Pain had wanted to use the Ten Tails' power as a deterrent, not to actually unify the world. Perhaps, deep down, even he realized that true unification might not be such a good idea.
Getsushoku could clearly imagine the benefits of total unification—but he could also envision the dangers just as vividly.
A unified world with no competition would lead not only to social stagnation but intellectual stagnation as well. If Konoha were the sole ruler of the world and the Will of Fire became the one and only truth, wouldn't that stifle other vital philosophies? Would scientists like Orochimaru still have a place?
Dissenting voices must be allowed to exist. If the entire world became a single "village," the sense of crisis would vanish. The ruling elite, having no competition, would focus only on infighting over power. They'd resist technological advancement for fear it might disrupt existing power structures. Rigid class systems would block upward mobility, and the people would resign themselves to apathy and inertia. Society would become stagnant.
A flurry of immature ideas passed through Getsushoku's mind. In truth, he didn't know if his predictions were right or wrong. After all, he had never seen a truly unified world. Everything he thought—just speculation.
...
Several months passed in a flash.
Under the chaos stirred up by some unknown troublemaker, the shinobi world had become even more unstable than it was during the Warring States Period.
Senju Hashirama had been brought back via Edo Tensei. No matter how he tried to explain himself, he couldn't clear his name from the flood of rumors. The public preferred scandalous drama over the actual truth.
At just the right moment, the Nine-Tails tracked him down.
Both of them were already brimming with pent-up anger, and now a massive battle was about to erupt.
Senju Hashirama vs. the Nine-Tailed Fox—thanks to the efforts of a certain chaos-loving propagandist, this fight had caught the attention of the entire shinobi world. Even some shameless media outlets jumped on the hype train with headlines like:
"Shocking! The God of Shinobi and the Nine-Tails: What's Their Real Relationship?"
"Domestic Dispute Sparks Shinobi World War!"
"The Tyrant Hokage and the Fox Spirit—A Tale of Love and War!"
...
In a remote desert along the border of the Land of Wind, a sea of yellow sand stretched for over a hundred thousand square kilometers—a virtual death zone for any living creature. The perfect battlefield for two titanic powers.
At the center of the desert, two figures stood facing each other, fifty meters apart. The overwhelming pressure between them almost seemed to take physical form. Even the drifting sand froze in place.
Uzumaki Naruto's body was wrapped in a layer of black-gold chakra. His consciousness had already fallen into slumber—Kurama had taken full control. A twisted smile curled across the fox's face as he stared straight ahead.
On the other side, Senju Hashirama looked equally grim. Having been yanked out of the Pure Land without reason, he was deeply disappointed by the direction Konoha had taken. But what made him furious were the baseless rumors—he could handle slander against himself, but they'd even dragged Mito into the mud! That was unacceptable!
The Nine-Tails' chakra had been tainted black. This humanoid Kurama gave Hashirama a strong sense of danger. But he had plenty of aces up his sleeve—and besides, he was already dead. There was nothing left to lose.
The reason he'd agreed to fight was simple: he wanted to seal the Nine-Tails again. Kurama's power was far too dangerous to let roam free.
Then Kurama spoke first:
"I've waited years for this moment, Senju Hashirama. You damn bastard. I'll let the past grievances slide, but today... I have no choice but to seal you away. Your power is too great. Even in death, your cells are still causing chaos in the shinobi world. I can't allow you to act freely anymore."
"I'm going to seal you inside an ordinary person—turn you into a Hashirama jinchūriki. That way, even in death, you can continue contributing to your beloved village..."
With bloodshot eyes and a manic grin, Kurama ranted like some dumb cartoon villain, laying out his entire plan without reservation. Maybe he was just that confident. Or maybe he'd been holding it in for too long and simply couldn't help himself.
Hashirama ignored the shouting. As a top-tier powerhouse, he wasn't one to be rattled by a few crazy words.
A split second later, the battle began.
Black smoke swirled around the Nine-Tails. Illusory foxes howled through the air.
