Naruto paused in a tree, restoring his Sage Mode, then continued on until he found a large paper tree "He's in here."

"You want us to go in with you?" asked Kazuma.

"No, I need to do this on my own." Naruto tore through the paper and made his way inside.

"And there he goes?"

"Do you think he'll be alright?" asked Lee.

"He'll be fine. My little brother has faith in him, so I will too. Besides…" he pulled out a scroll and slammed a hand on it, revealing the Deva Path "Maybe we can do something with this."

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Naruto made his way inside 'So that's him.'

Konan quickly stood in front of Nagato "You!"

"Konan, stay out of this." Nagato told her.

"But Nagato-"

"It's alright."

Konan stepped aside, albeit reluctantly.

"Come forward."

Naruto slowly stepped forward "Are you him? Are you the real Pain?"

"So the peace maker comes stumbling in at last. Tell me, do you hate me now? I'm the object of your vendetta, do you wish to exact revenge on me?"

"Killing Nagato and obtaining vengeance isn't going to do a single thing to help change the world." Konan told him "You will only get personal satisfaction."

"If you could not find the answer then there is nothing more that you could do, so do the just thing and simply sacrifice yourself to me and to the peace that I shall soon construct." he fired a black receiver forward and impaled Naruto with it "From this short distance, I'm able to completely manipulate your every move with my chakra. But don't worry, I've avoided your vital spots because you're invaluable to me jinchuuriki."

Naruto looked up, his eyes now red slits combined with the typical markings of Sage Mode, symbolizing a cross between Sage Mode and Kurama's chakra.

Nagato felt himself being enveloped and suffocated by Kurama's Killer Intent.

Konan grew concerned "What's wrong Nagato, what is it?"

'He deliberately let me…'

"I can here intending to talk to you." Naruto told him "I also wanted to check something out."

"Check out… what exactly?"

"I wanted to see how I would actually feel if I stood before my enemy. I wondered what I would do, I didn't even know myself."

"...And?"

Naruto slowly gripped the black receiver "And I really can't forgive you! I want to kill you so badly I can't stop shaking!" he pulled the black receiver straight out of his gut.

'What? He can resist my chakra up close like this?'

Naruto charged forward with the intent to kill, but as he did images of his time with Jiraiya flashed through his mind, and he stopped "Pervy Sage said that he truly believed that the day would come when everyone would understand one another. To tell you the truth, I wasn't really paying much attention to what he was saying back then. He said that he would pass on his quest to me. I was just excited that he was complimenting me as his student. Thinking back now, I think I finally understand what he was trying to say, that nothing in this world is that simple."

"However, that still doesn't change the fact that you cannot forgive me. Human love is not so worthless that you can sweep it under the rug."

"Yeah, you're right about that, that's for sure."

"Jiraiya-sensei's words reflect an idealism from an era that is long gone, reality is too different. I thought you said that you would take me down and that you would bring peace to this shinobi world."

Naruto's Sage Mode faded, as did Kurama's chakra.

"But those are just more empty words, all you really want is to exact your own personal revenge. If that's your idea of justice then so be it. You're not a God. Now that you see reality for what it is, can you still truly believe in Jiraiya-sensei's ridiculous words and outdated thoughts?"

"When I found out that you guys were students of Pervy Sage too, I thought of something that I had been wanting to ask you."

"And what would that be?"

"How is it possible that you were all his students and still ended up the way that you are right now? I can see that you're not like the rest of those Akatsuki like those guys Deidara or like Kisame, the ones who just seem to enjoy killing for no good reason. But I'll be honest, I really don't know anything about you guys yet. So please, tell me your stories and then I'll give you my final answer."

"...Very well, we will tell you everything about our pain."

"Nagato, it's a waste of time." Konan protested "Just deal with him now."

