For a time, both sides argued endlessly, unable to convince one another, but regardless of the debate, there was one point that no one denied anymore.
Since the war began the previous year, the name Shinichi Higashino has consistently ranked as the number one trending topic in the Shinobi World.
And now it once again echoed throughout the entire Shinobi World, whether they were enemies who hated him to the bone, observers who both respected and feared him, or young children who worshipped him as an idol; everyone was hearing this name, discussing this name, and speculating about what kind of shock this name would bring to the world next.
...
In the Village Hidden in the Rain, rain continued to fall, making the land seem forever wrapped in a layer of damp grayness.
Lead-colored clouds lingered year-round, and endless rain fell through every season.
At this moment, inside the Akatsuki base located somewhere within the Village Hidden in the Rain, the members of Akatsuki, led by Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, sat gathered together around a table covered with recent issues of major newspapers and publications.
There was the World Weekly, the largest-circulation publication in the Shinobi World, as well as various official reports and independent newspapers from the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth.
Since the war began, they had been closely monitoring every development in the Shinobi World.
The Village Hidden in the Rain was too small and was situated at the intersection of the lands of Wind, Fire, and Earth. This small nation had never possessed the power to determine its own fate.
During the previous two Shinobi World Wars, this place had become a buffer zone between the major powers. The flames of war repeatedly plowed across this land, leaving behind countless ruins and orphans.
Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan themselves were orphans left behind by the last Shinobi World War, and precisely because of this, they were now even more vigilant.
Every day, they paid attention to the movements of the great nations.
Every day, they prepared in advance for the worst possible outcome.
All so that their homeland would never again become a pawn on someone else's chessboard, so that more children would not become orphans like they once were.
Bang!
Yahiko slammed his palm onto the table, causing more than half the water in the teacup to splash out.
"With a single strike, an army collapses! Golden lightning swords covering the sky, descending like heavenly punishment! Three thousand casualties, shaking the Shinobi World!"
He gritted his teeth as he read aloud the newspaper headline and contents.
"After killing so many people, is that really something worth boasting about?! What do they take human lives for?! The people killed today, the people who will be killed tomorrow, in their mouths they're nothing more than a string of numbers, a military achievement, a footnote used to glorify a genius's reputation! Or perhaps just a gimmick printed in newspapers to boost sales?!"
"And this Shinichi Higashino! He's so young, just a child, so how can his methods be this cruel? I've read his pre-war speeches in the newspapers before. Didn't he say he wanted to defend his homeland and country? Didn't he say he wanted to use his own power to protect his village? Is this how he protects it? By killing? By killing so many people, is that what protection means?!"
The members of the Akatsuki exchanged glances.
After a moment, a young man with blue stripes painted on his face cautiously spoke.
"Yahiko, even if Shinichi Higashino's original intention really was to defend his homeland and country, he's still inevitably going to kill many people. After all, that's the battlefield. If he doesn't kill them, they will kill him. It's cruel, but that's what war is."
The speaker was Kyosuke Idate. He had once been a ninja of Amegakure, but dissatisfied with Hanzo's rule and policies, he set out to seek his own answers.
Later, he encountered Yahiko and the others while they were protecting civilians. Moved by Yahiko's ideal of achieving peace through dialogue, he joined their group.
"Yeah, that's war."
Yahiko nodded, then, after a moment of silence, he continued: "But he's so strong. And he'll become even stronger in the future. The newspapers all say he's the greatest genius in the history of the Shinobi World. Right now, a single attack from him can destroy a city. Someone as powerful as him clearly has other choices. He could defeat them and then talk to them. He could try to understand each other through communication, couldn't he?"
"He could try... Try to build a bridge of hope leading toward peace."
The members of Akatsuki remained silent because they knew Yahiko wasn't really talking about Shinichi Higashino.
He was talking about the belief all of them had held from the very beginning. Yet, precisely because they had struggled to survive for so many years in the ruined lands of the Village Hidden in the Rain, they understood better than anyone that, on the battlefield, communication and dialogue were often the most luxurious things of all.
Yahiko clenched his fists while his gaze remained fixed on the newspaper's front page.
After a long time, he spoke softly, as though speaking to himself, and also as though calling out across the distance to the boy far away on the opposite side of the Land of Fire's coastline.
"Anyway, if I ever get the chance in the future, I'll definitely try to persuade him face-to-face. Since he possesses such extraordinary talent and power, he should use it on... A path that can truly connect people's hearts."
...
At the Village Hidden in the Grass, deep within an underground cavern.
The enormous torso of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path cast deep shadows in the darkness while hundreds of pipes extended from its body, connecting to the elderly man seated upon a stone throne.
Madara Uchiha quietly listened as White Zetsu once again enthusiastically delivered his report.
"... Interesting."
After listening, Madara Uchiha closed his eyes once more, his expression completely calm.
Tilting his head, White Zetsu suddenly asked curiously: "Madara-sama, how did you compare to Shinichi Higashino when you were his age?"
Madara Uchiha did not answer.
The silence continued for a very long time, so long that White Zetsu almost thought he had fallen asleep.
"Madara-sama? Tell me!" White Zetsu persisted.
"Get out."
"Oh..."
White Zetsu responded pitifully, then his entire body silently sank into the stone wall and disappeared.
The cavern was finally left with only Madara Uchiha.
Shinichi Higashino… Madara Uchiha silently repeated the name in his mind.
Over the years, he had heard it from White Zetsu far too many times, so many times that even he had become thoroughly annoyed by it, yet every single time, he still listened to the entire report.
There was no doubt about it, at the same age, this Shinichi Higashino was stronger than he and Hashirama had been.
In fact, throughout the entire thousand-year history of the Shinobi World known to him, he could not find a single person who had achieved such things at this age.
And the boy was extraordinarily versatile, from Medical Ninjutsu, Swordsmanship, Fire Style, Wind Style, Lightning Style, strategy, and even cooking, it seemed there was nothing he could not do, yet rather than feeling threatened, Madara Uchiha found himself looking forward to it more and more.
No matter how quickly he grew or absurdly powerful he became, there was nothing wrong with that.
Madara had hidden himself in this dark underground world for one purpose alone: To ensure the successful arrival of the Infinite Tsukuyomi that would one day sweep across the entire Shinobi World.
And if, upon that final stage… There could be a worthy opponent or perhaps a worthy dance partner, someone who could allow him to stretch his muscles a little, then all those long years of waiting would not have been wasted.