Yes, this time, no one failed to take it in, nor did anyone dismiss it.
After experiencing countless battles, great and small, and witnessing that darkness and deceit, not a single person doubted Mishiko's words.
Perhaps because they had already heard it before, whenever they saw that darkness, they could not help but wonder whether their own ideals were truly correct, whether Mishiko's ideals might be the best solution.
And this time, when Mishiko raised it again, although they fell silent once more, no one doubted it or found it unbelievable.
Almost everyone carefully considered it after she spoke.
Perhaps it was on that very night that his close friend's thoughts underwent an earth-shaking change.
From then on, the ideals of the two of them began to drift farther and farther apart.
Though both ultimately sought to protect Konoha and pursue peace, they were, in the end, two completely different paths.
But Mishiko's method was simply too...
And thinking of this, the Third Hokage watched the watermelon-headed boy in a tight green bodysuit, unmistakably distinctive as he slowly walked into the field, along with the red-haired Sunagakure boy carrying a gourd on his back. In the end, a lingering, faintly incredulous thought flashed through the Third Hokage's mind.
At the same time, the scene from back then surfaced in his mind again.
Even after so many years, he still remembered everything that happened that night with perfect clarity.
He even clearly remembered Mishiko's profile, the smile at the corner of her mouth, and that persuasive voice.
And that day, after voicing the idea of unifying the Shinobi World, Mishiko, no longer interrupted, finally laid out all of her thoughts.
Including how to unify the Shinobi World.
And that idea still left him somewhat incredulous to this day.
He clearly remembered