Chapter 143 Progress is the greatest value and meaning!
"Ugh...this is so hard..."
Hashirama Senju crossed his arms, shook his head, and seemed to be deep in thought, looking troubled.
"Souji, if we really do this, will there truly be no more battles, and will the world be at peace from now on?"
"First Lord, what are you thinking? It's not that simple."
The Souji smiled and said:
"Fighting is not just for ninjas, but also a human instinct. Just as there is light and shadow, fighting can never be completely eliminated."
"That..."
"Actually, there's no need to completely deny the existence of combat.
Ultimately, combat is a form of competition, and people progress through competition.
Completely denying combat and only pursuing perfect peace would lead you to the same extreme as your best friend, Uchiha Madara."
"Madara? Why are you mentioning Madara?"
"Speaking of which, the First Hokage didn't know... Madara Uchiha didn't die back then, he's still alive today."
"What!?"
The Thousand Hands brothers were both startled, their eyes widening in surprise.
"Madara Uchiha's Sharingan can use a technique called Izanagi, which can cover up all things that are unfavorable to him in a short time and only turn things that are favorable to him into reality.
He used this technique to survive your fatal blow back then."
"this..."
Hashirama was momentarily stunned.
His relationship with Madara Uchiha was extraordinary and very complicated.
Although he ultimately put Konoha above Madara at the Valley of the End and ruthlessly killed Madara, Hashirama always harbored deep resentment about it.
He was suddenly told that Madara was still alive, and he didn't know whether to be happy or annoyed.
Tobirama Senju, who has always despised the Uchiha clan, especially Madara Uchiha, naturally doesn't have the conflicted feelings of an older brother.
Madara's survival is simply bad news to him.
Tobirama said coldly:
"How do you know... no, you won't tell me anyway, you should say are you sure it's true?"
"Of course, I'm absolutely certain."
Souji thought to himself, "I read it directly from the original work, how could I not be sure?"
Tobirama revealed an expression of extreme disgust and cursed:
"Izanagi, Madara... what a persistent bastard! Couldn't he just die obediently by his brother's blade!?"
Hashirama, seemingly oblivious to Tobirama's curses, also spoke up and asked:
"Then... if Madara is still alive, what is he doing? He's not the type to stay put, could it be..."
"Uchiha Madara has been hiding all these years.
Although many things seem to be manipulated and influenced by someone behind the scenes, let's not talk about the uncertain things for now. In short, he is now making plans and attempting to launch what is known as the Eye of the Moon."
"Project Eye of the Moon?"
"Madara plans to collect all the tailed beasts to revive the Gedo Mazo (the body of the Ten-Tails) that was sealed in the moon by the Sage of Six Paths, and become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki himself, to achieve the same power as the Sage of Six Paths to open the Eye of the Moon, and then cast his eye power onto the moon to perform 'Infinite Tsukuyomi'."
"You two must both be familiar with Tsukuyomi, one of the Sharingan's eye techniques, right?
Infinite Tsukuyomi is about turning the moon in the sky into a giant Sharingan and casting Tsukuyomi on everyone in the world at the same time."
"The Infinite Tsukuyomi allows everyone to enter the best world of their dreams, such as becoming the Kage and leading a ninja village, being loved by the entire village, having deceased relatives and lovers still alive, being able to eat endless delicious food, and having outstanding members of the opposite sex admire them..."
The Souji slowly spoke:
"Everyone can obtain everything they desire within the illusion of Tsukuyomi, making up for all regrets that should have been irreparable... Absolute peace is achieved in the Infinite Tsukuyomi!"
"What do you two think?"
The Thousand Hands brothers, deeply moved by what they heard, all wore very serious expressions.
Tobirama Senju said in a deep voice:
"In the end, it's just an illusion, it's meaningless, but it's exactly the kind of thing that Madara would come up with. He's always been so extreme and biased!"
Hashirama shook his head with a very regretful expression and said:
"Is this the answer Madara came up with...?"
Although these were all Souji's side of the story, Souji had repeatedly demonstrated that he knew many things that were normally impossible for anyone to know, so neither of them was surprised by this.
And because they were all extremely familiar with Uchiha Madara, with his plans, his madness, and his deep yearning for and love of peace...
Both of them instantly realized that there was absolutely no mistake; this could not possibly be a lie fabricated by someone else.
If it weren't for Madara, he wouldn't have come up with such a plan.
"It seems that both of you have rejected Madara's plan."
"Of course! What kind of nonsense is it to keep everyone forever lost in the beautiful dream of illusion?"
"This is a denial of life!"
Tobirama and Hashirama made their evaluations one after the other.
The Souji nodded slightly and said:
"Yes, Madara Uchiha is an extreme example of someone who completely rejected the struggle and pursued absolute peace."
"Struggle is part of human progress. It is impossible to eradicate struggle and achieve absolute peace. If it were forcibly achieved, it would only result in something like the Infinite Tsukuyomi, which distorts human existence, stagnates life, and traps consciousness in a false dream forever."
"Then what do you think would be the best way for the ninja world to become?" Hashirama asked, puzzled.
There is no best, only better.
Without the slightest hesitation, the Souji immediately replied:
"As I said before, the changes I am about to implement will neither eradicate war nor achieve absolute peace, because that is inherently against human nature."
"But just like how you, the First Hokage, ended the Warring States period and established the era of the Ninja Village, even if you couldn't achieve perfection in everything, you did make progress and became better than before."
"Therefore, my goal has never been perfection, but progress. I have eliminated the distinction between ordinary people and ninjas. Naturally, it is impossible for everyone to support me or for everyone to benefit. As a result, countless problems will arise..."
"And these problems will be solved when someone establishes a new era, thus achieving another step forward."
"Progress, being better than before, that is the greatest value and significance!"
"If progress continues like this, perhaps one day humanity will be able to achieve absolute peace without the aid of illusions..."
The Souji calmly stated his thoughts.
Hashirama and Tobirama listened with serious expressions.
After a long while, the two looked at each other, and Hashirama smiled and said:
"Well said! Progress is the greatest value and meaning! I completely agree with you!"
"Souji, although we have only known each other for a short time and I do not know much about you, I believe that someone who can express such insights is worthy of entrusting Konoha to."
"I've made up my mind. Tobirama and I will both fully support you in becoming the Fourth Hokage!"
(All the characters are caught in the dream of Infinite Tsukuyomi)
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end of this chapter...