Chapter 158: Pain relief

"Pain for the world..." The sun shone brightly on the world. The eyes of god looked at the target, looked at those beings who must be judged. And then, all was silent for a second. His voice resounded again... "Shinra Tensei [Almighty Push]."

A loud rumbling could be heard from miles away. Dust began to rise like a giant cloud of death, and in the midst of it all, Toru had closed his eyes, folding his arms, waiting for it all to end. However, for some reason, a fleeting memory from his childhood flashed into his mind.

***

"Hey, Toru-chan. do you like our home? I love Konohagakure, it's peaceful and I know a lot of people. Although I think it should be bigger if you get to have a little brother someday. It would be a lot of fun, don't you think?" The woman, with black hair and eyes of the same color, smiled as she imagined such a future. Just seeing her little Toru acting like a big brother filled her heart with happiness.

Though for little Toru this was not the same. "I don't know. I've never thought about it. I guess I don't care much about that..."

"Oh... I see..."

Kyoko's smile turned into a slight expression of sadness. This boy... he was always so insensitive.

***

Again he opened his eyes. The rumbling stopped and the smoke began to settle. He looked around and realized that Pain had descended to the ground again.

With his eyes, he could see that strangely enough, life still lingered in this destroyed village. This was Tsunade's doing. Still, it was of no consequence to him, who kept his arms folded and descended quickly a little away from where Pain was.

'There is powerful chakra in this village. It has just arrived..."

The Senjutsu allowed him to sense that person's chakra. That person was accompanied by different masses of chakra connected to nature. And it was obvious the identity of that person, after all that guy always attracts attention.

'You're just in time, Naruto. Although... I'm not sure what exactly is going to happen. I can't see anything, just feel the chakra at this distance.'

"Who's that?" a female voice was heard near where Toru was standing.

A male voice took over answering that question. "It's Naruto..."

Toru could tell that one of those people was Haruno Sakura and the other a Hyūga survivor. But since this was no longer any of his business, he remained silent with his arms crossed. Now he just wanted to see how Nagato would end this Chaos that has been caused.

-Outside of Konoha-

"Why do you take this kind of risk, Nagato? You know this will shorten your life" She heard the rumbling and understood what had happened. Pain had used the Shinra Tensei on a much larger scale. This involved large amounts of chakra, which at the same time kept high risks on the user.

"To carry out my vision of justice. Only then will the world understand my pain and they will be able to advance to a new world."

"I see..." Konan no longer responded. Her body began to spread out in the form of sheets of paper as she thought seriously about this.

Meanwhile, the Animal Path nodded along with the other Paths and then clasped their hands together. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" they were all surrounded by a large cloud of smoke that carried them back to Konoha.

***

'So that was, uh...' Okaminaru guessed, but she wasn't sure until the moment that rumble shook everything. The girls behind her seemed to have noticed it as well, but with her blocking their way, it would be impossible for Ino or Hinata to go to Konoha. Now they only had to wait for Toru to give the signal and Okaminaru could free them.

"I don't like this at all. It's annoying not being able to do anything."

Ino was impatient as were Hinata and Hanabi. However, their hopes were on Toru's decision later.

-Konoha-

'It's already started...' After Tsunade tried to face Pain, Naruto intervened by destroying the Asura Road and vowing to wipe Pain off the face of the earth. It all happened so fast, in just a few seconds.

"That's amazing, Naruto wiped out one of those guys!" That man, with his Byakugan active, managed to see everything perfectly. At the same time, Sakura felt more relieved, but inevitably thought that something could go wrong at any moment.

***

'Naruto... He has managed to master senjutsu in such a short time. And that it took me months to be able to sense the chakra of the world' Of course, Toru didn't have a sealed Bijū inside him. The only thing that helped him from turning into a wolf during training was the large amount of chakra he acquired from implanting Yamato cells into his body.

Even seeing the performance of such a well-executed Senjutsu made Toru feel a bit disappointed in himself.

After this, the battle continued to unfold for five more minutes.

