitions and conflicts of various nations, in exchange for a period of... relative peace and respite."

"This is the answer you came to after personally experiencing the tragic deaths of your parents, the loss of your dearest friends, and the devastation of your country by war. Use greater pain to cover up and suppress those scattered, continuous pains."

Nagato wasn't surprised that the other party knew his plan, but being told it so clearly and calmly still made him feel a chilling sense of being completely dissected.

True peace... simply doesn't exist.

Nagato's voice was hoarse, "As long as humanity exists, desire, greed, fear; misunderstanding... these will continue to breed fertile ground for hatred. In this cursed, cyclical world, the pursuit of lasting peace is itself a delusion."

"Yes, that's right."

To Nagato and Konan's surprise, Menma not only did not refute, but nodded in agreement with Nagato's pessimistic conclusion.

"It's impossible." He repeated, his tone calm, devoid of sarcasm. "So what you truly desire deep down is never some eternal utopia, but merely... a hundred years. To forcibly extort a hundred years of peace from this world using the power of God."

"As for a hundred years from now... when the deterrent fades with time, when new hatred quietly accumulates in the warm bed of peace, when future generations gradually forget the fear of 'divine punishment'... what will the world be like?"

"Unless humanity completely abandons its biological instincts of desire and selfishness, the cycle of war is almost inevitable. No one can guarantee what will happen in the future."

Nagato remained silent. This was a clear understanding of the ultimate limitations of his own path, a understanding he had never fully expressed even to Konan, deep within his heart.

He can only be responsible for "the present," for gaining a period of "time," but cannot promise "forever."

"However," Menma changed the subject, focusing back on himself, "I cannot guarantee what will happen in the future, but there is one thing that I can at least do within my power."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, his fingers gripping the edge of the fox mask on his face, a mask that symbolized mystery and intimidation.

This action caused Nagato and Konan to hold their breath simultaneously.

The mask was slowly removed.

For the first time, the dim light of the enclosed room shone unobstructed onto the face hidden beneath it.

He had short, slightly messy, golden hair, a youthful face, and deep blue eyes. Deep within his pupils, there were faint, star-like glimmers of light.

This face...

That face!!

Nagato's deep-set Rinnegan pupils contracted to their maximum size in an instant! His body, withered from long-term exhaustion, shuddered violently.

Xiao Nan's usually aloof face was now filled with undisguised shock and confusion. She stared intently at that excessively young face.

"You...you are...!!"

Nagato's voice was filled with utter disbelief. This was more dizzying than his defeat, or the annihilation of all Six Paths of Pain, that it felt like the very foundation of his understanding had been overturned.

Naruto Uzumaki.

The son of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, another disciple of Jiraiya's teacher... and also the Nine-Tails' vessel that the Akatsuki organization planned to capture.

"No...this can't be...it doesn't make any sense!" Nagato's voice trembled as she tried to find a logical flaw. "Time, strength, identity...you can't be him!"

Despite the almost overflowing shock and doubt from the two, Naruto remained calm. He didn't rush to explain how he could be both "Naruto" and "Menma," but instead steered the conversation in a different direction.

"The Sage of Six Paths spread the concept of chakra and its training methods throughout the world. His initial wish was that people could use chakra energy to deepen their connection, understanding, and communication with each other, thereby eliminating conflict and moving towards peace."

"It's a beautiful ideal, isn't it?" Naruto's tone was neither praising nor criticizing, but simply stating a fact. "But chakra, this power that changed the entire world... the Sage of Six Paths was not its source, nor was he the first to possess it."

He paused briefly, giving himself time to process the information, before throwing out that term that was enough to overturn all common sense.

"The Otsutsuki clan."

"This is the true source of the Sage of Six Paths' bloodline, the race to which he... and these Rinnegan truly belong." Naruto's gaze swept meaningfully over Nagato's purple Rinnegan. "A race... from a distant starry sky."

"...Wh...what?!" Nagato uttered a few words with difficulty, his mind almost frozen. The starry sky? A race? This was completely beyond his understanding of the history of the ninja world and the source of his own power.

"Let's go back several thousand years. Back then, there was no chakra, no ninjas, no ninjutsu. All the chakra in the world—except for the 'external' energy that I've drawn and stored from other planets over the past few years—all pointed to the same person."

"Kaguya Otsutsuki".

