"Hmph! What else could they do? They've made a name for themselves. Now they'll probably use their overwhelming power to pressure the smaller clans into submitting to them and becoming their followers!"
Tobirama explained disdainfully. Hashirama furrowed his brows as he looked at Tobirama, unable to make sense of it.
"Power won't last forever! Does Madara really expect everyone to live in fear of him?"
A faint smile touched Tobirama's lips. Wasn't Madara's approach exactly what he himself wanted to pursue most? Unfortunately, he didn't have a heart as ruthless as Madara's—or perhaps he simply lacked Madara's nerve. Though Tobirama hated to admit it, Madara's boldness and decisiveness far surpassed his own in some respects. Thinking of this, Tobirama continued, taking another jab at Hashirama.
"This isn't difficult at all. It's just far too difficult for you, Big Brother!"
"What do you mean?"
Hashirama wasn't discouraged this time. He simply couldn't figure it out and urgently wanted an answer. Tobirama planted the long sword at his waist beside him, then pressed one hand to the ground and explained.
"In times of chaos, harsh laws are needed. Forcing people isn't necessarily a bad approach. It's just like how you use your generous friendship to make the smaller clans feel indebted to you and follow you. Both are ways to bring order to a chaotic world. And their methods are far better than ours! Besides..."
"Earth Style: Earth Core!"
As he spoke, Tobirama unleashed a jutsu, causing the ground to sink and form two rectangular graves. Furious at Tobirama's analysis, Hashirama interrupted him and argued back.
"Tobirama, you're joking! Madara's path is absolutely wrong!"
"Say whatever you like! For now, let's put them to rest."
Tobirama looked up at Hashirama and replied calmly. Then he rose without another word, picked up the corpse, and tossed it into the pit. Watching Hashirama do the same, Tobirama couldn't help sighing as he thought:
Besides, Madara's approach would ensure that, once their so-called village was established, there would be no clan conflicts at all. Harsh laws mean punishments. Governing by law rather than by the will of men would make many things simpler and more convenient. But Big Brother's approach is completely opposed to that, and it has plenty of fatal flaws. Most importantly, once the village was established, it would contain many clans, all scheming against one another to fight over the village's interests.
And because it wouldn't be built by conquering people through war, but by winning them over with virtue, the whole village would effectively become a system ruled by people rather than laws. A village like that would be very difficult to control!
Tobirama stood silently to one side, watching Hashirama fill in the grave. He wanted to shout at him and make him wake up to the realities of the situation, but there was little he could do. He agreed with his brother's way of doing things, too.
"I wonder how long it'll be before we see the light of day on the road we've chosen."
Tobirama gazed up at the sky, where shafts of sunlight streamed through the leaves and fell upon the ground, and couldn't help voicing his feelings. After paying his respects to the two fallen shinobi, Hashirama smiled confidently at Tobirama.
"We'll change this world for sure! We have the will to change it!"
"If all it took to change the world was a strong will, it would have been changed millions of times over by now! Big Brother, don't infect me with that childish way of thinking!"
"Ah!"
Tobirama turned and walked away, leaving Hashirama alone to wail in despair.
As he walked along the road, Mingye suddenly felt something and turned to Lian.
"I'm going away for a bit. Wait here."
"Did something happen?"
"Maybe."
After speaking, Mingye turned and walked into the woods. He pressed one hand to the ground and used the Summoning Technique. Ara then appeared on Joseph's arm.
"Kid, Granny wants to see you."
"I don't remember you having anything I could help with."
Mingye stood up, clearly unconvinced by Ara's words. Ara didn't mind. She bit the back of Mingye's hand, and with a reverse summoning, the two of them returned to Ryūchi Cave.
Walking along the rocky mountainside, Mingye soon arrived at the familiar Sage's Cave. He saw the White Snake Sage smoking her pipe and nodded with a slight bow.
"What did you call me here for, Sage?"
"I'm sick of the youngsters pestering me, so I might as well settle this once and for all. Bring me the Wind-Thunder Clan's scroll."
"What do you mean?"
Mingye was taken aback, unable to understand what the White Snake Sage wanted. She didn't bother beating around the bush. Seeing him feign ignorance, she made herself clear.
"Manda says he can't stand being ordered around by a bunch of useless fools. I've already found an heir like you, so the scroll is nothing more than a toy that should be taken back."