"Hold on Konan, I want to hear the response he comes up with. Besides, I doubt I could take him down too easily. After all, he and his comrade with the bushy eyebrows crushed the six pains and did make it here all by themselves. Two moments define my greatest pain. The first of these was the death of my parents. The Hidden Rain Village had become caught up in the war between the Great Nations and became a battlefield. My house was invaded by Hidden Leaf ninja, who then proceeded to kill my parents. In the process, I awakened my Rinnegan and slaughtered them both. My parents died all because of the war that the Hidden Leaf started. I have never forgotten the searing pain of that moment. I've endured it to this very day. That pain transformed into hate, but it also brought my powers into bloom. It was only much later that I realized that I was the one who killed those two Leaf ninja. I was forced to wander on my own for quite some time, until Konan saved me. And that's how we met, that's how I was introduced to Konan and also to a boy named Yahiko. They were war orphans just like I was, but they were strong and they were fighting desperately to stay alive. And so, with nowhere else to turn, I joined them. There was no system for helping orphans in that small nation riddled by chaos, and thievery became the only way for us to survive. We had no other choice. But even under such harsh circumstances, Yahiko never abandoned hope. Yahiko always remained optimistic. Then everything changed on that one day."

"What day?"

"The day we saw the leader of the Hidden Rain Village, Hanzo of the Salamander, battling against three Hidden Leaf ninja. It was Jiraiya-sensei and his two teammates that were fighting, the three that would soon become known as the Legendary Sannin of the Leaf. The battle was extremely intense, and in the process, Chibi, the dog that travelled with us, was caught in the crossfire and killed. Yahiko was increasingly frustrated by this and vowed to become a god and make the violence stop. That was when Yahiko's dream became my dream as well. Yahiko knew that to change the world we would need power, so he decided that we would all learn ninjutsu from the Hidden Leaf ninja fighting against Hanzo. Time passed, until fade finally led us right to them. The Leaf's Sannin. We had finally found him. Jiraiya-sensei."

'Pervy Sage…' Naruto gripped his fist.

"However, I was unable to truly accept a Hidden Leaf ninja as a teacher. I'm sure that you know what that's like, don't you?"

Naruto said nothing.

"Orochimaru had once suggested that they kill us, but Jiraiya-sensei agreed to teach us ninjutsu. My parents were killed by ninja from the Hidden Leaf, but I started to realize that Jiraiya-sensei might be different. The four of us began living under the same roof together. Soon after, a certain incident took place."

"What kind of incident?"

"A renegade shinobi from the Hidden Stone attacked us, and when Yahiko was about to be killed that was when I struck out and killed that ninja instead. I did it without even realizing. It seems I had a special power inside of me, the visual jutsu known as the Rinnegan. After that, Jiraiya-sensei was no longer hesitant in training us and began to teach us ninjutsu. He said that he just wanted us to be able to protect ourselves, but in terms of me specifically. I feel he wanted to teach me to control the power of the Rinnegan. But I feared my own power, hate had caused me to go berserk. I didn't know who might get hurt if it happened again. I had convinced myself that what I had done was wrong and became consumed with guilt, but Jiraiya-sensei pulled me from the depths of despair. Before I had realized it, I had accepted sensei. However, it's because one understands pain as much as that that one becomes generous towards others. Experiencing pain helps us to grow up, to mature. And growing up means that one is able to think for oneself and make one's own decisions, to know and to reflect upon pain and then to come up with one's own answer. Jiraiya-sensei seemed to be asking himself the same question, but he hadn't figured out a solution either, just like you haven't been able to provide any answers. Back then, I was able to come up with an answer right away. All I wanted to do was protect them no matter how much pain I would be forced to endure them. After we spent three long years training, both my body and my soul grew stronger, and I felt as if I had matured. But Jiraiya-sensei's words always kept echoing back to me from somewhere deep inside. He told me that he wondered if the solution to bringing peace to the world lay with my Rinnegan. Sensei entrusted me with his quest, conferring his wish for peace on me, and he then left the three of us. We started gathering comrades. With Yahiko as our leader, our organization quickly gained fame. People approved of our philosophy for trying to construct a peace that was minimally based on military might. However, the world was caught up in a war between the three Great Nations. The Hidden Stone, the Hidden Leaf, and the Hidden Sand. Hanzo of the Salamander, the leader of the Hidden Rain, heard rumors of our organization and approached us. He could no longer ignore our existence. He proposed to make us a nexis in the effort to launch peace negotiations between the three Great Nations. Our power would be used to a licid mutual agreement for all of the parties. We decided to accept his proposal. However, that decision would end up leading us only to nothing but misfortune. We were naive children."

