Haseo, Hatake, Shikou, Nara, and additionally Hyūga Soei, a Byakugan ninja Haseo had interacted with once before… Considering the nature of the mission on the Eastern Front, there were two squads totaling eight members from the Hyūga Clan in Haseo's team. Undeniably, this proportion was somewhat beyond standard specifications… Several days had passed, and now they were gathered around a bonfire engaged in conversation.
You could say it was just idle chat.
"I didn't expect the war to come so fast. Back in the last big war, we were barely surviving—just trying to make it through each day. Honestly, I don't think I made any real contribution to the village.
Now, though, we've become the very backbone of Konoha."
Nara mused, like he was saying what everyone else was thinking too. Indeed, judging by their age alone, they had already become seasoned young veterans, no longer as youthful as they had been during the previous war.
However, what Nara described applied only to the majority of those present. Specifically speaking, at least Haseo needed to be excluded from that category… Given Haseo's level of achievement toward the end of the last war, if even he considered himself to have just been getting by, then how many people in Konoha were actually doing more than just scraping by?
Everyone had just arrived at the front line with nothing much to do, so they took turns exchanging thoughts casually.
Needless to say, most folks from Konoha still had pretty sane minds—they definitely didn't want war breaking out. Even though ninjas are basically seen as killing tools, most of us still don't want to take part in full-scale wars.
"We shouldn't fall into the trap of seeing war—peace—war as some kind of cycle. But when we look at human history, our present, and where we're headed, war isn't some strange anomaly—it's just the norm." Leaning back slightly, Haseo gazed up at the stars shimmering through the gaps in the thick canopy overhead, and said.
"Routine issue? What exactly do you mean by that, Haseo?" Nagisa Nara asked in return.
"What I mean is this—if you strip away the specific forms and look broadly at the concept of 'war,' it's essentially a recurring normal phenomenon. Influenced by factors like geography, population, resources, and development levels, war has always been unavoidable and impossible to eradicate completely.
Eliminating war and achieving lasting peace is nothing more than idealism—naivety, even. It's something humanity hasn't managed to solve in tens of thousands of years of history, no matter how wise we think we are. Tell me, among you, can anyone offer even the start of an idea for dealing with war? It doesn't need to be practical—just point in a possible direction… Seems like no one can, huh?"
Reasons for war are endless, but ultimately, they all stem from ideological conflict. So the only real way to end war forever would be to unify every single person's thoughts. But since everyone thinks differently, that's simply impossible.
Otherwise, humanity wouldn't truly be humanity anymore.
So, the only real way to end war would be to eliminate the beings who wage it—humans themselves. Complete ideological unification might not be possible, but all minds could be erased together. So... by wiping out humanity itself, "human wars" would naturally cease to exist.
In a way, this somewhat resembles the ultimate goal of the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan, yet the sole realistically executable method is nothing but a punchline.
The whole point of discussing how to eradicate war was to enable better development for humanity. If achieving peace required the destruction of mankind, then it'd become a complete case of putting the cart before the horse. Without humans, what development could there even be?
The dream of Infinite Tsukuyomi sounds beautiful, but what value does such illusion hold?
"Lord Haseo... are you a pessimist?" His words left everyone momentarily speechless, until Uzumaki Shikou finally broke the silence.
"Not at all. Actually, I'm merely a realist. However, in reality, some things are simply impossible to accomplish, and certain problems have no solutions... That's just how reality works. You can't really call that pessimism." Haseo said with a shrug.
Haseo wasn't exactly a pessimist, though he could come across as one at times. He could see humanity continuously progressing, but this progress seemed somehow restricted within certain boundaries.
"Perhaps when several major nations possess weapons capable of mutual assured destruction, a delicate balance born from extreme danger might bring about peace, but... it's inevitably fragile. Once it spins out of control, it would spell total disaster for humanity.
Maybe the First Hokage distributing Tailed Beasts among the Five Great Nations had similar intentions—to maintain equilibrium. However, the issue lies in the fact that although mighty, Tailed Beasts didn't quite reach the level of deterrent weapons...
Looking back now, the First's attempt seems like a failure. The distribution of Tailed Beasts didn't end warfare; rather, in some ways, intensified the conflicts.
Furthermore, Tailed Beasts themselves became one of the reasons for wars breaking out."
Suddenly, while talking, Haseo thought about how when the First Hokage assigned Tailed Beasts to the Five Great Nations, perhaps he wasn't just being foolish, but actually hoping this would achieve a sort of "nuclear balance", thus realizing genuine peace and truly ending the chaotic era.
The only problem was that Tailed Beasts clearly didn't match the deterrent power of nuclear weapons.
When Konoha was first established, since Ninja like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara existed, theoretically possessing world-conquering power, yet not everything could be solved crudely through brute force alone.
The reason why the Five Great Ninja Villages formed an alliance becoming five instead of merging into one was because during the Warring States Period, complex social relationships formed from historical feuds, wars, alliances, and friendships made forced amalgamation impractical. Merging them forcibly into one village might technically be achievable, but afterward, such a massive village would necessarily fall into oppressive authoritarian rule.
Because they were forced to integrate.
And once figures like the First Hokage were gone to keep things in check, the village would instantly fall apart, and the world would return to chaos once again.
Thinking that defeating the leaders of the five villages would allow one to unite the ninja villages single-handedly and thus achieve eternal peace… This method, proposed by a sixteen-year-old delusional boy, can only be described as childish.
It always comes back to the same problem—thoughts cannot be forcibly unified. If they could, people wouldn't be humans anymore, just walking corpses.
As for the First Hokage's alternative approach to unification—eradicating all ninja villages outside Konoha—it doesn't fit his style in the first place. Second, completely wiping out an entire population is actually quite difficult.
Losing a fight doesn't mean they won't run away.
A single manhole underground can hide ten people, and if those hiding aren't ordinary civilians but Ninja, then the number doubles easily.
Even the First Hokage's reasoning had its limits. Expecting one person to resolve social and historical issues accumulated over countless human history is fundamentally unreasonable—even if that individual were the strongest man in the world.
"If so, does all our passionate fighting, the sacrifices we've made with our lives, even hold any meaning?" someone asked.
"Well, that's something you have to ask yourself…"
Because of his own earlier remark, Haseo seemed unable to answer such a question himself. "However, compared to unsolvable conventional issues, some unconventional problems are actually easier to resolve."
Ending war itself is far more complex than simply taking out those who incite specific wars. The former is a complicated, macroscopic anthropological issue, while the latter… well, it couldn't be simpler.
Even the progenitor of Chakra was defeated once—has anyone ever truly resolved "war"?
"Unconventional issues?" Shikou looked confused.
"Yes, unconventional issues. But someone immersed in conventional affairs, like myself, seems far from having the ability or level to handle unconventional problems. Yet… it must be solved. So, if possible, it's best for me to handle it," Haseo added.
When did Haseo's mindset change exactly? He wasn't sure… no, actually, he knew perfectly well.
"Why?"
Shikou didn't really understand what Haseo meant, yet she still followed up with the question.
"Because…
First, it's something our generation will inevitably experience, regardless of our personal desires.
Second, if I were a ninja village, I'd at least hope to be a village full of brilliance…"
In times of war, talk of war never ends—but despite all this discussion, Haseo still failed to grasp war's true nature.
War…
Is nothing more than sudden, merciless bloodshed,
And lives snuffed out before they can even brace themselves.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>