CHAPTER 673: NARUTO‘S MOUTH

"Sorry, Senpai, this is my fault!"

"I couldn’t protect Amegakure. I couldn’t keep my promise to you..." Naruto bowed his head dejectedly, apologizing sincerely.

In the face of Amegakure’s ruins, even the Seventh Hokage’s strongest jutsu—his silver tongue—was useless. This time, he was struck by the boomerang of history, the grand promise he made in the past.

Because the current him couldn’t fulfill it.

No matter how painful the slap from the past was, Naruto could only endure it, with no right to make a fuss.

"I don’t blame you."

"I know you wanted to change all this, but you didn’t succeed, right?"

"It’s just like me and Yahiko back then..." Nagato truly didn’t blame Naruto, but he had lost faith in Naruto’s convictions.

After all, it was Konoha and various nations in the past that harmed Amegakure, not Naruto himself. And Naruto had been kind to Amegakure—or rather, kind to everyone.

But a promise that couldn’t be kept was, in itself, a form of passive deception. Nagato didn’t blame Naruto. He only blamed himself for believing in the grand promise of a passionate youth and not taking control of his village’s future into his own hands.

So, after witnessing Amegakure’s future with his own eyes, Nagato changed all his resolve, deciding to personally protect Amegakure!

To personally unify the world!

To personally change the future!

"Sorry, Senpai..." Naruto felt even more ashamed, his face burning.

"No need. Apologies are meaningless. Weren’t you shocked earlier about why I destroyed Konoha?"

"Because I’ve decided to personally protect Amegakure’s future and unify the world!" Nagato answered honestly, addressing Naruto’s confusion.

"What?!!! Unify the entire world?"

"Senpai, you didn’t just destroy Konoha, but all the nations and villages?" Naruto was shocked again, his jaw nearly dropping.

In his understanding, the world was supposed to be dominated by the Five Great Nations and Five Great Villages to maintain peace.

How could the world be unified? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

"Yes! In my world, the entire world is now under the rule of the Amegakure Empire."

"What about Konoha’s ninjas?"

"They’ve all submitted, and there weren’t many casualties, so you don’t need to worry."

"Thank goodness!" Naruto sighed in relief, finally hearing some decent good news.

"But Senpai, if you’ve unified the world, then Obito, Uchiha Madara, and Princess Kaguya..."

"You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll find a way to handle them myself."

"But unifying the world like that would cause many casualties, right? And even if it succeeds, it can’t guarantee eternal peace, can it?"

"Oh? So you think we should stick to the Five Great Nations pattern like in your world, letting your great nations keep oppressing smaller ones? Letting tragedies like Amegakure repeat?"

"That’s not what I meant! I just—"

"Or what? Do you want to oppose me? Or stop me?"

"No, that’s not it either... Whatever happens in your world won’t affect mine, right?"

"It shouldn’t."

"Then I can’t possibly stop you. I just think violence can’t solve everything. Only through mutual understanding can long-term peace be maintained..." Naruto’s voice grew quieter.

The longer he spoke, the less confident he felt. After all, in the decade-plus since the Fourth Great Ninja War, though the Five Great Nations openly maintained peace, small-scale battles and proxy wars never stopped in secret, far from the peace Naruto dreamed of. Especially in the last two years, they kept him constantly busy dealing with them.

Coupled with facing political intrigues and deceptions among nations, Naruto had moments of despair toward reality. It was only thanks to his family and friends’ support that he continued fulfilling his Hokage duties well.

Thus, using the current world’s pattern to advise Nagato made Naruto increasingly uncertain.

"Discussing this is pointless. The path I’ve chosen, I’ll stick to it!"

"And at least my village won’t be reduced to ruins again."

"Eventually, reality will prove whose choice and path are better, superior..." Nagato had no intention of continuing to argue with Naruto’s mouth.

It was useless and might even shake his resolve. The best way was to avoid discussing these matters with Naruto, directly cutting off the possibility of his mouth jutsu.

"Alright."

Naruto nodded helplessly. As someone who broke his promise, he indeed didn’t have much face to keep advising Nagato. The fiery words he spoke back then, he couldn’t fulfill.

Now, no matter how beautifully he spoke, Nagato probably wouldn’t listen, right? Oh well, he still had plenty of his own problems—where would he find time to think about others’ choices?

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"But Naruto, why do you look so roughed up? Did you encounter a strong enemy?" Nagato noticed Naruto’s poor condition and deliberately probed further.

"I met someone named Jigen. He’s incredibly strong. Even Sasuke and I together were no match for him!"

"Jigen? Oh, that guy..."

"You know him, Senpai?"

