Naruto cradled his warm teacup and stared at the flickering flames without speaking for a long time.
Jiraiya's words were a little hard for him to grasp, but somehow, he understood the heart of them.
"I think I get it." Naruto finally nodded. His brow was still furrowed, but much of the confusion had left his eyes.
He shook his head as if to set the mind-bending question aside for now, then turned back to the Canopy Screen.
"But..." Naruto smacked his lips and sighed. "The Warring States Period really was brutal! Fighting everywhere, and lives worth less than grass. Teacher Jiraiya, do you think there'll ever be a day when we achieve eternal peace?"
The question stopped Jiraiya's hand in midair as he reached to pour more tea.
In the firelight, a rare complexity crossed his face.
He looked toward the Canopy Screen.
It had shown the peace that a future Naruto had worked to bring about. That world was far better than the present age, with its undercurrents of conflict between nations.
Trade flourished, technology advanced, large-scale wars had faded, and people's lives were visibly more prosperous and secure. It was an extraordinary achievement, a feat the Naruto of today could scarcely imagine.
But eternal peace?
Jiraiya's ideal was to find the Child of Prophecy who could bring "fundamental change" to the world, end the cycle of hatred that had lasted a thousand years, and create a new world built on true understanding, without systemic oppression or war.
Yet in the future shown on the Canopy Screen, the Five Great Nations had united, but the plight of smaller countries might remain. Threats still lurked in the shadows, and unseen friction and injustice born of conflicting interests, beliefs, and power had not disappeared.
It was a relatively stable but