Chapter 176: This Will Be a Story of a Hero Defeating a Dragon — Tobirama Senju, Do You Wish to Be the Dragon Slayer?
"It wasn't easy coming all the way to Akatsuki Village…"
"Tobirama Senju, you had to come here, didn't you?"
"You've really made me suffer for it!"
Uchiha Makoto grumbled under his breath.
But though he was complaining, his face didn't match his words at all — instead of annoyance, it showed nothing but delight.
That's right — they were at the ninja academy.
As Uchiha Makoto and Tobirama wandered through Akatsuki Village, they happened to pass by the academy.
And upon seeing it, Tobirama suddenly got the urge to visit and insisted on going in for a look.
It wasn't a restricted area anyway.
Unlike the village's high-tech research zones filled with secret labs that outsiders couldn't enter, the academy was open — even ordinary villagers sometimes came in to deliver food or clothes to students. So bringing Tobirama for a tour wasn't an issue.
But the moment Uchiha Makoto stepped inside, he was instantly surrounded by students!
The academy had an interesting ritual: every morning at around 9:30, all students and teachers gathered on the training field to swear their loyalty to Lord Light and Shadow — in front of a portrait of Uchiha Makoto himself.
Thus, every student knew his face. To them, he wasn't just a leader — he was their greatest idol, the man who made the lives of their dreams possible.
And so a crowd of adorable children swarmed him.
They surrounded him tightly, each hoping for a reward — a pat on the head, maybe even a playful pinch on the cheek.
"Tch, these little devils," came Makoto's smug voice beside Tobirama's ear.
By now Tobirama had been pushed to the edge of the crowd, his expression clearly displeased.
The kids of Akatsuki Village really had no manners… couldn't they at least greet him too?
Still, Tobirama didn't actually dislike children — only Makoto. He wasn't the type to vent irritation on kids.
His frown soon faded.
Looking at those rosy, smiling faces, those bright eyes full of light…
A small smile tugged at his own lips.
So this… this is what Hashirama dreamed of.
Hashirama had founded the Hidden Leaf so that children wouldn't have to grow up in endless wars — so that they could learn, play, and grow safely under the village's protection, not like his generation, who saw bloodshed before they were old enough to understand it.
Even Hashirama, as strong as he was, couldn't save all his brothers — only Tobirama survived.
Madara Uchiha had lost all of his.
If even those two couldn't protect their own, what chance did ordinary people have?
That cycle of killing crushed children's souls, robbed them of their innocence and hope for the future, leaving them hollow inside.
That's why both Madara and Hashirama eventually "went mad."
One became obsessed with a twisted ideal of peace — protecting for the sake of protecting, yet failing to protect anything.
The other was deceived by Black Zetsu's "Infinite Tsukuyomi" lie, living a life of tragedy.
Tobirama, a survivor of that age, hadn't lost his mind — but he had turned into a man of cold prejudice.
Even so, he understood how precious this sight was — even if these children belonged to Akatsuki Village.
They lingered there for quite some time.
Not until the class bell rang did the children finally begin to disperse — reluctantly.
It took a frantic teacher, realizing the classrooms were empty, to rush out and find the missing students gathered around Makoto before ushering them back to class.
"Haha, sorry about that," Makoto said kindly. "Didn't mean to interrupt your lessons — carry on as usual."
Once the crowd dispersed, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Done showing off yet?" Tobirama said flatly, his face returning to stone, his tone dripping with envy and irritation.
"Showing off? I told you not to come here! You insisted."
"Hmph. Out of all the roads, you just had to walk past the academy. Don't tell me that was a coincidence!"
"You're impossible. Fine, fine — I'll use a Transformation Jutsu. I'd rather not get mobbed again; it's exhausting."
Makoto didn't bother arguing. He understood Tobirama's irritation — lately, his own rising fame had come at Tobirama's expense.
While Konoha's upper ranks respected Tobirama's skill as the "second in command," many Uchiha children — influenced by Makoto — saw him less favorably.
Best to change the topic before Tobirama snapped and drew a kunai.
A fight at a school? That would be way too embarrassing.
The two continued their tour without disturbing any classrooms, eventually reaching a large open training field.
The sun blazed overhead.
Hundreds of students were out training.
Tobirama quickly scanned the field, his sharp eyes estimating over four hundred students.
An astounding number.
Konoha's newest academy intake barely reached seven hundred — so this was more than half of that.
Almost instinctively, Tobirama recalled the reports about Akatsuki Village's academy: since its second year, the school had been expanding massively — from an initial 3,000 students to even more with each year's enrollment.