'Using clones to obtain a longer-lasting Sennin Mōdo is a great idea, but at the same time it is detrimental. If your chakra is split into different bodies, you will get less chakra from nature and less original chakra from your body. 'Well, this is something that does work for Naruto' Despite his blindness, he could distinguish the fight by his chakra perception and the Shigan.

If the fight went well, Naruto would get the victory. And such it seemed would be the case, as four of the Six Paths of Pain had been defeated. Only the Preta Path and the Deva Path remained.

'Underestimate Naruto. He is stronger and smarter than he always appeared. He used his senjutsu to kill the Preta Path... What will you do now, Nagato? You have no options left...'

Other than Myōbokuzan's strongest big toads being defeated by a Shinra Tensei, Naruto found himself alone together with Fukasaku and his wife. Only the Deva Path, the one with the most dangerous power of the Six Paths, remained.

Fukasaku and his wife were charging that auditory genjutsu they used that night. It was already finishing, all that was left to do was to perform it. Basically, Pain was cornered, he had no way to defend himself. No, that's not true.

"Banshō Ten'in" Pain's emotionless voice echoed and Fukasaku was drawn in by the unknown force of the Deva Path. Naruto noticed that Pain pulled out a wand from the sleeve of his robe and immediately tried to stop him from stabbing Fukasaku, but....

Splash! "I've had enough of your illusions" Blood began to drip from the wound that made its way into Fukasaku's abdomen. He felt all his chakra being sucked out and slowly began to close his eyes. In the distance, his wife screamed, but that scream slowly faded from his mind. "You were a worthy opponent."

"You bastard!" Naruto charged a punch at Pain, but Pain threw at Fukasaku to distract him.

"Banshō Ten'in" and lured Naruto with his power, then grabbed him by the neck and smashed him to the ground. Again blood splattered after that. Naruto's eyes widened as he realized that his chakra was starting to leave his body. He had both hands impaled against the ground because of that metal rod that was slowly stealing his chakra. "This should be enough to calm you down a bit. right, Kyūbi?"

'And this is how it ends' He closed his eyes and shook his head. He had expected more from Naruto, but in the end he just did everything he could. He couldn't just ignore the fact that he almost defeated Pain. 'They seem to be talking about something. It's probably the usual speech. I think I know it by heart from listening to it so much.'

***

Peace can be achieved through pain, that is Nagato's thought which, for a child like Naruto, is hard to understand. Pain's words make Naruto doubt for the simple fact that they are the truth. Pain is not lying about it. Humanity will never be able to live together in peace, because they will never be able to understand each other. That is the absolute truth, after all, this world, like many others, is filled with hatred.

'Toru...' Nagato's voice echoed in his mind. The strong breeze of the wind caressed his face and then he turned his gaze to the girl a few meters away. Strangely he understood what Pain wanted to tell his.

Out of love comes sacrifice; out of sacrifice comes hate. Even though Toru didn't want to be involved in this anymore, he still had things to do in Akatsuki. However, the decision was in his hands.

He shook his head and the X in his eyes did a 180 degree turn. Slowly he began to approach the girl beside him. His gaze became colder than ever and they seemed to notice this.

"Asahi Toru..." Sakura hadn't noticed Toru's presence, so she inevitably became defensive. She struggled up from the ground and raised her guard.

At the same time, that man who used to take care of Hinata frowned and, like Sakura, raised his guard and braced himself. But there was no indication that Toru is going to stop, as he kept approaching with that expressionless face until....

Boom! Kō, the last man of the Hyuga clan, opened his eyes as Toru appeared beside him, grabbing Sakura by the face and smashing her to the ground.

"Damn you!" He lunged violently, but immediately felt the edge of a dagger in his neck. Behind him was a shadow clone of Toru.

"Don't move," Toru said. He returned his gaze to Sakura, who had blood coming out of her nose.

She looked at Toru and clenched her fists. This situation reminded Sasuke, too much... "Why are you doing this to us... What did we do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, but you will be victimized by the people who did" With nothing more to say, he grabbed Sakura by her hair and started dragging her in the same direction Naruto was.

"Let go of me, Toru, please!"

