Chapter 14

"You have the right to choose!? What's that supposed to mean!"

Unlike Hashirama and Madara, who were both dreamers these days—full of dreams but utterly incapable of acting on them—Tobirama was rational and methodical in planning his future. Though he was still young, he had formed his own understanding of the state of the ninja world. So when Mingye mentioned this so-called right to choose, Tobirama grasped its meaning in a vague way. Curiosity stirred in him, and he asked. Hashirama and Madara, who had been standing nearby, fell silent and waited for Mingye to explain.

"Between ninja, between clans, between villages, between generals, and between countries. These are the five sources of conflict in the ninja world today. Hatred, selfish desires, power, ambition—these frightening words all stem from those five kinds of war. Hatred between ninja creates hatred between clans. Villages must plunder other villages to survive. Generals fight each other for power, leading to civil wars and wars between countries. The constant clashes only deepen their mutual hatred. We no longer have the right to choose whether to refuse, because we've spent too long in this so-called chaotic world. So long that everyone has come to believe it can't be changed, and simply accepts it as it is, blindly following events as they unfold until they become part of the very system!"

At this, Mingye gave a sudden, self-deprecating laugh. These were the thoughts he'd originally had while reading manga in his previous world, mixed, of course, with Hashirama's and Madara's ways of looking at the world and the way they'd act in the future. He shook his head and continued.

"By the right to choose, I mean breaking this state of chaos and making it possible to organize everything anew. Ninja can't bring about unity on their own. Only a powerful force—a clan or a general—can set aside its hatred and forgive those it has reasons to hate. With the most benevolent and righteous heart, it must embrace the other villages, clans, and ninja, and unite them into a single force. Laws can curb hatred between ninja. Only then can we hope to bring an end to the endless wars. Of course, my idea might not make everyone in the world happy, but I can guarantee that more than eighty percent of people would be happier. They might not be smiling every day, but at least they wouldn't be like us, with barely a chance to laugh once a year!"

"Adults are all fools. Maybe they could see the truth if you expected them to, but expecting them to break this so-called balance? That's a pipe dream!"

Tobirama watched the river flow by with a cold expression. Mingye's idea was well thought out, even more reasonable than what his older brother had said before. But it was only reasonable. No adult would ever put these supposedly sound ideas into practice. You could never know what someone was really thinking. Who knew whether they might pledge their lives to each other one moment, only to attack each other the next? Ambition, power, selfish desire—these were the worst traits of adults. Even if there were a way to live in peace, they would refuse to use it.

"That's why it's up to us! I don't know what anyone else thinks, and I don't care what the adults think. As long as we hold on to this longing, then when we grow up, we can fulfill our dreams with that longing and our hope for this world!" Madara stood up, arms folded across his chest, brimming with confidence as he answered Tobirama.

"Dreams, huh? But how do we make them come true? We can't even tell what the future holds!" Hashirama sat cross-legged, resting his chin on one hand as he murmured, seemingly searching for a way to turn hope into reality.

"Idiot! As long as we stay true to our dreams and never waver, there's only one thing we need to work hard at. Once we do that, fulfilling our dreams will be a piece of cake!"

"What!"

Tobirama and Hashirama looked at Madara at the same time. Madara answered proudly, "We have to keep getting stronger. Only then will people listen to us. If we're too weak, they'll think we're just making empty promises, and no one will believe us!"

"Right! Once we're strong enough, we can protect the weak when they're attacked. We'll keep getting stronger and protect them all, then build a village without war. Clans won't fight each other, and people won't fight one another. Then there won't be any war in the world!" Excited by Madara's words, Hashirama jumped up and practically shouted his dream aloud.

"Strength, huh?" Tobirama murmured, clenching his fists as he thought of his two younger brothers' deaths.

"Heh. I hope you two won't end up fighting each other over the same ideals when you're grown." Mingye showed no emotion. Everything was unfolding just as it had in the manga. His brother Madara and Hashirama Senju would both become the so-called great men of their time. But what about his own path? How long could a blind man survive in a world at war—especially a blind man from the Uchiha Clan?

"Hahahaha! I'll definitely win. After that, you can be village chief. No, let's play skimming stones! Whoever wins becomes village chief!" Hearing Mingye's words, Hashirama instinctively thought he was joking, but he still considered the matter seriously and challenged Madara.

Madara was hot-blooded, but he wasn't a fool. He didn't know why he always lost to the others at skimming stones, but he did know such an important matter couldn't be settled that way. An idea that would greatly benefit the Uchiha Clan suddenly came to him. Grinning, he shot back at Hashirama.

"Do you think it's cabbage? I'm not choosing a village chief by skimming stones! Let's play rock-paper-scissors! We'll decide with rock-paper-scissors!"

Tobirama stared in disbelief at the two brainless boys, who were practically acting like children. He braced one hand on his knee and covered his face with the other, shaking his head like a doctor who had given up on treating them.

"You two are never going to succeed!" The time they spent playing around always slipped by like a breeze through their fingers. They could feel it, but they could never hold on to it. The setting sun shone on their faces. The expressionless Tobirama, the clueless Madara and Hashirama, and even Mingye, who had given up on life, all felt wonderfully happy.

Beaming, Hashirama looked at the three of them and said with a sigh, "Let's meet again tomorrow!"

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

Tobirama hurriedly reminded Hashirama, who had gotten carried away. Hashirama finally came to his senses. Remembering that he had a mission with their father the next day, he thought for a moment about when he'd be free, then smiled and said, "Oh, right! We have work tomorrow. Then the day after!"

"We'll see. It's getting late. If I can make it, I'll come back the day after tomorrow." Madara sighed. The Uchiha Clan was preparing to wipe out the entire Hagoromo Clan, and everyone in the clan had to give it their all. They wouldn't have time to come back here again anytime soon. He glanced at the mule and waved to Hashirama, then began gathering up the iron frames to pack them into the bags hanging from the mule.

"Will you come back the next time we meet?" Mingye stood up and sensed the three faint chakra signatures beside him. He looked toward the most unfamiliar one and asked.

"I don't have that much free time. I still have a lot of training to do. How else am I supposed to achieve this so-called dream?" Tobirama replied with a light laugh and a shake of his head, making it clear he wouldn't come back next time. Then he helped Madara gather the iron frames and pack them into the bags on the mule.

Once they had finished packing, Hashirama and Tobirama left first. Mingye watched them cross the river and sighed. "Big brother, if one day you really lose to him, will it bother you?"

"I'm not going to lose! Skimming stones doesn't count as winning!" Madara froze at Mingye's words, then picked up a stone and sent it skimming across the river to the opposite bank.

Happy times were always short-lived. In the following days, neither Mingye nor Madara returned to the riverbank. For three or four days, all the Uchiha ninja wore grim expressions, and the entire clan was on high alert. Mingye could clearly sense that this was the final calm before the storm, as they prepared to fight the Hagoromo Clan to the death.