The Truth

"Because of certain special reasons, Naruto Uzumaki learned the truth about everything. He came into the Sealing Space and released this consciousness of mine. By the way, Jiraiya-sensei, take a look at these as well." As he spoke, more orbs of light appeared around Minato Namikaze.

After the orbs flew toward Jiraiya, he examined them carefully. These orbs contained memories and reasons regarding the decline of the Leaf, which Naruto Uzumaki had gathered by controlling several Anbu ninjas, eliminating that group of mountain bandits a few days ago, and consuming the lingering soul of their leader, Blue Bird.

They recorded the actions taken over the years by Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō, the truth behind the extinction of the Senju Clan, the real cause of death of the White Fang of the Leaf, the whereabouts of the bodies of Minato Namikaze and his wife, and how Shimura Danzō had arranged for Root ninjas to pose as bandits to plunder necessary supplies.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, and the two advisors were all disciples of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Having been influenced by him for so long, they had all, to varying degrees, adopted Tobirama Senju's philosophy: any factor detrimental to the village must be nipped in the bud.

Tobirama Senju's cold-bloodedness stood in stark contrast to Hashirama Senju's natural airheadedness; one could say Hashirama Senju was an absolute idealist, while Tobirama Senju was an absolute realist.

To consolidate the core leadership, Tobirama Senju founded the Anbu. The Anbu did not merely protect the Hokage; they also served to prevent foreign invasions, gather intelligence, and carry out assassinations. This was an organization directly under the Hokage, a system that persisted and became an indispensable part of the Leaf.

Many of Tobirama Senju's actions, behaviors, and ninjutsu had a profound impact on future generations.

A prime example was Shimura Danzō, who could be said to have truly driven the Uchiha Clan to a dead end. He arranged for the Uchiha Clan to live in the most remote area, forbade them from participating in battles, and later sought to resolve the Uchiha issue through armed force. In the end, Shimura Danzō forced Itachi to commit the Uchiha Clan massacre that shocked the ninja world, leaving a deep impact on the future.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi succeeded as the Third Hokage, he adopted Tobirama Senju's methods to eliminate all unstable factors in order to solidify his position.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frequently sent ninjas of the Senju Clan on extremely dangerous missions, causing their numbers to dwindle until only Tsunade remained.

After the Second Great Ninja War, the White Fang of the Leaf, Hatake Sakumo, had achieved great military merit. Relying on his superior strength, he killed Chiyo's son, Akasuna no Imoku, and daughter-in-law, Akasuna no Mutsu, and the ninja unit he led forced back the army of the Land of Sand.

After the war, Hatake Sakumo's prestige reached its peak, and everyone assumed he would become the Fourth Hokage. However, during a mission, he abandoned his objective to save a comrade. After returning to the village, the news leaked, and even the comrade he had saved condemned him. Under immense pressure, Hatake Sakumo chose to end his own life.

As for how the news leaked, it went without saying: the comrade he had saved was a member of the Sarutobi Clan.

Furthermore, after Hiruzen Sarutobi took office as the Third Hokage, the strength of the Leaf grew weaker and weaker. By the end of the Third Great Ninja War, the only one left of the Eight Colors of the Leaf was the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze.

Ultimately, Minato Namikaze, whose strength and prestige surpassed Hiruzen Sarutobi's, became the Fourth Hokage. Although he became Hokage, Minato Namikaze could only be considered a puppet; the Anbu directly under the Hokage remained in the hands of Hiruzen Sarutobi, and major decisions regarding the Leaf were still made by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

After Minato Namikaze died, Hiruzen Sarutobi resumed the position of Hokage, at which point the Leaf was at its weakest in history. (Orochimaru had defected, Tsunade had left, and Jiraiya had departed; few of the Leaf's top combatants remained.)

As for Shimura Danzō, who always styled himself as the darkness of the Leaf, he maintained contact with Orochimaru even after the latter's defection. After obtaining the bodies of the Fourth Hokage and his wife, and finding no useful results from his research, he traded them to Orochimaru in exchange for an arm cultivated from the cells of Hashirama Senju.

Upon obtaining this arm, he began to execute the previously planned Uchiha Clan extermination.

There was much, much more. After viewing all the orbs, Jiraiya sat cross-legged on the ground for a long time without speaking, while Minato Namikaze did not disturb him, standing quietly to the side to wait.

After a long while, Jiraiya let out a heavy sigh and said, "Minato, I truly cannot believe it. Has the Leaf really become this dark?" At this moment, Jiraiya still held onto some hope; he wanted Minato Namikaze to tell him that all of this was false.

Seeing that Minato Namikaze remained silent for a long time, all of Jiraiya's hopes were shattered, and he accepted the truth of everything.

After pondering for a moment, Jiraiya spoke again: "Minato, what is your take on the Leaf?"

"Jiraiya-sensei, I cannot trust anyone else in the Leaf right now. That is why I had Naruto Uzumaki come to find you. I implore you, Jiraiya-sensei, to help Naruto Uzumaki," Minato Namikaze said, bowing to Jiraiya.

