Chapter 100: Paying the Fare, and a Debate on Peace
It wasn't until Genichi had vanished from the exit that the water ropes around Uchiha Tekka collapsed with a splash, and the seal was released. Watching his departing back, Tekka's expression returned to calm.
He had been thoroughly convinced of his defeat. His only regret was that Genichi had not used their Uchiha clan's Sharingan. But this only served to further demonstrate Genichi's strength.
The genjutsu genius who surpasses the Uchiha... Uchiha Tekka had previously scoffed at this title, but today, he had to admit that he was inferior to Genichi.
...
After leaving the examination hall, Genichi did not leave immediately but went to report to Hiruzen. As for the battle with Tekka, it was more of a performance than anything of practical significance. If it had been a real life-and-death struggle, it naturally wouldn't have been so troublesome.
But this wasn't to say that Uchiha Tekka was weak. Although he was only a chunin, with his three-tomoe Sharingan active, he actually had the strength of at least a Special Jonin. Especially against genjutsu, it was almost too easy for him. The saying that awakening the three-tomoe Sharingan guaranteed a base strength of a Jonin was no joke.
"The three-tomoe is one thing, but I must still be careful of the Mangekyō Sharingan's genjutsu," Genichi thought, recalling the time Kakashi was instantly defeated by Itachi. He had to continue to study genjutsu in depth—not just the ability to cast them, but also the ability to defend against and break them.
...
In the Hokage's Office, after reporting for duty, Genichi requested permission from Hiruzen to train in the Flying Thunder God Technique (Hiraishin no Jutsu).
Hiruzen only pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement. If he could nurture a second Minato Namikaze, he would be more than happy to. Besides, even if Genichi couldn't master the Flying Thunder God, his future achievements would be no less than Minato's.
In short, Genichi was worth investing resources in to nurture.
Half an hour later, Genichi left the Hokage Tower with the scroll for the Flying Thunder God. The ticket had now been paid for. In a while, he would be able to use the Flying Thunder God openly. Although it would be rather astonishing, his "genius" persona was already as stable as Mountain, so it didn't matter.
After going home and putting away the scroll, Genichi said hello to his parents and then went out again, heading to Tsunade's house. As expected, both Tsunade and Shizune were there.
"Genichi!" Shizune was very happy.
Tsunade glanced at him and said lazily, "I hear you were showing off?"
Genichi smiled. "It was just an ordinary spar."
"Uchiha Tekka lost to me in the Chunin Exams before and was unconvinced. Plus, there's that title from the Cloud Village about being a genjutsu genius who surpasses the Uchiha... so, it wasn't me who was deliberately being so flamboyant."
Tsunade frowned slightly. "So, you think this might have been instigated by the Uchiha higher-ups?"
Genichi shook his head. "I'm not sure."
"But one thing is certain: this spar had a meaning that surpassed the match itself, especially if I had lost."
Tsunade nodded and fell into deep thought. The Uchiha clan was a bit difficult to handle. Before, she never cared about these things, but now it was different.
Shizune, however, was a little confused by their conversation. Genichi saw this, immediately leaned over, and explained in her ear. Shizune's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth. She hadn't expected that a seemingly ordinary challenge spar could hide so many things.
Seeing the two of them whispering intimately, Tsunade immediately snorted lightly. "Genichi, you need to train Shizune's taijutsu more."
Genichi immediately nodded. "Yes, I have plans for that as well."
Shizune's face turned red. She quickly said, "Lady Tsunade, I will be serious."
Tsunade waved her hand. "You two can go!"
Genichi smiled and invited, "Won't you join us for dinner, Lady Tsunade?"
"Yakiniku is on me."
"And there's sake..."
Tsunade immediately swallowed, then nodded. "Alright, for Shizune's sake."
And so, the three of them went out together. But at the yakiniku restaurant, they weren't the only ones eating. Minato, Kushina, and Ina arrived together. Sakumo and Kakashi came together as well.
Nominally, it was to celebrate Genichi becoming a Special Jonin. In reality, it was a networking event orchestrated by Genichi, with himself as the link. If Tsunade was to become Hokage, she needed backing, or actual supporters. Although she had prestige, she also needed to convert that prestige into tangible support.
The dishes were served, and the sake was poured.
Genichi raised his cup. "Cheers!"
Everyone raised their cups. Of course, Genichi, Shizune, and Kakashi were drinking juice.
"You'll be joining the Anbu starting tomorrow, right, Genichi?" Minato asked.
Genichi nodded. "Yes, Minato-niisan."
Kushina said, "I hear the Anbu is very busy. Lord Third is really something, Genichi is only ten!" Although she said this, her eyes were full of teasing. Beside her, Ina couldn't help but blush again.
Minato quickly said, "The situation in the shinobi world is tense recently, so more talented people are needed."
Sakumo nodded. This could be seen from the large number of students who had graduated early from the Ninja Academy in the past two years. Because everyone felt that war was getting closer, they needed to have the students graduate early to be tempered. It wasn't just about churning out more soldiers, but also to avoid hastily graduating students to be cannon fodder on the battlefield once war broke out. This was the optimal solution in a helpless situation.
Tsunade couldn't help but mutter, "These bastards in the shinobi world, I don't know what they're up to again, always thinking about starting wars."
Sakumo and Minato exchanged a wry smile, not knowing how to answer this question.
