Right, Right, Right, It's All My Fault!

"See through the surface to the core."

"As for the outcome, after the first [Kage Summit], Konoha gained."

"One: [Through the massive funds and land obtained from selling the seven Tailed Beasts, Konoha accumulated its initial development capital, free from the Daimyo's economic manipulation.]"

"Two: [With the allied Uzumaki Clan's most stable Tailed Beast Jinchuriki seals, there was almost no risk of rampage without external interference.]"

"Three: [Konoha possessed the Uchiha's Sharingan, naturally adept at controlling Tailed Beasts, giving it an inherent advantage in both suppressing its own Tailed Beast and manipulating those of other villages.]"

"Four: [It planted a time bomb for the other five villages—every Tailed Beast Rampage would weaken each ninja village in turn, thereby indirectly strengthening Konoha.]"

"Huh?"

"There are that many benefits?"

Hashirama was stunned, never having imagined that distributing the Tailed Beasts would bring so many advantages to Konoha.

"Your younger brother probably figured all this out too, he just found it hard to tell you."

"Tobirama, you knew all this?"

Hashirama turned to look at Tobirama, once again taken aback.

Tobirama's gaze shifted slightly, but he still nodded in acknowledgment.

Back then, the reason he hadn't fully opposed the distribution of the Tailed Beasts was partly out of respect for his elder brother's will, but also because he saw these benefits, which indirectly pushed the plan forward.

Moreover, as a master of Forbidden Jutsu, he was well aware of the sealing techniques of other ninja villages. None of them could harness the power of the Tailed Beasts in the short term, which gave him peace of mind in agreeing to the distribution.

And in reality, during the [First Shinobi World War], no village actually used the Tailed Beasts in battle.

"Damn, so that means I ended up as a fraud who tricked the Five Kage?" Hashirama slumped, feeling a pang of guilt in his heart.

Tobirama, unusually firm, retorted:

"Elder Brother, don't be naive! Do you think the other four Kage couldn't see through these tricks? Do you think they were truly won over by your ideals?"

"Then why did they accept?"

"Given your strength, Elder Brother, could they really say no? Besides, you even kowtowed—if they still refused to show face, would they dare to start a war with you?"

And besides.

They were all founding Kage who had pacified their nations' wars. Though Hashirama's power was far beyond the norm, that didn't mean the other four Kage were useless.

As founders, how could they be swayed by a few words from Hashirama?

In the end, they only agreed because they believed the benefits of receiving the Tailed Beasts outweighed the costs for their own villages.

"Huh?"

Hashirama's mouth hung open in shock, feeling like he was the only fool in the whole world.

"Wait, sir, if there were so many advantages, why did the [Ninja World War] break out multiple times afterward?"

Hashirama was simple, not stupid, and quickly latched onto the key point.

Speaking of this.

Natsu Yuu was also helpless.

[Distributing the Tailed Beasts] wasn't the optimal solution, but it was still quite good.

Just the four advantages listed above were enough for Konoha to sit back and wait for victory.

It was practically a perfect start.

But Konoha after the Second Hokage couldn't even be described as eccentric.

[Using the war as an excuse to drain the Senju Clan's members]

[Watching the entire Uzumaki Clan fall without lifting a finger]

[Pushing the Uchiha toward annihilation]

[Allowing the Fourth Hokage Minato to die in battle, then treating the new Jinchuriki with hostility]

And so on...

If they had avoided just one of these mistakes, the Third and Fourth Wars might never have happened.

Yet Konoha managed to step on every single landmine, crippling itself as if afraid it wouldn't die fast enough.

You're holding four twos, four aces, four kings, and a pair of jokers, and you still lose. Natsu Yuu couldn't fathom it.

All he could do was call it an impressive screw-up.

But.

These future conflicts and trends couldn't be explained in a few words.

It would be clearer and more convincing to let Hashirama and the others witness them firsthand later.

"The reasons are complex, but they mainly boil down to differences in how the drawbacks of distributing the Tailed Beasts were handled."

"(O_O)?"

This time, not only Hashirama but even Tobirama didn't understand.

"What are the main drawbacks of distributing the tailed beasts?"

Natsu Yuu looked at Tobirama, who answered without hesitation.

"The immense power of the tailed beasts is itself a drawback!"

"Exactly, to be precise, it can be divided into external and internal factors."

