"Make the world experience pain, then use that pain to prevent war. What a great idea."
Uchiha Sasuke's eyes lit up.
The more he thought about it, the more sense it made.
He certainly didn't have the power to do that now, but what about in the future?
If he reached the level of his future self, wouldn't he have a chance?
Overwhelming power was clearly the best way to intimidate everyone into submission. Who cared about mutual understanding? Beat them until they surrendered. Then they would understand whether they wanted to or not.
That was the proper way to do things.
Uchiha Sasuke clearly possessed the same stubbornness shared by the rest of the Uchiha Clan. Once he accepted an idea, he would pursue it relentlessly.
More importantly, he only respected strength.
The words of someone stronger than him were worth considering.
Anyone weaker than him was merely weak, and their opinion meant little.
Nagato's words had opened an entirely new path before him.
As long as someone was strong enough, there was nothing they couldn't accomplish.
"You claim that my peace is false, but in this cursed shinobi world, nothing is more false than the belief that people can understand one another."
Nagato continued speaking in the video.
He ignored Uzumaki Naruto's Talk Release.
Nagato had originally wanted to hear Naruto's profound answer, but it was obvious that Naruto had nothing meaningful to offer on this subject either.
"The only thing you can do is surrender the Nine-Tails to me. I told you before. Your death will bring peace."
After speaking, Deva Path Pain drove black rods through Uzumaki Naruto and pinned him to the ground.
He deliberately avoided Naruto's vital organs to keep him from dying on the spot.
If a Jinchuriki died, the Tailed Beast sealed inside would die as well. No one knew how many years it would take for the beast to be reborn.
Pain's Chakra flowed through the black rods, preventing Naruto from using his own Chakra.
Just as Naruto's fighting spirit began to fade, Shima suddenly leaped forward.
"Pull yourself together, kid! No matter what this man says, you can't believe him! You are the Child of Prophecy, the savior of this world. Jiraiya and Pa both believed that with all their hearts. They gave their lives for that belief, so you are not allowed to lose! If you die here, I will never forgive you!"
The moment she finished speaking, Deva Path Pain blasted her away with Shinra Tensei.
"Annoying frog. It is time to take you with me."
Just as Nagato prepared to leave with Uzumaki Naruto, a figure charged onto the battlefield.
No one had expected anyone to intervene when everyone else was too afraid to move.
"It's Hinata!"
Uchiha Sasuke never imagined that the person who stepped forward would be Hinata rather than Sakura Haruno.
Hinata's position in Konoha was roughly comparable to Sasuke's former status.
One was the son of the Uchiha Clan's leader. The other was the Clan Heiress of the Hyuga Clan's Main House.
Yet the difference between them was enormous.
Uchiha Sasuke had ranked first in his class from childhood until graduation.
Hyuga Hinata, by contrast, had always faded into the background.
She barely had any presence in class and couldn't be compared to him at all.
There had been plenty of gossip about her at the Ninja Academy.
After all, she failed to match anyone's image of how the Hyuga Clan's Clan Heiress should behave. Naturally, many people talked about her behind her back.
Hatake Kakashi was equally shocked.
He didn't know Hyuga Hinata very well, but he at least knew she was the Hyuga Clan's Clan Heiress.
He had also heard that Hyuga Hiashi was deeply dissatisfied with his eldest daughter. He had never officially decided whether Hyuga Hinata or Hyuga Hanabi would inherit leadership of the Hyuga Clan.
As the elder sister, Hyuga Hinata should naturally have become the next leader of the Main House, while the younger Hyuga Hanabi should have entered the Branch House.
That was exactly what had happened to Hyuga Hiashi and his younger brother.
Hiashi had become part of the Main House simply because he had been born a few minutes earlier. His brother had done nothing wrong, yet he had still been forced into the Branch House.
But in this generation, the positions of Main House and Branch House had yet to be decided.
That fact alone revealed a great deal.
The clan might even pass over Hyuga Hinata entirely and choose Hyuga Hanabi instead.
Kakashi had crossed paths with Hyuga Hinata several times during missions.
She was exactly as the rumors described, shy and unable to look others in the eye.
For someone like her to charge onto the battlefield now was completely beyond his expectations.
"My wife!"
The moment Seventh Hokage Naruto saw Hinata appear, nostalgia and pain flashed through his eyes.
Only he truly knew what was about to happen.
"Why did you come out here? Run! You're no match for him!"
Uzumaki Naruto hurriedly shouted.
"This is my own decision. I came here of my own free will. This time, I want to help you, Naruto-kun. I used to do nothing but cry. I gave up before I even began, and I nearly lost my way so many times. But you always guided me back to the right path. I was always chasing after you, always trying to catch up. I wanted to walk beside you. You changed me. Your smile changed me. So if it means protecting you, I'm not afraid to die."
"Because I… Because I love you, Naruto!"
