The Second Hokage's Perspective

Konoha Hospital no longer cared much for the health of a ninja who was out of immediate danger, so once Li Ke's vitals stabilized, he was discharged.

As he left, he saw not only Yuhi Kurenai and Asuma waiting for him, but also a crowd of dying ninjas being wheeled in, many with missing limbs.

More numerous still were the dead, already being loaded onto carts to clear beds for the next arrivals. His own roommate had been kicked out the moment his stitches were done, left to handle his own dressing changes.

Yet, with Yuhi Kurenai by his side, Li Ke still felt happy.

Clearly, however, the Evil Old Senju Ghost had no interest in the romantic atmosphere between the righteous Li Ke and his girlfriend.

Even as Li Ke left the hospital and went shopping on the streets with Yuhi Kurenai, the Evil Old Senju Ghost kept chattering away in his mind.

"What you should be doing right now is training and conditioning, not wasting time with her. Furthermore, you had best not reveal your abnormally fast recovery. For a ninja, every piece of information must be kept secret; after all, a ninja's battle is a battle of intelligence..."

Li Ke listened to Senju Tobirama's lecture while happily feeding dango to Yuhi Kurenai.

He used to dislike these mixtures of flour, sugar, and oil, but since becoming a ninja, the sweetness of ordinary snacks was no longer enough to satisfy someone who frequently had to head to the front lines.

Ninja combat consumed massive amounts of energy and placed a terrifying strain on the mind, so the things he once avoided had now become a delicious treat.

However, as he ate, Li Ke shared the sensation of the taste with Senju Tobirama, who was still nagging inside his body, causing the old ghost to pause.

Then—

"Is it really so wasteful? Too sweet, what a waste... and this is during wartime, too..."

Senju Tobirama felt the sweetness in his mouth and couldn't help but complain.

Li Ke fell silent at his words. Sensing the shift in his mood, Yuhi Kurenai tilted her head, looked at Li Ke's arm—still in a sling—and asked, "Is it... not sweet enough?"

Li Ke shook his head and looked toward the Uchiha Clan compound.

"It's wartime, so I understand if it's not very sweet. It's just..."

He hadn't come here on purpose; it was simply that the best commercial district was right next to the Uchiha compound. He could see many Uchiha wearing white flowers and armbands in mourning for the dead.

The busiest shops on the street weren't dessert or snack shops, but the funeral supply stores ahead, and the tailors taking orders for black Japanese mourning attire.

The bustling crowd bought their goods with expressionless faces; some clearly looked strapped for cash, while others sighed heavily.

Yet, everyone was doing their best to ensure their loved ones could depart with dignity.

When women and the elderly met, they didn't talk about what they were eating or how their children and grandchildren were doing; they invited each other to funerals and spoke of whose house would be holding one next.

This was war.

Recalling that hellish scene, the dango in his mouth no longer tasted sweet; it felt like flavorless modeling clay.

Even so, he was lucky. Being on a team with the Hokage's son meant he would never be sent on a suicide mission.

Yet, he still felt as though he had entered hell.

"Just what?"

Seeing Li Ke lost in thought, Yuhi Kurenai asked. When she saw what the people were buying, she fell silent and gripped Li Ke's clothes.

"...I was just thinking, how good would it be if there were only one ninja village in this world?"

Li Ke stated his thoughts directly. In truth, he had long wanted to know why it wasn't like that.

Especially after coming to this world and stepping onto the battlefield himself, he was desperate to understand.

Hashirama Senju, Senju Tobirama, Madara Uchiha—each possessed enough power to change everything.

Why not unify the Ninja World?

"...Kid, it's not that simple."

Senju Tobirama's voice returned. He pondered for a moment and decided to share more with Li Ke.

"If you want to build a world where war is impossible, you must have sufficient capability. That capability isn't just about martial strength or ninjutsu. In short, it is far too early for you to be thinking about these things."