In front of Hashirama, an immense forest burst from the sand, transforming the desert landscape in an instant.
...
"Who will win?" The spectators—watching from afar via clones—stood around the perimeter. To miss a once-in-a-lifetime showdown like this would be a tragedy.
They were intensely curious about the outcome. Sure, Hashirama had sealed the Nine-Tails in the past—but that was ages ago. Kurama may have grown stronger since then. And Hashirama, brought back by Edo Tensei, might not be at full strength anymore.
The result was anyone's guess.
"Konoha really is something else..."
Ōnoki muttered bitterly under his breath, jealousy gnawing at him.
He was sure Konoha had resurrected Hashirama using Edo Tensei. After all, that forbidden jutsu originated from Konoha. They must've revived the First Hokage to deal with the Nine-Tails.
Ōnoki, who had been secretly preparing for action, now dared not make a move. If Konoha got serious and started resurrecting legendary figures from the past, the other villages wouldn't stand a chance.
Though he was human, deep down Ōnoki couldn't help but root for Kurama.
...
While everyone's attention was focused on the battle between Hashirama and the Nine-Tails, a massive red-black shadow silently spread across the sky.
At first, no one noticed. They thought it was just some natural anomaly caused by the clash between titans.
But once the shadow blanketed the heavens entirely, they realized something was wrong.
"What is that?!"
They looked up.
Even the proudest shinobi suddenly felt tiny beneath such an overwhelming phenomenon. Not even the most skilled sensory ninja could detect the edges of the shadow.
"Could this be another one of Konoha's stunts?"
"Who knows? They've already brought the First Hokage back from the Pure Land. At this point, there's nothing they can't do."
One of them muttered, already blaming Konoha again...
As the shadow overhead grew deeper and darker, the crowd's discussions became increasingly intense. The duel between Senju Hashirama and the Nine-Tails was gradually forgotten.
"Could it be that Konoha's trying to wipe us all out in one swoop?" Onoki's thoughts swirled. "Most of the people here are just clones, true—but who's to say Konoha hasn't developed some jutsu that can attack the original body through its clone?"
He had always regarded Konoha as the greatest potential threat, and the conspiracy theories in his mind began to take shape.
"Old man Tsuchikage, you're way too paranoid," came the arrogant voice of the Fourth Raikage from behind him.
Onoki let out a cold snort.
"You've never seen what Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were like in their prime. That's why you talk so much without knowing your limits."
The Raikage glanced at the ongoing fight between Hashirama and the Nine-Tails and muttered under his breath,
"Doesn't look that impressive to me…"
Onoki sighed. "This current Hashirama only has about half the strength he did when he was alive."
The Raikage's heart sank slightly, though he still spoke with disdain.
"Such a wicked jutsu, to dare tamper with even the souls of the dead."
"If you've got the guts, why don't you say that to Hashirama's face?" Onoki sneered. "Power is the ultimate proof. Anyone with doubts or complaints—let them shut up forever!"
He deliberately emphasized the word forever, a bitterness rising in his chest.
If I had that kind of strength, I would've done even better than Hashirama or Madara. They just got lucky—born into the right clan, in the right era…
The oppressive aura of the growing shadow continued to intensify. In the desert, small animals sensed the danger on instinct and quickly burrowed underground.
Of course, this kind of intimidation didn't mean much to shinobi—they could produce similar effects, though not on the same massive scale as the shadow looming above them.
Hashirama also noticed the anomaly in the sky. He wanted to temporarily call a truce and observe the situation, but the Nine-Tails refused. After all, it was a rare opportunity to beat up Hashirama; there was no way he'd let it slip. Tailed Beasts could be reborn after death anyway, so he didn't care about the ominous shadow.
"I am the Sage of Six Paths. I shall bring eternal peace to this world."
A sudden, thunderous voice echoed from within the shadow, spreading from the desert across the entire world, reaching the ears of every single human being.
Countless people were jolted awake from sleep.
