The concept of mutually assured destruction is essentially the ninja world's version of nuclear deterrence. The time between the First and Second World Wars on Earth was less than 25 years, but in the decades since the end of World War II... although there have been continuous hot wars in various regions, a war that could be called a Third World War has not broken out.
And the reason...
A large part of why a Third World War has not broken out on Earth is because of the immense power of nuclear weapons. This has made the leaders of the major powers maintain a certain degree of restraint—the top three permanent members of the Security Council all have the ability to bomb the Earth back and forth several times, to reset human civilization with a single button.
This principle is actually the same in the ninja world.
Uchiha Makoto's rambling successfully captured the attention of the three people before him.
"This guy, he couldn't have really gotten news of some terrible weapon... and now he wants to use Konoha's power to get it..."
"Hiss... it seems it's not impossible!"
Senju Tobirama listened silently from the side, but in an instant, a conspiracy theory had formed in his mind, and his expression instantly became grave.
In his view...
Uchiha Makoto, that naturally evil Uchiha brat, was full of bad intentions.
Based on his understanding of this bastard Uchiha Makoto... Makoto wouldn't just ramble on in front of his brother and Uchiha Madara. He must have really gotten some news—a powerful weapon has appeared in the ninja world!
If a terrifying weapon that could easily destroy a large ninja village really appeared in the ninja world, then the first thing Senju Tobirama had to do was to ensure that only Konoha obtained this weapon... This kind of weapon of mass destruction, only the peace-loving Konoha was qualified and capable of possessing it!
If the other ninja villages in the world obtained such a powerful weapon, it would only increase the instability of the ninja world.
Especially...
The naturally evil Uchiha brat before him, Uchiha Makoto!
Once he obtained such a powerful weapon, he would surely bring disaster to the ninja world!
"Gentlemen, what do you think of my proposal?"
"Hmph, fanciful!"
"This is simply a joke!"
"If there is such a dangerous weapon, how can we let it proliferate? It must be strictly sealed away by Konoha!"
Senju Tobirama was the first to stand up and object.
"Tch~"
Uchiha Makoto couldn't help but curl his lip. He hadn't even finished speaking, and that naturally evil old ghost of the Senju, Senju Tobirama, had already started to vote with his feet... Nuclear deterrence could indeed reduce the possibility of war between the major villages, which was beneficial to the ninja world.
But today, having been frustrated all day, Senju Tobirama's mentality was already... his thoughts now were probably... beneficial to the ninja world?
It's not beneficial to Konoha!
What does it have to do with me!
I just object!
"Ahem... Tobirama, I think at this time, we should let the Hokage express his opinion first, instead of you making a decision on your own and rejecting my proposal."
Uchiha Makoto did not indulge Senju Tobirama at all. He hated it when people interrupted him while he was speaking.
A single sentence choked Senju Tobirama, leaving him speechless. His face turned red—he was on the verge of a breakdown.
"Bastard, ahhh!!"
"So what if you're the Light Shadow... I'll become Hokage sooner or later!"
Senju Tobirama vented his anger in his heart, then glared fiercely at Uchiha Makoto before starting to look for external support—Brother, say something!
"Makoto, the theory you mentioned is quite novel... but can there really be such a powerful weapon in the ninja world?"
Senju Hashirama took two steps forward, separating the two who were at loggerheads, and spoke.
Compared to the theory of mutually assured destruction...
He was actually more curious about how there could be such a powerful weapon in the ninja world.
Not just Senju Hashirama, but Uchiha Madara also looked at Uchiha Makoto with great interest.
"I once read in an ancient text that there is a powerful force in the ninja world that has been passed down since the time of the Sage of Six Paths—the nine Tailed Beasts."
"Perhaps the power of the Tailed Beasts can allow the ninja villages of the world to maintain a balance of mutually assured destruction... reducing the possibility of war."
Uchiha Makoto stated his ultimate goal.
Of course...
He also knew clearly in his heart...
The power of the Tailed Beasts was indeed very strong, but it did not reach the level of nuclear deterrence.
In the original Naruto story, the five great ninja villages all had their own Tailed Beasts and had created jinchūriki using sealing jutsu to obtain their power.
But what was the result?
The Great Ninja Wars still broke out continuously.
The jinchūriki who possessed the power of the Tailed Beasts were not as strong as people imagined.
Some even became a burden to their villages.
After all, the Tailed Beasts sealed within the jinchūriki were all extremely irritable and would break the seal from time to time to vent their anger.
