In Amegakure, after the shadow of war had passed, the endless rain once again became the main theme of this small village.
Unable to withstand Obito's repeated urging, Naruto finally accepted Ashura's invitation for a face-to-face meeting.
From Obito's complaints, Naruto surmised that their meeting would surely be a battle of words, so he did his homework, collecting ancient documents from various places and reviewing the history of Ninshū.
The next evening, in Amegakure's teahouse, the first and last Ashura held a historic meeting.
Ashura, worthy of being the founder of Ninshū, immediately opened with a grand proposition: "Naruto, what do you think war brings everyone besides pain and misfortune?"
Naruto immediately realized this wasn't a friendly visit.
The biggest taboo in conversation was being led by someone else's rhythm—he needed to take the initiative.
So Naruto swirled his teacup and asked unhurriedly: "Ashura, in your era, how did you prevent diseases?"
Ashura couldn't quite grasp what Naruto meant by this question, but he answered meticulously: "Ninshū had specialized ninjutsu developed for diseases that could dispel illness and disaster..."
Naruto smiled faintly: "But that was just emergency treatment, right? You only treated diseases after getting sick."
Ashura nodded: "Yes."
Naruto took a gentle sip of tea and said: "But in our era, there's a method for preventing diseases called 'vaccines.' The principle is to first inject small amounts of pathogens into the body, allowing the body to produce antibodies and prevent disease..."
Ashura: "This..."
Naruto returned to the original topic: "War is the same. Through small-scale, targeted wars, we rehearse future conflicts, thereby achieving the goal of stopping war with war..."
Ashura suddenly realized: This guy came prepared!
He immediately argued: "Do you feel at peace with yourself about the people hurt by this war!"
Naruto gently set down his teacup and said calmly: "Let's continue with the vaccine example. In the early stages of vaccine development, extensive live testing is often required, both on animals and humans. The casualties are certainly numerous, but thanks to this, vaccines can be developed and implemented safely for people..."
Ashura clenched his fists: "Are you saying that sacrifice is necessary!"
Naruto said indifferently: "It's not what I want to say—it's objective fact. Sacrifice is always unavoidable!"
Seeing that direct assault wasn't working, Ashura chose to circle around: "Actually, I've also studied your ninja villages' modern history. Konohagakure had a man named Danzō who seemed to constantly advocate the theory of 'necessary sacrifice,' but ironically, Danzō was killed by you!"
Naruto calmly parried: "He used the pretense of promoting vaccines while actually spreading disease, tarnishing his colleagues. If he didn't die, who would?"
Ashura felt a headache coming: "Let's not talk about vaccines. I think your starting point is wrong. People with power always think about using simple, brutal methods to solve problems. They might see immediate results, but the consequences are endless!"
Naruto asked back again: "Do you think my effort to get Kaguya to join was wrong?"
After a moment of stunned silence, Ashura insisted: "There must have been a better way!"
Naruto slowly raised his eyes: "Be more specific?"
After hesitating, Ashura insisted: "I... don't know, but as long as you truly want to find one, there must be a way. You didn't even try to look before deciding it didn't exist—that's extremely irresponsible!"
"I think dismissing others' efforts without distinguishing right from wrong is equally irresponsible..."
Naruto spoke lightly, then looked at Ashura's cup: "Tea tastes bad when it gets cold."
Ashura picked up his teacup, drained it in one gulp, then set it down and said calmly: "Actually, I came to see you not to deny you, but to sincerely offer my opinions and views!"
Naruto sipped his tea lightly: "Speak, I'll listen. If it's correct, I'll adopt it."
Ashura's gaze grew somber: "In this world, there are always the strong and the weak. Because the strong have more choices, they often act arbitrarily and ignore the feelings of the weak, just like my elder brother once did..."
"Brother always liked to handle everything alone. The weak were left out and gained no growth from it. In the end, without the strong person's help, they still accomplished nothing..."
At this point, Ashura paused to observe Naruto's reaction.
Naruto listened carefully and smiled faintly: "Very well said. Please continue."
Ashura said: "Brother often used the reason that the weak needed others' help because they couldn't accomplish things independently to deny me. I don't deny this—my talent and power were nothing compared to brother's!"
"But you must know, Father also had power, yet he was different from brother. Rather than taking over everything, he was better at guidance. So people willingly followed Father. I just wanted to measure up to Father!"
"Brother Indra had too many prejudices against Ninshū, but you must understand—not everyone can keep up with brother's pace. Under brother's philosophy, the strong naturally live comfortably, but the weak driven by the whip aren't happy..."
Ashura looked up and said sincerely: "Naruto, I know you're also thinking about the future world, but could you use gentler, more humane methods?"
Naruto set down his teacup and supported his chin with both hands: "Do you think I'm inhumane?"
Ashura said: "Though not to brother's extent, I think it's still somewhat excessive..."
Naruto didn't rush to refute. He was deeply contemplating a question.
Ashura and Indra—without doubt, both were 'strong.'
But their ways of thinking about problems were completely different, related to their growth trajectories.
Indra was strong from the beginning and couldn't understand weak people's thinking, so he couldn't put himself in their shoes.
Ashura was a strong person who had risen from weakness. He knew the difficulties of the weak, so even after becoming strong, he could still think from the weak's perspective.
In a sense, this was quite rare.
The Ashura before him was just like Naruto once was.
If there was any difference, Naruto had personally experienced a bleak childhood—Ashura had not. Naruto had experienced a desperate future—Ashura had not either.
The current Naruto had both Ashura's compassion and Indra's forcefulness, so he could see both the strong and the weak.
He couldn't help thinking: Ashura's advocacy suits prosperous times, Indra's philosophy suits chaotic times. These two complement each other and are indispensable...
Sage of Six Paths, why did you insist on elevating one while destroying the other back then?
"How about this... Ashura."
Just as Naruto was about to say something, Konan pushed through the door: "Naruto, they're fighting again..."
Strong déjà vu. Naruto asked: "This time, who's fighting whom?"
Konan said unhurriedly: "Madara and Sasuke, over a cat."
🔥 Want to read the next 80 chapters RIGHT NOW?
💎 Patreon members get instant access!
⚡ Limited-time offer currently running...
👉 [Join on - patreon.com/DarkGolds]