Seeing this, Madara spoke again, "If you don't speak, I'll take it as agreement."
"In that case, let me explain my thoughts."
"Someone once told me that we live on a blue planet, and that outsiders call all of us Earthlings."
"I think that's a fine name. So from now on, regardless of borders, we can all call ourselves Earthlings."
"Accordingly, this new supernation we'll form, I'll call it the Village of Earth. The Village of Earth will be led by the Five Great Villages, with the smaller villages as support, forming it together."
"I will respect the customs and traditions of every village. I won't excessively interfere with the healthy development of local governance. I'll only advocate cooperation in matters that benefit the entire ninja world."
"For example, taking resources that one village has in abundance but others lack, balancing them out through mutual exchange, with us handling unified distribution and transport. This can greatly reduce costs and help the people live happier lives."
"Who agrees, who disagrees?"
At this moment, even Obito raised his head and looked at Madara.
After becoming the leader of Akatsuki, Madara often liked to be alone, lost in thought, 'So this is what he has been thinking about all along.'
'Madara has indeed devoted everything to the peace of the ninja world. This… is actually a very good plan.'
It sounded beautiful, and the Kage couldn't find a single point to refute.
Only Onoki frowned slightly. He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.
Uchiha Madara looked at him and slowly uttered two words, "Too conservative."
Then he said, "Onoki, the reason you instinctively oppose me is that deep down, you carry an ingrained conservatism."
"Conservatism is the rule of animal survival, because any change comes with unavoidable risks, and any risk may determine whether a species continues or perishes."
"But… at least humans are different. Some humans like adventure, like change. It might lead to better lives, or worse ones." [T/N: Change is the only constant.]
"But at the very least, change can set this stagnant ninja world in motion again. The facts already prove that this world can no longer satisfy most people's inner desires. So, change isn't my personal wish, it's the wish of many."
"You Five Great Villages are simply vested interests, you don't want change. You attempt to crush every reformer, branding them as unforgivable criminals. In reality, you're the ones halting humanity's progress."
"That's all I have to say. As for what comes next, I'll let Yahiko discuss with you. Perhaps when facing me, you'll always harbor a sense of vigilance, but Yahiko should be able to ease your guard."
After saying that, Uchiha Madara stood up and walked alone out of the Five Kage Summit hall, leaving behind only a solitary, fading silhouette in everyone's hearts.
Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan exchanged a glance, then nodded. Yahiko took Madara's former seat.
Once Madara left, that suffocating pressure that had made everyone freeze disappeared. The Third Raikage, Ay, finally snorted and looked at Yahiko.
"So you're the true founder of Akatsuki?"
"I've investigated you, completely."
"You're an extremely naive man, pursuing some utterly unrealistic ideals. Those ideals should've been doomed to fail. But by sheer luck, you actually gained Uchiha Madara's approval and turned the impossible into possible."
"But you should understand, miracles can happen once, not twice. You can't assume your luck means everyone else will be lucky too."
Yahiko shook his head, "Lord Raikage, you're wrong."
"Miracles don't happen because they're miracles, they happen because the odds of them happening increase, and keep increasing."
"And why do they increase? Because people want them to."
"Akatsuki represents dawn, the first light of humanity's rebirth. You always use the word naive to describe this state, but you forget, it's not that they're naive, it's that you've decayed. You hold the power to speak, while they do not."
"Sometimes, it's not that a louder voice means greater support, perhaps it's simply that the naive ones have no way to speak at all."
Raikage was stunned. He had imagined many kinds of arguments Yahiko might make, but not this. Not something that struck so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that even he couldn't help reflecting on himself.
He turned to his son, the future Fourth Raikage, and asked, "Ay, have you ever been naive?" [T/N: They both have the same name.]
Ay replied, "Father, I used to be naive."
The Third Raikage then looked at Killer Bee, "And you?"
This time, the Fourth Raikage answered for him "He's… always been naive."
The Third Raikage turned again, looking around at the young bodyguards accompanying the Kage at the summit.
He asked the still-youthful Hozuki Mangetsu, "Kid, what about you?"
Mangetsu thought for a moment, "I'm not naive."
But then he added, "It's just that one naive person once told me some naive words, and I couldn't stop myself from doing something naive."
"Yet as it turned out, my naivete succeeded. The tyranny of the Third Mizukage truly ended in my time. Kirigakure is becoming better and better."
"Perhaps, Lord Yahiko is right. Miracles don't happen because they're miracles, they happen because the odds keep increasing. And the only reason those odds increase… is that more and more people begin to believe."
At the side, Mei Terumi gave a charming smile, sneaking a glance at Kakashi, thinking he wouldn't notice. But in fact, Kakashi had noticed long ago.
After hearing Mangetsu's words, the Third Raikage turned again, this time to Uchiha Obito.
"Konoha's Black Fang, you cut off my son's arm. I haven't taken revenge yet."
"Tell me, are you naive?"
Obito hadn't expected the question to land on him.
He said calmly, "Lord Raikage, asking me that has no meaning. Perhaps I'm more naive than anyone else here."
"I even wish the profession of ninja would disappear. No, not disappear, but return to what it once was: the monk's path."
"You all want to use ninjas as your tools, creating countless rules to bind them. But there's one thing I want to say, right here, in front of everyone present."
"Listen well: those who break the rules are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. And if the rules force people to do that, then I will choose to break those rules!"
Each word struck the floor like iron. The voice echoed through the silent Five Kage Summit, before the very rulers who symbolized the highest authority of the ninja world.
Uchiha Obito continued, "In the past, words like these were spoken countless times on battlefields, yet they never reached your ears. In the past, those who held high positions and lived by such words ended up driven to suicide. But even so, I still want to say them, here, in front of all of you, and say them loudly!"
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