Don't Be So Naive

Uchiha Sou looked at Shisui with a strange expression, unable to fathom what kind of madness had taken hold of this guy now.

Explaining the reasons for war is not a simple matter, at least not for this world.

Having studied at the Ninja Academy, he knew full well that the school would never teach you such complex things; their primary focus was teaching you how to kill others.

Therefore, is it even possible to discuss the causes of war with such insects?

It's impossible, they simply don't have the capacity for it!

However, after mulling it over, Uchiha Sou felt he could simplify things enough for this guy to understand on his own.

Ever since he awakened his Mangekyo, he could feel that Uchiha Shisui's attitude toward him had been quite ordinary.

Or rather, ever since he saved Uchiha Shizuka, this kid's attitude toward him had been unusual, and after awakening the Mangekyo, that attitude had taken a step further.

If I could completely turn this kid into my own man, two pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan...

Thinking of this, Uchiha Sou's eyes couldn't help but glow slightly.

While the power of two pairs of Mangekyo might not be enough to sweep through Konoha, at least Konoha would have to carefully weigh whether they could afford to bite into an Uchiha clan like that!

And that brat Uchiha Itachi, although he's a beast in the original story, he should only be four or five years old right now. If...

At the thought of Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Sou couldn't help but shake his head slightly; he would leave that kid for later.

After all, the boy's father was not only a super lunatic but also the clan head of the Uchiha!

With a man like that as the leader, how could the Uchiha not be destroyed?

Uchiha Sou had already made up his mind: if he were to stay in Konoha, the Uchiha clan had to be his, otherwise, certain things would be very difficult to handle.

This made him think of Orochimaru involuntarily; he had to admit that this failed boss really knew how to divide the cake.

Shaking his head, Uchiha Sou stopped thinking about these things and turned his head to look at Shisui beside him.

"Then, in your opinion, why do so many wars break out?" Uchiha Sou asked directly, "And you, Genma, what is your take on it?"

"Me?"

Shiranui Genma had originally wanted to see what Uchiha Sou would say, but he didn't expect the question to turn to him. He could only shrug helplessly and say.

"Actually, I never think about this question, nor do I consider it. I hate war, but as ninjas, there are some things we must execute, and that's all."

"As for me..." Shisui was not as dismissive as Shiranui Genma. He thought for a moment and then said uncertainly, "Is it hatred? It's because of the hatred between each other that wars keep happening, right?"

"I'm sorry, but hatred is just an excuse, not the primary reason."

Hearing this, Uchiha Sou couldn't help but think of Jiraiya. That guy was a firm believer that hatred was the source of the world's woes, and he longed for mutual understanding between people to eliminate war.

But the problem was, that guy had been wrong from the very beginning.

If it were just individual people, that would be one thing, but the main actors are villages that wield immense power, and the situation is completely different.

"Let me ask you a question: what was the start of the Third Shinobi World War?"

"The Third Shinobi World War?" Shisui and Genma looked at each other involuntarily, and then Genma answered, "The Third Kazekage went missing, Sunagakure framed us for it, and combined with the grudges from the Second Shinobi World War, so..."

"Then what about the Second Shinobi World War?" Uchiha Sou smiled, "Although we weren't born yet, I think we all know."

"The Demigod Hanzo of Amegakure launched an attack on us." Shisui was something of a top student, and he immediately thought of the answer.

"Then, why would a tiny Amegakure launch an attack on us?" Uchiha Sou's expression became much more serious, "We weren't even in the same weight class, and we had no prior grudges or conflicts. Why would they do that?"

This question silenced them both for a moment; this was something the textbooks had never mentioned.

Uchiha Sou seemed to understand their situation. He glanced at Hyuga Tetsu, who was still in front responsible for scouting and leading the way, then looked at the Might Duy father-son duo behind them, and finally spoke slowly.

"Actually, the reason is simple: the Land of Rain, where Amegakure is located, has no room for development. To break through the bottleneck of development, they had no choice but to expand."

"And this problem is the same today. The Land of Wind is located in a desert region; they don't have enough water sources, enough arable land, or enough mineral resources."

"It can be said that the barren Land of Wind cannot support the development of a major ninja village. Although Rasa can use Magnet Release to create gold dust to trade for strategic supplies, do you think other places are generous enough to sell to him?"

Would they? Of course not!

Even if Shisui and Genma didn't pay attention to these issues, they knew that Sunagakure couldn't be considered a friend, and could even become an enemy at any moment.

With such an existence, no village would sell them such important resources. Even if they did, they would likely limit the quantity and force the other party to pay a premium!

"So, to break through these limitations, they had no choice but to advance toward the Land of Rivers, which led to them attacking us, right?"

Genma realized this now and spoke slowly, while Shisui nodded silently and then added.

"And the other villages also had various reasons, which is why they chose to join the war and attack us?"

"That's about the size of it. War is never about hatred; hatred only exists between us ninjas. For the villages, they have to consider the issue of interests."

Uchiha Sou nodded faintly. It was precisely because he knew the plot and had attended many classes before transmigrating that his perspective on problems was different from others.

To put it bluntly, he possessed more of a 'Hokage's mindset' than someone like Uchiha Itachi!

His words left Genma and Shisui stunned for a long time. After some thought, they sincerely realized that this was likely the root of the truth.

Compared to the interests of the village, hatred seemed truly insignificant. Standing from the perspective of the village, the choice was already clear.

After understanding this, the way both Shisui and Genma looked at Uchiha Sou changed even more dramatically.

However, they were also somewhat puzzled as to why Uchiha Sou, who was about the same age as them, could think so far ahead and see so far.

"Alert!"

Just then, Hyuga Tetsu, who was in charge of reconnaissance and leading the way at the front, suddenly stopped and made a tactical hand signal, which Uchiha Sou immediately acted upon by issuing an order.

Everyone stopped in their tracks at that moment, and soon Hyuga Tetsu ran back and whispered.

"Captain, there are enemies. It's a search party, two standard squads."

Two standard squads meant eight people, but in reality, this number really didn't amount to much for Uchiha Sou and his team.

"Prepare for battle."

Uchiha Sou nodded upon hearing this, and then a smile appeared on his face.

"Everyone, this time we are going to expose ourselves on purpose. I already said it when we set out, I hope you are truly prepared."

"We are ready, Captain!"

"Very well, then, move out!"