Yahiko's face shifted between pale and flushed. He wanted to refute Hanzo of the Salamander's words, yet he didn't even know where to begin.
Yahiko's background had limited his understanding of the world. His childhood was spent wandering as an orphan, leaving him with little opportunity to encounter broader knowledge.
Although he later met Jiraiya, who was a fairly good teacher, the young Jiraiya at that time had likely not yet found his own path. Moreover, he only taught Yahiko and the others for three years—it was unrealistic to expect that he could provide Yahiko with extensive cultural or philosophical education.
For Yahiko to reach his current conclusions through his own experiences was already remarkable.
Seeing his reaction, Hanzo of the Salamander spoke in a calming tone.
"Yahiko, there's no need to belittle yourself. If you continue walking the path you're thinking about now, you might still bring a period of peace to the Land of Rain."
"Back then, I also wanted the great nations to hear the voice of the Land of Rain. But when communication failed, I decided they needed to see the power of the Land of Rain instead."
Yahiko's heart stirred when he heard that.
"Lord Hanzo… are you referring to when you declared war on the three great nations—Fire, Earth, and Wind?"
Hanzo nodded.
"The Land of Rain is a small nation. Those great countries never take us seriously. I knew very well that the Land of Rain alone could never stand against the three great nations."
"But I declared war on them anyway."
"All I wanted was to fight for an opportunity—an equal chance for dialogue for the Land of Rain."
"Unfortunately… I failed."
Yahiko fell silent.
In truth, his own ideas had been born after witnessing Hanzo's actions.
Back then, Hanzo had come very close to succeeding—yet in the end, his strength had simply not been enough.
"Lord… Hanzo… does true peace not exist in this world?"
While Yahiko remained silent, Nagato suddenly spoke from the side.
Compared to Yahiko, Nagato's ambitions were actually much greater.
Because of the Rinnegan, Jiraiya had secretly placed far more expectations on him when teaching them, believing Nagato might be a child chosen by fate.
Yahiko was more pragmatic. His vision was currently limited to the Land of Rain.
Nagato, however, had already set his sights on the entire world.
Hanzo smiled faintly.
"If you want the answer to that question, you must first understand the true nature of war."
The nature of war?
Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan immediately focused their attention on Hanzo.
To them, war was a complicated subject. The reasons for wars were varied—sometimes even absurd and impossible to comprehend.
They wanted to hear Hanzo's explanation.
Hanzo did not keep them waiting.
"No matter what justification is used to start a war, or what event triggers it, in the end it all comes down to one thing."
"A struggle for利益—interests."
"A struggle for interests?!" Yahiko exclaimed.
"That's right," Hanzo nodded. "A struggle for interests."
Then he asked another question.
"Have you ever observed animals in the wild?"
Yahiko looked puzzled.
"Animals in the wild? What do you mean?"
Hanzo paused.
He had spoken too enthusiastically and nearly mentioned something inappropriate.
But after a moment, he explained calmly.
"I mean studying the living habits of animals."
Yahiko shook his head.
"We've never studied anything like that."
Hanzo smiled slightly.
"It's a rather niche subject. Very few people are interested in the lives of animals, so it's normal that you haven't."
"But humans are, in essence, simply far more complicated animals. By studying animal behavior, we can actually see many problems in human society reflected quite clearly."
"For example… war."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Imagine a vast grassland where predators such as lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas all live together. They survive by hunting herbivores like cattle and sheep."
"They compete with one another. They fight one another."
"And when they encounter the cubs of rival predators, they will not hesitate to kill them."
"Not only between species—even within the same species, they will attack offspring that do not carry their own bloodline."
"This has been happening for thousands of years."
"Do you know why?"
Yahiko frowned deeply.
He felt as if he had grasped something—but a thick fog still obscured the truth.
Nagato hesitated before answering.
"Because of… interests?"
"Exactly." Hanzo nodded approvingly.
"The grass on that prairie is limited. Because the grass is limited, the number of cattle and sheep it can sustain is also limited."
"And since the number of herbivores is limited, the number of predators that can survive on them is also limited."
"If there were no conflict, the ever-growing predator population would eventually consume all the prey—leading to their own extinction."
"So they fight. They kill rival cubs."
"All to reduce competition so they and their own offspring can survive more easily."
"In this way, the ecosystem maintains balance."
He paused before continuing.
"Now imagine this world as a giant prairie. The cattle and sheep represent resources, while the various nations are the predators."
"Once you look at it this way, wars between nations become easy to understand."
"Take the Second Great Ninja War, which I helped trigger."
"In the end, it was nothing more than my attempt to fight for the interests of the Land of Rain."
Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan all turned pale.
Their eyes were filled with confusion.
Hanzo's explanation was simple and clear. They could now see the essence of war directly.
But precisely because it was so clear, their beliefs began to waver.
When survival itself is involved, conflict becomes unavoidable.
If everyone is already struggling to survive, what good would mutual understanding do?
Should everyone simply embrace each other and wait to die?
Impossible.
Even beasts fight for survival.
Humans, who possess far greater greed and desire than beasts, could never stop fighting.
If conflict cannot be avoided, how could true peace ever exist?
All of their previous efforts suddenly felt meaningless.
The idea that "mutual understanding would bring peace" now sounded like nothing more than empty words.
Hanzo quietly observed their reactions and smiled faintly.
"What's wrong? Has the cruel reality shaken you?"
Yahiko gave a bitter smile.
"I'm sorry. That conclusion… is hard to accept."
Hanzo continued calmly.
"But once you find the root of the problem, finding a solution becomes much easier."
The three of them immediately looked up, their eyes lighting with hope.
Yahiko asked eagerly,
"Lord Hanzo… are you saying you've found a way to resolve these conflicts?"
Hanzo nodded.
"If you were given enough time, you might eventually find your own path as well."
"But before that… would you like to hear my idea?"
"Of course!"
The three answered without hesitation.
"Mmm…"
Hanzo pondered for a moment before speaking again.
"Then before I begin, let me formally introduce myself."
As he spoke, Hanzo's eyes suddenly turned crimson, and his expression became vacant.
A figure slowly stepped out from the shadow behind him.
Under the horrified gazes of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, the man spoke calmly.
"My name is Uchiha Ren."
"Nice to meet you."
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