A long silence ensued...
Staring into Jiraiya's resolute eyes, Orochimaru slowly exhaled and spoke in a deep voice:
"Jiraiya... have you really made up your mind?"
Seeing Orochimaru's slightly serious expression, Jiraiya nodded firmly without hesitation.
His path, his duty, did not lie in Konoha, nor in the position of Hokage!
He was the mentor of the reformer spoken of by the Great Toad Sage;
Whether this world would become better or fall into ruin depended on his guidance!
In all the years Orochimaru had known Jiraiya, it was the first time he had seen such determination on his face.
With a long sigh, Orochimaru nodded silently.
Jiraiya had decided to take care of these three children, and it was more than just simple guardianship.
Although the large-scale war among the Wind, Earth, and Fire nations had ended;
It was foreseeable that the frequency of small-scale battles would greatly increase.
Leaving the battlefield at this time to raise children not only clouded his future but also put Hiruzen Sarutobi in a difficult position.
The direct result was:
Jiraiya lost most of his chances to compete for the position of Hokage.
All his previous efforts seemed to have gone to waste.
After all, not everyone could go wherever they pleased like Rinjin.
That guy's initial accumulation was too solid, with his name engraved on more than half of Konoha's walls.
Bidding farewell to Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru set off on their journey back to the village.
.....
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two years had passed.
In the 35th year of Konoha.
The war, which had lasted for three years, dragged on endlessly. The Wind, Earth, Fire, and Lightning nations were thoroughly bloodthirsty, resorting to all sorts of tactics;
Even the Land of Lightning, which joined last, couldn't withstand the consumption of large-scale structured warfare, thus transitioning to small-scale team battles.
The war had reached a prolonged stalemate.
Compared to large-scale army warfare, small-scale team battles were more aligned with the ninja way of fighting;
At the same time, the destruction to small countries serving as strategic buffers became more severe.
In the forests of the Land of Fire;
Among the mountains of the Land of Lightning;
On the plateaus of the Land of Earth;
In the deserts of the Land of Wind;
Slaughter occurred at every moment, infiltration and counter-infiltration games never ceased;
The war became increasingly pervasive.
A small explosive tag or a simple Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique could devastate a family or a village.
In Amegakure, a large number of war orphans, pale and emaciated, flocked to this peaceful place that had never been ravaged by war, crossing the bridges of Inaimaru, Tenmyo, and Togo.
Amegakure, like a gluttonous beast, siphoned this massive influx of people, accepting all comers.
The first Amekage, Sakuhou Rii, didn't care if there were spies from other villages among these children;
Nor did she care if there were terrorists hidden among them.
Amegakure had no secrets, no upper echelons, no power distribution.
The village's rules were written at the entrance of the Amegakure Center Building, and the purpose of the village leader was to ensure these rules were upheld.
Anyone who violated these rules would be turned into bait and thrown into the sea to attract fish.
Anyone who thought they were stronger than the village leader could challenge the leader.
However, for now, no one had such thoughts.
The reason wasn't that Rii was invincible, nor that there were no strong individuals in the village;
It was because the village leader worked six days a week, while normal work required only five days;
With that time, it was better to go home, read novels, or watch dramas.
Anyway, if there was any injustice or grievance, one could directly approach the village leader's office, and the leader would naturally uphold justice.
Amegakure was a place unlike any other in the ninja world.
It rained frequently here, technology was advanced, and the people were homebodies, busy with their own little plots of land every day.
In the chaos of war, peace was cherished by everyone.
At the entrance of Amegakure;
Rinjin stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe of the guardhouse, clicking his tongue as he watched the refugees stream in.
Beside him, Shikaku, who had grown significantly taller, tilted his head in confusion, looking up at his teacher, who was still much taller than him.
"Sensei, why are you clicking your tongue?"
Hearing this, Rinjin chuckled, placing a hand on Shikaku's head.
"Because I'm happy, others are fighting, and I'm making money."
"Population?"
Shikaku's quick mind hit the nail on the head.
Hearing Shikaku's answer, Rinjin nodded and then spoke:
"Let me teach you one last lesson: why do the Five Great Nations keep fighting?"
Hearing this, Shikaku's eyes lit up, the noise around him fading away as he entered a state of focused learning.
At this moment, Rinjin began to speak slowly.
"Is war an extension of politics?
No! That's all nonsense.
War first needs people, more than one opponent, so war is actually a form of interaction, like a conversation.
And what's the purpose of a conversation?
Who knows, but there's always a purpose;
To make oneself happy, to pass the time, there's always a purpose.
So war must have a purpose too.
A purpose is an arrow; it can point to oneself, to an opponent, or even to unrelated bystanders;
Some people can achieve three or four purposes with one action, like... heh heh... me~
Others need to do many things to achieve one purpose.
And what about the purpose of war?
Analyze specific issues specifically, let's take the Konoha you're most familiar with as an example.
You might say, isn't Konoha passively defending?
Yes and no.
Konoha needs war too!
Old man Hiruzen is forty, right? He can't go on for much longer, can he?
So does the village need to choose a successor?
Does this candidate need to be tempered, need a reputation, need the recognition of the higher-ups?
You see, war is a shortcut to achieve all of these.
Then, with a village this big, won't there be conflicts?
Conflicts between individuals are easy to resolve, but what about conflicts between clans?
The Uchiha are so mysterious, they might even rebel, should they be suppressed?
So you see, war can also divert conflicts.
The village has a lot of people, everyone is having children, and new generations are growing up;
These people all need to eat and have a place to live, but there are only so many houses, and land prices are high, what to do?
Then you see, when war starts, resources become scarce, everyone tightens their belts to get by;
Doesn't the threshold and expectation for quality of life decrease? Doesn't it make governance easier?
So, you see, wars must be fought, the Four Great Nations of Fire, Earth, Wind, and Lightning are using the pretext of war to relieve their burdens!
As for the external purposes, consider it homework and discuss it with your dad at home~"
After saying this long piece, Rinjin reached into the guardhouse and took out a thermos, gulping down its contents.
Beside him, Shikaku scribbled furiously in his notebook, his face pained.
Sensei spoke the truth, it was very enlightening.
But the examples he gave... were truly indescribable.
What about the candidate for the Fourth Hokage, the village having too many people, the Uchiha needing suppression...
You're being a bit too blunt, aren't you!
Is this something a good, honest kid like me should hear?
And discussing it with my dad at home?!
If I spoke as plainly as you, my dad would kill me as a sacrifice to the heavens!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
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