"Your younger self… I see. That's Jiraiya-sensei's philosophy."
As if remembering something beautiful, a gentle smile bloomed on Konan's face.
As for Uzumaki Naruto… strictly speaking, he had actually fulfilled his promise. After all, what he promised was simply "peace" as the ending of the story.
Just like the romance novels Jiraiya-sensei wrote—the story always ended at the moment of marriage. As for whether life after the sunshine would turn into a mess of petty troubles… if he didn't see it, he wouldn't deal with it.
Just like the Hyuga Kiyonari in the log said:
[No one can order someone who became the strongest ninja in the world at sixteen to do things he doesn't want to do.]
At the very least… the strongest person in this world was a naive idealist. From a certain angle, Jiraiya-sensei's teaching had actually been pretty successful.
"Sigh."
Konan let out a helpless breath. So… should she show this log to Nagato?
After thinking for a while, she reached an answer.
No.
Because the mysterious masked man was still alive.
Until she found a way to kill him for certain, if Nagato learned what was in this log, he would definitely try to kill Uzumaki Naruto now. But if that happened, and they ever failed in the future… then no one would be able to stop the masked man.
Everything Akatsuki did rested on one premise: they believed the Rinnegan's power was unbeatable.
But now, the myth of the Rinnegan's invincibility had shattered—at least for her.
Yahiko's path had failed. Nagato's path had failed. Even when the masked man took control of Akatsuki and used his hidden power to ignite the Fourth Great Ninja War… he still failed.
A path enforced through violence would always run into a stronger violence.
Peace—and what comes after peace… was there really no way?
Konan flipped through the log, only to find the writing cut off abruptly. There was no continuation, yet it also didn't feel "finished." Like…
"A serialized novel."
She closed the log and put it into her desk. But after a moment of hesitation, she took it back out and placed it under her pillow.
This room wasn't safe. Keeping the log… close at hand was better.
…
The next morning.
The moment Tsunade stepped into the Uchiha district, she sensed something was off. The Uchiha were extremely hostile toward outsiders entering now. If things kept going like this… no wonder Fugaku had come to her.
"Tsunade-sama."
Uchiha Fugaku waited in front of his residence with his family. Tsunade's gaze swept over them, pausing briefly on Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke.
So it was the same combination she'd seen that day. What a coincidence.
"No need to be so formal." Tsunade waved it off and walked straight inside.
Fugaku led Tsunade into the reception room. Sasuke stared at the closed door, his face filled with confusion and indignation.
"Nii-san," he couldn't help asking Itachi beside him, "who is she? Even Father came out personally to welcome her… he didn't even do that when the Hokage came."
Itachi answered softly, "Because Father is doing this out of respect—for her, and for what she represents."
Inside the reception room, Fugaku and Tsunade sat facing each other. After Mikoto brought in freshly brewed tea, she withdrew.
"Clan Head Fugaku, sorry to drop in unannounced," Tsunade said, getting straight to the point.
"Save the pleasantries. Keep it short." Fugaku's tone was firm. "Anbu should have notified the clans last night. That's why I'm here."
"Of course!" Excitement flashed in Fugaku's eyes. "Konoha has never been something to be carved up at will. Since Kumogakure dares to provoke us, we should strike back!"
War might be Konoha's business, but Tsunade had come to the Uchiha specifically—her meaning couldn't be clearer.
She wanted to give the Uchiha a pull back toward the center. If so, then the Uchiha absolutely couldn't disappoint her.
He paused, his voice growing more eager. "Tsunade-sama, the Uchiha are willing to serve the village—serve you. We can field one hundred and fifty elite ninja, including thirty jōnin with the three-tomoe Sharingan. If that's not enough, we can increase the number."
"No need," Tsunade said evenly.
Fugaku blinked. "Huh?"
"I said, there's no need for the Uchiha to send that many," Tsunade repeated. "Reduce your numbers to one-third. Better yet, make a plan—split those one hundred and fifty into three waves."
Fugaku hadn't expected that answer. In his mind, Tsunade should have gladly accepted the Uchiha's support—maybe even appreciated his generosity.
But she rejected it.
Suppressing his confusion, Fugaku tried to persuade her anyway. "Tsunade-sama, forgive me for speaking bluntly, but against an enemy like Kumogakure, we should commit as many elites as possible. The Uchiha are willing—"
"I know the Uchiha are willing." Tsunade cut him off again, her eyes sharpening. "But this force is mine. You do what I say."
"But if we don't earn merit, how can the Uchiha ever—"
Fugaku's emotion spiked; a heartfelt truth slipped out before he forcibly cut it off. He shouldn't have lost control. But… hope was right in front of him. Why was Tsunade stamping it out?
The Uchiha had been excluded by Konoha's higher-ups for far too long. The clan's resentment was growing heavier by the day. And in Fugaku's eyes, this war was the perfect opportunity: earn real war merit, and returning to the center of power would no longer be a mirage—nor would the Hokage seat be an unreachable dream!
Tsunade didn't explain much. At the same time, she was deliberately being this forceful—because she needed the first batch of Uchiha participating to be obedient.
The plan Hyuga Kiyonari proposed actually echoed what Grandpa had done back then when he dissolved the Senju clan. By forcibly integrating and forging ninja from different clans into one unit, the only thing that could truly bind them tightly together in the end would be one thing:
Konoha—their shared home.
That was why Tsunade had even kept the Third Hokage in the dark. If the truth of the plan leaked out, it would inevitably trigger suspicion and resistance from the clans.
After all… the Senju were already gone. No one knew whether this unit might one day produce the same "effect."
Tsunade suddenly smiled and said with interest, "Clan Head Fugaku, my student once said something very amusing."
Fugaku didn't know what she was driving at, so he only replied, "What did he say?"
"He said, 'Life is like going to the toilet—once it's basically done, it's done.' So…"
Tsunade blinked and ended the meeting with a single sentence:
"I'm transferring Uchiha Shisui to serve as my deputy."
~~~
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