Mingye fell silent. Ara took the opportunity to speak up.
"Every shinobi in the Wind-Thunder Clan must be killed. At least everyone listed on the scroll has to die! Kid, the scroll might be a joke, but it still carries on Ryūchi Cave's summoning arts. Now that we have a suitable heir like you, there's no need to keep searching for others!"
Seeing Mingye lower his head as if deep in thought, the White Snake Sage explained further.
"The virtuous ones come from Shikkotsu Forest, the chosen ones from Mount Myoboku, and Ryūchi Cave carries on the principle of survival of the fittest! These three different forms of Sage Method represent three distinct legacies of will. Shikkotsu Forest and Mount Myoboku both have one thing in common: those who inherit their teachings are all chosen ones whose fate is tied to the world. Ryūchi Cave is different. As the name suggests, only the strongest can survive and inherit its legacy. The Wind-Thunder Clan is no longer needed!"
Mingye clenched both fists, his voice turning grave.
"But there are at least five hundred people!"
The White Snake Sage looked at Mingye scornfully.
"You have a kind heart?"
"...!"
Mingye fell silent. He had just killed more than three hundred people. Though he hadn't killed them with his own hands, he had been directly responsible for their deaths. He was about to make an argument when the White Snake Sage cut him off with a loud rebuke. "Ridiculous! When you eat pork, do you ever think about how the pig feels? As you walk across the earth, do you ever wonder whether it wants you to tread on it? When you cross the grass, crushing blades beneath your feet with every step, do you ever think about their pain? Mingye, that's how this world works. If you're strong, you can eat wild boar, and it can't fight back. You're strong, so you can ignore the earth's fury and walk wherever you please. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand."
"Then do as you're told. It's what you should have done in the first place. You should have been prepared for this from the moment you inherited that scroll! Survival of the fittest!"
When Mingye returned, his expression had grown very grave. Seeing him like that, Lian spoke up.
"Young Master Mingye!"
Mingye, looking somewhat dazed, glanced up and waved at Lian in greeting. Then he sat beneath a nearby tree, lowered his head, and stared blankly at the ground as he gave Lianhuo an order.
"Cancel the plan to go to the Wind-Thunder Clan."
"Does it bother you?"
Mingye took a deep breath and gave a self-mocking smile. The White Snake Sage's words kept echoing in his ears. The word "bother" felt like a knife, stabbing into his heart again and again. The pain left no blood, but it still left him helpless. He really had become colder and more ruthless. Yet Mingye couldn't remember when he had turned into this person.
When the White Snake Sage suggested wiping out the Wind-Thunder Clan, his first thought hadn't been to refuse to kill, or that he was afraid to kill. Instead, he had asked her why they needed to kill them. At the time, Mingye hadn't thought anything was wrong. But after leaving Ryūchi Cave and sitting beneath the tree, he finally faced the question head-on. I really have become cold-blooded. I'm no longer the decent, law-abiding citizen I was in my previous life. I'm no longer the doctor who felt ashamed after accidentally killing a child because of his arrogance. Maybe now I'm the kind of executioner that moralists hate most!
"Did something happen?"
While Mingye was lost in thought, Lian came over and sat cross-legged beside him, asking quietly. Mingye quickly composed himself and set his thoughts straight. This society really was being changed by him, but that was only a kind of personal growth in keeping with the manga's progression. Strictly speaking, he had already been completely assimilated by this world. He just hadn't noticed it or wanted to admit it.
"Maybe it's even worse than that! We're changing course and heading to the Hatake Clan."
Why not be honest with myself? I already have my answer. If a few people have to die for my dream, then so be it. I can't be a saint. In a time of chaos, what's the difference between being a saint and asking for death? Dreamers are only praised after they die. Only those who recognize reality can go farther. That's what I'm doing now. My brothers' deaths made my heart grow cold. My father's death made me truly cherish what I have now. Ryūchi Cave gave me the power to change the world, and the mindset this world has shaped in me.
"Hatake Clan?!"
Mingye stood up, said this to Lian, and quickly took the scroll from his pocket, writing several words on it with chakra.
Lian truly couldn't understand why Mingye had suddenly changed his mind. With war about to begin, changing their decision at the last minute would surely disrupt the Uchiha Clan's plans. Yet Mingye had been the one to devise the strategy, and now he was changing it himself. Lian had no idea how to question him.
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