Standing amid a crowd dressed in dark colors, Yanbai stood out starkly.
His brutal actions moments earlier had left everyone around him with a terrifying impression.
At his age in this cycle, Yanbai no longer cared how the world judged him.
The law of the jungle had never left the Shinobi World. Ultimately, this was a world where the strong preyed on the weak.
Kindness, forbearance... Hiruzen Sarutobi's original fate had demonstrated where such behavior led. It could neither secure greater room for Konoha Shinobi Village to survive nor bolster the confidence of Konoha's people and the citizens of the Land of Fire.
Only by growing stronger and guiding and awakening the aggression hidden in everyone's blood could they move toward strength and prosperity.
From childhood, Yanbai had received a Chinese-style education from his mother.
The Doctrine of the Mean, with its principle of avoiding extremes, could indeed help people find the most suitable approach, but nothing was ever quite that perfect.
In the hands of people who lacked ability, the Doctrine of the Mean became rigid adherence to convention.
It could maintain social stability, yet it restricted some of the creative thinking essential to development-thinking that ought to have an aggressive edge.
In Yanbai's view, progress could only accelerate when every field carried that aggressive edge.
Without aggression, development would slow.
Outstanding ideas and systems were not easily accepted when they first emerged.
What was more, most mediocre people shared a weakness: they could not understand anything beyond their own knowledge, yet had absolute faith in their narrow view of the world.
Yanbai's philosophy had only gained such free rein in Konoha Shinobi Village because everyone had spent years growing accustomed to, and trusting, his "abnormal" behavior.
Yanbai silently watched what lay ahead until Shikaku Nara handed him the