Seeing Minato Namikaze so solemn, Jiraiya quickly stepped forward to help him up. "Minato, I would have done this even if you hadn't asked, but what do you need me to do next?"

Minato Namikaze said with a look of gratitude, "Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei. I want Naruto Uzumaki to sign a contract with Mount Myoboku, and then I want you to hand over the key you have been keeping."

Hearing Minato Namikaze mention the key, Jiraiya quickly asked, "Can Naruto Uzumaki fully control the power of the Nine-Tails now?"

"Jiraiya-sensei, Naruto Uzumaki has gained the recognition of Kurama and has become friends with him, so there is no problem with breaking the seal now. Kurama, say hello to the sensei," Minato Namikaze said.

At this, Kurama, who had been lying on the ground, opened his eyes and let out a huff toward Jiraiya.

Seeing this, Jiraiya said, "That is perfectly fine. I will have Naruto Uzumaki sign the contract shortly. Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"Besides that, I would like you and Naruto Uzumaki to take a trip to the Land of Fields," Minato Namikaze said after a moment of thought.

Seeing Jiraiya's puzzled expression, Minato Namikaze continued, "As you can see, Kushina Uzumaki and I are now merely soul bodies, and our physical remains are in the hands of Orochimaru. If Naruto Uzumaki wants to resurrect us, he must first retrieve our bodies."

Hearing Minato Namikaze speak of resurrection, Jiraiya asked, "Impure World Reincarnation?"

"Not Impure World Reincarnation, but resurrection in the true sense," Minato Namikaze replied.

Hearing Minato Namikaze speak of true resurrection, Jiraiya did not say anything more, simply nodding in agreement. He asked Minato Namikaze another question: "What do you and your wife think of the Third Hokage and the Leaf?"

"Jiraiya-sensei, I do not want to lie to you. The first thing Kushina Uzumaki and I will do after being resurrected is return to the Leaf. You have seen the life Naruto Uzumaki has led; as his parents, this is something Kushina Uzumaki and I cannot tolerate."

"As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya-sensei, you have seen what the Leaf has rotted into, so..." Minato Namikaze did not continue.

Jiraiya naturally understood what Minato Namikaze had left unsaid.

Seeing Jiraiya fall silent, Minato Namikaze spoke again, "From now on, Jiraiya-sensei, you no longer need to travel around gathering intelligence, and you no longer need to search for the Child of Prophecy."

Hearing Minato Namikaze mention the Child of Prophecy, Jiraiya looked up at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Naruto Uzumaki knows most of the intelligence in the ninja world now; he will tell you slowly. The reason you went out to search for the Child of Prophecy was because you hoped for true peace in the ninja world, and Naruto Uzumaki has already found the answer," Minato Namikaze continued.

Hearing the word "peace," Jiraiya quickly asked for Naruto Uzumaki's answer. Minato Namikaze then told Jiraiya everything about Naruto Uzumaki's ideology and his thoughts on the current state of the ninja world.

Jiraiya was a very naive man; he had always fantasized about achieving world peace by allowing people to understand one another without resorting to war, thereby breaking the chains of hatred. However, he failed to understand that for people to understand one another, there must be a prerequisite: everyone must accept his ideology.

After hearing Naruto Uzumaki's answer from Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya pondered it seriously. To achieve peace in the ninja world, the first step was to unify it. Only after unification could one potentially change people's ideologies. Although the ninja world was not large, there were too many factions—such as the major ninja villages—and each village inherited a different will.

Each ninja village belonged to a different country, and these countries, in order to develop and become stronger, desperately plundered various resources.

Only by unifying the ninja world would the wars fought over resources end. Furthermore, only after unification and allowing the ninja world to develop steadily could the transformation of thought begin. Of course, this was merely the prerequisite for true peace.

Only after accomplishing these two things could one proceed to the next steps: establishing rules, or laws.

Human nature is inherently evil; from the moment of birth, human greed is exposed. A child nursing does not care if the mother is in pain; he only cares if he is full.

Without the constraints of law, the inner evil of some people will slowly germinate once more.

Without education from a young age, people become stubborn, wild, unruly, selfish, and unable to distinguish good from evil or right from wrong.

The current ninja world is like such an uncivilized child. Ordinary civilians have not received education, while ninjas, influenced by various ideologies, have become insular and stubborn, prioritizing the interests of their own villages above all else.

If one were to rely solely on military force to unify the ninja world, the result would be a false peace. If one were to rely only on the spread of ideology, given the current state of the ninja world, the new ideas would soon be treated as cults and suppressed. Only by carrying out both simultaneously, followed by slow development, could it work.

After thinking it through, Jiraiya had to admit that this was indeed the way to achieve true peace in the ninja world. He felt as though he could already see the scene of world peace.

"Minato, from now on, I will assist Naruto Uzumaki. I believe I will live to see the day the ninja world truly finds peace," Jiraiya said.

...Ti Ta provided the Great God's Naruto: Starting with Asura Chakra.