Namikaze Minato's Growing Doubts

At that moment, Kurotsuchi, who had been carried by her father as they fled at the very front, said dejectedly, "Father, Grandpa has already surrendered. It seems we don't need to run anymore."

"Yes." Kitsuchi, who had long since stopped, set down the Kurotsuchi he had tucked under his arm, then turned to look toward where the battlefield had been. "Father's surrender also means Iwagakure is gone."

As the longest-ruling Kage, Ōnoki could practically be considered a symbol of Iwagakure.

To put it bluntly.

Iwagakure's class stratification was even more rigid than that of the other ninja villages.

Unless the next Tsuchikage turned out to be an extraordinarily gifted prodigy like Deidara, the position would absolutely remain the property of their family.

It would only be passed down through Ōnoki's bloodline.

Therefore, Ōnoki's surrender meant that Iwagakure would completely become history from this point onward.

And if Iwagakure became history, the other ninja villages probably would not fare much better.

Then there was Uchiha Yuzhen's goal—to lead the ninja in ruling the world...

For Kitsuchi, who had lived in the era of ninja villages since birth, it brought a slight sense of melancholy.

"Father, Iwagakure may be gone, but under Uchiha Yuzhen's leadership, our future as ninja seems like it might be better, doesn't it?"

After experiencing the Uchiha Clan's overwhelming power firsthand, Kurotsuchi no longer felt any resentment toward being ruled by Uchiha Yuzhen.

Ninja were like that—their principles were flexible, and they feared might without respecting virtue.

Once they had been beaten into submission, defecting to the other side was not unacceptable.

Hearing this, Kitsuchi let out a faint sigh. "The future... who can say? But the path ahead for ninja will definitely be better."

"Now, let's go back and join your grandfather. We need to discuss with