"I just met him, and coincidentally saw him get defeated..."

"Who? Who else could defeat Jigen?"

"Your father..."

"What?!!!"

ミﾟДﾟ彡

Naruto felt like all the shocks in his life didn’t compare to today’s. He knew his father was strong, but defeating someone as powerful as Jigen? Impossible.

That was a tough guy who could go toe-to-toe with Six Paths Madara! No matter how strong his father was, he couldn’t possibly beat him, right?

"How could that be? When did Tou-san fight Jigen? And win?!"

"Jigen is just an outer vessel. Otsutsuki Isshiki is the true mastermind controlling him. As for how your father defeated him, it’s a bit complicated..." Nagato was about to explain a little when Lux suddenly interrupted.

"Enough, this meeting ends here."

"Nagato, you can return now."

Lux’s purpose in bringing Nagato to meet Naruto was achieved: to stimulate Naruto’s convictions, make him realize the truth of time travel, and erode his misguided belief in the Five Great Nations pattern as a guideline.

Now that the goal was met, there was no need to let Nagato explain further. Revealing too much to Naruto of Parallel World 7 at once wasn’t good, especially since Lux hadn’t decided to choose Naruto and Konoha in this world.

"Understood." Nagato nodded, saying no more.

If Lux needed him, he wouldn’t mind coming to meet Naruto again. Besides, his world had just completed unification, and he had many matters to handle, so he didn’t have time to linger.

"Wait, you’re leaving already? Senpai—"

Before Naruto could finish, Six Paths Nagato vanished, sent back to World 5 by Lux.

"Lord, Senpai?"

"He’s returned to his own time."

"Oh, alright..." Naruto clicked his tongue and sighed. This rare cross-time meeting with Nagato, though exciting and motivating, also left him ashamed. After all, Naruto rarely disappointed anyone in his life, and Nagato was one of the few he let down. Facing Nagato, Naruto had no strong confidence. This was one of the rare times his mouth jutsu truly failed.

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Lux sighed from a distance at Naruto’s head, snapping him out of his daze: "Alright, you understand the general situation, right?"

"I do."

"Then let’s talk about why I came to find you."

"Lord, please speak." Naruto, now much more mature, steadied his mind, getting serious.

A Sennin who could time-travel sought him out deliberately—it couldn’t be without reason. Just like when Great-Grandfather Hagoromo found him to protect the world and seal Kaguya. Most likely, this Tenshou Sennin had a difficult mission for him to complete.

And just the kindness of that one meal was enough to make Naruto deeply grateful. As long as it wasn’t an outrageous request, he was ready to agree immediately.

"I’m fed up with the constant chaos and conflicts in the world. I want to find a leader, a force, to thoroughly unify the entire world!"

"What?!!!"

Naruto froze, then quickly realized.

"Like Nagato-senpai?"

"Yes."

"So, Lord, you want to choose me and Konoha to complete this unification?"

"Yes."

Naruto immediately showed a troubled expression, hesitating:

"This... unification, does it mean destroying all other villages and nations? Including the Fire Country?"

"Correct!"

With Lux’s firm answer, Naruto grew even more tense and worried. If it were any other request, he wouldn’t blink; but this crazy demand to unify the world was too big!

Too terrifying!

So much so that Naruto felt he couldn’t control it at all. More importantly, he had no ambition or motivation to unify the world!

"Lord, I might not be able to do this..." Naruto answered hollowly, only able to refuse.

Lux didn’t rush, continuing:

"Don’t be hasty. Listen to the help I’ll offer you."

"As long as you’re willing to lead Konoha to complete world unification, everything else is manageable."

"I can help you deal with the powerful Jigen; I can help destroy the entire Kara organization; I can even let you meet your parents; I can even fully revive Jiraiya-sensei..."

"And my only request is one: complete world unification and achieve long-term peace!"

With such tempting conditions laid out, even Naruto couldn’t help but be swayed.

His heart raced uncontrollably, urging him to agree immediately. If he did, all his current problems would be easily resolved!

The invincible Jigen could be handled effortlessly! Even the lifelong regret he felt—Tenshou Sennin could help him make up for it!

He wouldn’t even need to sacrifice Konoha’s interests, and he could achieve all this perfectly.

Both logic and emotion frantically urged Naruto to agree!

Naruto lowered his head, silent for a long time, so tempted that his fists clenched tightly, even turning white!

Lux didn’t press, just waited calmly.

After who knows how long...

Naruto finally raised his head firmly, looked into Lux’s eyes, and gave his final answer:

"Sorry, I still refuse!"

Clearly, even with his mouth jutsu, Naruto ultimately failed!