A terrifying figure indeed.
Though… the one consolation was that most of those new recruits were so-called failures.
Yes — literal "trash," as most ninja schools would call them.
Students with no talent, no chakra control, and almost no chance of becoming proper shinobi — the kind who usually got expelled to save resources.
At first, Tobirama had sneered, thinking Makoto had finally lost it. Surely maintaining such numbers would crush the village's finances.
But over time, he'd come to learn that Uchiha Makoto was no fool — in fact, he was a sly, calculating man who never made unprofitable moves.
If he was willing to pour resources into these so-called rejects, there had to be a reason.
"So why keep all these useless students?" Tobirama asked bluntly.
"Useless? You never change, do you, Tobirama," Makoto sighed, feigning pity. "But since you asked so sincerely, I'll enlighten you — to prevent the world's destruction! To protect peace and love and truth from the evils of—"
"Speak human language!" Tobirama barked, veins twitching.
Makoto laughed. He loved saying strange, cryptic things — like that one time when they discussed the future of the shinobi world:
"Maybe one day, ninjas will reach for the stars.And when that time comes, we'll face new questions —How do you make slaves happy?Why are forced labor and automation incompatible?Can criminals be productive citizens — shouldn't they pay taxes?If unemployment gets too high, can the government just 'cleanse' its own planet?"
Tobirama hadn't understood a word, yet somehow it all sounded profound, which only irritated him more.
Makoto smiled now. "Alright, fine. To put it simply — remember what I told you about 'civilianized ninjutsu'?"
"I remember. But don't tell me you're relying on these kids to achieve that — they can barely pull off a D-rank technique."
"Exactly," Makoto said, pointing toward a student nearby.
The boy was fumbling through a long chain of hand seals — it took him three minutes and over a hundred seals just to complete one jutsu.
Even Tobirama's Water Dragon Jutsu had only forty-four seals, and he'd long thought that was too many.
Still… the jutsu worked.
A narrow strip of land, about two meters wide and twenty meters long, was tilled — as if plowed by an invisible tool.
Tobirama stared blankly. "That's it?" his expression said. "You call that ninjutsu?"
"What use is that?" he finally muttered aloud.
Makoto grinned. "Still don't get it? You see, ninjas usually simplify their hand signs to fight faster — that makes jutsu harder to control and more chakra-intensive. But by adding seals, we lower the chakra requirement and make it stable enough for anyone to use.
"That technique's not for battle — it's for farming. Even a regular person could master it with practice. We've got others — road-building, construction, irrigation.
"They might never fight on the battlefield, but they'll change the productivity of the shinobi world itself."
"Think about it — every year, thousands of these so-called 'useless' students will graduate, go out, and reshape the world."
"That's what ninjas should be doing — not killing strangers at the orders of nobles who don't even know their names."
"The ninja world shouldn't be like this."
Makoto's words carried the passion of a dreamer.
Even Tobirama, so rational and rigid, felt a tremor in his heart. Maybe this madman was actually doing it — truly changing the world.
But then, Makoto's tone shifted.
"So… someday," he said casually, "I'm going to slaughter all the daimyō and nobles."
Tobirama froze. Whatever goodwill he'd felt evaporated instantly.
"That's too extreme! I can support your reforms, but mass murder? That's insanity!"
"They're parasites," Makoto shot back. "I want ninjas to rule the shinobi world! Those nobles and daimyō are dead weight — obstacles in our path. This isn't a dinner party, it's a fight to the death!"
"Are nobles somehow holier than us? Can they use Sage Mode like Hashirama? Do they wield Sharingan like my clan? They have nothing!"
Such words were taboo.
Even Tobirama had only ever thought such things — never dared to say them aloud.
The relationship between ninjas and nobles was far too delicate to touch.
But Makoto didn't care — this was his village.
Even if the Fire Daimyō heard him, what could he do? March into Akatsuki Village to arrest him? Impossible.
If anything, it only proved how "free" Akatsuki Village truly was — a place where even such dangerous ideas could be spoken aloud.
Tobirama rubbed his temples.
He couldn't argue — not convincingly.
Makoto's words were madness, yet carried an uncomfortable truth.
He'd seen too many Uchiha go insane, ranting about the world being wrong — and then drowning it in blood.
But Uchiha Makoto was different.
He was actually building something.
He was mad… but his madness had purpose.
And deep down, Tobirama found himself thinking — maybe he's right.
(End of Chapter)