"Your Majesty, the army of the Land of That has—has invaded!"
Coughing violently, the man forced himself to deliver the news to the King of the Land of Ancestors.
The Emperor froze when he heard it. Agitated, he grabbed the man by the collar and shouted, "Why?! Didn't I already order the execution of anyone who disrespected them?! What possible reason does the Land of That still have to attack the Land of Ancestors?!!"
The ninjas from the future were left speechless by such a naive and foolish king.
Minato Namikaze looked at the young, inexperienced ruler before him and suggested, "We're ninjas. We take commissions and complete missions. If you're willing to tell us about the current situation, perhaps we'd be willing to accept a mission to help you protect your country."
"!!!"
The Emperor whipped his head around to look at Minato Namikaze.
These people all seemed to possess incredible power. If it were them...
"No."
He forcibly swallowed the plea for help that had nearly left his mouth.
"I want to resolve this crisis peacefully. I hate war, no matter which side wins."
Had such naive words come from Naruto or Hashirama Senju, everyone else would have simply sighed and then resigned themselves to helping them achieve that dream.
For one thing, Hashirama Senju and the future Naruto had the strength to back up their ideals. For another, both of them had thought things through carefully and chosen to stay on the path of peace for the sake of others.
But the Emperor of the Land of Ancestors was different.
His naivety came from having neither courage nor strategy. He clung to nothing but the ideal of "peace" without considering his own strength or the position he was in.
Constantly giving ground like this would only make others see him as weak and easy to bully. For a monarch, it could bring disaster upon an entire nation.
"No matter what, for the sake of peace, we absolutely cannot go to war with the Land of That!"
The ruler of the Land of That had already taken a punch from Hamura Ōtsutsuki and a slap from Madara Uchiha's Susanoo. He might not have had many other strengths, but he really was tough enough to take a beating, and stubborn beyond belief.
Someone that unreasonable really was...
Even Minato Namikaze was at a loss for words.
"Then what exactly do you plan to do? Negotiate peace with the Land of That? Under these circumstances?"
Tobirama Senju truly was the person most experienced at negotiating with naive leaders. Though that skill had obviously been forged through countless fits of exasperation.
"I..." The Emperor of the Land of Ancestors looked utterly dejected. "I haven't thought of a solution yet."
"As the ruler of a nation, your grasp of politics is atrocious." Tobirama Senju sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead as he shook his head. "And you have no strategic sense whatsoever. Making you the ruler of the Land of Ancestors truly is this country's misfortune."
The Emperor really was hopeless, but the Second Hokage's words were brutally direct.
Everyone else broke into a cold sweat as he spoke. Only Hashirama Senju cautiously tried to intervene. "T-Tobirama, don't be so blunt. Couldn't you put it a little more tactfully?"
"I'm not talking about you, big brother! You may be naive, but at least every idea you have is carefully considered, and you possess the strength, conviction, and breadth of mind to support those ideals! What does this guy have? Nothing but a child's stubborn whims!"
The Emperor had never been mocked this harshly in his entire life. Worse, every word Tobirama said was true, leaving him with no way to argue back. Still fairly young, he was nearly reduced to tears as Konoha's Second Hokage lectured him as though he were an incompetent subordinate or student.
"What do you know?! The Land of That has three times the military strength of the Land of Ancestors! Once war breaks out..."
"How did the Land of That come to have three times your military strength?"
"By using force to swallow up several neighboring countries one piece at a time, of course!"
An attendant beside the Emperor spoke indignantly. "Their usual tactic is to fabricate some historical map, claim that another country's territory actually belongs to them, and demand that the land be returned!"
"If we refuse to give them the territory..." The Emperor looked conflicted. "But that lake supplies irrigation for the entire Land of Ancestors. If we hand it over, the lives of our people won't be secure either."
Even after things had been spelled out this clearly, this idiot still didn't understand.
Izuna Uchiha was starting to want to slap him with Susanoo too!
"What Tobirama means is that if you keep this up, sooner or later the Land of That will have four, five, even six times your military strength! Do you understand?!"
Hamura Ōtsutsuki activated his Byakugan, taking in everything several thousand meters away.
"There's no need for 'sooner or later.' Judging by the number of troops the Land of That brought, they intend to take the entire Land of Ancestors in one strike."
"What?!!"
Only then did the Emperor truly panic. He had naively believed that as long as he gave the Land of That whatever they wanted, the Land of Ancestors could still scrape by, even if life became a little harder.
Kaguya watched them argue. "Constantly giving ground will never bring true peace. Only the Infinite Tsukuyomi can accomplish that."
"Uh..."
Madara Uchiha suddenly saw a reflection of his former self in this woman. The version of himself who had once hidden in an underground tunnel, yearning to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
For a moment, his feelings became rather complicated.
"There's no shortcut to peace, dattebayo." Naruto blinked at Kaguya Ōtsutsuki from thousands of years in the past. "Let's deal with the crisis in front of us first, then we can sit down and talk properly! Auntie Rabbit!"
Rabbit... Auntie...
She had been called Kaguya, Princess Kaguya, and Celestial Maiden before, but this was the first time anyone had ever called her "Auntie Rabbit."
Kaguya's expression went completely blank.
That dazed, almost adorable look even reminded Naruto of how she had reacted when his counterpart from another world used the Sexy Jutsu on her.
Even the Emperor's retainers could no longer stand watching him act so weakly. They urged him to consider working with these people.
Under pressure from all sides, the Emperor had no choice but to agree.
