Watching the silent Bunpuku, Yuki Seisui sat cross-legged atop Kurama's head, grinning as he looked at the three present.
"Your compassion, Sage of Six Paths, has failed."
"Now, let's see what my hunting ground looks like!"
"This hunting ground will no longer have so-called ideals of mutual understanding!"
"What will your world look like then?" Tsunade muttered, recovering from the shock of learning that the Senju and Uchiha descended from the same ancestor.
It didn't really matter now; the Senju clan had been dissolved.
All its members had integrated into Konoha, and even their ancestral lands had been entrusted to Yuki Seisui, along with the Uzumaki clan he led.
So even knowing that the Senju and Uchiha were of the same lineage, Tsunade's shock lasted only briefly.
An ancestor is just an ancestor.
Centuries of war had passed; now it was over.
Even if the Uchiha tried to fight, the Senju were gone. The war between them had ended.
The moment Konoha was established marked the end of that era.
Hearing Tsunade's thoughts, Seisui only chuckled, his gaze sharp as he looked at Bunpuku.
"Monk, don't you want to ask?"
Bunpuku sighed. "Whether I ask or not, Master will speak, won't he?"
"However, since you mention it, I am curious… what would your world look like?"
"Would it be better than this one?"
Bunpuku stared at Seisui, their eyes meeting in the air.
"My world?"
"You're wrong. It's our world—the world for everyone!" Seisui replied.
"I only want to reform this world."
"I only want a world without war."
"I dream of a day when the sea stretches before us, and spring flowers bloom."
"I dream of a day when the laughter of children and the joy of harvest fill the world."
"Where there are humans, war will never stop," Bunpuku countered calmly, eyes unwavering.
Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Indeed. As long as humans exist, war is inevitable."
"How can the world be without war?" she murmured.
"It can be done." Jiraiya, beside her, smiled confidently. "Seisui is a man who creates miracles. What he says, he can accomplish."
"The Great Toad Sage has affirmed it."
At Jiraiya's words, Tsunade's pupils constricted.
She knew of the Great Toad Sage—another sage of a holy land—and had heard from the Slug Sage about the other Great Toad and White Snake Sages.
Not only the Slug Sage, but Jiraiya had also spoken of prophecies from the Great Toad Sage.
But nothing had been like this before.
Sensing Tsunade's doubt, Jiraiya continued without looking back. "The future has changed."
"No… it's the Child of Prophecy who changed it."
"The prophecy of the Great Toad Sage has become the world described by Seisui."
Tsundane's confusion deepened.
What kind of world did Seisui speak of?
Before she could ask further, Seisui began:
"Human desire is like a boulder at the top of a mountain; once it begins rolling, it cannot stop."
"But what if I bind this boulder with chains?" Seisui said, and four golden, Vajra-like chains materialized behind him, stretching from Kurama's head to the ground.
The chains coiled, locking a stone firmly in place.
"When this boulder falls, it won't go far—the chains will restrain it."
"Sin and desire will never reach the bottom; they will go nowhere."
"Destroy all kingdoms, and upon the ruins, build a unified nation where no borders exist, and war has nowhere to arise."
"Eradicate the aristocracy; the parasites ruling above the people will vanish."
"Establish laws to guide behavior, clearly defining what cannot be done; the world will become a paradise."
"Ninjas return to the fields, crops will flourish."
"Talented people will be directed to create a better life, making life truly better."
"Conflicts between nations will disappear; friction will no longer exist."
"Only personal grudges will remain, regulated by justice."
"In such a world, can it not truly be called paradise?"
Seisui looked down at Kurama, sitting cross-legged, and smiled faintly.
"Humans are foolish."
"Even intelligent Tailed Beasts, capable of communication, are treated as monsters when they resist."
"How ignorant they are."
Kurama's reaction was immediate.
"Foolish humans!" he roared.
"I'm just trying to sleep in the forest, and they attack me!"
"The old man told us to coexist peacefully with humans."
"But humans… they think otherwise!"
"I just want to sleep. I didn't do anything to them, yet they sent people to attack me!"
"And after I fight back, they call me the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox!"
With a slap of his nine tails, the ground trembled.
"Especially that Senju Hashirama!"
"Others just attacked me, calling me the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Annoying, but I could deal with it."
"But Hashirama… that guy…"
Kurama trembled with anger.
"That guy actually captured me. I couldn't resist him at all, yet he said my power is too great and must be restrained!"
"Is he human?"
"No! He's a beast!"
Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged glances, especially Tsunade, who was embarrassed.
Hashirama was her grandfather.
She felt awkward facing Kurama, even hiding slightly behind Jiraiya.
If Kurama realized she was the granddaughter of the one who sealed him… who knows what would happen.
Kurama noticed immediately.
"Hiding?" he barked.
"Hiding my ass!"
"I see you every day in that old man Uzumaki Mito's body!"
"Do you think I don't know you?"