Anyone who watched the manga or anime knew that the Big Pillar Hashirama Senju's Talk no Jutsu could always convince Madara Uchiha.
"But why?"
This was the first time Shisui had heard such things. No one had ever spoken of them before. Even if he listened to the propaganda about the Will of Fire passed down by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, he would never have known these hidden secrets of the past.
"Because of Madara Uchiha!"
Ronglin explained:
"Given Madara Uchiha's character, he would never have spoken about grand principles in such an organized way. By comparison, he preferred slaughter. If the war back then had been won by himif the Uchiha had held the upper handthe result would not be like this. Perhaps we would even see Konoha conquering all the other great ninja villages."
If Madara Uchiha had not grown old, if he were still in Konoha, and if he had not lost faith in the village and the Uchiha clan, who would have dared to act out?
If you dared to attack Konoha, he would dare to slaughter you until not a single piece of armor remained!
Let's see if they would learn their lesson next time. They were lucky enough that Konoha hadn't taken the initiative to attack; yet they still dared to unite against the village?
Were they seeking death, or did they plan on a premature reincarnation?
"But wouldn't that just mean Konoha would constantly be making enemies?" Shisui asked, looking completely dazed.
"Stupid!"
Ronglin sneered. "It's true that many enemies would be made. But once Konoha hits the other villages hard enough, as long as those ruthless people are still around, the other villages wouldn't dare to make a move. On the contrary, being polite and harmonious to everyone like we are now only makes people think you're an easy target. Look at the three Great Ninja Warsin every single one, Konoha was the passive party."
"Every time, we fight off multiple enemies with our own strength alone. Tsk tsk. If this continues, no matter how much power we have, we won't survive the attrition."
Looking at Konoha before and after the Third Great Ninja War, the contrast was stark. A single great war caused Konoha's strength to stagnate for many years.
"Once Konoha produces someone with a ruthless personality who grasps absolute power, the situation will evolve into Konoha attacking other villages, rather than other villages coming to attack us."
Shaking his head, Ronglin looked at Shisui and said earnestly, "So, to put it simply, it all comes down to strength. As long as you are strong, you don't fear any enemy. If your strength is lacking, you'll only be on the receiving end of a beating."
"If Konoha wasn't powerful, do you think we could have lasted this long under the siege of three ninja villages and even defeated the Hidden Mist Village? Without strength, staying undefeated is nothing but pure luck."
"But, Lord Ronglin, wasn't it you who contributed the most to the war with the Hidden Mist? If not for you, who knows how long the fighting would have lasted or how many people would have died."
Shisui immediately stood up for Ronglin. Over the past few days, he had heard quite a bit about the village's unfair treatment of the Uchiha and Ronglin himself. This caused a thought to sprout in Shisui's mind: Konoha's management was truly disgusting. Every single one of them was incredibly sinister!
It could be said that if the Shisui of the original work was someone who would sacrifice everything for the sake of the big picture, the current him was like a dark versiona Dark Shisui, personally taught by Ronglin.
Because he had spent so much time by Ronglin's side, he had learned secrets he previously knew nothing about and witnessed things he would never have seen otherwise. Slowly, Shisui's personality had changed. He grew to loathe the Konoha higher-ups, constantly feeling that these fellows were treacherous and repulsive.
They were not worth trusting at all.
Otherwise, why would they target the Uchiha and Ronglin?
"Heh... perhaps."
Ronglin smiled and didn't give a direct answer. In truth, even without him, Konoha would have eventually won. The only difference would have been the scale of the losses.
"Uchiha Ronglin! Uchiha Ronglin!"
When the group returned to the village, they were met with the cheers of the villagers. Many villagers had specifically brought simple gifts to the entrance of the village to celebrate, offering them to the ninjas who had fought on the front lines.
The gifts were not heavyjust some food, flowers, and clothingbut they moved the returning ninjas to tears.
As the Hokage, the Third also came to the village entrance to welcome the returning heroes.
"Kill them! It's all because of these bastards! They caused Konoha such heavy losses!"
While the combatants became heroes, the imprisoned Hidden Mist ninjas undoubtedly became street rats. Some ill-tempered villagers threw raw eggs at them. Fortunately, they were stopped; otherwise, the Hidden Mist ninjas would have been utterly humiliated.
Even so, their expressions were extremely grim. Resentment flashed in their eyes as they looked at the villagers before quickly hiding their gaze.
The safe delivery of the Hidden Mist prisoners meant that Ronglin's mission was essentially complete. The Three-Tails had been suppressed by a seal and locked within a specific vessel.
Although Konoha had not yet experienced the disaster of a Tailed Beast, no one wanted to witness a Tailed Beast going on a rampage. The Third Hokage placed extraordinary importance on the seal of the Three-Tails.
"You've worked hard these past two months."
The handover ended quickly, and Ronglin arrived in the Hokage's office. The Third Hokage looked at the now-grown Ronglin, his voice full of emotion.
Ronglin smiled faintly and said, "As a member of Konoha, fighting for the village is my duty."
"Good, very good."
The Third Hokage was satisfied with Ronglin's answer. He nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "I intend to send you to the Land of Wind battlefield. I wonder if you are willing?"
If it were anyone else, the Third Hokage would have issued a direct order rather than negotiating. However, Ronglin had been doing well on the Land of Wind battlefield before being inexplicably recalled; he was bound to feel uncomfortable about it. That was why the Third Hokage used a consultative tone.
Truly hilarious. When you didn't need me, you transferred me away for a bit of profit. Now that the war is at a stalemate, you want me to go break the deadlock. Do you really think I'm a damn fool?
Ronglin shook his head. Looking at the Third Hokage, whose face was aging day by day due to the immense pressure, he said calmly, "I want to rest for a while. As for the Land of Wind battlefield, I believe Uncle White Fang and Jiraiya can hold the line and find an opportunity to defeat the enemy. It's better to leave such an opportunity to the Hyuga and Shimura clans."
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