With that, the story of this novel had come to an end. But I had left the protagonist, Ying Yue, with an open-ended conclusion. An immortal, transcendent being could experience countless stories, and Ying Yue had already achieved his goals in the Ninja World: bringing an end to its age of turmoil and creating a prosperous world unlike any before.
This novel had started with a few wonderful ideas that came to me during a reading slump, so I began writing it right away. But my skills were limited at first, and the first hundred thousand words were rather mediocre. The protagonist's growth was too slow, and there weren't enough satisfying moments, so I lost quite a few readers. Over time, though, my readership became stable. Maybe I was getting better at writing. I'm grateful that you all enjoyed the story and encouraged me to keep writing until today.
More than the income, what matters to me is sharing ideas. These days, many novels introduce supernatural powers, then turn their settings into little more than feudal dynasties with a fresh coat of paint. They also embrace social Darwinism, emphasizing survival of the fittest.
In my view, humanity didn't become the most powerful and dominant species on Earth because each individual was terrifyingly strong. It was because humans could cooperate and think. One person would have a hard time defeating a lion or tiger one-on-one, and humans were far weaker than dinosaurs and other creatures. But once we learned to work together and build civilization, even the mightiest beasts were no match for us.
Cooperation has done far more to advance human history than competition, especially competition that amounts to a zero-sum game.
Then there's the worldbuilding in Naruto. It looks like a hot-blooded shonen manga, but many details are left unexplained—or perhaps the author, Kishimoto, simply didn't want to fill them in. If you look beneath the surface and dig into the reasons the shinobi world is in constant conflict, the enemy isn't just the so-called villains.
Kishimoto's stories often put the cause before the effect: first came Uzumaki Naruto's story, then the backstory that was added afterward. It's like shooting an arrow and then drawing a target around where it landed. First comes the story, then an attempt to make it all fit. But that process left plenty of inconsistencies and outright baffling details, which led to all sorts of Naruto conspiracy theories. For example, Senju Hashirama had a Sage Body, yet died in his prime; the Second Hokage knew the Flying Thunder God Technique, yet died holding the line for the Hokage Guard Platoon.
Questions like why the Senju Clan disappeared, or what happened to the Uzumaki Clan and the Land of Whirlpools, are usually brushed aside in a line or two.
It's like knowing someone shot an arrow and that it hit the target, but having no idea of its flight or trajectory.
So I filled in some of those missing pieces with relatively plausible explanations, and told Ying Yue's story within them.
Then there's the question of war and peace. Many characters in Naruto strive for peace, including Nagato of the Akatsuki and Uchiha Madara. Even some of the so-called villains aren't pure evil; they simply have different ideas about how to achieve peace.
Why are the people of the Ninja World so devoted to peace? The answer lies in Naruto's dark and brutal setting. In the Warring States period, children as young as six were sent to battle as cannon fodder. Shinobi were treated as expendable tools, never sure they'd live to see another day, and killing one another was commonplace.
At the same time, Kishimoto never clearly explained why shinobi in the Ninja World fought each other. Was it hatred? Resources? It often seemed as if they were fighting for the sake of fighting. War pushed the story forward; war bred hatred, and hatred bred war. A circular argument, a closed logical loop.
In the real world, wars always have deeper causes. War is politics by other means, and wars break out over the distribution of resources. That's how things work in reality. Apply that logic to Naruto, and shinobi fight over resources. A limited share of missions is contested by a handful of great ninja villages, and shinobi earn their living by taking on missions.
Their income comes mainly from funds allocated by the Feudal Lords and mission requests from the Ninja World's nobles, merchants, and landowners. Those resources don't appear out of nowhere; they ultimately come from the people. The Feudal Lords fund the villages and shinobi, who in turn maintain the Feudal Lords' rule. Through taxes and other means, the Feudal Lords take the fruits of the people's labor, hand a small portion to the villages and shinobi to uphold their rule, and squander the rest themselves. The nobles and landowners who depend on them take their share, too.
As you can see, without the Feudal Lords, nobles, and landowners, both shinobi and ordinary people would be better off. That's why the Feudal Lords and the social system they built are the source of the Ninja World's endless conflicts.
Of course, Kishimoto would never write it that way. Japan still has an emperor and corporate conglomerates, and it's a small country with a relatively small population. A fundamental solution would meet opposition, and Kishimoto's understanding of politics is extremely naive.
But our novel doesn't need to worry about that. Overthrowing the Feudal Lords' rule is only natural. So Ying Yue's story grew from a standard overpowered protagonist tale focused on personal strength into one about mobilizing the masses to transform the world.
Then comes the question of how to make things better after unifying the world.
The Ninja World had spent more than a thousand years developing under a feudal system with low productivity. Even with chakra, a supernatural power, it remained terribly backward. The main reason was that the Feudal Lords could use a small number of shinobi with supernatural abilities to easily suppress all resistance. They gained the right to distribute society's resources, and their decisions were guided less by how to increase those resources and improve society than by how to preserve their rule, along with blood ties and personal connections.
They didn't ask how to grow society's resources so that society could develop and everyone could have more. Naturally, the Ninja World stagnated. The people who could grow the pie should be the ones to share it—not those who divided it according to blood ties just to preserve their rule. That was what Ying Yue did.
The more fairly the pie was divided, and the more it grew, the more Ying Yue could break feudal rule and establish a more reasonable new order.
Of course, Ying Yue also promoted the development of production. Only further advances in productivity could make changes to the relations of production succeed and create a society where most people could live with dignity.
People didn't recognize him because he became Hokage; he became Hokage because people recognized him.
Someone like Danzo had clearly reversed that logic. Ying Yue, by contrast, first gave those who supported him tangible benefits. That made them more committed to following him, and in turn earned him their loyalty. Once most of Konoha's shinobi supported Ying Yue, his becoming the Fourth Hokage was a foregone conclusion. He was already Konoha's uncrowned king. Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen refused to agree, Ying Yue could have followed the example of the Chenqiao Mutiny, with the people placing the imperial robe on his shoulders. Likewise, when Ying Yue became the emperor of the Ninja World, it was ultimately the support of those who followed him that put him on the throne.
Loyalty is usually bought with tangible benefits, not empty slogans. Ying Yue achieved that, dramatically changing the lives and fortunes of most people in the Ninja World. Naturally, they rallied behind him.
Destiny isn't something ordained by heaven. It's the destiny of a leader who wins support by following the right path, while one who loses it is left isolated. It's a people-centered view of history, and that's the idea I wanted this novel to share.
I haven't decided what to write next. If I have the time and opportunity, there may be another novel. Finally, thank you all for your support. Your requests for updates and your readership were the biggest reason I was able to finish this story. If you enjoyed it, please leave the novel a rating so more people can discover it. Thank you, everyone.
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