Iwagakure: Why Is It Always Me Who's Unlucky?

Although he looked down on Tobirama's overly roundabout methods, Madara was quite satisfied with Tobirama's current changes.

"You weren't you just like Hashirama back then, always preaching mutual respect and mutual understanding? Have you finally figured it out now? Your enemies won't sympathize with you..."

Madara's teasing made Elder Tobirama even more displeased.

Back then, he had not wanted to be overly lenient toward the other four nations either, but Elder Brother had insisted on it, so he could only follow Hashirama's lead.

And within the limits of his abilities, he had patched up the holes left behind for Hashirama.

Now, after enduring the Four Nations Alliance's siege and Kumogakure's betrayal, Tobirama had naturally cast aside his last shred of naïveté. His methods and ideas had inevitably become far more radical as well.

Faced with Madara's teasing, Tobirama had no intention of conceding.

"I don't need you to teach me!"

Madara was in a good mood and was not angry in the slightest.

Instead, he felt a rather exhilarating sense of surveying the world as he continued:

"Where there is light in this world, there will inevitably be shadows. If you try to preserve peace out of your own selfish wishes, you will surely invite war."

"To protect love, hatred will be born!"

"The cause and effect between them cannot be severed. That is simply reality."

"You can't change it, and neither can Hashirama!"

Madara understood this all too well.

If Natsu Yuu had not intervened, then according to the original plot, he and Hashirama would have fallen out and he would have left Konoha.

In the future, it seemed he would even die at Hashirama's hands?

Even he and Hashirama, intimate friends who understood each other so deeply, had found it difficult to completely understand one another, until they ultimately turned their blades against each other.

How much more so would that be the case between one village and another, one nation and another?

"Hmph, you make it sound nice."

"As if you can solve those conflicts!"

Tobirama grew somewhat agitated and roared loudly.

"Love and hate cannot be severed, but sufficient power can sever the people who give rise to hatred!"

"If you can't resolve the conflict, then resolve the people at the source of the conflict!"

Tobirama froze.

Though something about it felt wrong, he was actually unable to refute it!

Conflicts truly were difficult to resolve, but the people behind those conflicts were easy enough to deal with!

If he had possessed Elder Brother Hashirama's strength, then when the Four Nations Alliance had besieged Konoha, he could have killed all the other Four Kage!

Would they have dared to Backstab Konoha afterward?

They would have been lucky if they did not crawl to Konoha and beg to be its dogs.

Natsu Yuu silently watched the show and inwardly applauded Old Madara.

As expected of a fierce man who could withstand Naruto's Talk-no-Jutsu. His own verbal skills were not to be underestimated either!

In truth, There was nothing wrong with Madara's ideals or the way he put them into practice. His only miscalculation had been being deceived by Black Zetsu.

Otherwise, he truly might have been the one to unite the entire Ninja World and completely end the chaos of war.

Tobirama glared at Madara indignantly, truly unable to offer a rebuttal.

He could only say wistfully:

"A guy whose head is filled with nothing but power will never understand."

"Managing and developing a village is far from simple. Relying solely on military deterrence cannot last forever."

"You're not a Hokage, so naturally you don't know the difficulties involved."

The corner of Madara's lips curled upward. He really wanted to immediately tell this world's Tobirama that, in his own world, he had already been designated as the Second Hokage.

If this Tobirama found out, his expression would surely be wonderful, wouldn't it?

But Madara still held himself back, planning to disgust this Tobirama another time when the right opportunity arose.

At the very least, Konoha in his own world needed to become even more prosperous before he would have the confidence to thoroughly roast this Tobirama.

Wasn't it just managing a village? How hard could it be?

Once he revived Izuna, he would definitely do a better job than this annoying Tobirama!

His little brother was surely the best!

"Not like you, the Hokage, have done such a great job. Your village was besieged by four nations, and you nearly died at the hands of two beasts. You think you deserve to be Hokage?"

"Madara, don't go too far!"

Tobirama sprang to his feet, glaring furiously.

"Hmph! Just moments ago, I completely destroyed [Iwagakure]."

"What?!!"

Tobirama was startled, his attention instantly diverted.

"Didn't understand? The [Iwagakure] on my side has already been completely wiped out."

"You destroyed Iwagakure? How could that be? How could Elder Brother let you..."

"He still doesn't know. And by the time he does, he won't be able to change anything anyway."

