In the Land of Fire, on the border, it was early morning, and the sun's rays had just begun to fall on the land, gradually warming the ground.
"Are those barbarians from Kumogakure making any moves?" Hyuga Zuiun asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes, with little enthusiasm.
Asahi and the others had been monitoring Kumogakure's forces on the front lines for ten days, but Kumogakure had remained quiet.
Although Kumogakure had been very vocal, they had been very restrained and had not taken overt action against Konoha ninjas.
However, in secret, the two ninja villages had already clashed countless times, resulting in hundreds of ninja casualties.
Asahi exited Sage Mode, stood up from the ground, rubbed his aching legs, and said, "Perhaps they are waiting for something? From the intelligence, that day won't be too far off!"
"Tch! How boring!" Zuiun complained, then formed a hand seal, activated her Byakugan, and began monitoring Kumogakure's forces.
Although Zuiun was a female ninja from the Hyuga, she lacked the serene demeanour of the Hyuga clan, instead subtly exuding the air of a battle maniac, eager to immediately go to war with Kumogakure.
Asahi walked to the side, lay down on a large rock to rest, and happened to see the cloudless sky.
He frowned and said, "Do you think Kumogakure might be waiting for a change in the weather?"
"Weather?" Hyuga Hizashi looked up at the sky upon hearing this, then gasped in surprise and exclaimed, "Are they waiting for a rainy day?"
"It's very possible." Asahi nodded and said, "Lightning can travel through water, and if it's a rainy day, the destructive power of Lightning Style ninjutsu greatly increases."
"Kumogakure couldn't possibly not consider this."
"Although the plan to ambush the Kumo ninjas is good, it gives the opponent the initiative, which we didn't consider."
"Then what should we do?" Hizashi asked.
"Don't worry, with Shikaku-sensei's wisdom, he should have considered this," Asahi said.
"But to be absolutely sure, I'll go take a look."
As soon as he finished speaking, Asahi's figure instantly disappeared.
"Was that space-time ninjutsu? It's really amazing!" Seeing Asahi disappear, Zuiun's eyes lit up, seemingly eager to try it herself.
Hizashi also frowned at the sight.
With the current strength of the Hyuga clan, there was no way for them to offer anything given the abilities Asahi possessed.
His reconnaissance abilities were on par with the Byakugan, his powerful taijutsu, medical ninjutsu, and his ability to traverse space.
Asahi, possessing these abilities, seemed to have no need for the Hyuga clan.
The Hyuga clan's greatest pride was the reconnaissance ability of the Byakugan, but in terms of reconnaissance, Sage Mode's perception was no less inferior to the Byakugan.
Thinking of this, Hizashi felt a little worried.
Would the clan's cooperation with Asahi truly gain an advantage as imagined?
…
Konoha Camp.
A figure flashed, and Asahi appeared out of thin air beside Nara Shikaku.
"Asahi, why are you here?" Shikaku asked in surprise.
"Shikaku-sensei, from the intelligence we've gathered, Kumogakure's higher-ups have already issued a war directive, but the Kumo ninjas on the front lines haven't made any moves."
"Have you noticed anything?" Asahi asked.
"Hmm… They should be waiting for a thunderstorm." Shikaku smiled.
"I've already ordered people to set up lightning rod devices at the ambush site."
"If Kumogakure has that in mind, they'll definitely be in for trouble."
"That's good." Asahi nodded, then said, "Then I'll be going!"
"Wait a moment," Shikaku called out.
"What is it, Shikaku-sensei?" Asahi asked, puzzled.
Shikaku waved his hand, and after the other ninjas in the tent had left, Shikaku looked at Asahi and said, "I've recently heard some news, it seems you and the Hokage-sama are having some sort of disagreements."
"You… could say that." Asahi nodded, acknowledging it.
Facing the teacher who had guided him for over two years, Asahi still held respect.
And given Shikaku's intelligence, since he had already directly stated this matter, it meant he already knew the specific details.
"Why? Didn't you say you would protect Konoha?" Shikaku questioned in a deep voice.
"Yes. But didn't sensei also say that not only can life change, but the environment can also change."
"'Konoha is a big tree, it shelters us from wind and rain, and we must maintain it and protect its growth'. Didn't you say that, sensei?" Asahi said in a deep voice, "Just like raising flowers, withered leaves need to be picked off for the flower to grow better."
"So, withered branches must also be pruned."
"If withered branches are allowed to remain on the big tree, they will also affect the growth of the big tree."
"Is that how you understand it?" Shikaku asked.
Nodding, Asahi looked at Shikaku and said, "Isn't that right? Maintaining a big tree is not just about watering and weeding; pests on the trunk and withered branches all need to be cleaned up."
"That's how I understand it, what do you think, sensei?"
"If it's just your own big tree, doing that is irrelevant."
"But Konoha, this big tree, belongs to everyone."
"What you consider a withered branch, others might not see it that way," Shikaku said.
"Don't assume that what you believe is what everyone else believes."
"And protecting Konoha is not the same as maintaining a big tree, you should understand that."
"Others have their own ideas, and I have my own understanding, there's nothing wrong with that," Asahi said.
"But until I understand others' thoughts, I can only act according to my own."
Glancing at Shikaku, Asahi continued, "In the ninja world, what is needed is strength."
"With strength, you can have justice."
"You probably can't refute me on this, sensei."
"I understood this when I was very young, and I've always acted accordingly."
"This way of thinking is too dangerous, Asahi, you are becoming very similar to someone, both believing in the supremacy of strength, and that person was several times stronger than you, but he ultimately failed. Do you know why?" Shikaku said earnestly.
"He failed because he met someone even stronger than him."
"If the person sensei is talking about was strong enough, then he wouldn't have failed." Asahi said.
Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had conflicting ideals, leading to their final battle in the Valley of the End.
If Hashirama's ideology of 'mutual understanding, strength in unity' was correct, Hashirama should have gathered all Konoha ninjas to besiege Madara, instead of fighting him one-on-one.
(T.L Note: Nine-Tails be like – So I don't even count in the battle between you two monsters?)
Ultimately, it still comes down to individual strength.
If Madara had defeated Hashirama back then, perhaps Konoha would be in a completely different state now.
Moreover, that battle was also planned by Madara, it was not to seize control of Konoha, but to seize Hashirama's power.
Seeing that Shikaku seemed to want to say something else, Asahi continued, "Sensei, I will let you see it, very soon."
With that, Asahi disappeared.
*****
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✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
✓ Naruto: Senmei Asahi
✓ Naruto: Uchiha's Intelligence Dealer
✓ Naruto: The Fifth Hokage Is Naruto's Uncle
✓ Naruto: Who Made Him a Ninja?
✓ To Love-Ru: Spoiler Route [R-18]
✓ Naruto: The Accidental Incubus [R-18]