He paused, his gaze seeming to pierce through the boy before him to the ends of countless timelines that intertwined and diverged, and the similar yet different outcomes awaiting them.
"Admit it. You are destined never to be as great as your spiritual mentor, the First Hokage."
Naruto's gaze shifted, but he remained silent.
The Great Toad Sage continued, his voice seeming to emerge from both the dust of history and the mists of the future:
"Even if... through wisdom, scheming, and a profound understanding of the nature of power, perhaps even by touching the forbidden realm of Kekkei Mōra, you acquire power on par with the Sage of Six Paths, suppress everything through absolute force, and achieve a nominal 'unification' of the Shinobi World..."
His words outlined one possible path to "success," built on power and domination.
"That would merely repeat another brief cycle of history.
Like Hashirama Senju, you would use your unrivaled personal might and charisma to create an 'era of peace' that appears stable and full of hope."
The First Hokage's peace had been a fragile equilibrium built on the balance of the tailed beasts and his personal deterrence.
"However..."
The Great Toad Sage's tone abruptly grew cold, carrying the resignation and certainty of someone who had seen through history's cycles.
"After your death-whether you pass away naturally or die through conspiracy, war, or any other form of ending.
The vast foundation you leave behind, the various factions you forcibly bind together, the order you construct through power...
All of it will rapidly collapse once it loses its central 'anchor.'"
"The seeds of hatred were never truly eradicated. Conflicts of interest were merely suppressed for a time, while ideological differences seethed beneath the surface under that crushing pressure.
The harder you suppress them in life, the