Toru didn't listen and kept walking, dragging Sakura without mercy or difficulty.

***

In the distance, Naruto watched as Toru dragged Sakura. His eyes widened with anger, but he couldn't move to get out of there.

"You... What have you done?"

"Out of love comes sacrifice..."

Toru arrived... he stood in front of Naruto and was silent.

"Naruto... I'm sorry..."

"Sakura-chan... Toru... you..." He put his forehead against the ground and waited until Toru said something about it.

Toru lifted Sakura by her hair with a single hand, making Sakura stare at Naruto from above. "Sakura-san... How did you kill Sasori-sensei...?" With that memory, of that person, with the information he had, that question arose in his mind.

Naruto was shocked to hear that. He looked up and Toru looked him straight in the eyes. At the same time, Sakura was weakened. The hit against the ground she received earlier left her quite dazed and she couldn't move. Tears started to fall down her cheeks because somehow she allowed this to take place.

In fear, not knowing what was going to happen....

"Please..."

"Answer my question, Sakura-san..."

"Chiyo-baa... went through-"

Splash! Without letting her finish speaking, immediately her eyes widened in shock. She looked down and there was blood there. However, that blood evaporated and the wound closed... only this time, a huge hole in her chest had formed.

"Was it like this...?"

Sakura didn't answer.

"Hm... I see" He dropped her to the ground, just inches away from where Naruto was.

As she fell, Sakura had already lost her life and Naruto could see this with wide eyes, as if he couldn't believe what he had seen. Sakura's eyes no longer had that usual sparkle, she was....

"Sakura-chan..."

And then, Pain finished saying....

"From sacrifice... hatred is born..."

...

...

...

Boom! A gigantic crimson pillar shot up into the sky. The metal bars holding Naruto to the ground disintegrated and he himself rose from the ground. His skin peeled off his body, his eyes changed and six tails showed on his lower back. The Kyūbi's ears grew on top of its head and its teeth turned into fangs.

The burst of power caused a huge wave of wind that pushed everyone backwards.

"Six tails..." Toru had never witnessed a Jinchūriki with this much power. This was beyond his fight against Utakata or Fuu. 'With this... Naruto will hate me too...' His eyes could see the gigantic mass of chakra that was Naruto. It was too powerful, something that even Toru himself couldn't overcome in his current condition.

However, after he had done it... he wondered: why did he do it in the first place? It was true that Chiyo and Sakura killed Sasori, but he perhaps got carried away by those confusing emotions that he couldn't understand clearly.

'Is this what you wanted, Nagato?' Toru turned his back on him and walked back to the surface of the crater in silence, but suddenly he heard the roar of the Kyūbi and out of the ground came one of the tails. "What the-?" Boom! At a fucking terrifying speed, the Kyūbi's tail crushed Toru. This sent him bouncing off the ground as his every bone was shattered.

He immediately lost consciousness while, still in mid-air, the Kyūbi struck him again with its tail, sending him flying away.

Pain saw this and braced himself for what was coming.

"Konan..."

***

"Yes..."

The sheets of paper in the air came together and formed a single body. Konan watched that, from the sky, the boy was falling. She stretched out her arms and with her wings, tried to cushion Toru's fall.

"How reckless..."

Toru's face fell in the middle of Konan's breasts and she hugged him gently so that he would not fall into the abyss. She saw up close the wounds the boy in a second received, what's more, his body was still in shock from the sudden attack of the Kyūbi.

His chakra ducts were shattered, his senjutsu was not fast enough to protect him. The Kyūbi was at a higher level than this boy.

-Minutes later-

"Ahhhhg...!" He woke up letting out a cry of pain. His entire body was shattered. His bones were broken and most of his muscles torn. But despite the pain his body felt, there was something soft and warm under his head.

When he opened his eyes, he watched Konan use her lap to make his head rest. Konan's hands were glowing green and her gaze looked a little worried.

"Don't move. This will make the pain less."

"As if I could move..." He looked around and saw that everything was filled with chakra. A tree made out of Konan's paper, basically.

