Realistic Persuasion (Please Subscribe)

Back when he was at Konoha Hospital, Hyuga Mirai had often received the memories of his Shadow Clones being smashed to pieces. Although he learned plenty of useful medical knowledge and Sealing Techniques, recalling those memories of being beaten apart made his teeth ache with the urge for revenge.

After pinning Tsunade’s fist to the table, Hyuga Mirai continued, "I told you long ago that if you think I’m wrong, you can argue with me. But if you want to use violence, then I won’t hold back either."

"Tch." Tsunade clicked her tongue, but she settled down obediently. Otherwise, if they fought, she would be the one getting utterly crushed again. Even Sage Transformation was no match for this White-eyed Kid.

And Shizune was here too. Right, for Shizune’s safety, I shouldn’t fight this kid. Tsunade snorted inwardly, then poured herself another drink.

"Then I’ll ask, and you answer, Princess Tsunade."

After pouring himself a glass of juice, Hyuga Mirai asked, "Do you have a dream of your own? Setting aside the influence of everyone else, what is it that you truly want to do?"

"Of course, protect the village."

"I told you already, you can’t hide anything from me when you have the Sage Curse Mark. Protecting the village is merely a dream and will imposed upon you by others. It just happens to overlap with your own dream, so without clearly distinguishing between them, you mistook that will for your own dream."

Hyuga Mirai gave a light laugh and continued, "Think about how your hemophobia came about. If we’re talking about your true dream, it should be to eliminate war, because war takes away the people most important to you."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade’s hand holding the wineglass tightened slightly, and her gaze grew somewhat unfocused.

"I remember Princess Tsunade went to the battlefield when she was around ten? You witnessed the deaths of quite a few Ninja from your own village, even people most important to you. You established medical institutions because you didn’t want to see those close to you die again. But in the end, you simply hate war because it brings death."

"Tsunade-sama."

Seeing Tsunade-sama lower her head and cast down her eyes, looking as though Hyuga Mirai had stripped her bare and exposed the deepest thoughts in her heart, Shizune could not help worrying greatly about her.

Even wine slowly spilled from her tightly gripped glass without her noticing. It was clear that Tsunade-sama’s mind was in such chaos that she no longer knew what to do.

"When I was under ten, I once argued with you about war. I was young then, and some of what I said was inaccurate. But I still believe that as long as Ninja exist, war will never end."

"Ninja are inherently a violent class. This class is neither unified nor restrained by any order. The reasons the previous three Shinobi World Wars began would make anyone laugh if spoken aloud. Princess Tsunade, if you want to eliminate war, you must step outside the Ninja class and view the true nature of the Ninja World."

"As long as Ninja exist, war will never end. There is only temporary peace in the Ninja World. Since your birth until now, you’ve experienced three Shinobi World Wars. There may be a fourth and fifth in the future. Princess Tsunade, what do you intend to use to change that? The position of Hokage? The First Hokage’s strength, the Second Hokage’s wisdom, or the Third Hokage’s politics? None of them made the Ninja World peaceful. Even if you returned to Konoha and became the Fifth Hokage, what could you bring to the Ninja World? What could you change?"

If the Will of Fire was an ideal, then what Hyuga Mirai spoke of was reality.

The One Village One Nation system had brought temporary peace, but Ninja Villages possessed enormous autonomy. A stronger Kage was practically equal to a Daimyo. A snake could not function without a head, but a two-headed snake would not work either.

Ninja were equivalent to a violent class, and once such a class developed in strength, the influence of the Martial faction would inevitably expand rapidly. On the surface, the fuse for the Third Shinobi World War was the disappearance of the Third Kazekage. In Hyuga Mirai’s view, even the disappearance of a Chunin could have triggered a war.

Since the end of the Second Shinobi World War, peace had lasted for so long. The major Ninja Villages had recovered and developed, and the losses suffered during the war had long since been replenished. But while the number of Ninja increased, there were still only so many missions. The Daimyo could not possibly increase a Ninja Village’s funding year after year just because it had more Ninja.

The Five Kage had all inherited their predecessors’ aspirations. Their villages wanted to develop, but the Daimyo within their nations could provide only so much support. To develop further, they could only plunder externally. The Daimyo also lacked the power to restrain Ninja organizations, leaving the Five Kage with the authority to start wars.

In the First Shinobi World War, the conflict between Kumo-nin and Konoha could still be traced back to its roots, but Hyuga Mirai truly had no idea how the Mist Ninja and Iwa-nin had ended up fighting.

Curious about this, Hyuga Mirai had specifically asked Orochimaru. Yet even Orochimaru did not know, and could only offer a vague, barely plausible explanation.

The Second Mizukage and the Second Tsuchikage had a personal grudge, likely left over from the first Five Kage Summit.

It was the least likely explanation, yet also the most reasonable one. Even Hyuga Mirai had been stunned when he heard it. All he could say was, Ninja really were something else.