"What's going on? Who's speaking?" was the first reaction of many, confused and alarmed.
"You heard that voice too?"
"Huh? That wasn't just in my head?"
People looked around in disbelief. No matter what they had been doing—working, studying, eating, sleeping—everyone had heard that strange voice.
And without exception, they all stopped what they were doing, quietly waiting for what would happen next. A strange, almost mystical sense told them that their fate was about to change forever.
Dark clouds blotted out the sun, plunging the land into shadow. Distracted by the phenomenon, Hashirama took his eyes off the fight—and the Nine-Tails immediately swatted him away with a giant paw.
The Nine-Tails gleefully stomped on Hashirama's face, and finally said the words he'd been dying to say:
"Senju Hashirama, you're too powerful. I can't let you act unchecked any longer…"
Hashirama: "…"
Seriously? Can we not do this right now?
...
Fierce winds swept through the desert, as if heralding an impending storm.
Suddenly, the curtain of shadow in the sky began to flicker with faint red light. Threads of crimson wove through the darkness, writhing like tendrils. The red light gushed forth, gradually splitting and consuming the black.
The darkness slowly receded. Bathed in the strange crimson glow, everyone below felt a chill in their hearts.
Up in the sky, the red light condensed into a humanoid silhouette. The figure looked around the world and spoke:
"I am the Sage of Six Paths. I will usher in an era of eternal peace. Who supports me? Who stands against me?"
"You're really the Sage of Six Paths?" the Raikage was the first to step forward, his voice thick with suspicion. The shinobi world had been wracked by war for decades, and never once had the Sage shown himself. Now, suddenly, someone claiming to be him appeared? It was hard not to be doubtful.
The self-proclaimed Sage ignored the Raikage and continued speaking.
"Humans are curious creatures. Wealth and power are concepts they themselves created, yet they remain slaves to them. For countless generations, most of humanity's toil and struggle has stemmed from their desire for riches and authority. Fraud, theft, robbery, corruption, even war—they all originate from those two things."
"I have decided to end this meaningless cycle. Rejoice—and welcome the dawn of eternal, stable peace!"
As he spoke, a vast number of glowing red particles poured down from the heavens, scattering across the world.
The Sage of Six Paths continued,
"I shall rewrite the rules of human society. Starting now, every intelligent lifeform in this world will be bound to a system known as the 'Administrator.'"
"As the name implies, the Administrator System will become this world's overseer. From this day forward, all living beings will be equal. There will no longer be rulers or elites, no more class or wealth disparities—only humans and the system, two distinct categories. All you need to do is obey the system."
The moment he finished speaking, gasps erupted from the crowd.
"Are you insane?" Onoki stared at the so-called Sage in disbelief, the wrinkles on his face deepening.
"I am not insane. This is true egalitarianism—pure equality. It's the most ideal form of peace," the Sage replied calmly. "From now on, every action taken by an individual must comply with the system's rules. Minor violations will result in forced labor; major ones, in annihilation."
The Raikage roared, "You expect us to become slaves to this damn system? I won't agree to that!"
"As long as you obey the law, the system won't interfere with your personal freedoms. Why call that slavery?" the Sage sneered. "Your resistance to the Administrator System stems from nothing more than your fear of losing the power you currently wield."
"I've observed this world for a thousand years. I found that over 90% of the population lives day after day just to survive, stuck in monotonous routines, exhausted and numb. They all once had dreams, but in the end, they were ground down by life, accomplishing nothing."
"And the value created by this 90%? Most of it ends up in the hands of the remaining 10%, who seize it through various means."
"Humans did indeed create laws—but laws are enforced by people. And where there are people, there is bias and selfishness. That is why I created the Administrator System: it is eternally fair and impartial, utterly devoid of bias or personal interest."
"With the Administrator System in control, no one else will ever be able to touch power again. There will be no more power struggles. The concept of money will be abolished. Instead, tasks and rewards will be assigned directly by the system. There will be no room for corruption, no loopholes to exploit…"