Another Peace-Seeking Jinchūriki

Tokiju and Uchiha Hikari talked for a long time, and he told her everything he had learned about history.

Since he wasn't sure how long they had been in this Sealing Space, he also picked and chose some things that would happen in the future to tell her.

After listening carefully to Tokiju's account, Uchiha Hikari let out a scornful laugh. "The Uchiha actually joined forces with the Senju, then got ostracized after founding a village. What a despicable clan."

Uh... You've just insulted yourself, too.

Tokiju muttered inwardly, but said nothing aloud.

Once Uchiha Hikari had calmed down, Tokiju asked, "Is there anything you want to do in the future? I mean, after we get out."

At that, Uchiha Hikari fell into thought.

According to Tokiju, she had been sealed away here for hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years, and the Warring States Era had long since ended.

Moreover, though the current era of shinobi villages seemed peaceful on the surface, the scale of any war that broke out once that balance was shattered would far exceed that of the Warring States Era.

Back then, conflicts had been limited to one shinobi clan fighting another. Now, entire nations were at odds.

If war broke out, the casualties would be beyond measure.

Having lived through the Warring States Era, she knew all too well how merciless and cruel war could be.

In the past, the two clans might have fought like mad over a single mission. The conflicts of interest between nations now were even worse.

At the thought, the words her parents had once said came back to her: they hoped she could live beneath the sunlight.

"Tokiju, do you really think there's no way to bring lasting peace to the Ninja World?"

Uchiha Hikari didn't answer Tokiju's question. Instead, she asked him one of her own.

Hearing this, Tokiju shook his head helplessly. "There's no way—not with the Ninja World's current balance of power."

"Is it because of conflicting interests?" Uchiha Hikari asked.

Tokiju nodded and continued, "More or less. The Ninja World's current resource output simply can't support too many shinobi."

"When resources run short, shinobi villages start wars to reduce the shinobi population."

"They also hope to gain more influence through war, or take a few chunks out of countries rich in resources."

Uchiha Hikari pondered this and asked, "Is the Land of Fire, where Konoha is located, the same?"

Tokiju shook his head. "No. The Land of Fire is too prosperous. Its resources are more than enough to meet the shinobi's needs."

"So the Land of Fire only has to keep developing quietly to gradually surpass the other villages."

"That's not something the other villages want to see, so whenever war breaks out, Konoha is bound to get dragged into it."

And that was exactly what happened. Whenever a great ninja war broke out, every village took a bite out of Konoha.

Especially during the Third Ninja War, when the Three Great Shinobi Villages even joined forces to attack Konoha.

Even more absurdly, Konoha withstood the assault and actually won.

That showed just how abundant Konoha's resources and talent were.

If it weren't for a once-in-a-thousand-years champion of internal conflict like Shimura Danzō, Konoha would have been capable of unifying the Ninja World long ago.

That said, it wasn't quite that simple. Black Zetsu was still scheming in the shadows, and the other villages wouldn't just sit by and watch Konoha grow stronger.

Still, one thing was certain: without Danzo, Konoha wouldn't have fallen into the state of decline it was in before the main story began.

After hearing Tokiju's explanation, Uchiha Hikari fell into thought.

After a long while, she suddenly sprang to her feet and declared, "I've decided. I'll end the wars and bring peace to the Ninja World!"

Tokiju was taken aback. So you're another peace-seeking Jinchūriki.

But for someone who had lived through the Warring States Era, it was only natural to long for peace.

As long as she wasn't as fanatical as Uchiha Madara, Tokiju was happy to let her pursue it.

Besides, he knew what happened later in the Naruto story. There was also a threat from the Otsutsuki lurking in the stars.

Only by unifying the Ninja World as their stronghold could they better fend off those unknown threats.

Looking at Uchiha Hikari's resolute expression, Tokiju smiled faintly, then doused her enthusiasm with a bucket of cold water. "Oh? And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Uchiha Hikari's face.

Right. How?

When she'd voiced her dream, she hadn't thought that far ahead. Now that he'd suddenly asked, she was at a loss.

She hadn't even been able to stop the wars between shinobi clans during the Warring States Era. She'd even ended up sealed away.

Suddenly talking about bringing peace sounded unrealistic no matter how she looked at it.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Tokiju didn't call her naive. Instead, he said, "Don't worry about it for now. Before we can talk about dreams, we need to figure out how to get out of here."

Tokiju had no idea what was happening outside or when, so there was no way he could make any effective plans.

What if the Fourth Shinobi World War was already underway out there, and they walked straight into the Infinite Tsukuyomi as soon as they escaped? That would be a joke.

So any plans would have to wait until they were out of here.

Hearing Tokiju's words, Uchiha Hikari looked at him and asked, "Will you help me?"

Tokiju shrugged. "As long as you don't make everyone fall asleep and live in a dream, I'd be happy to help."

"After all, who doesn't want peace?"

He meant it. As someone whose soul had come from a peaceful era, he'd long been fed up with the mess in the Ninja World.

The many ninjutsu used by shinobi could be put to work in production, greatly increasing resource output.

The only reason he'd focused on protecting himself before was that he hadn't been strong enough to change anything.

But now things were different. With the Dual Eyes of Time granted by the system, he had the confidence to reach the pinnacle.

The Eye of Time aside, the Eye of Light alone was already incredibly powerful.

After all these years of study, Tokiju felt he hadn't even unlocked a tenth of its potential.

In other words, if he fully developed the Eye of Light, it could rival the various Mangekyō Sharingan and even the Rinnegan.

Time continued to pass, and another two years went by.

After spending those two years together, Tokiju and Uchiha Hikari had grown very close—closer than friends.

However, all those years of waiting had worn down what little patience Uchiha Hikari had left. She was constantly eager to get out and run wild.

So Tokiju had no choice but to spend a great deal of time every day trying to break the seal.

But he had no good way to decipher the sealing symbols that bound the Sealing Space. The seal was simply too complex.

It was nothing like the sealing symbols on Uchiha Hikari.

With Tokiju's current knowledge of Sealing Jutsu, breaking it the normal way would take at least three to five years.

Fortunately, after years of research, Tokiju had managed to find a weak point in the seal.

Impatient to get out, Uchiha Hikari suggested that she and Tokiju join forces to break through the sealing barrier.

Once he agreed, Tokiju began absorbing large amounts of light energy from the surroundings, aiming to unleash his most powerful strike.

Uchiha Hikari did the same, adjusting her physical condition every day to bring herself to peak form.