"You received an attack from the Kyūbi that you couldn't block or dodge. Right now I caught the Kyūbi with my power [Chibaku Tensei]." A man, almost dying inside a spider-legged machine, let out a long sigh after saying this. It's Nagato.

"I know..."

Silently, Konan continued to treat Toru's wounds. 'It's strange...' Konan felt that, inside this boy's body, the bones were healing by themselves, only this time the healing was much slower than all the other times. 'What are you, Asahi Toru...' She no longer considered Toru human. Moreover, many times in the past two years he must have died on several occasions, but she was surprised to see that this boy came out of it completely unscathed.

This has happened many times and Konan can't find an explanation.

"Too bad..." Nagato sighed wearily. "The Kyūbi broke free from the Chibaku Tensei. I'll have to use more chakra."

***

"Sakura!" Rock Lee, who along with his team, just arrived in Konoha, saw Sakura's lifeless body. "She...she's..." He clenched his fists tightly as a look of hatred and tears ran down his face. "WHO WAS THE BASTARD WHO DID THIS!"

Right next to Lee, Tenten looked down at the ground. "It can't be..." Sakura had a huge hole in her chest. There was no blood, as the wound had been burned to prevent that.

And the only one who could do something like this in such a cruel way... "Toru..." Neji remembered that time during the preliminaries of the chūnin exams. That time Toru had threatened to kill him if Hinata died.

"This isn't right. Lee, calm down, please. Let's take her somewhere safe" Guy closed his eyes and looked around the village. This had gotten out of control. His beloved home was completely destroyed. 'If only we had gotten there sooner...'

Rock Lee, with tears streaming down his cheeks, carried Sakura and together with his team searched for the other survivors.

***

"That was near here."

It had been quite a while since Toru left these girls in this place. Okaminaru watched the giant sphere-shaped rock in the distance and saw the Kyūbi emerge from it. That beast gave her the creeps, maybe Okamitsuki could stand up to it, but neither Toru nor she could hurt it.

"Let us go already. Our home is under attack, we must protect it" Already tired of waiting, Hanabi faced the she-wolf again.

"I can't, Toru-dono hasn't given me the signal. When he tells me, I will release them."

"That doesn't make sense, why now Toru wants to play the hero after what he did to my father!"

Okaminaru sighed. "He's not a hero, but I assure you he doesn't want to be a villain either."

***

"Ahhhh! Cough! Cough!"

"Nagato!"

Nagato spat blood and then looked down at the ground while breathing heavily. Toru watched this from the ground next to Konan, but neither he nor she could do anything about it. Nagato's body was practically a corpse that still retained its soul.

"The last Pain has been annihilated..."

"What...?"

Konan was surprised. Uzumaki Naruto was too much for them, even for Toru. How did simply having the Sennin Mōdo make him so strong?

[The world helped its hero.]

However, this means that right now Naruto is heading to this place.

"He's sure to end up killing us all..." He got up from the ground despite his injuries. He braced his arm and walked to the exit.

"Are you going to run away?" Konan asked.

"No. It smells like blood in here, I want some fresh air" He then stuck his hands between the paper that made up the tree and made a small window. "That's better..." He stared at the smoke and dust escaping from the already destroyed Konoha. He thought again of those girls and raised his hand. 'Release...'

***

Puff. Okaminaru disappeared enveloped in a cloud of smoke. Which left Hinata and Ino somewhat surprised.

"So he... already let us off the hook..." Ino looked at Hinata, but she, like Hanabi, had a serious expression on her face.

"Let's go..." said Hinata, and Hanabi accompanied her.

Ino stood there for a few seconds and looked at the ground dejectedly. "Toru... I don't understand you... What were you looking to do with all this? How do you feel after what you did?" she felt a strange pressure in her chest. She loves Toru, but a sense of discomfort appeared every time she thought about it.

She doesn't hate him, but she can't forgive him for what he did. This time Toru has crossed the line and there is no turning back now. She has... to let that boy go.

"I hope you come to your senses on your own. We already did everything we could" followed Hinata and Hanabi after that.

