The time it took from Hibari using Mountain Jutsu to Tobirama killing Ginkaku with the Flying Raijin Slash seemed long, but in reality, it was only a matter of a few breaths.
It was only after Ginkaku was completely dead that Hibari finally walked over from the tree he had been on. Looking at Ginkaku's abdomen, which was almost completely severed, he said with some dissatisfaction, "I told you, Ojiisan, from the very beginning, I said I needed these corpses. Why did you have to be so ruthless? You almost cut him in half. I'm going to have to do some repairs when I get back, what a hassle..."
While Hibari was complaining, his hands weren't idle. He quickly began to deal with Ginkaku's corpse and, before long, sealed it away with Kinkaku.
With the large scroll containing the two bodies back on his back, Hibari looked at Tobirama, who had been silent until now, and asked with some confusion, "What's wrong? You're not hurt, are you?"
Upon hearing Hibari's question, Tobirama finally turned around, looked at Hibari, then at the pool of blood on the ground, and said with some emotion, "Hibari, do you think that true peace can really be achieved through mutual understanding between people? When will this endless war truly end?"
Listening to Tobirama's question, Hibari understood that Ginkaku's last words before he died must have had some effect on his uncle. Was this how old people felt, to be so melancholic?
After a brief silence, Hibari said, "It's impossible for people to truly understand each other. Even with similar experiences, it's impossible to completely empathize. That's just how humans are... So I never hope for permanent peace, because I've always believed that war can break out at any time. Sometimes, I also feel that maybe only by experiencing deep pain can people remember the suffering that war brings and try their best to avoid it. But this is just a temporary solution that doesn't address the root cause, because humans are forgetful creatures. How long can pain be remembered? Ten years? Twenty years? A hundred years? Time will eventually smooth everything over, and the cycle will repeat..."
Tobirama's expression didn't change as he listened to Hibari, but Hibari could see a hint of disappointment in his eyes. However, he didn't show it.
Tobirama suddenly smiled, reached out, and placed his hand on Hibari's head, which was about the same height as his own. "You, kid, have no sense of atmosphere. At a time like this, shouldn't you have said some nice things to console me?"
Hibari shook his head, knocking Tobirama's hand off, then said with a laugh, "There's no need. You already understand these principles, I just put them into words."
"You say that people cannot truly understand each other and that pain cannot be remembered for too long. This war will bring peace, but I can also foresee that this peace is temporary. When people forget this pain, forget this bloodshed, and also remember their hatred... war will break out again," Tobirama whispered.
Pausing for a moment, he looked at Hibari and asked again, "Since these are all temporary solutions, what method do you think could truly end war and make peace last longer?"
Upon hearing this, Hibari just waved his hand and said, "It doesn't exist. War will never truly end. As long as humans have desires, as long as human survival requires resources, as long as the prosperity of nations requires resources, then war is inevitable for the sake of these things. Unless these resources are infinite and inexhaustible... but that's impossible."
Tobirama was also silent for a moment, then he smiled and said, "Yes, that's impossible..."
Hibari nodded. Before he could say anything else, Tobirama seemed to not want to dwell on the issue anymore and said directly, "Let's go. We should go and meet up with the others, or they'll start to worry..."
After saying that, Tobirama dispelled his Shadow Clone Jutsu. The Four Violet Flames Formation required four people or their clones to maintain. As soon as Tobirama dispelled his clone, the entire formation shattered.
Seeing this, Hibari didn't say anything and also dispelled his clone, letting the chakra return to his body.
Then, the two of them wasted no time. They stomped their feet and moved through the forest, rushing towards the Kumogakure war front command post.
As he watched Tobirama moving through the forest ahead, Hibari thought back to their conversation. In reality, there were many things he hadn't expressed.
In Hibari's view, it was impossible for humans to truly live in peace with each other.
The root cause, on one hand, was the issue of 'resources.' For every country to become more prosperous, they would inevitably consume resources.
However, the distribution of resources was based on strength. So whenever someone felt that their strength had grown and they could acquire more resources, they would start a war, even if there was no existing hatred.
On the other hand, in Hibari's view, the main reason humans constantly fought each other was because they had no 'opponent.' In the entire natural world, humans were at the top of the food chain. No other creature could be their opponent.
Over time, humans without an opponent could only treat their 'own kind' as opponents, which would then lead to endless internal conflicts.