He didn't know Li Ke well enough to want to discuss such topics, but Li Ke couldn't help but ask.

"Is it because there aren't enough administrators? Or is it a problem with the First Hokage? Or perhaps the opposition of the Daimyo and a lack of funding?"

Li Ke posed his questions, and Senju Tobirama found himself truly unable to read the boy.

"To think you could come up with these things... it's incredible."

These were the very issues Senju Tobirama had encountered while founding Konoha, though he countered Li Ke's points.

"They are all factors, yet none of them are the root cause."

His tone was wistful.

"Those are just appearances. The real reason is trust and perception."

"Trust?"

"Yes. Although my brother founded Konoha and Madara Uchiha brought his clan to join us and shook hands in peace, how could hatred be so easily erased? At the beginning, despite Madara's help, Konoha was not harmonious. Friction occurred constantly."

When Senju Tobirama reached this point, he continued.

"Moreover, the Konoha of that time was not trusted by any clients. They were terrified that Uchiha and Senju ninjas couldn't work together properly. Because of this lack of trust, Konoha suffered from a severe lack of funds for a long time. It wasn't until my brother invited the Sarutobi, the Shimura, and the Ino-Shika-Cho clans—who were caught in the crossfire between the Senju and Uchiha—that the situation began to improve."

Li Ke nodded.

"So, because the so-called village structure was just established, everyone couldn't trust each other, and employers couldn't trust ninja villages, so there were few talented people to manage and little money for operations, right?"

Senju Tobirama gave an affirmative answer.

"Yes, and what truly changed all of this was the marriage alliance between my elder brother and Uzu Village. That clan not only provided a large amount of money, political and military support, but also gave us ninjutsu capable of sealing monsters like Tailed Beasts... You know, before that, Tailed Beasts would often wreak havoc on the entire world. Because of this, the ninjas of our Konoha Village all have the Uzumaki symbol on their backs."

As he spoke, Li Ke could clearly feel that Senju Tobirama's mood was very low.

"Unfortunately, just as Konoha Village finally managed to establish a foothold with the help of Uzu Village and gained the trust of the Land of Fire's Daimyo and more stable financial support by eliminating those frequently plundering ninja clans and bandits, other countries also established their own ninja villages."

As he said this, Senju Tobirama hesitated for a moment, unsure if Li Ke could understand or would misunderstand.

After all, he didn't know Li Ke well, and saying so much to him rashly could easily ruin a child's future.

But considering the temper and personality Li Ke had displayed, as well as his immense potential, he sighed softly and chose to take a small risk to continue.

"Ninja villages at this time were still very loose. The various ninja clans actually joined purely to avoid being wiped out by other allied clans. Ninja clans had no concept of country or village... The Hyuga Clan is an example of this. So, if my elder brother and Madara Uchiha led their ninja armies into battle, they could indeed suppress a country by themselves, but there would be no stable rear, because the clans of Konoha at that time could not be trusted by us.

Moreover, even my elder brother Hashirama would be at risk of assassination after continuous rapid marches and battles. And after other ninja villages suffered devastating blows, it was not impossible for someone to launch a suicide attack on Konoha Village, which we could not accept. Because once such a blow was suffered, the ninja village established in the name of peace would instantly collapse, and our clansmen would be killed by the fleeing members of other ninja clans.

By then, even if revenge were possible, the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, with only the three of us left, would be meaningless.

Furthermore, my elder brother's wish was to establish a peaceful place, not to rule a ninja world full of ruins. But with the mindset of ninjas at that time, it was difficult to determine if you were there to exterminate them or conquer them, and they found it hard to believe that there were ninjas as powerful as my elder brother in this world.

And by the time my elder brother and Konoha Village had established their reputation and trust, the Daimyos of various countries had quickly allied with other ninja villages. To prevent the Land of Fire's Daimyo from cutting off our supplies, and to have enough benefits to fully unite the clans of Konoha, my elder brother chose to stop, and sell the Tailed Beasts for money..."

