Chapter 83 – The Butterfly Effect 蝴蝶效应

Naruto took a deep breath as he watched Lin Yuan's receding figure, then raised his head with a determined look in his eyes. He recalled the conversation he had with his father, Minato, in the spiritual space just now.

In the space bathed in warm golden light, Minato's voice had a touch of sentiment and helplessness. "Naruto, I know you're angry and in pain. But it's not just Pain who caused these tragedies. The chaotic ninja world is the real culprit. Revenge and killing just keep the suffering going."

Naruto stared at his father, confused, and asked, "So, what can I do?"

Minato smiled and gently patted Naruto on the shoulder. "One day, you will be able to control the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox. And at that time, I hope you can find the real enemy, the mastermind who triggered the Nine-Tailed Fox incident sixteen years ago and manipulated everything. That is the truth that you haven't been able to reach yet."

As the golden light gradually faded away, Naruto came back to his senses from the memory. His gaze refocused on the enemy in front of him, the Pain's Deva Path (Tendo). This was the last of the Paths of Pain, and also the culprit behind this great disaster.

"I'll end this..." Naruto muttered, quickly forming hand seals. Sage Mode chakra surged in his body and he swiftly formed a Rasengan.

With the help of his Shadow Clone, he precisely hit the Deva Path's body with the Rasengan. The powerful impact sent the Deva Path flying dozens of meters away, and he crashed heavily to the ground, completely losing his ability to move.

The moment the Deva Path fell to the ground, Naruto noticed the black rod-like objects inserted in his body. Those were the chakra receivers that controlled the Paths of Pain. He walked forward, reached out and touched one of the black rods, closed his eyes, and injected his Sage Mode chakra into it. Moments later, a faint yet clear chakra fluctuation helped Naruto sense Pain's true location.

"So it's over there..." Naruto opened his eyes, his gaze firm, and then turned and rushed towards the direction of the target.

Just then, he met Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka, who were searching for Pain with all their might. It was obvious that the two of them had also solved the mystery of Pain's identity and were looking for his real body.

"Naruto, where are you going?" Inoichi frowned and asked.

Naruto stopped and said firmly, "I'm going to find Pain and talk to him face-to-face."

"A talk?" Inoichi's brows furrowed tightly, and his tone was full of opposition. "Naruto, stop joking! He's the one who started all this disaster! We have to eliminate him immediately, not talk to him!"

"I know what you're worried about," Naruto looked up at the two of them, his tone carrying a sense of calmness and determination. "But I have my reasons. Trust me, I won't let there be any more sacrifices in Konoha."

Shikaku pondered for a while. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Let him go." All of a sudden, Lin Yuan emerged beside them. His timely intervention shattered the stalemate.

"Lin Yuan?" Shikaku swiveled around, astonishment written all over his face.

Lin Yuan walked forward, glanced at Naruto, then at Shikaku and Inoichi, and showed a faint smile. "Naruto isn't the kind of person who acts recklessly. Since he's made this decision, he must have his reasons. You should trust him."

Inoichi frowned and said, "But this is related to the survival of the entire Konoha after all..."

"Precisely because of that," Lin Yuan's tone became serious. "You, as his father figure, should trust him even more. This is his battle, his choice. All we can do is to give him the greatest freedom."

Shikaku looked at Naruto, then at Lin Yuan, and finally slowly nodded. "I understand."

Inoichi still worried, but didn't push it. With a sigh, he said, "All right, Naruto. We'll respect your choice."

Naruto nodded at them and showed a grateful smile. "Thank you for your trust."

Watching Naruto's figure gradually move away, Lin Yuan let out a sigh. He couldn't help grumbling inwardly, "In the original plot, Naruto went alone. If I let you'll stop him, what if the butterfly effect spins things out of control? Kakashi, Shizune, the old toad—all those who died in Konoha won't come back. Tsk, it's such a hassle."