Therefore, Hibari believed that it was impossible to stop human warfare. However, it was entirely possible to shift the focus of the war. After all, Earth wasn't the only planet with life.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was an extraterrestrial, and there were still some people living on the Moon. This also proved that humans weren't the only ones who could be 'opponents' to each other in this world!
Once this was established, many things could change drastically. For example, the resources that the five great nations fought each other for... didn't necessarily have to be taken from the other four nations. Everyone could work together to seize resources from aliens, couldn't they?
Similarly, once they had an 'opponent,' there would be no need for humans to continue focusing on 'internal' wars. They could all work together to deal with the aliens...
But these things were all highly secret. Hibari couldn't explain their origins to anyone.
So for now, he could only keep them to himself.
Similarly, he was a nobody right now, and even if he did speak out, it wouldn't change much. To put it bluntly, with his current abilities, he could only stir up trouble for Konoha. As for changing the world? He couldn't do that yet.
But as time went on and the world developed, these 'truths' would eventually be revealed. At that time, Hibari felt that he should be capable of changing things. If he was still interested, guiding a 'new war' would also be an option.
But all of that was for later. For now, he had to start with the little things around him. No need to think about changing the world just yet. Today was a great success.
Tobirama, the Second Hokage, who should have died in this war, was still alive and well. On the other hand, the two bastards, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, had been turned into corpses and sealed in a large scroll. That was a change.
The events that followed didn't seem to deviate much from the original. The Third Raikage, who had inherited the title of 'A' from the Second Raikage, managed to hold on until Kumogakure's reinforcements arrived, quickly quelling the internal strife in Kumogakure.
This turn of events further crippled Kumogakure, which was already bleeding heavily in the war. Therefore, they were no longer capable of starting another war with Konoha.
The newly appointed Third Raikage quickly took command and ordered all personnel on the Kumogakure front to begin a phased withdrawal from the Land of Hot Water and return to the Land of Lightning.
This move was, on one hand, because they really couldn't bear it anymore. On the other hand, it was also to show Konoha their stance. The new Third Raikage would inherit the will of the Second Raikage and end this war, not start a new one.
With Kumogakure's withdrawal underway, Tobirama, the Second Hokage, had no desire to be aggressive or take advantage of Kumogakure further.
Soon, Konoha's front-line combat forces also began to withdraw from the Land of Hot Water and return to the Land of Fire, leaving the devastated Land of Hot Water to bear the pain alone.
Thus, although Kumogakure and Konohagakure hadn't yet officially signed a peace treaty, the war between the two nations was effectively declared over, with Konohagakure emerging victorious.
A few days later, at a hot pot restaurant in Konoha, Hibari, Kagami, Hitenn, Hiruzen, and even Danzō were all gathered.
The drastic changes at the peace summit in the Land of Hot Water were naturally known to everyone in the Land of Fire. The same was true in Konohagakure, where people were still talking about it.
Kumogakure's leader was killed on the spot, and the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, returned 'severely wounded' and was now recuperating and receiving treatment in the Senju clan's main residence.
And Hibari's name became even more famous in the village. In this narrative, Hibari played an extremely important role: he single-handedly protected Tobirama during the withdrawal from danger and, in the subsequent chase, used his superhuman strength and intelligence to successfully kill the masterminds of the rebellion, the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers.
Although this was a story everyone had collectively fabricated and was not the reality, only a minority of people knew the truth.
The truth had to be concealed, or how could they extort more compensation from Kumogakure? Didn't everyone see that the Second Hokage was recovering from his injuries at home?
In any case, this was the 'truth' known to the general public and other countries. With this, Senju Hibari's name truly became renowned.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku were veterans and top-tier shinobi. But the fact that they were killed by Senju Hibari while working together to pursue him completely shocked many people, and it officially made Hibari one of the great masters of the shinobi world, making his name famous throughout the world!
"I knew it! That's why you were so eager to escort the Hokage-sama away! Now I understand. You've profited immensely from this! Everyone outside is saying that you are indeed a prodigy of the Senju clan, the most beloved grandson of two Hokage, and that you already possess superhuman strength at such a young age... Ugh, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I should have been the one, as the commander, to personally protect the Hokage-sama!" Hiruzen said with a mix of envy and hatred while eating hot pot.
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