***

"Here he comes. I mean, here comes Naruto. What do we do?" Toru's eyes lit up and he looked at Nagato.

"Let it happen..."

In just a few seconds, Naruto found himself in front of these three people. He glared hatefully at Nagato and Toru. He clenched his fists tightly in an attempt to suppress his urge to kill them for what they had done.

"So, now that you're in front of me. are you going to take revenge?" (Nagato)

"If you kill Nagato just for revenge, nothing will change. That will only serve to appease your anger momentarily" (Konan).

"Even that won't do, Konan. Those confusing emotions won't go away that easily" (Toru).

Naruto heard enough. Then, from the strange machine that held Nagato, a metal rod came out and embedded itself into Naruto's abdomen. However, Naruto received the attack on purpose.

"I came here to talk to you and find out one thing" Despite the pain, he looked up.

"Find out what?" (Nagato)

"I wanted to find out what it would be like to have you in front of me..."

"And?"

...

...

Naruto's eyes changed. His gaze was fierce and full of anger. His eyes were crimson and his fangs grew a little.

"I won't spare you. I can't wait to kill you."

Naruto pulled out the wand embedded in his abdomen and lunged at Nagato, but Toru appeared in front of him with all those wounds and raised his guard. Although he didn't expect Naruto stopped dead in his tracks as he looked at the ground.

"Toru... why are you trying so hard to protect him, are you brainwashed and that's why you obey this guy's orders like a dog?"

"Ha~" He lowered his guard. "I'm only on the side that gives me the most benefits. If Nagato dies, I'll lose those benefits, and even though I was forced into Akatsuki from the beginning, I feel like I belong here more than a place like Konoha."

"Are you sure of your words?" Toru didn't answer. Naruto understood now that even someone as smart as Toru didn't have an answer for this. Emotions go beyond simple intelligence, they are much more complicated than understanding mathematical formulas and chemical compounds. 'That means you're not sure of your decisions. Even I'm not such an idiot not to realize that...' he lowered his fist and looked at Nagato. 'Ero-sennin said that the day would come when everyone would come to understand each other. When he told me that, I didn't pay attention, I was just happy that he accepted me. And now I understand what he meant. It's not that simple..."

"That doesn't change the fact that you can't forgive me. Love and forgiveness are not bought with pretty words."

"Yes. You're right."

"It's too late to follow Jiraiya-sensei's ideals. Something like that isn't realistic at all. Ha~.... You said before that you would defeat me and bring peace to the world, didn't you? That's just an excuse for your selfish revenge. If this is your revenge, go ahead. But you're not god." His eyes glowed faintly amid the darkness. "Do you really believe Jiraiya-sensei's words after seeing the cruel reality?"

"Since I heard that you were Ero-sennin's apprentice, there's something I want to know."

"Say it..."

"How did you end up like this?" I don't know anything about you. So, I want to hear your story before I give you my answer."

Konan and Toru looked at each other. There was nothing they could do to defend themselves anymore. So, for the time being, they decided to trust Nagato and Naruto not to start a fight again.

***

"Something like this... How could they have done this...?"

In front of Ino, all the destruction left behind by Akatsuki's attack on Konoha was displayed. Inevitably she thought of Toru again, for he was one of those involved in this massacre. This whole place... there was nothing left. There were memories in this village, different places where she gathered together with her team, team 11, team Yamato....

The only thing she had left to remember those peaceful and beautiful moments had turned to dust.

*Drip...*

*Drip...*

"Toru... you're a fool..."

From the bottom of her heart, the last hopes she had vanished. She fell to her knees and watched the destruction with tears streaming down her face. She didn't want to believe it, but the destruction in front of her was evident.

To feel nothing about it was ridiculous, but she thought there was no longer any trace of the kind Toru she once knew.

This time even her fragile heart screamed at her that she should abandon this love... this love that hurt her so much.

After a few seconds, she got up from the floor, wiping away her tears. She frowned, showing a serious expression and ran quickly to help the wounded.

***

"The number disappeared... Did Naruto manage to manage to control the Kyūbi?"

