Hiruzen stroked his beard, then sat down casually on the grass and patted the spot beside him.
"If Asura-sama doesn't mind, this old man would be happy to have a talk with you…"
Asura's eyes lit up!
Senju Hashirama truly was worthy of being his reincarnation—he wouldn't steer him wrong!
Just from the warmth in Hiruzen's words and gestures, Asura felt deep down that this was a man who longed for peace and possessed great wisdom.
"Wh–where should I start?" Asura asked cautiously, lowering himself to sit beside Hiruzen with a sigh of uncertainty.
"There's no rush, Asura-sama… the weather today is perfect for talking—and for fishing."
Hiruzen leisurely cast his line back into the water and said softly: "Take your time. This old man has plenty of it… and once we land a catch, you can try my cooking. My fish soup is said to be quite good."
"Uh… if we talk, won't it scare the fish away?" Asura asked, tempted but glancing at the schools swimming below with a hint of concern.
"Fishing is all about the ones willing to take the bait."
Hiruzen chuckled. "It has nothing to do with our conversation. It's simply a kind of training for the heart and mind. Don't get caught up in appearances, Asura-sama."
Asura mulled over Hiruzen's words.
Every sentence from the old man beside him seemed cultured and full of meaning, the bearing of a man truly humble yet profound.
"It's like this…"
Asura drew in a deep breath. After all, the Nine-Tails had already spoken of the events of ancient times. Since Senju Hashirama had heard them, everyone else would know soon enough—there was no secrecy left to protect.
So… telling Hiruzen wouldn't matter, right?
"I want to know—when my father chose me as the heir to the Shinobi Sect, was it because of his favoritism, or because of the people's support? And… did my thousand-year struggle against my brother have any meaning at all?"
Asura began recounting his story—
The classic tale of the Shinobi Sect's heir, chakra, and the endless struggle with Indra…
Of all the details, there were two that weighed on Asura the most:
First, whether the path of mutual understanding or the pursuit of power was truly correct;
Second, whether he had harmed the shinobi world.
Hiruzen listened quietly, absorbing the key points while swiftly gauging Asura's mental state.
When Asura finished, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of Hiruzen's mouth.
He had to admit—Asura's simple mind had shattered his own lofty image of "sages." In the end, so-called sages were simply powerful because their bloodline was close to Kaguya's.
But in terms of intellect, compared to ordinary mortals, they were inferior to even a seasoned jōnin of this era—at best on par with Hatake Sakumo before Kazuki had saved him.
"If you ask me…"
Hiruzen spoke slowly. "Mutual understanding and the pursuit of strength for the sake of peace are not in conflict at all."
"It's like a blade—in the hands of a good man, it can be used to prepare a delicious fish soup for a hungry child. In the hands of a villain, it can send the women and children of an entire village straight to hell."
His gaze was piercing, his voice slow yet powerful: "From that perspective, forgive me for speaking plainly, but your father—though he claimed to act for the peace of mankind—never truly took the time to walk this land and see its living beings up close."
"Asura, your father once saved the shinobi world—I am grateful to him for that. Without him joining forces with Sage Hamura to seal Kaguya, there would have been no future for the shinobi world at all…"
"But because of that, he came to fear power. He came to believe that strength itself was a monster—that anyone who gained it would inevitably lose their reason and stray from the right path."
Asura's heart trembled. Is that… true?
But Hiruzen gave him no time to linger.
"Perhaps the Sage of Six Paths forgot… it was only because he possessed strength that he was able to protect the shinobi world from Kaguya's Infinite Tsukuyomi."
"And when Indra took what he saw as chakra meant for mutual understanding and shaped it into ninjutsu, turning it into a tool of conflict—that was, in truth, a grave misunderstanding."
Hiruzen gave a weary smile, his tone carrying a note of age-worn heaviness.
"Sometimes I think… the shinobi world is blessed. With chakra and ninjutsu, we can cultivate fields of wheat to feed everyone in a fraction of the time, or grow cotton enough for all to use."
"But unfortunately, ninjutsu has always been turned to killing instead. Tobirama-sama once said he could never understand why, in every generation of that era, two extraordinary heirs—one of the Uchiha, one of the Senju—would appear, splitting the shinobi world in two and dragging it into conflict again and again…"
Hiruzen looked steadily at Asura, his voice soft.
"Tell me, Asura-sama—why do you think that is?"
The answer, of course, was simple.
In principle, the great affairs of the world follow a cycle—after long unity, division comes; after long division, unity returns.
With shinobi not being a vast people to begin with, over the span of a thousand years, surely there should have been an era of lasting unification.
But there never was.
Every time the world drew near to unity, the reincarnations of Asura and Indra tore it apart again, forcing the shinobi into a cycle of dual opposition.
Because the two of them… had to settle their rivalry.
"It… it's because of me!" Asura's fists clenched tight.
In that moment, countless thoughts raced through him.
Just as Hiruzen had said—power itself was not the problem. If held in the right hands, it was the best tool to bring prosperity to the shinobi world.
So why had his father feared it so much? Why had he distrusted the shinobi to such a degree?
Had he forgotten that when the Ōtsutsuki clan came to settle their score, it was a mere mortal of the shinobi world—Kazuki—who stood tall, and in that trial saved them all?
This proves that power can indeed protect everyone… and that those who wield it will not necessarily lose their way.
"If only Kazuki had been able to overcome the Ōtsutsuki will…" Asura let out a long sigh.
"But he already pushed himself to the very limit… braving storm, frost, and steel blades, sealing Grandmother Kaguya alone, and driving back so many of the Ōtsutsuki…"
Asura covered his face and wept.
"A sinner like me—who stubbornly believed my brother was wrong just because he created ninjutsu—how could I possibly demand even more from Kazuki?"
The corner of Hiruzen's mouth curved into a faint smile.
The truth was, everything he had just said was nonsense… Everyone knew ninjutsu could be used for farming—but wasn't it even easier to develop offensive techniques and plunder what others had already produced?
The Ōtsutsuki clan's method of planting God Trees was proof of that principle.
But there was no helping it—Hiruzen could see at a glance that Asura wanted to hear this sort of thing.
"Do you really believe Kazuki was influenced by Ōtsutsuki chakra? Hah…" Hiruzen let out a long sigh. With a swift motion he reeled in his line, hooking a large fish as Asura sobbed beside him.
"Enough talk for now. Let's eat first."
Hearing that, Asura lifted his reddened eyes to stare at Hiruzen.
"No—I beg you, tell me! Was Kazuki truly not affected?"
But Hiruzen only shook his head.
"My answer remains the same—let's eat first. Asura-sama, what I've said is nothing more than one man's perspective. It is not the truth itself. I hope you can calm yourself and think it through…"
He scraped the fish scales as he spoke softly: "I believe you can reach an answer on your own… and perhaps then I can share with you more about Kazuki."
"But first, have a bowl of fish soup. Don't rush to a decision."
Asura shivered.
In that instant, he felt that Hiruzen possessed a wisdom surpassing even the Sage of Six Paths!
And if Hiruzen could be so perceptive… then what of Kazuki, the man he so revered?
How must Kazuki view the fate of the shinobi world?
Asura could hardly wait to find out!
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