Tailed Beast Deterrence System

"I killed Madara?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"Madara and I were so close—we founded Konoha together, and he even came up with the village's name. How could he leave? How could he attack the village?"

"Tobirama, what exactly did you do?"

Elder Brother's roar made Tobirama shrink his head again, but he couldn't show an inch of weakness when it came to the Uchiha.

He could only retort stubbornly:

"Elder Brother, that was all Madara's choice. Who knows what that guy was thinking? And he left after arguing with you—you should know best!"

Hashirama regained his composure. No matter what, he couldn't blame Tobirama.

And he'd heard that Madara left after a quarrel with him?

What had they argued about? That hadn't even happened on his end yet! Could it be when Madara invited him to the [Naka Shrine]?

No.

He had to get to the bottom of this once he returned. Have a good talk with Madara, and make sure to keep him here!

"Tobirama, was Madara really killed by me?"

"Yes, Elder Brother. You fought him for three days and three nights, reshaping the terrain of a vast area. In the end, you stabbed Madara through the back with a sword. I sealed his corpse myself..."

Hashirama fell silent. Tobirama's account was so detailed that this was almost certainly a real event from the future.

He himself had killed Madara with his own hands?

How could that be?

Had the future him truly changed?

He had founded the village to protect those he cherished.

Yet in the end, he killed the one he cherished for the village's sake?

In that moment.

Hashirama felt a rare flicker of confusion, and Natsu Yuu's earlier question echoed in his mind:

[What do you truly want to protect—the village, or your loved ones?]

"Elder Brother?"

Tobirama's call snapped Hashirama out of his daze.

"Nothing, just a bit hard to accept..."

Hearing this, Tobirama didn't press further. He knew better than anyone the bond between his brother and Madara.

The feeling of killing a close friend with one's own hands was truly awful. If Hashirama had Uchiha blood, he might have awakened the [Mangekyo Sharingan] in one go!

In fact.

In World 2, Hashirama had been deeply depressed after the [Battle of the Valley of the End], barely handling state affairs.

It was only the birth of his most beloved granddaughter, Tsunade, that barely eased Hashirama's grief.

"Alright, I'll sort out the Madara matter when I return. Tobirama, continue telling me about your side."

"Why did the other great nations start this war?"

Tobirama frowned and cut to the chase: "At its core, it was about competing for resources."

"[The Land of Fire] occupies the richest and most fertile land in the entire ninja world, so it's naturally coveted."

"Elder Brother's death was just the direct cause."

"Provoking a fight, testing Konoha, and even carving up the entire [Land of Fire]—that was the root cause of this war."

"But if you were still here, Elder Brother, this war would never have started."

"Even if it had, those two bastards wouldn't have had a chance to run wild!"

Tobirama glanced at the distant scraps of Kinkaku's flesh and the dying Ginkaku, his eyes blazing with fury.

He had led Konoha through this great war, defeating the allied forces of Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure, earning the title [First God of Speed in the Ninja World], and forcing Kumogakure to sue for peace.

But in the end, he nearly fell to these two beasts—how could he not be furious?

Natsu Yuu pictured the scene. If Hashirama had been at the [Alliance Conference] too...

It would probably go like this.

Kinkaku and Ginkaku would just pop up.

Hashirama would roar: "Where did these villains come from? Brother Raikage, sit tight—I'll be right back."

Raikage: "Lord Hashirama, have this drink before you go."

Hashirama: "I'll drink it when I return!"

In the blink of an eye...

Hashirama: "Hahaha! Brother Raikage, you wouldn't believe it—these two are quite amusing. They can even turn into six-tailed red foxes. I've caught them for you to toy with later for fun. Hahaha!"

The Raikage touched the wine cup on the table—the liquor was scalding hot!

But inwardly, he was growing nervous: 'How terrifying, truly worthy of the God of Shinobi! But does he really not know that Kinkaku and Ginkaku are from our village? There can't be someone this thick-headed, right? Hahaha...'

Joking aside.

Hashirama himself was well aware that what Tobirama said was true.

His ability to end the Warring States Period relied entirely on his unparalleled strength. After Konoha was founded, the peace that lasted over a decade in the Ninja World was also inseparable from his military might.

But he understood even more clearly that he would eventually die.

Peace was ultimately fleeting; he had to find a strategy to replace himself.

"What about the tailed beasts?"

"Tobirama, did the future me use the tailed beasts to create a deterrent?"

Speaking of this, Tobirama grew irritated.

In World 2, his elder brother Hashirama, at the first Kage Summit, had actually wanted to give away the eight tailed beasts he had captured for free.

In the end, under Tobirama's vehement opposition, it became selling seven tailed beasts to the other four villages, leaving Konoha with the strongest Nine-Tails.

But subsequent events proved that the tailed beasts had no deterrent effect at all.

As soon as Hashirama died, the other three villages immediately launched wars.

Only Sunagakure tucked its head and played dead, focusing all its efforts on researching how to use the tailed beasts, gradually developing techniques like Magnet Release and the Art of the Sleeping Tiger...

After hearing Tobirama's account, Hashirama was stunned again.

The Tailed Beast Deterrence System had failed too?

"Sir, was distributing the tailed beasts wrong?" Hashirama turned to look at Natsu Yuu, recalling how this Sage had seen through his wish to give away the tailed beasts from the very start.

Perhaps this gentleman could give him an answer?

Natsu Yuu smiled faintly, not minding a proper discussion of the tailed beast issue.

"Distributing the tailed beasts wasn't the optimal solution. But it was a good method—the problem was in the execution."

"Why?"

"Tobirama Senju, how do you judge whether a policy is good or bad?" Natsu Yuu turned to ask Tobirama, since asking Hashirama such a question would be a waste.

Tobirama paused for a moment, then gave his answer.

"As long as the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, it's a good policy."

This was also the conclusion he had drawn from his actual governance. Establishing the Anbu and the Konoha Military Police Force all had their downsides.

But as long as the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, the policy was necessary to implement.

As for the drawbacks, they could be gradually addressed and compensated for later.

If one only feared the downsides and kept stagnating, closing the country off, there would be no progress at all—only elimination by the times.

"Then what benefits did Konoha gain from distributing the tailed beasts? And what were the drawbacks?"

"We gained a considerable amount of money."

"And?"

"It conveyed Elder Brother's philosophy of peace?"

"Hmm... let's set that aside for now. Anything else?"

Tobirama glanced at his elder brother Hashirama beside him, not daring to say more.

Natsu Yuu saw Tobirama's hesitation and spoke frankly on his behalf:

"Let me say it, then."