He paused, his gaze seemed to penetrate Young Naruto in front of him, and he saw the ends of countless intertwined and separated timelines, similar but different endings.
"Admit it, you are destined not to be as great as your spiritual mentor (First)."
Naruto looked around and remained silent.
Great Toad Sage continued, the voice seemed to come from the dust of history and the fog of the future:
"Even if... you rely on wisdom, calculation, and a deep understanding of the nature of power, you may even reach the forbidden area of 'Kekkei Mōra' and possess power comparable to Sage of Six Paths, and forcibly suppress everything with absolute force, completing the 'unification' in the form of Shinobi World..."
His words describe a possible path to "success" based on strength and power.
"That's just a brief reincarnation repeating history.
You will be like Hashirama Senju, relying on your unparalleled power and charisma to create a seemingly stable and hopeful 'peaceful era'."
First Hokage's peace is a fragile balance based on Tailed Beast balance and personal deterrence.
"However..."
Great Toad Sage's tone suddenly turned cold, with a sense of helplessness and assertion that he had seen through the historical cycle,
"After you die - whether you die naturally, die from conspiracy, war, or any form of end.
The huge foundation you left behind, the forces you forcibly kneaded together, the order you built with your strength...
They will quickly disintegrate due to the loss of the core 'ballast stone'."
"The hatred Seed has never been truly eliminated, the conflict of interests is only temporarily suppressed, and the differences in ideas are undercurrent under high pressure.
The harder you suppressed during your lifetime, the more violent the rebound will be after your death."
His words were cruel and realistic, as if he had foreseen the inevitable strife and fragmentation:
"Conflicts will erupt in a more intense way, alliances will disintegrate, and trust will collapse. You will waste your efforts and may even pay a huge price.
Everything you create is likely to fall apart in just a few decades, or even less, and return to the 'rotten' old world you originally tried to change.
Even, because of your forced intervention and integration, the world after the collapse may be even more broken and full of suspicion and hatred than before."
Great Toad Sage's prophecy, or inference based on historical laws and observations of human nature, does not point to Naruto's lack of personal ability, but to the end of a road that seems powerful but is actually unsustainable.
"So, kid..."
Great Toad Sage's gaze refocused on Naruto's face. There was no longer any compassion in that gaze, only a pure examination of "possibility" remained.
"It's not that I can't see some of your future actions or achievements. On the contrary, I can 'see' many possible paths, many of which will lead to your great 'success'."
"But what I 'see' is more at the end of these paths, the shadows that are temporarily covered by your light but will eventually emerge. They are the chronic diseases that cannot be permanently eliminated by personal power and are rooted deep in the structure of human nature and history.
You may be able to become a hero of a generation, a powerful unifier, the founder of an era... but it is difficult for you to become the 'source of change' that can truly break the cycle of reincarnation, implant hope and understanding Seed deeply in people's hearts, and allow it to reproduce itself."
"That's why I said, you can't be like him."
Great Toad Sage concluded in the end, his voice regained its original oldness and distance.
"Your path, your method, your balance of 'light' and 'shadow'... you may be able to win a temporary victory, but it is difficult to win permanent peace. This is what I 'predicted', about you... the most common 'limitation' among the many possibilities."
"Because your own thoughts have not completely moved closer to your mentor, you are hesitating about your own interests. But it is precisely because of your hesitation that you have lost everything."
"Dividing, dividing, combining, combining, dividing... just like the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the tide rises and falls, it is the law of natural movement.
The history of Shinobi World is essentially a cyclical history of continuous divisions, conflicts, temporary alliances, and re-divisions.
The peace you call 'Unification' is like the mirror flower Suigetsu, short-lived and fragile.
Man cannot change the laws of nature."
Great Toad Sage has elevated the dispute of Shinobi World to a level close to "Cycle of Heaven's Way", implying that it is deeply rooted and difficult to fundamentally reverse with human effort.
Naruto quietly listened to all Great Toad Sage's analysis and "prophecy".
He had no rebuttal, no excitement, and his face did not even show the frustration after being denied or warned.
Instead, he slowly and extremely solemnly bowed deeply to the ancient wise man on the high platform.
This bow is full of respect and gratitude.
Great Toad Sage told him everything - or in other words, revealed to him the most likely outcome and the core obstacle based on his wisdom and prophetic ability without reservation.
The possible way to become a Sage of Six Paths level powerhouse, and the fundamental reason why it is difficult to maintain permanent peace even if you obtain that kind of power, and even the desperate "cyclical law" cycle of Shinobi World history.
The message is clear enough. The question is what to do about it.
The cyclical law of history is a vicious circle that is difficult to escape from.
The history of Shinobi World is "point by point, point by point". There has never been a Unification that is truly stable and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Shinobi World who want to change the future cannot just rely on the short-term bonding of force and power, but must start from the fundamentals - changing wrong ideas.
New beliefs that can fight division and hatred must be sown Seed. Even if they may be challenged or even "knocked down" by new forces or ideas in the future, as long as the fire has been sown, ideological changes have the possibility of self-reproduction.
Great Toad Sage said so much, analyzed the dilemma, pointed out the limitations, and even predicted possible failure.
Now, it's his turn to express his attitude and elaborate on his plan.
Naruto straightened up and looked calmly and firmly at Great Toad Sage's re-opened, exploratory eyes.
"You're right."
He admitted frankly, his voice clear and steady.
"I really cannot be as 'selfless' as Lord First Hokage Hashirama Senju."
He paused, and the records and legends about God of Shinobi flashed in his mind:
"For the stability and future of the village, he was able to kill his lifelong best friend Madara Uchiha with his own hands, and said, 'If anyone threatens the village, even if it is his child or his brother, he will never let it go.'"
This determination that can cut off all personal emotions for the sake of collective ideals... I ask myself, I can't do it."
He admitted his "limitations" and his inability to become the kind of "saint" who sacrifices all personal ties for grand goals.
"But..."
Naruto's tone suddenly became sonorous and powerful, and an unshakable Flames ignited in those blue eyes.
"This is no reason to watch all this continue to sink in and repeat the cycle of despair!"
Just because society is rotten and rotten, we cannot stop changing it.