Chapter 14

"The right to choose!? What is that!"

Unlike Hashirama and Madara, who were both dreamers—possessing dreams but lacking the slightest capacity for execution—Tobirama's plans for the future were always highly rational and implemented step-by-step. Though he was still young, he already possessed his own understanding of the current state of the ninja world. Thus, when Uchiha Mingye Hozuki Gengetsu spoke of this so-called right to choose, he grasped a vague concept of it. Driven by curiosity, he asked again, while Hashirama and Madara fell silent, waiting for Mingye's explanation.

"Between ninja and ninja, clan and clan, village and village, general and general, country and country—these five categories are the origins of the battles fought by ninjas today. Hatred, greed, power, and ambition—these seemingly terrifying words all unfold around the roots of these five types of war. The hatred between individual ninjas breeds hatred between clans; then, villages must plunder other villages to survive; the power struggles between generals lead to civil wars and conflicts between nations. Constant friction makes the hatred between them grow ever deeper. We no longer have the right to refuse, because we have existed in this so-called chaotic world for too long—so long that everyone assumes it cannot be changed and simply follows the flow, blindly submitting to the development of these events and integrating themselves into them!"

As Mingye said this, he suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh. These were insights he had originally gained while reading manga in his previous life, though they were naturally mixed with the ways Hashirama and Madara viewed the world and their future styles of action. Thinking of this, he shook his head and spoke again.

"The right to choose I speak of is to break this current state of chaos and allow everything the possibility of being reorganized. There is no way for ninjas to unify these things on their own. Only a clan or a general—a force possessing a certain level of strength—can magnanimously set aside hatred, forgive those they hold grudges against, and embrace other villages, clans, and ninjas with a heart of ultimate kindness and justice. By forming a single power and using laws to restrain the hatred between ninjas, we could barely stop the world from being in a state of constant war. Of course, my idea might not make everyone in the world happy, but at least I can guarantee that over eighty percent of people would live happily because of it. They might not smile every day, but they certainly wouldn't be like us, who barely have a few chances to laugh in an entire year!"

"Adults are idiots. If you expect them to see through this, it's barely possible, but if you want them to come out and break the so-called balance, that is nothing but wishful thinking!"

Tobirama looked coldly at the flowing river. Mingye's ideas were very systematic, even more reasonable than what his own brother had proposed, but they were merely reasonable. No adult was willing to implement such rational concepts. People's hearts are hidden behind their faces; who knew if a blood oath sworn this second would turn into mutual slaughter the next? Ambition, power, and greed were the most selfish traits of adults, so even if there were a way to make people live in peace, they would discard it.

"Then it's up to us! I don't know what others think, and I don't care about the thoughts of adults. As long as we can hold onto this current longing, then when we grow up, we can rely on this desire and our hope for the world to fulfill our dreams!" Madara stood up, crossing his arms with a look of great confidence as he answered Tobirama.

"Dreams, yes, but how are we supposed to realize them? We can't even see what the future holds right now!" Hashirama sat cross-legged on the ground, resting his chin in his hand and murmuring to himself, seemingly searching for a way to turn hope into reality.

"Idiot! As long as we are firm in our dreams and never waver, there is only one thing left for us to strive for. As long as we accomplish this one thing, completing our dreams will be easy!"

"What is it!"

Tobirama and Hashirama both looked at Madara. Madara answered proudly: "Constantly increase our own strength. Only then will people listen to what we have to say. If we are too weak, people will only think we are spouting empty words, with no possibility of convincing anyone!"

"Right! As long as we have strength, we can protect the weak when they are attacked. By constantly growing stronger and protecting all the weak, we can build a true village without war! If clans no longer fight each other and there is no strife between people, then wouldn't there be no more war in this world!" Excited by Madara's words, Hashirama jumped up and shouted his dream at the top of his lungs.

"Strength, huh!" Tobirama muttered the three words, his fists clenching tightly as he recalled the passing of his two younger brothers.

"Heh! I hope that when you two grow up, you won't end up fighting each other because of these same ideals!" Mingye felt no emotional fluctuation. Everything was following the path of the manga; his brother Madara and Senju Hashirama would both become those so-called great figures. But what path should he take? A blind man in a chaotic world—and a blind man of the Uchiha clan at that—how many years could he survive in such times?

"Hahahaha! I will definitely win, and when that happens, I'll let you be the village chief. No, wait—let's play stone-skipping! Whoever wins gets to be the chief!" Hearing Mingye's words, Hashirama instinctively thought it was a joke, but he considered it quite seriously and challenged Madara.

Though Madara was hot-blooded, he wasn't a fool. Even though he didn't know why he always lost at stone-skipping in front of everyone, he knew such a major matter couldn't be decided by it. A plan that would be very favorable to the Uchiha clan suddenly popped into his head, and he grinned as he countered Hashirama.

"Do you think that's a head of cabbage? Using stone-skipping to decide the village chief? I absolutely won't do it! Rock-paper-scissors! Let's use rock-paper-scissors to decide!"

Tobirama looked at these two brain-damaged teenagers in astonishment. He pressed one hand against his knee and covered his face with the other, shaking his head like a doctor who had silently given up on treating them.

"You two will never succeed!" Time spent playing together was always like wind slipping through one's fingers; even if you could feel it, you could never hold onto it. The sunlight of the setting sun shone on everyone's faces. Whether it was the expressionless Tobirama, the brainless Madara and Hashirama, or Mingye, who had already lost interest in life, all felt a sense of happiness.

Hashirama, wearing a happy smile, looked at the three of them and issued an invitation with emotion: "Let's continue this tomorrow!"

"Big Brother, we can't come tomorrow!"

Seeing Hashirama getting carried away, Tobirama quickly reminded him. Hashirama then realized, thinking about how he had a mission with his father tomorrow. He pondered his rest time and spoke again with a smile.

"Ah, that's right! We have work to do tomorrow, so let's make it the day after!"

"We'll see when the time comes. It's getting late. If I can make it, I'll come back the afternoon after tomorrow!" Madara sighed. During this period, the Uchiha clan was organizing a battle to completely wipe out the Hagoromo clan, and the entire clan had to go all out. There was simply no time to come here again in the short term. He then led the mule, waved at Hashirama, and began to collect the iron frames to leave.

"Will you come back next time we meet?" Mingye stood up, sensing the three faint chakras around him, and looked toward the one he was most unfamiliar with as he spoke.

"I don't have that much time. I still have a lot, a lot of training to do. Otherwise, how can I fulfill this so-called dream!" Tobirama shook his head with a light laugh, indicating he would not appear here next time, and then helped Madara collect the iron frames and pack them into the sacks on the mule.

After tidying up, Hashirama and Tobirama left first. Mingye watched the two walk across the river and sighed: "Big Brother, if one day you really lose to him, will you feel unhappy?"

"I won't lose! Stone-skipping doesn't count as a victory!" Madara was stunned by Mingye's words, then picked up a stone and threw it toward the river, where it skipped to the other side.

Happy times are always short. In the following days, neither Mingye nor Madara went to the riverbank again. For three or four days, the ninjas of the Uchiha clan wore grim expressions, and the entire clan was in a state of tense preparation for war. Mingye could deeply sense that this was the final calm before the storm, as they prepared for a decisive battle against the Hagoromo clan.