"External means other ninja villages controlling the tailed beasts to attack—this isn't easy, at least requiring a [Perfect Jinchuriki], so let's set that aside for now."

"The key is the internal factor: the [Tailed Beast Rampage]."

"Is the [Tailed Beast Rampage] that hard to handle?" Hashirama asked, puzzled. He hadn't yet gone to capture tailed beasts and only had a vague idea of their power.

But judging from Kinkaku's recent tailed beast transformation, it seemed—maybe, perhaps, possibly—not much of a threat?

"The tailed beasts themselves aren't that strong; what's formidable is their unique [Tailed Beast Bomb]."

Aside from the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails, the overall strength of the other tailed beasts really isn't that great.

The Fourth Kazekage could suppress Shukaku, the One-Tail, all by himself, showing that certain specialized Kage-level ninja can defeat tailed beasts in a targeted manner.

But the tailed beasts have one perverted strategic ability: the [Tailed Beast Bomb].

A normally charged [Tailed Beast Bomb] can blow up an entire mountain without issue. With this kind of power, across the entire Naruto world, the number of ninja who can withstand it at close range is less than a handful.

So, the scariest thing about tailed beasts isn't riding them into an enemy village to cause destruction.

It's controlling the tailed beast to fire a [Tailed Beast Bomb] from several kilometers or even tens of kilometers away, sneaking it toward your village.

In an instant, the whole village is GG!

No matter how many elites you have, no matter how many trump card jutsu you possess.

Under a nuclear explosion, all are equal.

That's the true [Strategic-Level Weapon]!

After the battle at the Valley of the End, why did Hashirama think the Nine-Tails was dangerous? Even though his Sage Art Wood Golem could handle it with one hand.

It wasn't because he feared the Nine-Tails' physical strength, but because he saw Madara's [Sword Tailed Beast Bomb] reach the opposite shore of the sea and blow up a massive area!

That was what he dreaded—the fear that the Nine-Tails might fire a [Tailed Beast Bomb] at Konoha.

So, when sealing the tailed beasts later, he used the Uzumaki Clan's most stable Fuinjutsu.

Natsu Yuu pointed into the distance, at the explosion zone where Hashirama had just deflected the [Tailed Beast Bomb].

The latter suddenly understood.

An explosion like that—if it caught Konoha off guard with a few shots—the entire village would vanish in an instant.

"Such power is indeed a massive threat to the village!"

"But if we distribute the tailed beasts, everyone gains this power, and it might create mutual deterrence..."

Hashirama trailed off mid-sentence, because this [First Shinobi World War] was already slapping him in the face.

"Mutual deterrence has never stopped war; it only delays its arrival and increases its casualties."

"The Second Hokage should be well aware of this, right?"

Hashirama looked at his younger brother again.

"Tobirama, you knew all this, so why didn't you stop me back then?"

"Elder Brother, we have the Uzumaki's Fuinjutsu, and our jinchuriki are very stable. Even if a [Tailed Beast Rampage] unfortunately occurs, we have the Sha... the Uchiha's Sharingan to control the tailed beasts. The village is largely safe!"

Tobirama defended himself. He never hid his wariness of the Uchiha.

But he was even more aware of the [Sharingan]'s power, especially how Madara had tamed the Nine-Tails into a 'docile' cat.

So, he overruled all objections and took Kagami Uchiha as his personal guard.

On one hand, he valued Kagami's convictions, hoping to use him to change the Uchiha Clan and ease tensions.

On the other hand, he valued Kagami's talent and ability, hoping he would assist Hiruzen well and serve as a safety net against tailed beast rampages.

Unfortunately, no matter how well he planned, he couldn't foresee future changes.

"But what about other ninja villages? They don't have these conditions."

"I know. Precisely because they lack advanced Fuinjutsu and would struggle to perfectly suppress tailed beasts for a long time, I agreed to distribute them."

"Why?"

"That way, every time a 'Tailed Beast Rampage' occurs in their village, it inevitably weakens them significantly, which better ensures Konoha's safety!"

"Tobirama, how can you be so malicious?"

Tobirama: "..."

Tobirama turned his head in grievance and fell silent, unwilling to argue about good and evil with his naive elder brother.

Right, right, right—all the blame is mine!

For the sake of the village, he had no choice but to play the villain.