The sudden confession nearly threw out everyone's back.
Until that moment, none of them had imagined the situation was like this.
"So that's how it is. Hehehe."
Namikaze Minato broke into a wide grin, looking every bit like an overjoyed aunt watching a romance unfold.
It proved his son was outstanding.
There had been a girl quietly loving him all this time.
"Hahahaha! So that's what's going on. This young lady has excellent taste."
Jiraiya couldn't stop himself from laughing either.
Only Uchiha Sasuke remained frozen.
Wait. Was this right?
Of course, Sasuke had been immensely popular at school since childhood, so he was used to girls liking him.
He simply hadn't expected the Dead Last from their class to experience something like this too.
Before anyone could think further, Hyuga Hinata tried to break the black rods pinning Uzumaki Naruto down.
The next second, Shinra Tensei sent her flying.
"Boom!"
The difference between her strength and Deva Path Pain's was far too great.
Every time she tried to approach him, he blasted her away.
Even so, she refused to give up.
She activated the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, a technique taught only to members of the Hyuga Clan's Main House, and charged again.
Nagato suddenly coughed up blood.
Hinata seized the brief lapse in his control over Deva Path Pain and knocked away one of the black rods.
But Deva Path Pain immediately recovered and blasted her back once more.
Her body flew high into the air before slamming heavily into the ground.
"Hinata!"
Seventh Hokage Naruto clenched his teeth.
He had known this was coming.
He also knew she would ultimately survive.
Even so, seeing the woman he loved suffer such a brutal attack made his eyes turn red in an instant.
When had he first begun to like Hinata and accept her feelings?
It was probably around this moment.
After being blasted away, Hinata struggled to rise.
She stumbled toward Naruto, falling again and again with every few steps.
In the end, she managed to crawl to Uzumaki Naruto's side.
"I don't understand," Pain said calmly. "Why would someone with so little power oppose me? Why fight when you know you will die?"
[Of course you don't understand, you hopeless bachelor. A wife is saving her husband. What right does a single man like you have to object? You couldn't even win Konan over!]
Kaede Kitahara's comment appeared.
The phrase about a wife saving her husband left everyone stunned.
"That girl becomes Naruto's wife in the future?"
Namikaze Minato froze for a moment before smiling.
This daughter-in-law was wonderful.
When the critical moment arrived, she hadn't retreated. She had stepped forward and stood beside Naruto.
Minato had once worried that his son's blunt and oblivious personality might leave him with no one who liked him and no wife in the future.
Now he no longer needed to worry.
Namikaze Minato suddenly remembered something else.
When Kaede Kitahara had visited their timeline, he had transformed into the appearance of Minato's future grandson and granddaughter.
His granddaughter, Uzumaki Himawari, had clearly possessed the Byakugan.
The Byakugan was a Kekkei Genkai unique to the Hyuga Clan.
It obviously couldn't have come from the Namikaze side, which meant Himawari's mother had to be a member of the Hyuga Clan.
Everything matched.
So his future daughter-in-law was the Hyuga Clan's Clan Heiress?
How had Naruto convinced such a rigid clan to let one of their daughters marry outside the family?
Namikaze Minato knew a fair amount about the two great dōjutsu clans.
The Uchiha Clan occasionally married outsiders.
The Hyuga Clan, however, almost exclusively married within the clan to preserve the purity of their bloodline.
They wanted to avoid ending up like the Uchiha Clan, where generations of mixed blood meant only a small number of clan members could awaken the Sharingan.
Almost every member of the Hyuga Clan could awaken the Byakugan, though there were still enormous differences in strength between users.
"Hopeless bachelor? Who are you insulting?"
Everyone cursed inwardly.
Aside from Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Naruto, who among the people watching the diary wasn't single?
Kaede Kitahara's comment felt like an attack on all of them.
"Hopeless bachelor? Brat, aren't you single too?"
Tsunade couldn't resist firing back.
In the video, Hyuga Hinata answered the hopeless bachelor Uzumaki Nagato's question.
"Never go back on my word, and never give up. That is my ninja way."
Uzumaki Naruto watched as Hinata was lifted high into the air and smashed violently into the ground.
His mind went completely blank.
All he could hear was Nagato's voice whispering like a demon.
"Yes. This is exactly how it should be. My parents were murdered before my eyes by shinobi from Konoha. Where there is love, sacrifice is born. Hatred is born. Only then can one understand pain."
"Yes. Know pain."
"Do you hate me?"
Deva Path Pain spoke calmly, almost expectantly.
But Uzumaki Naruto could no longer hear him.
His mind was completely empty.
What was that bastard rambling about?
Naruto's pupils instantly transformed into those of a beast.
The power of the Nine-Tails erupted from his body, releasing a terrifying pressure as violent winds surged outward in wave after wave.
Nine-Tails, Tailed Beast Mode!