Everyone had their own position, and Bai Sui naturally stood by his own.
In truth, Bai Sui's position was to have no position at all. After all, he only wanted to cultivate himself and pursue transcendence. He wasn't a native noble of this planet, so naturally, he would choose whichever option benefited him.
As Bai Sui saw it, the best life was one without goals. Ideas like protecting the world, liberating minds, or wiping out the Otsutsuki might be noble, but putting them into practice was too exhausting and difficult. They also weren't necessary for Bai Sui's life, so he didn't want to take the initiative and do anything.
For now, though, the people most useful to Bai Sui were the ninja. This planet was far from peaceful, and the Otsutsuki would appear within a century at most.
Not just Otsutsuki Kaguya, but also Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, Momoshiki Otsutsuki, Urashiki Otsutsuki, Kinshiki Otsutsuki, and Shibai Otsutsuki.
Whether Boruto was really the biggest Naruto fanfic or not, the threat posed by the Ōtsutsuki Clan was real. As far as Bai Sui knew, the ninja were the only beings on this planet capable of opposing them—even if those ninja had to cheat to do it.
As for the power the nobles were developing, judging both by its portrayal in the original story and by the progress Bai Sui had seen, he didn't believe it could reach a level capable of standing against the Ōtsutsuki in just a century.
So, from Bai Sui's perspective, he was currently on the ninja's side. A century simply wasn't enough time.
Bai Sui had already attained the Human Immortal Dao Fruit. With the aid of qi, living five or six hundred years would be no problem. He intended to use that time to transform into an Earth Immortal.
Judging by the progress of his inner alchemy, a century really wasn't enough. After all, Bai Sui wasn't some peerless genius who could cultivate far faster than everyone else.
Having figured out what he needed, Bai Sui decided to try intervening in the affairs of the ninja.
If he didn't want to face the resurrected Otsutsuki Kaguya, then Madara Uchiha was a key figure. The problem now was how to get the two of them to accept him.
As for creating trouble for them and then stepping in to solve it to win their favor, that would be simple and effective, but Bai Sui felt it went against his principles. He didn't intend to do that. Instead, he wanted to win them over with his sincerity, even if it would be harder.
"First, you have to be firm in your convictions. And you have to become strong. It's no use for the weak to bark as loudly as they want." Madara, his hair bristling into spikes, sat cross-legged and spoke at length to Hashirama.
Hashirama, with his mushroom-shaped hair, wholeheartedly agreed. "Yeah. In short, if we can master all kinds of ninjutsu and become strong, the adults won't be able to ignore our opinions."
Madara rose to his feet and turned his back to Hashirama. "That means overcoming the ninjutsu we're bad at and getting rid of our weaknesses. But when it comes to that, I haven't had any weaknesses for a long time." He finished with a handsome grin at Hashirama.
After sparring with Hashirama, Madara felt the urge to pee, so he went over to the stream and started relieving himself.
Just as Madara was happily letting loose, his face suddenly twisted, and the stream cut off.
Hashirama had quietly crept up behind Madara. He grinned mischievously. "Oh~ You really stopped!"
"I told you not to stand behind me! Want me to toss you into the river I'm pissing in?" Irritated by the interruption, Madara chased after Hashirama, intent on beating him up.
Running ahead, Hashirama laughed and shouted, "Hey! Hey! Hey! You've still got pee on your hands! Don't get it on me!"
"You jerk, it's your fault!" ...
'Watching' the two of them get along so cheerfully, Bai Sui couldn't bring himself to interrupt. He waited for them to finish their horseplay.
Only after they had both run themselves ragged did Bai Sui emerge from the woods and stand in their path.
As befitted the future God of Shinobi and the Rose of the Battlefield, they remained alert even after exhausting much of their energy and messing around. They spotted Bai Sui from far away.
They even exchanged a glance as they played, then continued running as if nothing was wrong.
But none of their little tricks escaped Bai Sui's Divine Sense. He saw everything.
Bai Sui made no move to attack and simply stood in the middle of the path, brazen as could be. That only made the two boys more suspicious, especially since they hadn't slowed down.
If Bai Sui was a ninja, he should have been on guard as strangers approached. If he was a civilian, he should have shown some kind of emotion or change in expression. Yet Bai Sui's face was calm and completely expressionless.
The two suspected he had set some sort of trap and was waiting for them to walk right into it. With a glance, they stopped, watching Bai Sui from a distance of twenty meters.
"Who are you, exactly?" Hashirama asked Bai Sui.
Bai Sui smiled at them. "You don't need to be so wary. I've been living in these woods for a while. I overheard the two of you discussing your views on ninja and the Ninja World some time ago.
"At first, I thought it was just a passing fancy. I didn't expect you to make up your minds and start training for it.
"Seeing how serious you are, I came to meet you. I'm not a ninja, and I don't know much about the ninja world, but I've traveled through quite a few countries in the Ninja World and have some thoughts of my own. I'd like to discuss them with you."
Bai Sui had a good plan, but he'd forgotten one thing: his face looked far too young to be the least bit convincing.
Sure enough, Madara said outright, "You look only a few years older than us, yet you claim to have traveled through all those countries in the Ninja World? That's ridiculous. Hashirama! Stop wasting your breath. We can talk after we've taken him down!"
Hashirama felt Bai Sui was telling the truth, but he went along with his friend and decided to attack. At the same time, he stayed on guard. If Bai Sui really had traveled around the Ninja World, he'd have to be capable.
The two had brought no ninja tools and used no ninjutsu. They had just sparred and used up a lot of their chakra.
Even Hashirama, who would one day become renowned in the Ninja World for his chakra, was limited by his age. His body was still growing. Though his chakra already surpassed that of his peers, he was still only a child.
So the two planned to use taijutsu and attack from opposite directions, forcing Bai Sui to make a move so they could gauge his strength.
After all, they weren't grown yet, and intelligence was still very important in ninja battles.
They were cautious, but Bai Sui was simply on a completely different level.
The moment the two entered Bai Sui's Divine Sense Domain, they immediately felt a drag around them. But by then, it was already too late.