"What do you mean misfortune? What happened to you guys after that?" Naruto looked and noticed Konan shedding a single tear.

"What happened is… Yahiko was killed."

Naruto froze "What… What do you mean he was killed?"

"It was all merely a trap that Hanzo had laid for us. He was paranoid that we were going to steal his power over the Hidden Rain, and for that fear, Yahiko… The next day at the rendezvous point where the negotiations were to occur. Hanzo's subordinates and the ANBU Black Ops of the Hidden Leaf. Hanzo had allied with a man from the Hidden Leaf named Danzo to eradicate us. Danzo wanted to usurp the seat of Hokage, while Hanzo wanted to protect his own position of power. Hanzo had taken Konan hostage and gave us an ultimatum. Either I would kill Yahiko or he would kill Konan."

"Excuse me." that was when Kazuma came in, with Lee right behind him "I've been listening from outside this whole time, but I can't stay silent anymore. Between this Yahiko and Konan, there was more than just a friendship and a mutual desire for peace wasn't there?"

"...Yes." Nagato looked at Konan, then back to Naruto and the rest "Nothing was ever specifically said, but…"

"Nagato, don't." Konan pleaded.

"...But he was in love with her, and she felt the same."

"I see. If it's alright with you, would you mind if I stay and listen to the remainder of your story?" asked Kazuma.

"...Very well, do what you please." Nagato then turned back to Naruto and continued telling his story "With no time remaining and no other options, Yahiko took his own life by thrusting himself upon my kunai. With his dying breath, he told me to protect Konan and to continue his quest for peace. In that moment, I went berserk and slaughtered all of Danzo and Hanzo's men and saved Konan, but my legs were crippled in the process, and Hanzo survived and managed to escape, but the damage was done. Yahiko was dead, and from then on I took over as the leader of our organization. I thought that I had grown up, but nothing had changed at all. It was the same as when my parents were killed. I was wrong, I realized then that the answer I had given to Jiraiya was worth absolutely nothing. I owed my life to Yahiko, he gave me my dream. He was an irreplaceable friend for whom I would have given everything. The loss of Yahiko, that was my second great pain. Since that day, countless other comrades have fought and died in battle. So many others, one by one. They kept dying. The citizens of your Land of Fire obsessed with peace, they paid a small commission to the Hidden Leaf, adding to their funding for war, and the citizens of the Land of Fire, knowing full well the truth, still falsely proclaimed peace. But the peace that you large nations enjoy only exists because of the sacrifices forced upon us smaller nations. What all of you like to call peace is only won through violence against us. In order for some to live peacefully, others must die in war. As long as humanity still exists, then hatred will also exist with it. There cannot be true peace, not in a world as cursed as this one. All that Jiraiya-sensei had said about peace is nothing more than wishful thinking!" then he took a deep breath "I've told you my story just as you asked, now let us hear your final answer."

Not giving any sort of verbal reply at first, Naruto instead pulled something out of the back on his back "You may be right. The truth is, I think the same way as you."

"I see."

"But even if I understand you now, that doesn't change how I feel. There's no possible way that I can forgive you. I still hate you."

"Then you want to settle things with me?"

"Yes, I do. But Pervy Sage believed in me and he wanted for me to continue his quest, and for those reasons I choose to believe in him and follow what he taught me." his head snapped up and he looked Nagato straight in the eye "So that's it, that's my answer. That's why I'm not going to kill the two of you."