By the time Senju Tobirama reached this point, his tone conveyed a sense of helplessness and bitterness, even a hint of gritting his teeth.

Li Ke felt that this was likely due to Hashirama Senju's insistence on selling the Tailed Beasts and his reluctance to forcibly establish order through military might, but his doubts were completely dispelled.

"I understand now... So, the process of establishing ninja villages was actually a process of building trust and a common understanding, a process of reversing the ninja's family-centric thinking, allowing ninjas to no longer depend on their clans for survival, but to rely on the village as individual ninja families to survive in the ninja world.

So, if you want to establish a unified ninja world, you naturally need a common understanding and sufficient trust. Therefore, to build this trust, you gave up many things, including autonomous financial rights and some strategic concessions?"

Li Ke's answer made Senju Tobirama feel a long-lost sense of pleasure. Even if Li Ke were a warmonger, the wars he instigated would be ones that benefited Konoha Village.

There was no need to worry about Li Ke going astray.

Moreover, this child truly possessed the thinking ability of a Hokage! He even far surpassed his elder brother and Monkey!

His elder brother knew that it happened but not why, and as for Monkey...

Senju Tobirama didn't want to comment, but based on the available information, he could only say that Monkey had done his best.

Konoha Village's Third Hokage had done the best he could.

Thus, his voice took on a teasing tone.

"That depends on how you look at it. In the eyes of the Land of Fire's Daimyo, we were a group of bandits who forcibly occupied part of his territory and kidnapped his military and public security capabilities! And we still had to pay him protection money regularly, making him a..."

"A paper Daimyo?"

"That's a very apt description."

Senju Tobirama praised him, and then Li Ke continued.

"So, does that mean that as long as Konoha Village can develop smoothly, by leveraging the Land of Fire's favorable environment and sufficient funds, it can gradually increase its economic sources and then bit by bit devour the entire ninja world?"

He could understand this step. After all, it was nothing more than something akin to "building high walls, accumulating provisions, and delaying the declaration of kingship."

He didn't ask why Hashirama Senju didn't use his powerful strength to forcibly establish order and peace, because if Hashirama Senju had done so, he wouldn't have been Hashirama Senju.

And Senju Tobirama didn't directly answer Li Ke's question, but instead replied with something that made Li Ke frown involuntarily.

"As long as the Hokage can recognize how peace is achieved, it is possible. However, if it were in this era, and there was a ninja with great power and a firm will who was willing to let the ninja world remain peaceful forever... then Konoha Village would no longer be the loose, easily toppled temporary alliance it once was... because they have realized how terrifying Konoha's power is, so Konoha has enough power to protect the people that ninja cares about."

Li Ke felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this. Because at this moment, he was certain that the 'powerful ninja' Senju Tobirama was referring to was most likely him.

But he had neither a Bloodline Limit nor powerful chakra...

"Evil Old Senju Ghost, are you planning to trick me into summoning Hashirama Senju?! And then have Hashirama Senju control my body to unify the ninja world and accomplish what they failed to do in their lifetime?"

The more Li Ke thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. After all, Senju Tobirama had been constantly urging him to cultivate Bloodline Limits. If he later claimed Li Ke had Wood Release talent and asked him to summon Hashirama Senju to help him cultivate Wood Release, this guess would likely be true!

"And given Senju Tobirama's personality and moral compass, he's really capable of doing something like this..."

Li Ke, who had suddenly become vigilant, felt it was necessary to give this Evil Old Senju Ghost less control over his body when he slept, to prevent him from causing trouble.

He decided that from now on, he would call Senju Tobirama "Evil Old Senju Ghost"!

"Oh, right, quickly end your unnecessary wandering. Because I want to see if you can learn the Flying Raijin Jutsu, and how much of my Water Release ninjutsu you can learn."

Li Ke was stunned for a moment, and then a voice appeared in his mind.

Second Hokage, Lord Senju Tobirama, is forever my good teacher and friend!