Hokage Building, First He held his head with one hand and stroked the head of a shiny yellow dog lying on his lap with the other hand.
Big Yellow squints his eyes comfortably and occasionally wag his tail lazily.
Hashirama's eyes were a little vacant, staring blankly out the window at Konoha's orderly and faintly exciting street scene, his thoughts had already drifted away.
Did he... really do something wrong before?
This thought was like a vine that could not be entangled in his heart.
A few days ago, when Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze was "resurrected", Naruto had an in-depth conversation with them.
The content of that conversation went far beyond ordinary tactical discussions or situation reports.
Naruto talked about his insight into the current situation of Shinobi World, his sharp criticism of the hypocrisy of past "peace", and the shockingly huge blueprint in his mind.
With Konoha as the core, use absolute power to clear obstacles, fundamentally end the division and war in Shinobi World, and establish an unprecedented and unified Ninja order.
At that time, Hashirama expressed his opposition almost instinctively and without hesitation.
He experienced the bloodiest family fight in Warring States Period, ended that era with his own hands, and jointly established Konoha with Madara Uchiha.
He firmly believes that peace comes from understanding and coexistence, and conquest by force will only bring deeper hatred and more violent backlash.
What he pursues all his life is the "heart-to-heart" connection between people and villages.
What made him even more uneasy was that some of Naruto's words, especially the determination and method of using absolute power to break the old order and build a new world, reminded him of another person involuntarily.
Madara Uchiha.
His best friend and his ultimate rival.
In the early days of Konoha's establishment, when the internal situation gradually stabilized, Madara had more than once proposed the idea of active expansion, unifying neighboring Small Country with force, and even challenging other major powers.
In Madara's view, since Land of Fire can gain peace and strength through internal integration, then expanding this model to the entire Shinobi World, and using the power of Konoha or the two of them to forcibly combine all Ninja forces is the fundamental way to end the troubled times.
Hashirama at that time also resolutely rejected Madara's proposal.
He believes that it will drag Konoha into the abyss of endless war, and turn the ideal place they established into a new invader, which is not essentially different from the old family tyranny they overthrew.
He hopes to slowly build trust through alliances, trade, and exchanges, and ultimately achieve true peaceful coexistence.
And the distribution of Tailed Beast has given several countries a basis to deter other countries, hoping to make it more difficult for future generations to launch wars.
That disagreement was a serious rift in their ideals, and also laid the groundwork for the subsequent breakup.
Today, history repeats itself.
Naruto, this young man whom he admired very much and even regarded as his grandson, proposed a plan that was surprisingly similar to Madara's idea back then, and it was more radical and unquestionable.
But this time, the one who stood up and clearly expressed his support was his own younger brother, Tobirama Senju.
Hashirama clearly remembers the flash of light in Tobirama's sharp red pupils when Naruto explained the plan.
That is not blind fanaticism, but a recognition based on cold calculation and realistic judgment.
Tobirama believes that although Naruto's plan is extreme, it is the most effective way to break the current Shinobi World deadlock and strive for maximum interests and long-term security for Konoha.
This sense of "dislocation" made Hashirama fall into deeper confusion and self-doubt.
Could it be that I am really too idealistic and too naive?
Is the path of "understanding and coexistence" that I insist on really just a wishful dream?
"Are you thinking about us waging war again? Brother."
A cold voice interrupted Hashirama's thoughts.
Tobirama Senju carried a stack of documents that was half a person's height, walked to the newly added, slightly smaller desk on the side of Hokage's Office and sat down. While sorting the documents, he asked without raising his head.
He is extremely efficient and has already begun to fulfill Naruto Bestowal's "logistics management" responsibilities.
"Well..."
Hashirama responded with a dull sound and stopped petting the dog.
Big Yellow shook his head, opened his big black eyes, looked left and right, and then continued to rest with his head down.
"I always feel... that's not peace.
Use Tailed Beast and force to crush others and force others to submit. Even if there is no war for the time being, there is still resentment Seed underneath.
It is different from our original intention when we ended the Warring States Period and established Konoha."
Tobirama put down a copy of Scroll in his hand, raised his head, looked at his brother who was always as innocent as a big child, and shook his head gently.
"Do you still remember what Naruto and Kid emphasized repeatedly during the meeting and when they talked to us privately?"
Tobirama's tone was calm, but with a coldness that analyzed the facts.
"Seek peace through compromise, and peace will perish. Seek peace through struggle, and peace will survive."
He looked at Hashirama's thoughtful expression and continued, "Brother, look back at the history of Konoha and the history of the Genin world.
Wasn't our alliance with Uchiha initially a kind of compromise and alliance after a 'struggle'?
Without your strength, which was enough to overturn Uchiha after defeating Madara Uchiha, would it be possible for our two races to sit down and talk?
The end of Warring States Period is essentially a new balance formed by the external pressure and internal insightful people after several powerful clans have been fighting for a long time and realized that no one can completely eliminate the other."
"And later," Tobirama paused, "What did we, Land of Fire, rely on to achieve relatively long-lasting internal peace, no longer like Warring States Period's family divisions and endless civil wars?
It depends on integration.
Integrate large and small Ninja families and forces under the larger framework of 'Land of Fire' and 'Konoha' to establish unified rules, laws and a community of interests.
Although there are still internal conflicts, the common identity of 'Land of Fire Ninja' has greatly eliminated the absolute antagonism between families."
His voice became deep and powerful. "Then, why can't this system, which has been proven effective, be amplified to the entire Shinobi World?"
Hashirama opened his eyes slightly.
"Unite the entire Shinobi World Ninja, break down the barriers of national boundaries, and fundamentally eliminate the most fundamental differences in positions based on region and country like 'Land of Fire Ninja' and 'Land of Wind Ninja'."
Tobirama explains the core logic of the Naruto blueprint, which is also the part he agrees with in his heart.
"When everyone becomes 'Konoha Ninja' and has common rules, common goals, and common interests, large-scale inter-state tolerance wars will lose their ground."
"Follow what Naruto said, teach them a unified mind.
After a few decades, even Naruto will grow old.
At that time, even if there is another dispute, it will be an internal conflict.
It is a dispute over rules, interests, and ideas within 'Konoha Ninja' that can be resolved through internal arbitration, negotiation and even limited internal conflicts, and is no longer a life-and-death war between countries to destroy the country."