The jinchūriki of some villages were more like uncontrollable, highly explosive bombs. A moment of carelessness could easily blow up their own village.
In fact...
The only ones in the ninja world who could currently be called human-shaped nuclear weapons were the two guys in front of him—Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
Perhaps...
A Nine-Tails jinchūriki in its golden Tailed Beast cloak state could also be called a human-shaped nuclear weapon.
But such a perfect jinchūriki was extremely rare. It required a complete meeting of minds with the Nine-Tails.
To be recognized by that foul-mouthed fox... the conditions were simply too harsh.
And the reason Uchiha Makoto was proposing such a useless plan now... was simply because the Tailed Beasts were needed in the future plans for Akatsuki Village—the Tailed Beasts possessed an immense amount of chakra, which was too tempting!
But the Tailed Beasts were currently running rampant all over the world, and Uchiha Makoto didn't know their specific locations.
To search for information on the Tailed Beasts and capture them back to Akatsuki Village, the commotion Akatsuki Village would cause would certainly not be small.
Senju Tobirama was already keeping an eye on Akatsuki Village. This matter was bound to not escape his notice.
For figures like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, the Tailed Beasts were like gentle and cute pets.
But that was just a special case... The power of the Tailed Beasts was still not to be underestimated by the ninja villages.
It's hard to do something well, but it's very easy to mess something up.
Senju Tobirama would not let Uchiha Makoto smoothly collect the Tailed Beasts, nor would he miss such an opportunity to enhance the village's foundation.
After a long struggle, if it became known to the whole ninja world... the other major villages were not all idiots.
They would not let go of such a powerful force.
According to Uchiha Makoto's estimation, after a lot of effort from Akatsuki Village, they would probably only be able to collect two or three Tailed Beasts in the end... and the Nine-Tails would most likely not be among them.
So, rather than fighting a battle of wits and consuming each other's energy with that old ghost of the Senju, Senju Tobirama, it was better to just lay the cards on the table, find an excuse, and directly use Senju Hashirama's power to complete the task of capturing the Tailed Beasts.
Akatsuki Village could assist from the side and pick up the scraps.
...
"Tailed Beasts... I remember there are indeed such powerful creatures in the ninja world..."
Senju Hashirama recalled carefully.
Although he had not yet encountered a Tailed Beast... the family records of the Senju clan did indeed record such powerful creatures.
The records also clearly stated that the power of the Tailed Beasts was exceptionally strong, and the more tails a Tailed Beast had, the stronger it was.
If it was really as Uchiha Makoto said, that each Tailed Beast had the power to destroy a ninja village, then if each major village possessed such a powerful Tailed Beast, could it really achieve the balance of destruction Uchiha Makoto spoke of, and ultimately reduce the risk of war between the major villages?
As Uchiha Makoto had expected...
According to the thinking of an ordinary person...
Such a powerful weapon should naturally be kept for one's own village. But Senju Hashirama's thinking was always different from that of an ordinary person.
He really began to consider such a possibility.
Senju Hashirama truly hoped for peace in the ninja world and had no intention of letting Konoha dominate and rule the world... what a good person. Uchiha Makoto loved to make friends with such good people!
"Brother, you don't actually believe what Uchiha Makoto is saying, do you?"
"If the power of the Tailed Beasts is too strong, strong enough to destroy Konoha, shouldn't such a powerful force be reasonably supervised and protected by Konoha to prevent those with ulterior motives from using the Tailed Beasts to create war?"
"What if the other major villages really want to perish together with Konoha?"
"I firmly disagree with this approach!"
Senju Tobirama quickly jumped out.
He noticed that the expression on his brother's face was very wrong... My foolish brother, he's being bewitched by Uchiha Makoto's words.
Such a powerful force...
For the safety of Konoha, Konoha should not let it flow out under any circumstances.
Who knows if the other major villages will really go crazy and use the Tailed Beasts to perish together with Konoha.
And...
Uchiha Makoto didn't look like a good person at all, proposing a plan involving such a dangerous power.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with me opposing it!
"That does make some sense..."
"Madara, what do you think?"
Senju Hashirama's thoughts changed. He wasn't concerned about the power of the Tailed Beasts, but worried that the future situation would indeed be as his younger brother, Senju Tobirama, had just described—what if a major village really did harbor the thought of perishing together with Konoha?
So he looked at Uchiha Madara, who had been silent all along.