"All right. I'll hire you to help repel the forces of the Land of That." He immediately added with particular emphasis, "Just drive them back. Please don't create an even greater conflict. If the Land of That truly decides to wage all-out war against the Land of Ancestors, then our country will be finished!"
"Sigh..."
Tobirama Senju wanted to sigh again.
After being scolded so thoroughly, the Emperor instinctively shuddered and cautiously asked what was wrong this time.
Madara Uchiha and Izuna Uchiha were speechless. Was there something wrong with Tobirama Senju? No wonder Hashirama was constantly getting depressed.
Neither brother said it aloud, though. Had they asked, Tobirama might very well have replied, "This is the overwhelming advantage of superior intellect."
"This world doesn't consist solely of the Land of Ancestors and the Land of That. Even if we had never appeared, had you shown that you were willing to fight the Land of That to the death, they might not have dared to commit themselves to such a desperate battle."
Tobirama Senju couldn't help treating the Emperor like a hopeless Ninja Academy student as he continued lecturing him.
"The Land of Ancestors has only one-third of the Land of That's military strength. But if you fought to the death with the determination to defend your homeland and territory, then even in the worst-case scenario, you could still destroy more than half their forces before your own nation fell."
"And once the Land of That was reduced to less than half its original strength, it would inevitably become prey in the eyes of the surrounding nations."
"When an enemy is weak, you finish them off. As long as the rulers of those neighboring countries aren't cowards like you, none of them would let such an opportunity pass."
"And since the ruler of the Land of That has managed to expand his territory this far, there's no chance he hasn't considered that problem from the perspectives of governance, politics, and military strategy."
"In other words, your country is being invaded because of your cowardice, not because your military is too weak."
Tobirama Senju continued, "Stop blaming your ancestors for failing to leave you richer lands or a stronger military. You're the one who keeps compromising at every turn, even going so far as to kill your own wife and child just to preserve a fragile peace. That is the real reason the Land of That has become bold enough to invade without restraint."
The Emperor was so thoroughly chastised that he wanted to disappear into the ground. Whatever confidence he had possessed as a ruler had been completely shattered.
At that moment, Hashirama resorted to an awkward burst of laughter to smooth things over for his younger brother.
"Hahahahaha! It's fine, it's fine! Don't be discouraged, young King of the Land of Ancestors."
He threw an arm around the Emperor's shoulder and gave him a friendly pat. "I'm already used to getting lectured by Tobirama."
"But Tobirama is a natural strategist. He may be blunt and merciless about these things, but everything he says is based on the situation at hand and what will be best for the future."
Hashirama remembered his days as Clan Head of the Senju Clan and later as Konoha's First Hokage. Every one of his seemingly naive ideals had only been possible because Tobirama had supported him.
A nostalgic look crossed the First Hokage's face.
"All right, leave the Land of That's invasion to us. What you need to do now is sincerely apologize to your wife. Of course, I don't think she'll forgive you. Hahahahaha."
"..."
Everyone fell silent.
Hashirama Senju had an uncanny habit of stabbing people right in the heart without even realizing it. Sometimes he was worse than his younger brother.
Minato Namikaze said, "Leave stopping the Land of That and protecting the Land of Ancestors to us. First Hokage, please stay here and keep an eye on them."
A single exchange of glances was enough for the First and Second Hokages, Madara and Izuna, and Hamura Ōtsutsuki to understand what Minato meant.
Compared with stopping the Land of That's invasion, the real problem was preventing Kaguya from eating the Chakra Fruit.
Once she became the Goddess of the Moon, a being powerful enough to nearly destroy the entire world, everyone here would be in serious trouble. That was no exaggeration.
At the same time, the First and Second Hokages not only had to prevent Kaguya Ōtsutsuki from eating the Chakra Fruit, but also keep an eye on Madara Uchiha in case something suddenly went wrong in his head and he decided to steal the fruit for himself.
What if the Goddess of the Moon never appeared, only for Madara of the Six Paths to emerge instead?
Wouldn't that be just as disastrous?
The Goddess of the Moon might be terrifyingly powerful, but she had no sense of tactics or strategy. When using chakra, she simply unleashed enormous techniques however she pleased, without considering chakra reserves or circulation at all.
But Madara of the Six Paths was different!
If Black Zetsu hadn't betrayed him, who could possibly have defeated him?
The First and Second Hokages nodded, indicating that they would keep a close watch on both Kaguya and Madara.
Minato Namikaze then led several young ninjas from Team Minato and Team Kakashi, along with Young Kakashi and Adult Obito, onto the battlefield between the Land of Ancestors and the Land of That several thousand years in the past.
In ancient times, war was fought without chakra. People relied on flaming arrows and swords that were not even particularly sharp.
It was an ignorant age with neither technology nor ninjutsu.
When General Suzaku and General Genbu of the Land of That saw fewer than ten people standing in the path of their advancing army, they burst into laughter.
"Just you? There aren't even ten of you, and six are children! You think you can stop the army of the Land of That? Hahahahaha! There's a limit to how badly you can overestimate yourselves!!"
Still wrapped in bandages and clearly having learned nothing from his previous beating, General Suzaku had no idea what was coming.
Kaguya's single attack had only killed a few of their men, and that alone had frightened them badly enough to scream about a monster.
As for the people standing before them now...
The Nine-Tails idly scratched at the ground with one massive paw.
Ever since his seal had been undone, he hadn't gotten a proper fight. He was so bored his balls practically hurt.
Wait.
Tailed Beasts didn't have genders.
So technically, he didn't even have balls to hurt!
...Whatever. He was still bored as hell.