Jiraiya clenched his fist hard. Kairen didn't show even the slightest hint of regret.
Orochimaru gently rubbed his chin, suddenly feeling that what Kairen said made a bit of sense.
Daimyō rule the world, while funding the economy that supports ninjas, letting ninjas fight wars for them. In essence, ninjas are simply a blade belonging to the aristocracy.
Moreover, the economic foundation of the ninja villages consists of B-rank and higher commissioned missions—but how can ordinary people afford B-rank and above?
Only nobles and wealthy merchants qualify. They drive ninjas to become the blades in their hands, cutting away unnecessary thorns from their path.
Jiraiya continued, "Kairen, you are a descendant of the Senju clan, carrying the Will of Fire of the First Hokage. Don't tell me… you're denying the ninja world created by the First Hokage?!"
Under Jiraiya's incredulous gaze, Kairen nodded.
"Yes! I am denying the one-country-one-village system established by the First Hokage!"
"You—" Jiraiya's voice seemed strangled, unable to come out.
In the distance, a pitcher plant slowly extended from the wall. It was Uchiha Madara's pitcher-plant spy.
Kairen shouted loudly, "Look… what happened to this world after the First Hokage died? The First Shinobi War erupted, then after merely a decade of recovery, the Second War exploded, and now the Third War is still raging."
"I can even say the First Hokage was a sinner. With that kind of power, he didn't rule the world but sought balance…"
"That was irresponsibility toward peace—treating the entire world as a tool for him to pursue his ideals."
"One world, three great wars. Isn't that division? Isn't that a betrayal of the Sage of Six Paths?"
His voice was powerful, rising and falling, as though painting a scroll of nearly thirty years of ninja wars behind him. Everyone was caught in this vortex of slaughter.
Young men, children, even the elderly—one after another, becoming corpses in the name of 'balance.'
Jiraiya clenched his fists, as though suppressing something inside. He naturally heard Kairen's words, and had no rebuttal.
Everyone knew the Warring States period was chaotic—children were born only to become war consumables.
But wars in the ninja village era were even larger. The chaotic conflict among the Five Great Nations shrouded any dawn of peace under perpetual dark clouds.
Behind the pitcher plant, Madara opened his cloudy eyes. Ideals and ambitions brewed into a black light within them.
Listening to Kairen's words, he murmured softly, "Hashirama… your descendant denies you. You have failed."
"But you won't see this day. I will complete the Eye of the Moon Plan and bury this war-torn world forever."
Jiraiya suddenly roared at Kairen, "The First Hokage wasn't wrong! Peace will come. When people understand each other and sympathize with one another, the dawn of peace will pierce the clouds and illuminate the entire ninja world!"
Kairen listened, then suddenly covered his face with his hand.
"Heh heh heh… hahaha…"
The increasingly loud laughter echoed in the blood-soaked mountains where dying flames still burned, as if mocking Jiraiya's naïveté.
"What are you laughing at?!"
Kairen stopped laughing and pointed toward the Fire Daimyō.
"You say mutual understanding?! I killed his son and his wife, and crushed his samurai army. You tell me… can he forgive me?!"
Jiraiya turned his gaze to the Fire Daimyō.
The Fire Daimyō's eyes were full of hatred. He pointed at Jiraiya.
"What are you hesitating for? Hurry and eliminate this rogue ninja!"
Kairen pressed aggressively toward the Fire Daimyō.
"Such a coward—why should he be the monarch who leads the Hokage? With his narrow vision, sooner or later, he'll trigger a revolution between the village and the nation!"
In Shippuden, the remnants of the Twelve Guardian Ninja launched an attack on Konoha—can you say there wasn't the Daimyō's accusation behind it?!
Even the Twelve Guardian Ninja's motive was to eliminate the Hokage and return authority to the Daimyō.
The simplest truth is… power cannot be shared.
"Bastard! Bastard!" The Fire Daimyō cursed Kairen nonstop, signaling Jiraiya and Orochimaru to deal with him.
A flash of killing intent appeared in Orochimaru's pupils, and the Fire Daimyō seemed bitten by a poisonous snake, his nagging stuck in his throat.
Kairen crossed his arms and continued, "Jiraiya, tell me—why does a great war erupt every fifteen years or so?"
Jiraiya answered, "Because the Land of Fire is wealthy, and the other four countries want a share."
Kairen chuckled. "That's one reason. But a deeper reason is the number of ninjas. A great nation can support one large ninja village, but its development eventually hits saturation, while mission quotas are limited."
"If the growth of ninja numbers isn't curbed, there are two possible paths. The first is what's happening in the ninja world right now."
"The Five Great Nations engage in chaotic warfare, using war to reduce the immense number of ninjas—while also gaining fame, earning more recognition from nobles, and securing more mission quotas."
During the Second Ninja War, the Land of Earth and the Land of Water fought despite being so far apart—like polar bears in the Arctic and penguins in the Antarctic waging tribal war.
What were they even after?
It's not like they're immortal cultivation sects fighting over each other's techniques or secret arts.
And now in the Third War, the Land of Lightning and the Land of Wind—separated by the massive Land of Fire—are also fighting.
For land? They don't even border.
For women?!
Individuals like Kairen among ninjas are so rare you'd need a microscope to find one. It's more for men, honestly. Besides, this whole story is already overflowing with… 'bromance.'
The essence of the ninja wars is a gigantic theater. Daimyō and nobles are the spectators below, and ninjas are performers on the stage.
Whoever fights more intensely, more skillfully—receives louder applause! And thus more rewards.
It's basically a variant of online PK livestreaming.
Even the Konoha Crush Plan ten years later was the same.
Sunagakure couldn't get the approval of the Wind Daimyō, so they hoped to crush Konoha through the Konoha Crush Plan to regain the recognition of Wind Country nobles.
Kairen looked again at the Fire Daimyō.
"If the Ninja World Wars didn't happen, the massive number of ninjas would collapse the ninja village economy. To keep the villages alive, ninjas would reach into the Daimyō's pockets, trying to seize control over national finances."
Sunagakure was desperate enough to attack Konoha simply because of lacking missions. If their brain twitched and they looked toward the Daimyō's treasury… that thought could very well appear.
"Daimyō and nobles don't want to see an expanding number of ninjas. So they tolerate hostility among ninjas—sometimes even fanning the flames—to let ninjas slaughter each other."
The Fire Daimyō pointed at Kairen. "Nonsense!"
"Of course I have this idea. I even wish you ninjas would kill each other as miserably as possible. Anyway, all the benefits I gain are land."
"And the land is mine. As for rewards… I'll just give you ninjas a few gold medals, encourage your hard work."
"Even if we lose, nothing happens—at worst, we cede a bit of land. This game has existed since my ancestors founded the country."
"It consumes ninjas, and lets us play a grand-scale conquest game. Isn't it delightful?!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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