Genichi, with "a child's unfiltered speech," said, "Lady Tsunade, there are two kinds of people in this world."
"The first kind are those who diligently farm their own land and produce their own food."
"The second kind are those who don't want to produce their own food, or are not so hardworking, but are unwilling to have less food, so they go and rob others."
Everyone looked at Genichi.
He continued, "The resources in the entire shinobi world are always unevenly distributed. Some have less, some have more."
"Some are content with mediocrity. Some are not, and have ambitions."
"Is war because of hatred?"
"No, hatred is an insignificant thing."
"It is the easiest thing to forget. Only the conflict of interests is eternal!"
Tsunade and the others were silent.
Genichi, however, was eating yakiniku with a leisurely and content expression. Tsunade's hands itched to hit him.
"So, what you mean, Genichi, is that peace cannot be achieved by peaceful means?" an unexpected voice interjected.
Everyone looked over and saw Jiraiya standing not far away.
"Jiraiya!"
"Lord Jiraiya!"
Everyone greeted him.
"It's really lively tonight! Even you're here, Sakumo-senpai!"
"What a sumptuous feast! It seems I've come at the right time!" Jiraiya smiled and walked over, sitting down next to Tsunade. He beckoned for a waiter to bring a cup, then unceremoniously snatched Tsunade's sake cup, filled it for himself, and downed it in one gulp. But his gaze remained on Genichi the whole time.
Tsunade, however, sneered. "Jiraiya, you haven't improved at all out there. You're still just as stupid."
"Achieving peace by peaceful means?"
"Are you dreaming?"
Minato maintained an embarrassed smile on his face.
Jiraiya was not at all bothered by Tsunade's attitude. He smiled. "Why is it impossible?"
"Wasn't Konoha founded by putting aside mutual hatred?"
"As long as everyone understands each other, they can naturally let go of all prejudices and disputes and resolve problems through discussion and negotiation."
"Hatred can be forgotten, and interests can be balanced."
"Just like how the First Hokage ended the Warring States period."
Tsunade was silent. She could not refute this point.
But Genichi said, "Lord Jiraiya, you don't really think the chaos of the Warring States period was ended through negotiation and understanding, do you?"
"It was because the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha possessed sufficient strength. It was their strength that made the other great ninja clans also unite and quickly establish ninja villages to counter Konoha."
"It was also their powerful strength that forced the major ninja villages to have to sit down and negotiate."
"But it must be said, the First Hokage failed."
"After losing the First Hokage, the shinobi world lost the deterrence of the strongest military force, and the First Great Ninja War broke out."
"And the root of this war was not any hatred, but a struggle for interests."
At this moment, both Sakumo and Minato secretly nodded.
Jiraiya frowned. After eating a piece of meat, he said, "Precisely because of this, it shows that peace achieved by force cannot last, nor can it achieve true peace. Only when everyone understands each other can it be done."
"Although it is very difficult, I believe that in the future, someone will be able to do it."
Did the future Naruto achieve it?
If not for Black Zetsu's "save mother" plan, if not for this crisis that threatened to destroy the shinobi world, the Allied Shinobi Forces would never have been established.
And the peace that followed was also built on the powerful strength of Naruto and Sasuke. This was no different from Hashirama and Madara back then. It was a cycle of history.
Mutual understanding... that was a utopia, something to be hoped for but never reached.
Genichi did not argue further. Instead, he asked, "Lord Jiraiya, if I were to kill you right now, would you resist or not?"
Jiraiya was taken aback, then fell silent. He understood what Genichi meant.
Genichi continued to ask, "If I were to kill Lady Tsunade, could you 'understand'?"
Tsunade couldn't help but purse her lips. Kushina wanted to laugh but quickly covered her mouth.
Genichi continued, "There is an enemy of Konoha whose parents were killed by Konoha ninja. He wants to destroy Konoha. Can you 'understand'?"
"If you can't understand, then why should others understand you and give up their own hatred?"
Jiraiya was already feeling that the yakiniku in his mouth was not very tasty anymore. Most importantly, he was reminded of three people.
Genichi said again, "Lord Jiraiya, there is a person who is about to starve to death. He wants to steal your food. Can you 'understand'?"
Shizune said in a small voice, "It should be okay to share some food with him, right?"
Jiraiya immediately revealed a smile.
Genichi said coldly, "After he has eaten his fill with the food you shared, he then considers that he will still have to eat in the future and wants you to give him half of your property. Can you 'understand'?"
Shizune was stunned. "That... that's too much, isn't it?"
Genichi smiled. Is that too much? There were even more outrageous things he hadn't said. I want the goods, but I don't want to pay. What should I do?
Jiraiya was also rendered speechless. He said helplessly, "Genichi, when did your tongue become so sharp?"
Genichi immediately sheathed his sharp edge and said with a harmless smile, "Don't mind me, Lord Jiraiya. I'm just discussing the matter at hand."
Jiraiya, while fiercely eating his meat, said, "You brat, this is my ninja way!"
Genichi smiled. "I suspect you're doing this on purpose, Lord Jiraiya, just to eat a few more pieces of meat."
Everyone immediately burst out laughing.
"That's right! You've eaten almost all the meat by yourself, Lord Jiraiya!" Kushina immediately snatched some meat to eat.
This topic was also dropped. Everyone began to chat casually while eating and drinking.
(End of Chapter)
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