"...After everything that's happened, you still believe in the teachings of Jiraiya-sensei? Very well then, you've given your answer. And you expect us to wait until you somehow magically transform this world into a peaceful place? No, never! How can I believe in Jiraiya's words after all of this? There will never be such a thing as true peace! Not as long as we're forced to live in this accursed world! Peace is impossible! Impossible!"

Naruto took a moment to contemplate this "Well then I'm going to break that curse one day. If there's truly such a thing as peace in this world, then somehow I will find it. I will never stop looking."

Nagato froze at that "You… but that's…"

"Nagato, what's the matter?" asked Konan.

"Those words… It can't be…"

"That's right, you know them." Naruto held up the book "Every single one of those words is taken right out of this book, the very first novel that Pervy Sage ever wrote. He was seriously trying to change the world with his message, and in the back of it he wrote about his student who helped provide him with inspiration." he opened the back of the book "It was you Nagato, you were that student."

"But…" Nagato reflected on Naruto's words, thinking back on how it inspired the lead character in Jiraiya's novel, the one whom Naruto was named after.

"The name of the hero in this novel, his name is Naruto. Listen to me Nagato, my name is a precious heirloom that has been handed to down to me by my master, and there's no way I'm just going to give up and dishonor the gift from my master. I will become Hokage, and I will bring peace to the Hidden Rain. I will! I'm asking you to believe in me."

"...Why should I? How can you stand there and tell me that you will never change your mind? Do you really think you will never stray from that ideal no matter how much pain befalls you? You think you will always believe in yourself? Can you guarantee it? How can you possibly have that much faith that life will never change you?"

"I felt pain too, you're not the only one." Naruto reflected on his lonely and painful childhood, being hated by the villagers of the Leaf, and gripped his stomach hard "I still have pain buried deep down inside of me, and there's no telling what kind of pain I may face down the road. But if I stop believing just because things get difficult, if the hero in this book were to change who he is, then it would become a whole different story. It sure wouldn't be the story that was left behind by our master, and it wouldn't be about Naruto. The thing is that I can't write books like our master did, and so any sequel has to come from the life I live. That's why it doesn't matter how much pain my path brings, I'm gonna keep walking it to the very end because that is who Naruto is."

Nagato's eyes widened at this, then returned to normal "If the hero ever changes then it will be a different story? We are sibling students who share the same sensei, we ought to be able to understand each other. When I said that to you earlier, I had meant it as a joke. You truly are a curious fellow aren't you? You remind me of myself when I was much younger. I wasn't able to continue believing in the ideas that Jiraiya had expressed to me, nor could I keep believing in myself. But you have given me a vision of a future that shows a different path from the one I've been walking." he pulled his hands free of the machine he was using to transmit chakra to the other paths, and he formed a hand seal "I think I shall believe in you after all, Naruto Uzumaki. I shall use the Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth."

"Nagato, you can't!" by this point Konan was getting desperate.

"No Konan, it's alright. What I'm going to do is make a new choice. Even though I had all but given up hope."

Now Naruto was getting nervous "What is it? What kind of jutsu are you doing?"

"Those who possess the Rinnegan can perform every single one of the jutsu that the six Pains had used, and are said to exist outside the realm of life and death." Kazuma told him "Nagato's visual prowess itself is the jutsu that resides over life and death, he himself is the Seventh Pain."

"Gedo-"

'But if he performs that jutsu with his chakra reserves as low as they are right now, Nagato will die. He's truly willing to go that far for Naruto. So Tatsu was right, Naruto truly does have the power to change people. Please wait one moment Nagato, I have one final question to ask of you."

Nagato paused and momentarily stopped building up chakra "What is it?"

"About this Yahiko, if you had the opportunity to bring him back to life then would you?"

"In a heartbeat. However, I currently lack the chakra to do so."

"I think I get it." Naruto stepped forward and placed his hands over Nagato's 'Just like with Granny Chiyo. Then use my chakra, take as much as you need to bring him back."

