The Reason for Peace

"... Tsunade's boyfriend."

However, upon hearing this answer, the shock and relief in Hashirama Senju's voice quickly faded, replaced by a gradually spreading negativity.

"Um..." He glanced cautiously at Naruto, "Is the village alright now? Has it been mortgaged or anything?"

"... Of course, it's alright." Uchiha Satsuki frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled by the First Hokage's erratic thought process. "Why ask such a question?"

"Because she's my eldest granddaughter." Hashirama his cheek, his tone tinged with helplessness yet also revealing a hint of doting affection. "She's been spoiled rotten by me since she was little, and as a result, she even picked up my gambling habit. It's just... hahahahahaha!"

He paused, as if recalling something, and then, because of that memory, laughter burst out without warning. He laughed so hard he almost fell over, completely unaware that the atmosphere around him had become subtle.

In the distance, Hozuki Gengetsu's face was tense, his mustache trembled slightly, and beneath the bandages, the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch. The Third Raikage remained silent, but the way he crossed his arms was noticeably tighter.

The strongest Ninja in the world. The manager of the Pure Land. A being even more powerful than the legendary Sage of Six Paths in later generations... He is Ninja of Konoha.

These pieces of information, when put together, made the hearts of these Kage from other villages sink. No one could remain indifferent upon learning that the highest administrator of the afterlife was a descendant of a rival ninja village.

but...

Looking at the First Hokage, who was laughing so hard he was slapping his thigh and had no regard for his image, and then at the Second Hokage standing to the side with a blank expression, I saw...

The God of Shinobi... is quite different from the legends.

Tobirama Senju's brows were furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly; he certainly noticed the subtle changes in the expressions of the outlying village kage. But what bothered him even more was something else entirely.

Isn't my older brother a bit too lively?

He clearly remembered the last days before Hashirama died.

The battle at the Valley of the End, the pain of killing his best friend with his own hands, the self-blame for "Uchiha Madara becoming like that" —Hashirama that time, Hashirama smiled less and less, and remained silent more and more... until his death from depression.

And now--

He watched Hashirama laugh Kakuzu, watched him casually approach Uchiha Madara after being coldly rejected once again, watched him be as innocent and passionate as the young man he was decades ago before becoming Hokage, full of curiosity about every new thing.

No longer do I have to bear the responsibilities of this world, no longer do I have to worry day and night about the survival of the village, no longer do I have to face the wounds left by that rupture that will never heal.

The Hashirama Senju before me is the real Hashirama Senju.

But this is not a reason for him to let his elder brother continue to steer the negotiations astray.

"Cough."

A dry cough, neither too loud nor too soft, clearly intended to interrupt.

Just as Hashirama Senju was about to eagerly ask, "What does Jiraiya look like?", "Is he good to Tsunade?", and "When do they plan to get married?", he felt his collar being pulled by a force.

He turned around and met his brother's expressionless face.

"... Tobirama?"

Tobirama Senju ignored him.

He took a half step forward, his scarlet pupils staring directly at Uzumaki Naruto not far away. Without any unnecessary pleasantries, he cut straight to the heart of the matter.

"The managers of the Pure Land."

"My elder brother and I both returned to the mortal world in the form of ' Impure World Reincarnation '."

"What we experienced in the Pure Land at that time was absolute nothingness. There was no perception, no consciousness, no heaven and earth—nothing at all."

His gaze swept across the distant space transformed into grassland, with an artificial sun hanging above it, and the Velociraptor guards he had recently seen shuttling between the Cloud Shinobi and the Stone Shinobi, before finally settling back on Naruto.

"And now, all the souls are awakening. This world, this order, and that talking dinosaur—it's all your doing."

"Since you possess such power... what is your purpose in summoning us, the dead?"

Naruto opened his mouth, but before he could utter a sound...

"Wait!" A hurried voice cut him off before he could finish speaking.

The one who spoke was a figure wrapped in old bandages from head to toe— the Second Tsuchikage, Wu.

His eyes, peeking out from the gaps in his bandages, were fixed on Uzumaki Naruto, a complex mix of emotions churning deep within them—fear, vigilance, and a reverence for the unknown that he was unwilling to readily admit.