Unrestrained Ninja forces becoming stronger was a disaster, so the One Village One Nation system could never bring peace. Unless a Six Paths-level powerhouse appeared and intimidated the Five Great Nations so thoroughly that they would not dare start a war.

"So, you’re saying you can eliminate war and bring peace?"

After Hyuga Mirai peeled open the matters in her heart, Tsunade became utterly lost. Just as he had said, she was confused, yet she did not know where to go or what to do.

Her search everywhere for information related to Hyuga Mirai had only been meant to discover his whereabouts and ask him some questions.

Yet before she could ask what she wanted, Hyuga Mirai had poured the crushing weight of reality over her all at once, leaving her unable to tell what she should do the next second.

Return to Konoha?

Inherit the will of the dead and protect Konoha? She truly did not possess the First Hokage’s strength or the Second Hokage’s wisdom. Even compared to her teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, she lacked some political maturity. If she went back, she could only become a patchworker, stitching Konoha back together piece by piece.

In the end, nothing would change.

"Who else could it be besides me? You don’t actually believe in the Child of Prophecy Jiraiya talks about, do you? Orochimaru is the smartest of the Sannin. Do you think I could make him join the organization with strength alone?"

"Why is he the smartest among the Sannin?" Tsunade protested.

"That isn’t important. In any case, it’s either him or you."

Hyuga Mirai shook his head lightly, then took out a wristwatch and placed it in front of Tsunade.

"This is a communications wristwatch worn by the organization’s core members. It contains all of the organization’s plans, resources, and objectives. Princess Tsunade, you definitely won’t regret joining us. Step across, and you’ll be on the road to peace. And this is the last time I’ll invite you, because you taught me selflessly in the past and helped me greatly. Your dream also aligns with what I’m doing. I don’t want to become your enemy."

Hyuga Mirai’s words seemed to possess a magical power, lingering by Tsunade’s ears for a long time.

Sometimes, the truth was the cruelest thing, but also the most correct. The ideal Tsunade held was ultimately too perfect, so perfect that even she did not quite believe in it herself.

Now, there was no one who shared Nawaki and Dan’s dream to persuade Tsunade, so the present reality Hyuga Mirai described was quickly accepted by her.

"Tsunade-sama…"

Seeing that Tsunade seemed tempted, Shizune called out anxiously. She did not want Tsunade-sama to abandon her dream, betray Konoha, and become a Rogue ninja.

"Tsunade-sama, don’t let Hyuga Mirai deceive you! Everything he said is a lie, all to make you betray Konoha!"

Hyuga Mirai said with a soft laugh, "Shizune, after staying by Princess Tsunade’s side for so long, it seems you still understand her less than I do. Between dreams and reality, I merely advised Princess Tsunade to choose the latter. As for whether she chooses it, I will not force her."

"But if it weren’t for you—"

"Shizune!"

Tsunade suddenly spoke, stopping Shizune, who wanted to argue.

Upon hearing Tsunade call her name, Shizune abandoned the thought of arguing. Yet she still looked at Tsunade worriedly, afraid that she would choose to betray Konoha.

"Tsunade-sama, you should think more about our predecessors’ dreams."

"It was precisely because of their dreams that I left Konoha, Shizune."

Though Tsunade’s face still bore a faint flush from drinking, her eyes were extremely clear as she asked Shizune, "Shizune, if there were now a path to achieve peace, would you choose to try it?"

"This… but…" Shizune had initially wanted to deceive Tsunade and make her change her mind and return to Konoha. But seeing the hope in Tsunade’s eyes, and recalling the days she had wandered with Tsunade, the deceitful words could no longer leave her mouth.

"If it were me, I think I would try it."

That was almost the answer everyone would give, and Shizune was no exception.

"Then that’s enough. Thank you, Shizune!"

Tsunade picked up a bottle of juice and gulped it down, then boldly wiped the juice from her lips. Shaking the bottle at Hyuga Mirai, she said, "See? Two bottles of shochu are nowhere near enough. When was there ever a time I didn’t need four or five bottles before I even felt drunk?"

Hyuga Mirai curled his lips. "Stop talking nonsense. Whenever you get drunk, everyone else is the one who suffers."

After hearing that, Shizune suddenly felt a bit more agreement with Hyuga Mirai. Anyone who could say something like that had to be a good person, right?

"This is too big. Is there something smaller?"

Tsunade pointed at the wristwatch on the table.

"Don’t underestimate the Uzumaki Company’s technology. The wristwatch is just one form. If you prefer, it can be a necklace, earrings, or a ring. It can even become an anklet."

After saying that, Hyuga Mirai looked Tsunade over. She already had a necklace, while earrings would be somewhat inconvenient for video communication and accessing information.

"Turn it into a ring."

After speaking, Hyuga Mirai tapped the wristwatch. Amid the astonished expressions of Tsunade and Shizune, the wristwatch on the table transformed like liquid mercury, shrinking within seconds into a ring.

"Put it on yourself. Once you wear it, someone will teach you how to use it. After putting it on, you’ll witness an entirely new world."