"Wait a minute!" Konan couldn't help but interrupt, her reason resisting this far-fetched story. "What are you talking about?! Kaguya Otsutsuki... isn't that the goddess of the rabbit in mythology?! That's just a story!"

"If that's just a myth, why does Nagato possess the Rinnegan, also known as the 'Sage's Eye'?"

"!!!"

Konan was struck dumb, frozen in place. Yes… if the Rinnegan is just a legend, then what are Nagato's eyes?

Jiraiya once wondered why Nagato was able to awaken those eyes that only existed in legends at a young age... They once thought it was a choice of fate, proof of being a "child of prophecy".

"...I...I'll just get straight to the point." Seeing the two of them fall into a silence of cognitive shock, Naruto decided to stop beating around the bush.

"In that distant era, Kaguya Otsutsuki, who possessed and controlled all the chakra of this planet, ruled the world with absolute power. Her two children—Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths' true name, and his brother Hamura Otsutsuki—could not accept their mother's actions and ultimately joined forces to seal away their mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki."

"And the reason Kaguya was sealed away..." Naruto's voice deepened, "was because she tried to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, dragging all of humanity into an eternal dream, and ultimately... transforming them into a kind of monster soldier called 'White Zetsu,' without self-awareness and only obeying orders."

"Infinite Tsukuyomi... the Eye of the Moon Plan..." Nagato murmured, repeating the two words. Obito Uchiha had once described the blueprint for the "Eye of the Moon" to him—a dream that would plunge the entire world into an illusion and achieve "eternal peace." But...

"Did Obito and Zetsu tell you... No, Obito didn't know at all either."

Naruto stared intently into Nagato's eyes. "When the light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi envelops the world, when everyone is immersed in a beautiful dream... their bodies will gradually be transformed by the roots of the Divine Tree. When they 'awaken,' they will no longer be human, but thousands upon thousands of White Zetsu, devoid of emotion and thought, who will only obey orders."

Nagato and Konan were completely stunned, their faces drained of color. The "Eye of the Moon" described by Obito Uchiha was a perfect world without pain, only happiness, the ultimate peace.

He never mentioned... transformation, nor did he ever say anything about "White Zetsu"!

What Naruto was talking about was no longer just a "flawed plan," but a complete and utter... world-destroying hoax!

The information was too shocking, too bizarre, to be proven by any "evidence." Logically, they had absolutely no reason to believe in an enemy whose identity was shrouded in mystery and who had just destroyed everything they had.

However… combined with the level of power Naruto displayed, which was completely beyond common sense, combined with his thorough knowledge of the details of his own plan, combined with the illogical appearance of the two Rinnegan… a chilling coldness shot up from his spine and tailbone, instantly spreading throughout his entire body.

He had no reason to deceive two prisoners who were already trapped in a cage on this matter. It would only complicate the subsequent "negotiations" or "disposal."

"It's strange, isn't it?" Naruto continued his narration, "Why would Kaguya Otsutsuki, the progenitor of chakra and possessing near-invincible power, suddenly decide to turn all the humans under her rule into monsters called White Zetsu?"

Instead of waiting for an answer, he offered an even more chilling conclusion of his own.

"Perhaps... we should feel 'lucky'?"

His gaze swept over Nagato and Konan, who were still in a state of great shock.

"You know, although humans are constantly embroiled in internal conflicts, there have indeed been times in history when they were able to temporarily set aside their hatred and unite as one."

Nagato's withered body trembled slightly as a terrifying thought gradually surfaced in his chaotic mind. "You mean..."

Naruto looked at his reaction and slowly nodded, confirming his guess.

"That's right."

"That is—when faced with a common enemy that threatens the very survival of the entire race."

Naruto dropped the final and most impactful message.

"The Otsutsuki clan is an aggressive race that is rooted in the starry sky, constantly traversing between different planets, plundering life energy and chakra fruits."

"Kaguya Otsutsuki was originally sent to this planet to plant the Divine Tree and harvest its fruits. However, she betrayed her clan, secretly ate the Chakra Fruit, gained power, and wanted to take this place for herself."

"Her people will never let the traitor go, nor will they abandon this planet that has already borne abundant chakra fruit."

"...It will probably take about twenty years."

"Those real Otsutsuki from beyond the stars are about to arrive on this planet."