That man looked at his hand, the number that had previously appeared was gone. He was quite confused, but still let it happen.

"What could have happened...? No, never mind. I have to go right away."

Yamato, that was him. He was in the middle of a mission together with Miroku, Anko and Sai, but suddenly, on his hand, it showed that Naruto had managed to release all six of the Kyūbi's tails and that only increased to nine, but suddenly the number disappeared, as if nothing had ever happened.

Still, with this in mind, Yamato ran as fast as he could.

***

"What's going on, Hinata, Hanabi?"

On the other side, Ino saw some familiar people next to Hinata and Hanabi. They were looking at something lying on the ground, so Ino curiously approached. However, her eyes widened in shock when she realized what it really was.

"Sakura!"

She quickly approached Sakura, not caring if she scraped her knees from throwing herself on the ground like that. There stood Guy, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Hinata and Hanabi, watching and mourning Sakura's death.

"How did this happen...who did this!"

Ino held Sakura in her arms and looked at the horrible hole she had in her chest, right where her heart should be. The wound was burned, such that it looked like this was done by a human hand. So, here was her answer....

But it was hard to believe until Lee, with a shadowed look, said, "It was Toru..."

Right there, even though she had already decided to put Toru aside, she hugged Sakura silently.

"Sakura... Sakura..."

Although in the past they were rivals fighting for the love of a boy, they were now friends and training partners. They were trained by Tsunade. Obviously the training was not easy, but they had each other to lean on. Their friendship had returned in a purer form.

She was like a sister, but now...

"Sakura..."

Hanabi and Hinata shared the same feeling. They both lost their father, Ino lost her friend. And the one responsible was Toru. If Toru wanted them to hate him, he had succeeded. The plan had gone too well, to perfection.

Ino laid Sakura's head on her lap and stroked her hair. She closed her eyes and hummed a song.

Boom! A sudden explosion brought everyone's attention. In the middle of the crater, a giant, strange thing appeared. It had the face of a samurai and a hat with the kanji for "King" painted on it. It was gigantic, and this only got worse when the strange beast opened its mouth. Hundreds of strange wraiths came out of it and soared into the sky.

The wraiths, white in color, spread across the now non-existent Konohagakure and began to enter the bodies of the deceased.

Ino looked up at this, in the sky, something passed by her and then....

"Hum... Ahhhhhg!" Sakura's cry of suffering was heard.

Ino quickly looked at her and her eyes moistened. The wound on Sakura's chest closed, and a few small drops of blood came out of her mouth.

"Sakura..."

"...Ino? I... What was I doing...? Where....!"

Without letting her speak, Ino hugged Sakura tightly. She hugged her so tightly that Sakura felt like her ribs would break.

"Sakura!" (Lee).

"What's going on?" (Tenten)

"Whatever's going on... hm... how great I am. Although it's not the right time to say it" (Guy).

'Hinata-sama... Hanabi-sama...'

The moment Sakura woke up from the dead, Hanabi and Hinata ran at an overwhelming speed. Neji didn't know where they were going, but he more or less understood why they were in such a hurry.

"Ino... it hurts..."

"Sakura... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"Why are you apologizing, Ino...? Oh, it hurts, wait. You're going to break my back."

***

His hair slowly turned white, his weak body only got paler and some beads of sweat fell from his forehead. Toru watched this in surprise... How could Naruto convince him with a book? An inevitable slight confused smile formed on his mouth. It was funny, too much...

"War causes hatred, death and pain to both sides" His breathing became heavy, as if he was trying to keep his soul inside his body. "There is nothing harder than accepting the deaths of your loved ones, let alone those who don't know war, like the people of your generation."

Toru again was surprised. This was strange, so he fell to the ground because he could barely stand. Konan went over to him and kept him from falling. She hugged him from behind and helped him to sit on the ground.

"They try to find meaning in death, but that just turns into such great pain and hatred that you don't know what to do with it..." Nagato looked up. "To die as offal, consumed by endless hatred and pain that will never heal... that's war, that's what you'll have to face from now on, Naruto..." A faint tired smile formed on his face. "Heh... that book and now you. It's like someone planned it all out beforehand, or maybe... it's the true work of a god."