At this moment, the contents of the family stone tablet came to his mind... If he wanted to complete the Eye of the Moon Plan, then the nine Tailed Beasts were indispensable.
"Hmm... I think... the first thing we should do is to collect all nine Tailed Beasts. As for what happens after that, we can talk about it later."
Uchiha Madara looked deeply at Uchiha Makoto and then said slowly.
"Makes sense!"
"We haven't even caught a single Tailed Beast yet. It's indeed a bit early to consider what to do after we catch them."
"But to protect the peace of the ninja world, it is indeed too dangerous to let these powerful Tailed Beasts roam around... Madara, we have something to do."
"Let's go and catch the Tailed Beasts together!"
Senju Hashirama nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Uchiha Madara's idea. It was indeed too early to consider what to do after catching the Tailed Beasts.
He was quite excited about the idea of catching the Tailed Beasts with Uchiha Madara... The Tailed Beasts were described as so powerful in the ancient texts that they certainly couldn't be treated lightly. They had to be careful.
If he and Madara went to catch them together, there shouldn't be a problem.
Senju Tobirama, who was standing to the side, relaxed a little. His brother was not completely muddle-headed after all.
He didn't listen to the words of that naturally evil Uchiha brat, Uchiha Makoto!
"Hmph... Uchiha Makoto, no matter what your purpose is..."
"I will definitely stop you!"
"This time, my brother is on my side!!"
Uchiha Makoto noticed Senju Tobirama's slightly provocative gaze. He just smiled.
Although his proposal had been temporarily rejected, his goal had been achieved.
Senju Hashirama was already planning to team up with Uchiha Madara to capture the Tailed Beasts.
Of course, the lineup of these two was a bit too luxurious...
When Senju Hashirama truly saw a Tailed Beast, even the strongest of them, the Nine-Tails, he would probably just think that Uchiha Makoto was joking—this fox can kill people? Don't be ridiculous!
At that time, it should be very simple for Uchiha Makoto to ask Senju Hashirama for a Tailed Beast—since you like these pets, Makoto... pick whichever you want!
Regarding the Tailed Beast plan, the two sides had roughly reached a consensus...
After the new year, Konoha and Akatsuki Village would secretly collect information on the Tailed Beasts together and then carry out a joint capture.
After that, Senju Hashirama had nothing more to say to Uchiha Makoto.
He was a hands-off leader in Konoha. The discussion of village affairs had to be handled by Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Makoto.
Of course, the same was true for Uchiha Madara.
So, Senju Hashirama directly left the room to Uchiha Makoto and Senju Tobirama.
And he himself dragged Uchiha Madara home with him.
"Madara, let's go. Since Uchiha Makoto is here, let's have new year's eve dinner at my place..."
"That's not a good idea."
"What's not good about it? Oh... you don't want Makoto to eat alone at my place, do you?"
"For Makoto's sake, I'll reluctantly agree. What a hassle."
The two of them, pulling and shoving, left the Hokage's office.
Only Uchiha Makoto and Senju Tobirama were left in the room.
And the atmosphere in the room suddenly became inexplicably tense.
Senju Tobirama still had a deadpan expression, his eyes fixed on Uchiha Makoto.
"Tobirama, you've been staring at me for so long. Won't your eyes get dry?"
"Hmph... hmph..."
"Ahhh... you naturally evil Uchiha brat, I've had enough of you!!"
"I'm going to kill you, ahhh!!!"
Senju Tobirama didn't waste any more words. He immediately took out his kunai and rushed towards Uchiha Makoto.
Uchiha Makoto was also prepared. A kunai appeared out of thin air in his hand.
Clang, clang, clang...
Sparks flew from the clashing kunai.
"Hey, hey, hey, Tobirama, this welcoming ceremony is a bit too much!"
"Bastard, I'm asking you, you definitely made that movie to slander me... don't think I don't know!"
Senju Tobirama had been holding in a belly full of anger, and now he finally had a chance to vent it!
"How can you slander an innocent person out of thin air?"
"How did I slander you? Did I slander you in the movie? Did I say a single bad word about you?"
Uchiha Makoto parried while speaking, completely ignoring Senju Tobirama's scolding, and righteously refuted him.
"Ugh..."
"It seems... you didn't..."
The speed of the kunai in Senju Tobirama's hand slowed down. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
"I just put your every move on the big screen and let the audience judge you!"
"It's obvious that you're the one with a guilty conscience!!"
"???"
"Ahhh, bastard... I'll kill you!"
"Look, impatient again!"
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