"... I really didn't expect that Konoha would produce such a powerful individual in later Konoha."

It is even an existence that surpasses the Sage of Six Paths.

Without staring at Naruto, he asked the question that all the other ninja villages were most concerned about at that moment, "So, in the present world—do the other ninja villages still exist?"

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

This is not an ordinary question. It is a test of those who wield absolute power, an inquiry into whether annexation and enslavement are hidden beneath the guise of "peace."

Every Shadow present had done their utmost to protect their village during their lifetime, and they understood better than anyone else that when the gap in power becomes insurmountable, existence itself is a luxury that must be allowed.

Naruto looked at Mu, his eyes showing no evasion or displeasure at being offended.

Yes, they all exist.

"I didn't do anything like that—using force, starting a war, or forcing other villages to submit to Konoha... That kind of submission would probably only be superficial. People's hearts can't be truly won over by intimidation."

He paused for a moment, as if pondering the weight of his words. Then he spoke again, his voice even lower than before.

"So... in the wars you've experienced, what price did the other ninja villages pay?"

This is not an interrogation, but an old man who has experienced countless battles and witnessed the rise and fall of too many villages, probing a future he cannot confirm with his own eyes—using the cruelest and most realistic yardstick.

"A war between ninja villages?"

Naruto was slightly confused by the premise of this question. "That kind of thing didn't happen in my time."

"What--?!"

The sound of nothingness has, unusually, developed cracks, and not just nothingness itself.

The mirror in Hozuki Gengetsu's hand snapped shut. The Third Raikage's figure, which had been as immovable as a mountain, leaned forward almost imperceptibly. Even Uchiha Madara, who had been listening indifferently, turned his Rinnegan to Naruto.

"No war?!"

Hashirama Senju practically jumped up. He rushed to Naruto in three quick steps, his eyes shining, his face filled with unbelievable excitement and eagerness.

"Really? You really did it?!"

He clenched his fist. As the one who personally ended the Warring States period and established the ninja village system, what Hashirama left Hashirama was not "peace," but merely a fragile truce that temporarily contained endless chaos within a container called "ninja village."

He never truly resolved the war, nor did he know that he could, so he merely postponed it, leaving the problem to future generations.

And now, he hears someone say, "There is no war."

"How did you do that?! What methods did you use? Negotiation? Alliance? Or--"

"I concealed my identity."

Naruto's reply was calm. "Using the identity of an organization leader to intimidate the entire Ninja World."

"... Deterrence?" Hashirama's smile froze on his lips.

"Hmm." Naruto nodded. "If any ninja village makes any underhanded moves—like trying to provoke border clashes or secretly expanding its military across the red line—I'll be outside their village."

"Then, let me demonstrate... the power to destroy a country in an instant."

"..." Hashirama Senju's smile froze completely.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but only unintelligible breaths escaped his throat. The eyes that had been filled with expectation and relief just moments before were now filled with blankness and dazedness.

An eerie silence fell over the hall.

Hozuki Gengetsu and Mu exchanged a glance. There was no fear of intimidation in their eyes; they were already dead, and fear was the privilege of the living—now, they only felt an absurd understanding.

I see. It's not about understanding, it's not about dialogue.

It's because they can't beat them.

The Third Raikage remained silent. But his body, which had been taut like a bowstring, relaxed almost imperceptibly the moment he heard the word "deterrence."

... It was not a massacre.

He thought of himself. He fought against ten thousand men, and died from exhaustion. He never regretted covering the retreat for his men, but he knew clearly that such "sacrifice" was the helplessness of the weak against the strong, the futility of flesh and blood fighting against a torrent of wheels.

And this young man in front of me said...

"I didn't kill anyone. At this point, the other villages have all behaved themselves."

"After my first operation, there were basically no border clashes."

"..."

Uchiha Madara looked away.

Just seconds before, when Mu asked whether other ninja villages still existed, his mind was filled with disdain—he thought this blond boy was just another Hashirama, naive and idealistic, believing that smiles and sincerity could bridge the blood-stained divides between nations.

As it turns out, this is the method they used... Interesting.