Konan closed her eyes and hugged Toru burying her face in the boy's back. At the same time, the sheets of paper began to separate and slowly began to lower them, as if it was a platform....

[However, Nagato was never wrong when he said this was the work of a god. No, it's something more than that, something far beyond anyone's imagination].

"Here ends my mission. Naruto you really... are someone special..." Upon that strange machine, his eyes closed. His heart stopped beating and a soft, gentle smile hardened on his face.

The sheets of paper rose up to the sky and finally everyone was sitting on the ground.

Toru felt something at that moment. A pressure in his chest that he had felt more than once before, but never managed to understand.

'Konan... she... is crying...' He looked at the ground with that expressionless face and, after a brief three seconds, Konan stood up from the ground next to him and looked at the deceased Nagato. 'And now what will happen with all this mess...' He dropped his arms on his shoulders and sighed.

Naruto was still standing there, silent. In fact, Naruto being so silent was a little scary. But leaving that aside, Konan took it upon herself to take Nagato's corpse out of the machine, finally wrapping it in the sheets of paper. A small butterfly also appeared, accompanied by a few more carrying another corpse.

Seeing this, Toru approached Konan. "Yahiko-san... Nagato..." he clasped his hands together and said a prayer.

Konan's eyes widened slightly at this. It was very sudden for Toru to pay respect to these two deceased people.

"It's a surprise..."

"Is it? I simply thank those who gave me the opportunity to continue living with more benefits than I would have obtained being alone. I also say goodbye. Sometimes, the dead are to be respected..."

"A total surprise..."

Naruto watched these two interact and inevitably thought some things out of place, but then he felt all the strain of this fight attack him straight in the muscles. He staggered with pain throughout his body and clutched his arm tightly.

"What will happen to you two now? I'd like to think that you won't go back to Akatsuki... What will you do from now on?" (Naruto)

"I will leave Akatsuki. Yahiko and Nagato were the only thing that mattered to me" (Konan).

"I see... what about you Toru? In spite of everything, will you return to Konoha?" (Naruto)

Toru was confused by this sudden question. It was obvious that he didn't want to go back after everything he did.

"I'm going to be locked up for a long time if I go back. So, at the moment, I don't know. Maybe I'll go back to Akatsuki..." (Toru)

Konan and Naruto frowned upon hearing this.

"Or maybe I'll look for something better to do. In the end, I don't know. Yahiko-san and Nagato's dreams are Konan's alone, not mine. I guess they'll be your dreams now too, won't they, Naruto?" (Toru)

"Ha~ come closer..." (Naruto)

Though hesitantly, Toru approached and then... Bam!

"Ugh!" Droplets of blood came out of his mouth as he felt a strong punch on his abdomen. It was Naruto who did this. "I was just saying that you had made it very easy for you to forgive me..."

"Even though I forgive you at the moment, that doesn't mean I'm not still mad at you. You're such a jerk, Toru!" he trailed off and turned his back on her. "In the end, that I was able to forgive you I owe it to Ero-sennin. I'm sure he's forgiven you too... So, these dreams, these goals... I'm glad I inherited them from my sensei and his students..."

'He is a child full of surprises' In her hand, a bouquet of paper flowers formed. She approached Toru and handed it to him, making a small sign, as if to say "Give it to him" So, Toru grabbed the bouquet of flowers and stretched his hand in front of Naruto's face silently. Then Konan also approached and said, "In these confusing times, you have become the flower of hope that never withers."

After that, Toru fell down again because of how weak he was after being crushed by Naruto. So, Konan helped him and together they walked through the trees back to Amegakure.

***

A few minutes later, on the top of the trees, Toru and Konan watched all of Konoha.

'Looks like you finally got what you wanted, Naruto...' In the middle of that village, everyone celebrated Naruto. Everyone... finally accepted him....

"Aren't you coming?" (Konan)

"I don't have anywhere else to go. So, I guess I'll help you for a while..." (Toru)

To be continued...