Bunpuku remained silent.
Though he had been imprisoned for so long, he was not entirely unaware.
The Third Great Ninja War was clearly instigated by the Sunagakure.
At first, the Cloud and Iwagakures clashed, which could only be called a localized conflict.
But as the Sunagakure moved, Konoha was forced to respond. After their defeat, the village, along with the other three great ninja villages, launched a joint assault on Konoha.
Seeing Bunpuku's silence, Yuki Seisui laughed loudly, his voice carried far by chakra.
"It's you!"
"Whether it was the First Great Ninja War, the Second, or now the Third, all these wars began with you! You instigated them!"
Seisui's voice rang in everyone's ears, and even the cheering Leaf ninja gradually quieted down.
Even those like Ebizoand Chiyo, locked in battle against Jiraiya and Tsunade, paused and silently watched Seisui.
"You accuse me of excessive killing," Seisui said, his gaze growing colder. "But you… you are the true origin of sin!"
"The Sunagakure instigated these wars, and now you've lost, and yet you dare to accuse me? What are you even?!"
His words left the surviving Sand ninja speechless, and even the frenzied Ebizo cooled slightly.
Konoha ninja exchanged glances, then looked toward the silent Sand forces.
"Seisui-sama is not at fault!" Asami Kumo shouted first, followed by the fanatic followers of Seisui.
"The Sunagakure is to blame! Seisui-sama did nothing wrong!"
"Long live Seisui-sama!"
"Long live Seisui-sama!"
Hearing the renewed cheers from a distance, Seisui did not need to amplify his voice with chakra this time.
"Monk, tell me… am I guilty?"
"Have I killed too much?"
Bunpuku looked up at Seisui, momentarily at a loss for words.
After a long pause, he sighed and shook his head. "No… you are innocent."
Seisui laughed again, wildly and openly.
"Hahaha!"
"No!"
"I am guilty!"
"But what does guilt matter?"
Seisui stood atop Kurama's head, laughing arrogantly.
"I've slain a million ninja across the world, yet the blood still stains my sword!"
"Master, your killing intent is too strong," Bunpuku finally said, unable to remain silent as he watched Seisui's arrogance.
"Too strong?"
"No… not at all." Seisui exhaled deeply, calming slightly. "In this world, no amount of killing is excessive."
"In this hunting ground, ninja are the top predators. The apex of the food chain."
"And yet, in this vast hunting ground, these apex predators slaughter each other."
"Isn't that strange?" Seisui looked at Bunpuku with a faintly mocking smile.
"They have been killing all along!"
"Since long ago, ninja have been slaughtering one another."
"After the establishment of the ninja villages, this killing only intensified and became more brutal."
"It's as if invisible hands have been orchestrating everything."
"From the founding of the villages to now… barely thirty years have passed."
"And yet, this period has already seen three Great Ninja Wars."
"Wars, recovery, training new generations, then wars again, recovery again, new generations again."
"Back and forth, in an endless cycle."
"Monk, tell me… who benefits from all this?"
Seisui looked at Bunpuku, half-smiling, while also glancing at Jiraiya and the others who had arrived.
Ignoring them, he continued:
"In this hunting ground, the top predators fight each other… yet above them stand a flock of lambs."
"No matter how fierce the battle… no matter how bloody the fight…"
"They remain safe and secure!"
"Even the wealth of these apex hunters relies on them!"
"Isn't that laughable?"
Seisui's words made Bunpuku's pupils contract, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade, swallowing nervously. Thankfully, it was just the two of them.
Could this even be spoken aloud?
If word got out, the daimyo would go completely mad.
Yet now, seeing Konoha's forces fighting four against one, and the Sunagakure collapsing, Seisui's incredible power meant the risk of exposure was minimal.
"You've been hiding this from me?" Tsunade crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at Jiraiya.
"I knew something was off with you lately," she said.
"So you were planning something big!"
She patted Jiraiya's shoulder.
"Heh…" Jiraiya forced a laugh, silent otherwise.
Meanwhile, Seisui continued.
"Your compassion has already come, yet it achieves nothing!"
"A thousand years ago, the Sage of Six Paths already tested this so-called compassion!"
"A world where people understand and help each other already existed when he founded the Ninja Order!"
"But with the passing of the Sage, this world of mutual understanding, assistance, and peace collapsed."
Sitting cross-legged atop Kurama's head, Seisui's words were solemn. Kurama nodded in silent agreement.
"The world the old man envisioned was gone the moment he died."
"Upon his passing, his two children began warring, and the Ninja Order fell apart."
"Generations continued, sending reinforcements, yet the wars persisted."
"Even now, their descendants fight without knowing why, without understanding the reason for battle."
"The hatred between the Senju and Uchiha drives their endless war and death."
"The old man's vision of peace failed."
Kurama's words made Tsunade's pupils shrink. The information was staggering.
The Nine-Tails confirmed the existence of the Sage of Six Paths and revealed the true history of the Senju and Uchiha.
"So… they were once of the same clan?" Tsunade whispered.
Unlike Tsunade, Jiraiya's attention was solely on the "old man" Kurama spoke of.
The Nine-Tails had been active in the ninja world for so long, and no one knew its true age. The "old man" it spoke of had founded the Ninja Order.
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