"We're leaving!"
After repeated hesitation, Might Guy finally made the decision to retreat.
Though he was usually something of a buffoon, he was exceptionally reliable in critical moments. Given the Hidden Leaf's currently precarious situation, they simply could not afford the price of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki losing control or, worse, being seized by the enemy.
Furthermore, their mission was originally only to recover the granddaughter of the Tsuchigumo clan chief, not to rescue the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata. Since it wasn't part of the mission, there was no psychological barrier to abandoning the effort.
"No! I'm not leaving! If you won't save Master, I'd rather stay here with him!" Hotaru ran frantically toward the agonizing Utakata.
Before she could get close, however, Sasuke kicked her back. "Get lost!" he said with cold indifference. "You aren't needed here!"
"Sasuke!!!! What are you doing? She's just a girl!" Naruto was clearly stunned by his former friend's cold-bloodedness.
In his memory, although "the second young master" was a stubborn tsundere who rarely said what he meant, he had always been good-hearted underneath, just a bit awkward at expressing it. But now...
The genius who had graduated at the top of their class had clearly turned into an entirely different person. Especially those scarlet Sharingan eyes; they radiated a dark, frigid aura that felt as though it could freeze someone solid in an instant.
"Idiot! Do you think shinobi are divided into men and women? From the moment you put on that headband, you must be prepared to be killed by the enemy at any time. This is the real, cruel world of shinobi! If you keep clinging to that mindset, you'll be dead on the battlefield before long," Sasuke mocked with a cold sneer.
Perhaps influenced by Allen's philosophy of "gender equality," Sasuke showed not a shred of chivalry when facing enemies. He was utterly ruthless when it came to killing kunoichi.
"You've changed! You've become colder and darker. Is revenge really that important to you?" Naruto looked up and questioned him loudly.
Sasuke replied without a second thought, "Hah! For me, nothing is more important than the destruction of Konoha. Just looking at its existence makes me feel physically sick. Since the Uchiha clan no longer exists, there is no need for Konoha to exist either. Let it be buried alongside my fallen kin."
In just a few short sentences, the atmosphere between the two became thick with the scent of gunpowder. Finally, they could no longer restrain themselves and traded blows. In a world where strength reigned supreme like the shinobi world, words alone would never suffice. Even if you wanted to talk, you had to defeat your opponent first. Otherwise, only a fool would listen to a weakling's rambling.
However, the current Naruto was clearly no match for Sasuke, who had grown at an explosive rate under Allen's tutelage. In short order, Naruto was covered in wounds. If not for the Nine-Tails acting as his personal power bank, he likely would have been pinned to the ground long ago.
Seeing this, Tenten, Rock Lee, and Sakura immediately rushed in to provide support. For a time, the two sides actually fought to a standstill.
In contrast, Might Guy, master of the Eight Inner Gates, stood his ground without moving, silently staring at Allen.
After several long minutes, he finally asked, "Why are you collecting the Tailed Beasts?"
"To pursue greater power, of course!" Allen replied with a smile.
"Just for power?" Doubt and mistrust filled Guy's eyes.
Currently, the Resistance forces were blooming everywhere. Whether it was the ideology they followed or the Nen abilities they used as weapons, everything had been spread by the young man standing before him. To a certain extent, the title of "the world's most dangerous individual" was well-deserved.
"What else?" Allen spread his hands and asked in return. "I've long had the strength to completely destroy the Great Nations, yet I haven't taken any substantial action, except against the Iwagakure shinobi who repeatedly provoked me. So, please do not worry about what I might do after obtaining even greater power. Everything that needs to be done, I have already finished. The rest depends on the choices made by the people of this world."
"Finished? Are you referring to those Resistance groups you incited?" Guy frowned instinctively.
"Incite? No, no, no. I believe the word 'awakening' is much more appropriate."
Allen raised a finger and gave it a gentle wag.
"Look at this distorted world!
"Ordinary people work all day long yet cannot even manage a full meal. Farmers must hand over nearly half of their harvest to the nobles and Daimyos to fund their revelry and luxurious lifestyles. And what do the farmers get in return?
"Nothing!
"Even basic peace and tranquility can be destroyed at any moment by a sudden war.
"In all fairness, do you think this is fair?
"While absolute fairness can never exist, I believe a ruling class that only enjoys the fruits of labor without bearing any responsibility should hurry up and die out. The backward era of using bloodlines to determine one's birth and future is coming to an end. A new era, one where even those from the bottom have a chance to change their destiny, is arriving. No one can change that. Even if the First Hokage were resurrected, he could not stop this trend."
"So that's it! It's because of that so-called 'future' that those people are fighting with everything they have, refusing to take a single step back even in the face of death."
Thinking back to the Resistance members he had encountered and the unshakable determination in their eyes, Guy finally understood why the Resistance continued to spread like mushrooms after a rain, no matter how hard the Konoha shinobi tried to suppress them.
One had to understand that the current shinobi world was a feudal society strictly determined by bloodline and birth. The environment of a Hidden Village was slightly better; as long as you were strong enough, you had a chance to climb the ranks. But in the other system ruled by Daimyos and nobles, those at the bottom would never have a day of advancement. Specifically, they were barred from power from the very beginning, with not a single channel for upward mobility.
In the past, the commoners were suppressed by the terrifying combat power of the shinobi and were utterly powerless to resist. But now, with the popularization of Nen, they had gained the power to fight back. Naturally, they were no longer willing to suffer in silence.
"Exactly! I'm glad you can understand this. I was never the one who truly caused this; it is the system you maintain itself that is the problem. Because the soil was rich with nutrients, I simply scattered a handful of seeds, leading to the current situation. Give up the struggle, Guy-sensei. The Great Nations, including Konoha, will inevitably decline and face destruction. This is your destiny! It is the inevitable forward roll of the wheels of history," Allen explained with great interest.
Unfortunately, Might Guy was not the type of person to be swayed by a few words. He didn't even respond. Instead, he directly opened the first six of the Eight Inner Gates. Transformed into a blur of crimson flames, he charged forward, intending to conduct the rest of their conversation with his fists.
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