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鸣人看着渐渐远去的林远背影,深吸了一口气,抬起头,目光坚定.他想起了刚才在精神空间中与父亲水门的交谈.

在那个充满温暖金光的空间里,水门的声音带着几分感慨与无奈:"鸣人,我知道,你现在心中充满了愤怒和痛苦.但我必须告诉你,造成佩恩,造成这些悲剧的,不只是他一个人.这座混乱的忍者世界本身,才是根源.复仇和杀戮只是延续了这场无尽的苦难."

鸣人愣愣地看着父亲,问道:"那我该怎么办?"

水门微笑了一下,伸手轻轻拍了拍鸣人的肩膀:"总有一天,你会控制住九尾的力量.而那时候,我希望你能够找到真正的敌人,那个十六年前引发九尾之乱,操控一切的幕后黑手.那是你现在还未能触及的真相."

金光渐渐消散,鸣人从记忆中回过神来.他的目光重新聚焦在眼前的敌人,佩恩天道的身上.那是最后的一个佩恩了,亦是这场浩劫的罪魁祸首.

"我会结束这一切..." 鸣人低声说道,双手快速结印.他身上的仙术查克拉再度沸腾,迅速凝聚出一个螺旋丸.他借助影分身的力量,精准地将螺旋丸击中天道的身体,强大的冲击力将天道击飞数十米,重重地摔在地上,彻底失去了行动能力.

在天道倒地的一刻,鸣人注意到他身上插着的黑色棒状物,那是控制佩恩的查克拉接收器.他走上前,伸手触碰了一根黑棒,闭上双眼,将自己的仙术查克拉注入其中.片刻后,一股微弱却清晰的查克拉波动传来,指引着鸣人感知到佩恩的真正位置.

"原来在那边..." 鸣人睁开眼,目光坚定,转身朝着目标的方向奔去.

就在此时,他遇到了正全力搜索佩恩的奈良鹿角与山中亥一.两人显然也已破解了佩恩的身份谜团,正在寻找他的本体.

"鸣人,你要去哪?" 亥一皱眉问道.

鸣人停下脚步,坚定地说道:"我要去找佩恩,我要和他面对面谈谈."

"谈谈?" 亥一眉头紧锁,语气中充满了反对:"鸣人,别开玩笑了!他是这场灾难的始作俑者!我们必须立刻消灭他,而不是去跟他交谈!"

"我知道你们在担心什么," 鸣人抬头看着两人,语气中带着一份沉稳与决心, "但我有我的理由.你们相信我,我不会让木叶再有更多的牺牲."

鹿角沉思了一会儿,刚想开口,却被一个熟悉的声音打断.

"让他去吧." 林远不知何时出现在一旁,他的声音打破了僵局.

"林远?" 鹿角看向他,有些意外.

林远走上前,看了一眼鸣人,又看了看鹿角和这身体的老爸,露出一抹淡淡的笑意:"鸣人不是那种会鲁莽行事的人.他既然做出了这样的决定,那就一定有他的理由.你们应该相信他."

亥一皱眉道:"可这毕竟关系到整个木叶的存亡..."

"正因为如此," 林远的语气变得认真起来,"老爸才更需要相信他.这是他的战斗,他的选择,我们能做的,就是为他争取最大的自由."

鹿角看了看鸣人,又看了看林远,最终缓缓点了点头:"我明白了."

亥一依然面露担忧,但也没有再坚持.他叹了一口气,说道:"好吧,鸣人,我们会尊重你的选择."

鸣人对他们点了点头,露出一个感激的微笑:"谢谢你们的信任."

看着鸣人渐行渐远的背影,林远叹了一口气,心里忍不住吐槽道:"原剧情里,鸣人就是这样独自前去的,我要是让你们拦住他,万一蝴蝶效应让事情彻底失控,卡卡西,静音,蛤蟆老头,还有木叶死去的人就都回不来了... 啧,真是麻烦啊."