A faint hum echoed in his mind the mont [Water Release Mastery] activated.
A surge of training mories and ninjutsu experience flooded in all at once, rushing toward the palace of his consciousness. The sheer volu of information pouring in so suddenly made his head swell, and he couldn't help but let out a muffled groan of discomfort.
"Urgh—"
"Kei, you know... you once told that turning back before it's too late is wise, and that admitting one's mistakes is a great virtue..."
Minato's voice ca from outside the rickety door.
What?
What the hell is he talking about?!
Was he seriously suspecting that sothing unspeakable had happened between him and Pakura in the room?
Kei was montarily stunned before realization hit him. This pure-hearted sunshine of a man had actually been corrupted by that old pervert Jiraiya!
Damn it!
Sure, Pakura was indeed beautiful. Her figure was top-tier, and that back of hers added an extra touch of allure. She was undoubtedly one of the most stunning kunoichi in the shinobi world.
But he wasn't that desperate!
Kei opened the creaky wooden door and yanked Minato inside.
When Minato realized he had completely misunderstood the situation, his face turned red all the way down to his neck under Kei's exasperated glare.
Awkwardly, he scrambled to change the subject.
"Uh... so... is everything settled?"
"What do you think?" Kei ground out through clenched teeth.
The truth was, this whole situation had been a last-minute decision—he had impulsively set out to claim Sahada. He had even planned for Minato to cover for him in the mission report once they returned to the village, concealing what had happened today.
But now, he had questions.
Did Jiraiya take Minato along when he snuck off to red-light districts? Had Minato actually stood guard while that old bastard was up to his debauchery?
Otherwise, why would a simple groan make him jump to that kind of conclusion?
"Ugh..."
A soft, pained moan ca from the unconscious Pakura.
Minato, who had just barely managed to cool down, instantly flushed an even deeper shade of crimson.
Kei rolled his eyes, gestured for a quiet retreat, and without hesitation, the two vanished from the small hut.
Not long after they left, Pakura stirred awake, groaning as she clutched her throbbing head. Warily, she surveyed her surroundings, and as the mories of what happened before she blacked out ca flooding back, she rushed outside.
The battlefield lay before her. It was a grim, desolate land filled with the corpses of her fallen comrades and the Kiri ninjas they had fought.
She stood frozen for a long ti.
Only when villagers, cautiously erging now that the battle had ended, began returning to check the area did she snap out of her daze. Swallowed by grief, she stumbled forward and started the solemn task of gathering her fallen comrades, preparing them for burial.
---
Leaning against the railing of the three-masted ship heading back to Konoha, Minato let out a long sigh.
Perhaps it was empathy for those who had suffered the sa fate, or perhaps it was the sheer depth of Pakura's sorrow that had left such a lasting impression.
Every ti he recalled the sight before their departure, a lingering weight pressed against his chest. It was a quiet, suffocating lancholy that refused to dissipate.
"Still thinking about Pakura?"
Kei glanced at Minato, who was sighing heavily. He walked over, leaned casually against the ship's railing, and closed his eyes, letting the sea breeze brush against his face.
"...Kei, what do you think ninjas exist for?"
"For conflict."
"You really have no fear of crushing my ideals, huh?"
Minato gave his friend a speechless look. He knew, deep down, that Kei's words were brutally honest. No matter how ninjas first ca into existence, no matter what ideals they claid to uphold, the truth remained the sa—conflict was at the core of their existence.
For thousands of years, war had been the constant the of the shinobi world. Wealth, desire, power, revenge, admiration, greed… every ambition bred conflict, and conflict led to violence, bloodshed, and death.
The reason ninjas had grown stronger throughout history—surpassing warriors, monks, exorcists, and other combat professions to beco the dominant force in the world—was simply because they excelled at fighting.
"Stop overthinking. You pity her, but what about the civilians who died in the crossfire? The innocent bystanders whose hos were destroyed?"
Kei yawned lazily, his tone indifferent.
Having lived in this world for over a decade, he still found it difficult to empathize with ninjas. To him, the ninja villages were more like a fusion of rcenary groups and terrorist organizations—wielding imnse power, disregarding human life, and steeped in violence.
Five-year-olds were sent to Academy to be brainwashed and trained in the art of killing. By the ti they turned twelve, they were expected to graduate and carry out missions, guided by instructors who made sure they had "shed blood" early on.
In his past life, no professional military force would ever engage in sothing so utterly insane.
"Ninjas, huh..."
Minato let out another long sigh. Rather than feeling comforted, he only seed more disheartened.
A long ti ago, he had asked Kei what it would take to achieve world peace.
Kei had given him a straightforward answer—peace, even if temporary, could only exist under three conditions:
First, possessing overwhelming power, like Hashirama, to forcefully suppress all opposition and maintain order through sheer strength.
Second, waging a unification war—rging all nations and ninja villages into one entity, standardizing language, laws, and education under a single rule.
Third, introducing a common enemy—an external threat powerful enough to endanger the entire shinobi world, forcing all factions to unite.
Minato considered himself an optimist, but the idea of having strength on par with Hashirama was sothing he could hardly fathom.
As for a unification war… aside from Danzō, no one in Konoha's leadership would even entertain such an idea. And even if they did, Konoha's current strength was nowhere near enough to pull it off.
That left only the last option...
"If only Madara were still alive. A man who could rival the First Hokage should have had enough power to threaten the entire shinobi world, right?"
"...???!!!" Kei stiffened.
Bro, what the hell are you saying?! Madara is still alive!
Right now, everyone was still in their early stages of developnt, growing at a steady pace in a relatively low-stakes environnt. Could they not just play it safe and progress normally?
This was not the ti to stir things up.
If Madara really got the urge to start "dancing" again and decided to drop a teor just to make a point... Would Minato believe him if he said he could literally die on the spot?!
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