Warrior

Before coming to Peach Country, Ōnoki had always believed Shiraishi Yoshijo to be an ambitious conspirator.

Yet now that he was here and had heard those words, he realized that he had been prejudiced against Shiraishi Yoshijo.

This guy was indeed covered in black marks, but it would not be entirely accurate to say that he was evil by nature.

"True warriors dare to face the bleakness of life and confront the blood dripping before them. Did you say that?"

Ōnoki stared at Shiraishi Yoshijo with bright eyes. "A very insightful statement."

"No." Shiraishi Yoshijo shook his head. "Mr. Lu Xun said that. How should I put it? Seeing through something without exposing it only applies to dealing with people. But when the entire world has rotted to the core, you must speak of what you have seen through and warn the people. Even if you have to use violence to force them to confront the bloody truth."

"The Five Great Nations used to be immersed in a hypocritical peace, never realizing that this very hypocrisy was the cause of war and chaos. When I was still in Konoha, the Third Hokage was always talking to me about the Will of Fire. Oh, right, Iwagakure seems to have some Will of Stone too. What boring nonsense."

"So-called wills may bring spiritual fulfillment, but they cannot bring material prosperity. They can never resolve the constant wars plaguing this world. Just like how you treated Naruto as hope—what was the result? Naruto could only give people a sense of security; he could not give you all the material things you needed. He could not even safeguard Konoha's material way of life."

"All hypocrisy would eventually shatter before cruel reality!"

"Face reality, acknowledge reality, and then do everything possible to change it. That