"...Alright." Nagato began molding chakra again, this time using Naruto's as well.

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In the middle of the village, the King of Hell suddenly appeared and opened its mouth, releasing multiple green lights from it.

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Kakashi finished telling his father, Sakumo Hatake, his story "And that's about it."

"Who would've thought that you and I would both die so young." Sakumo muttered "Though not as young as your mother."

"Father, I had always wanted to ask you something. I wanted to know why you, the White Fang of the Leaf, willingly chose to ignore the village code, to abandon a crucial mission in order to save your comrades. You knew that if you let them die then no one in the village would have condemned you. Instead, you were dishonored and committed suicide. It made me so bitter."

"I see, seems you had your fair share of trouble too, huh?"

"Yeah. But you know father, now I realize that you did what you thought was right. You knew what the consequences would be, and you chose the lives of your friends over the code, and I'm proud of you for it."

Sakumo's eyes widened, then softened "Thank you son, that means alot coming from you."

That was when Kakashi suddenly found himself enveloped in a green light.

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Asuma was the first one to notice a light envelop Fukasaku's body "What's with that green light?"

Then, much to the surprise of everyone, Fukasaku sat up like nothing had happened "Where am I? What happened to me Ma?" the only response he got was Shima screaming.

'But Lord Fukasaku was dead, I'm sure of it.' Asuma looked around and saw several other deceased ninja and civilians getting up like nothing happened, Shizune being among them "I don't get it, what's going on?"

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Inoichi stared in shock and awe at what was happening "What is this? What's happening?"

"It appears to me that Naruto and the rest have settled things with Pain." Shikaku noted.

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Nagato's hair had turned white as the jutsu progressed, and gently shook Kazuma's hands off of his "It's working…"

"What are you doing? What just happened?" asked Naruto.

"The Rinne Rebirth Jutsu of the Rinnegan." Kazuma told him "He's sacrificing himself to bring back those he killed during his invasion."

"What? Seriously?"

"The chakra I gave him was just enough to bring back one other too."

"I still have time to revive those I've killed since I've arrived in the Hidden Leaf Village. It's the least that I can do for them…" Nagato murmured.

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Kakashi found himself enveloped in a green light "What's this?"

Sakumo smiled softly "Well my guess is that it was just too soon for you to come here. You must have unfinished business waiting for you back home."

"Father…"

"I'm grateful we had time to talk, and for your forgiveness. At long last, I'm finally free. Now I can finally move on in peace…"

Then Kakashi's soul disappeared, back to the world of the living.

"And finally see your mother."

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Kakashi's eye snapped open "Wha-?"

"Easy Kakashi, we've got you."

Kakashi looked and saw Tatsu and Sasuke supporting him "Tatsu… Sasuke… What happened?"

"I'll explain everything as clearly as I can." Katsuyu told him.

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Nagato finally finished, but he was fading fast "It is done."

"Did you just…?" Naruto trailed off.

"War inflicts death, injury and pain on everyone. The truth is that the more precious someone is to us, the harder it is for us to accept that they might die. Sometimes you might actually convince yourself that there's no way that they could die. This naivety can't be helped, especially with a generation like yours, a generation that does not know war. You might try to find meaning in war, but in war there is nothing more than loss and unbearable pain. All of that senseless death, it unleashes a cycle of violence and hatred that never ends. War creates only more war, and those are the things you will face in the coming days Naruto." he managed a small smile "The parallels between you and that book, it almost feels like someone set it all up, like it was all the work of an actual god." the paper tree began scattering to the wind "Seems this is it for me… Naruto… I believe you of all people… truly can…"

"Goodbye, Nagato… and thank you…"

"Where… Where am I…" another voice rasped out, weak from lack of use.

Konan froze 'That voice… it can't be…' she looked down at the Deva Path and dared to speak his name "Yahiko…?"

