The High Ground of Public Opinion Must Be Defended, or It Will Be Occupied by the Enemy

Seisui and Asuma smoked in silence, both staring at Konoha in the distance.

Asuma took heavy drags, each one seeming to try to exhale the bitterness in his heart, his brow furrowed with worry.

Seisui let the cigarette burn in his hand. The Asuma before him reminded him of a famous Uchiha.

His name was Itachi Uchiha...

But right now, he was probably still in Mikoto Uchiha's belly...

At four years old, Itachi Uchiha was taken to the battlefield by Fugaku Uchiha. From then on, he began to ponder the meaning of life and peace.

And after Itachi was ordered to become a double agent, he became obsessed with the Will of Fire, believing the Uchiha Clan to be an evil clan, until he finally turned his blade on his clansmen, his loved ones, and his parents.

Simply put, he was a stubborn kid who, after being provoked, was brainwashed by his enemies and became a demon who disowned his own flesh and blood.

Asuma and Itachi Uchiha were similar in some ways.

Though Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't as abstract as Fugaku Uchiha, he still failed in his duties, allowing the sharp and observant Asuma to pick up on the village's dark side from various clues and question his own origins.

In the end, a ninja who only learns how to kill from childhood is born to be a blade.

If a stubborn blade starts to think, it's hard to say whether it will cut down the enemy or its own allies...

After all, what correct conclusions can a blade come up with?

In the ninja world, sane ninjas are few and far between. It's not just the Uchiha Clan—most ninjas are terrifyingly stubborn.

And Itachi Uchiha, in his youth, came into contact with Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō, and betrayed the Uchiha Clan.

Asuma, on the other hand, was well-protected as the Third Hokage's son, so he just wandered and wasted his youth.

But now it was different. Asuma had found Seisui.

Seisui could be both a sharp blade and the one who wielded it...

"Asuma, since you distrust the Will of Fire so much and still have doubts about the village, why did you come to me?"

Seisui gazed at the Hokage Monument in the distance, at Tobirama Senju's face, and spoke slowly:

"Do you think I'm well-versed in the Will of Fire? Shouldn't you be keeping your distance from me?"

Asuma shook his head, a look of recollection in his eyes:

"I don't think the Will of Fire is bad... I just think the people interpreting it now are too hypocritical. What they say and what they do are completely different."

"Seisui, can I call you that?"

After getting Seisui's confirmation, Asuma seemed to lighten up a little and continued:

"In my eyes, you're a true practitioner of the Will of Fire—strong, humble, and helpful. Even though you're an Uchiha, your existence and your story inspire many of your classmates."

"Especially that day when I saw you help Kojiro Inada, I couldn't help but want to talk to you."

"You didn't encourage him to keep being a ninja. Instead, you helped him open a shop he liked. In his eyes, I saw a genuine smile..."

"But even I, or any ordinary ninja academy teacher, if we wanted to help him, the first thing we'd think of is how to make him a ninja..."

"From that moment, I knew you were special, Seisui."

Asuma turned and looked seriously at Seisui, his voice low: "So I came to you."

Seisui nodded in understanding and threw out a question:

"Asuma, do you think it's worth sacrificing the happiness of some people in Konoha to gain the happiness of others?"

"Like your friends who joined Root. Some of them might have wanted to walk in the light, some might have just wanted to open a small shop like Kojiro Inada, but they all ended up in Root."

"They sacrificed their own lives, but in exchange, Konoha's defensive strength increased..."

Asuma narrowed his eyes. After a moment, he shook his head firmly:

"My friends didn't go willingly! Even if Konoha becomes stronger, that kind of strength isn't right, and I don't think it can last."

"The First Hokage said that Konoha was built so people could unite and resist invasions from other hidden villages..."

"But people like Shimura Danzō, who use the excuse of fighting other villages to strike at their own first—I absolutely do not agree!!"

As Asuma said this, his fists clenched tightly, and his voice was almost a growl.

Seisui smiled and spoke slowly: "If that's the case, Asuma, then let me ask you another question..."

"Suppose the Third Shinobi World War breaks out and Konoha falls into a disadvantage. The enemy village proposes that if Konoha hands over a few weak ninjas, they'll agree to a peace treaty. If you were the Hokage, would you agree?"

Asuma was about to say something.

Seisui gestured for him to hold on and added more conditions:

"If the war continues, Konoha will lose hundreds or thousands of ninjas. But if you agree, the enemy will at least cease hostilities for ten years, bringing a relatively long period of peace."

"Think it over carefully, and then tell me what you'd choose."

Asuma clearly hesitated, lost in thought.

Tobirama Senju narrowed his eyes. Compared to the hesitant Asuma, his answer came much more readily:

"A pointless question. If any Konoha high-ranking official dared to hand over ninjas from the village for a ceasefire, I'd kill them myself! Monkey, Danzō—even if they make small mistakes, they're not stupid enough to do something like that..."

"This isn't about how many Konoha ninjas die. It's about the village's spirit and will!"

"If even the backbone to fight alongside comrades against an enemy is lacking, then Konoha has no reason to exist!"

Seisui sized up Tobirama Senju with interest, smiling as he asked:

"Then what if, during the First Great Ninja War, the same problem arose, and the enemy demanded the Uchiha as the hostage for exchange?"

"Kid, who do you take me for?"

Tobirama Senju sneered with disdain:

"It's true that I hold prejudice against the Uchiha Clan, but that's because I monitor every source of unrest inside and outside the village."

"But that doesn't mean I'd resolve Konoha's internal conflicts outside the village."

"If I did that, I wouldn't deserve to be the Second Hokage!"

Seisui clapped for Tobirama Senju and said softly, "I believe you, Tobirama."

And at that moment.

Asuma, troubled by Seisui's ahead-of-its-time question, struggled and made his own decision, as if he truly were that Hokage, speaking word by word:

"Seisui, I won't hand over any Konoha ninja, not even a genin!"

There's a meeting this morning, so I'm afraid I won't have time to slack off, so I'll write a chapter first!

Also, recommending a friend's book:

Direct link below + synopsis:

Is your company legit? How are you doing games, film, and music all at once?

Lin Yuan: Making games is just like that!