"You..."

Elder Tobirama was dumbfounded.

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He wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat.

He had to admit that Madara was still as ruthless and decisive as ever!

Especially now that Madara knew the future, his actions had become even more impossible to predict.

He had said he would wipe out Iwagakure, and he had done it.

Still, that might not necessarily be bad news. At the very least, if a war broke out on Madara's side in the future and Konoha was besieged, there would be one less [Iwagakure] to deal with, right?

No, no, no.

If Madara remained alive, it was hard to say whether a war would even break out on his side!

Seeing Tobirama's shocked expression, Madara felt even more refreshed.

"Have you realized the gap between us now?"

"What are you so smug about? Before long, I'll be able to destroy [Iwagakure] too!"

Tobirama retorted petulantly.

"Just don't boast so much that you burst."

"Come to think of it, Iwagakure really has terrible luck. It got targeted by a crafty bastard like you again."

Tobirama offered no comment on that.

His reason for targeting Iwagakure was simple.

At this stage:

[Kirigakure]: Its entire territory lay isolated overseas, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even at its weakest, no other village had managed to penetrate its heartland.

[Kumogakure]: It had just gone through Kinkaku and Ginkaku's rebellion. Although it had been severely weakened, the Third Raikage who succeeded to power was a ruthless figure. Moreover, the Entire Village was surely on high alert right now, making a sneak attack difficult.

[Sunagakure]: It was so poor that Tobirama could not even be bothered to spare it another glance. Even if he went to great lengths to conquer it, there would be almost no gain.

Setting aside those small countries and minor villages as well.

All things considered, only [Iwagakure] was worth making a move on.

At the very least, after taking it down, they could squeeze some profit out of it and replenish Konoha.

Therefore.

It was not that Tobirama had chosen to target Iwagakure; Iwagakure could only blame its own terrible luck.

"Alright, stop bickering."

"Let's talk business."

Natsu Yuu spoke up, suppressing their dispute before asking, "Tobirama, are you sure you want to join forces with [Sunagakure] to launch a surprise attack on [Iwagakure]?"

"We have to bring Sunagakure in!"

"Afraid they'll strike at our home base?"

It was not hard to guess. If they did not bring Sunagakure along, what if Sunagakure took advantage of Konoha's attack on Iwagakure to strike Konoha instead?

Tobirama had no intention of gaining a sesame seed only to lose a watermelon, ultimately benefiting [Sunagakure].

"That's right!"

"And Sunagakure has to commit troops. Only then can we divide up the [Land of Earth] afterward and ease Konoha's pressure from the side."

There were no eternal allies, only eternal interests!

Having been stabbed in the back by Kumogakure once, Tobirama had come to understand this principle deeply.

Once Sunagakure joined in, it would be equivalent to tying itself to Konoha's war chariot. There would be no getting off anytime soon.

That was far more stable and reliable than any alliance treaty.

Afterward, they could also join forces with Sunagakure to withstand the blame and pressure from the other great nations.

As for whether [Sunagakure] would refuse?

With how dirt-poor they were, as long as there was a hot meal to be had, they would rush in without needing any urging.

They would be thrilled just to join in ambushing Iwagakure and splitting the spoils.

Why would they refuse?

If they actually dared to refuse, Tobirama could only turn his spearhead around and give the disobedient [Sunagakure] a hard stab!

"Who are you planning to send to persuade Sunagakure?"

"I plan to send Kagami and Danzo."

"Oh? Aren't they both injured?"

"Their injuries will have some effect, but not much. Besides, there are no more suitable candidates at the moment."

Tobirama knew very well that whoever was sent to persuade Sunagakure had to carry enough weight, possess sufficient strength, and be one of his trusted subordinates.

Otherwise, it would be a joke if they died on the way or leaked confidential information.

Hiruzen was the new Hokage in name and had to remain behind to guard the village.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were somewhat lacking in strength, while Torifu Akimichi was not smooth or quick-witted enough.

All things considered, Kagami and Danzo were undoubtedly the best choices.

The former had the Sharingan and could deal with all kinds of Genjutsu and ambushes.

The latter had considerable mastery of Wind Release and was eager to earn merit, so he would surely give it his all.

"Fine. But before they leave, Madara can give Kagami an upgrade first."

"An upgrade?"

Both Tobirama and Madara were somewhat bewildered, unable to understand Natsu Yuu's wording.