Slowly, Deva- I mean Yahiko- opened his eyes and looked at Konan "Nothing gets the heart pumping like having a beautiful woman as the first thing you see when you wake up…"

"Yahiko…" Konan immediately embraced him, tears streaming down her face.

"I've been watching everything from the afterlife all this time, and I know how much you guys went through because of my decision back then."

"So you know… about all of the horrible things I've done… I thought you'd be furious with me… I thought you'd hate me…"

"Yeah, I do know. But I was never angry with you Konan." Yahiko slowly returned the hug "I was just sad that you and Nagato both lost your way. But I also know how that blond kid, Naruto I think, helped you find your way again. The way to peace. Then again, I doubt he would've thought of it if it wasn't for that guy." he looked at Kazuma "Thanks, I owe you one."

Kazuma knelt down beside him "No thanks are needed, just let me do one thing." he placed one hand on Yahiko and one on Konan as he activated his Tenseigan "Kamikaze Style Elder Jutsu: Age Transference!" green energy flowed from Konan through Kazuma, then to Yahiko, and he stopped "There."

Yahiko sat up "What exactly did you do? I feel different."

"An old jutsu passed down through the Kamikaze clan, you can transfer people's ages. In short, I made Konan here about 7 years younger and you about 7 years older. You're both essentially 23 now. After all, she was almost 15 years older than you before I did it."

"...Oh yeah."

"Now then, I think I'll let Naruto and Lee wrap things up from this point on. I'll go check and see how the village is doing." Kazuma then disappeared in a green flash.

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While carrying Ebisu, Konohamaru saw Mizuki up ahead "Mizuki-sensei!"

"Konohamaru!" Mizuki rushed over, carrying Iruka "You're safe, that's a relief."

"I'm glad you are too sensei."

"Ebisu-sensei, you're not hurt are you?"

Ebisu shook his head "It's nothing to worry about, only because Konohamaru here saved me. But never mind about that right now, what is this strange phenomenon?"

"I know, I've never seen anything like it." then he paused and his head suddenly snapped to the right "Iruka!"

Slowly, Iruka opened his eyes "Mizuki… what happened…?"

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Konan finished wrapping Nagato's body in paper "There, it's done."

"So you're both leaving?" asked Naruto.

Yahiko nodded "Yeah, we've got a lot of work ahead of us."

"I'd hate to think she's going back to the Akatsuki."

"No, I'm leaving the Akatsuki." Konan told him "Along with Yahiko, Nagato meant everything to me. Nagato entrusted his dream to you. You now embody that dream."

"She's right." Yahiko agreed "Nagato chose to put his faith in you, the final student of Jiraiya-sensei. It's only right that I do the same."

"And I will as well."

"And we of the Hidden Rain Village will all continue to pursue our dreams together with you, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto breathed a sigh "The name Naruto, the guts to never give up, and now more pain, they're the things that I've inherited from my master and from my sibling student."

"...I see." Konan formed a paper bouquet and held it out to Naruto "This time I wish that you will be the blossom of hope that will never wilt away."

Naruto accepted the bouquet with a proud smile "I will, and I'll be sure to change the Hidden Rain Village too just like I said."

"Until we meet again, our sibling disciple." and with that, Yahiko and Konan departed.

"Come on Bushy Brow, let's go."

"We're heading back to the village?" asked Lee.

"No, there's one more thing I have to do."

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That thing was relatively simple to do.

Naruto had made a simple memorial for Jiraiya in the woods, made of a large stone with the kanji for teacher carved into it, with Jiraiya's novel and the paper bouquet from Konan placed in front of it 'Just you watch. Master. Okay Bushy Brow, I'm done."

"You ready?" asked Lee.

"Yeah, let's head back."

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As they made their way back, Lee noticed something off about Naruto "Hey Naruto, are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, just a little…" then Naruto fell forward.

Kakashi suddenly appeared and caught Naruto on his back "Good job."

"Kakashi-sensei…"

"Stay still, I'll carry you back."

"Okay…" Naruto rested his head on Kakashi's back.

Then Kakashi turned to Lee "Are you good for a trip?"

Lee let out a scoff "Are you kidding? This is nothing, I have enough energy left to run around the village 100 times over-" then he fell forward.

Then Guy suddenly appeared and caught Lee on his back "You did well."

"Guy-sensei…"

"Your youthful flames have burnt brighter than I ever thought possible." by this point Guy was shedding tears of pride "You've made me proud to be your master."

"Thank you sensei…"

"Come on, let's go." Kakashi continued on.

"Right behind you." Guy followed right behind him.

"They've gotten heavier haven't they?"

"Yeah…"

"Hey, we're not that heavy-" Naruto paused when they got back to the village and he noticed something.

The villagers were all waiting for him and Lee, and cheering.

"Naruto! Lee!"

"Glad you guys both made it back okay!"

"Alright, we knew you guys could do it!"

And so on.

"They've all been waiting for you guys to return." Kakashi gently lowered Naruto off of his back.

Guy did the same with Lee "Naruto, Lee, you both did well."

Naruto and Lee saw everyone joyfully running towards them, and the two shared a look of surprise "What's all this?"

"My brother told us everything that happened between you guys and Pain." Tatsu stepped forward, with Sasuke and the rest of their generation following "Frankly right now, in their eyes you guys are heroes."

Naruto and Lee shared a look, and they just grinned sheepishly.

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"I can't believe they pulled it off all by themselves." Shikamaru muttered.

Choji nodded "Yeah, but they've always been stronger than us. It was never a contest."

Ino smiled softly "You know, I could almost fall for either one of them." then she gently slipped her hand into Tatsu's "Well, if I wasn't already taken that is."

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Kiba smirked "That Naruto and Lee, those guys are something alright. Naruto was my classmate you know."

"But he really outclassed us all." Shino pointed out "Naruto and Sasuke, Tatsu and Lee, they're in a class of their own now."

"Hey just shut up will you Shino? We've just gotta work harder from now on."

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Lee suddenly looked around "Hey, where's Neji?"

"He's off getting a different view point." Tatsu pointed to a hill where many others stood, watching the festivities.

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"Guys, why don't we go down there and join them?" Konohamaru suggested.

Iruka shook his head "I think I'll be fine right here."

"What?"

Neji nodded "I think I enjoy the view here much more as well."

"Yeah but-"

"Don't you worry." Ebisu assured him "Naruto is amazing wouldn't you agree?"

"Lee is as well." Neji pointed out.

"At first Naruto was thought of by everyone as a big nuisance and I was certainly no different, we feared what he might become so we just kept him at arm's length and treated him like nothing but a bother."

"And Lee was never able to use any chakra of any kind, we thought he wouldn't amount to anything so we just shunned him and ridiculed him, and I was certainly no different, as ashamed as I am to admit."

"And yet both were determined, they always followed their hearts and gave every ounce of effort they could, and they stayed true to their ninja ways no matter what sort of challenges they faced. And slowly but surely, we couldn't help but acknowledge them. Naruto has inherited Lord Jiraiya's Will of Fire, and Lee has followed that Will of Fire, and they haven't lost any heart at all."

"And now everyone trusts and respects Naruto and Lee completely, they carry them in their hearts, expect great things of them and wish them both nothing but the best. Naruto has truly changed the hearts and minds of everyone whose lives he's touched, including me, and Lee has inherited that gift."

"It's because they never gave up…" Iruka murmured, and watched as Naruto and Lee were tossed into the air by the villagers, tears of pride now streaming down his face 'Lord Third… Lord Fourth… right before our eyes… there are two heroes…'

A/N:

Before you guys say anything about bringing Yahiko back to life being an asspull or say he was dead for way too long, let me point out one thing. Madara was dead for decades and yet Obito was able to revive him with the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu, so why couldn't Nagato do the same with Yahiko?

I had to add in that thing about making Yahiko older and Konan younger because they technically would be like 20 years apart in age. This won't appear again for the record.