A moment later, Jiraiya drew a deep breath.
His tone had become extraordinarily solemn.
"Then tell us, Shinichi."
"What should we do?"
"How can we make shinobi return to that original nature you've described?"
It was a question shared by many present.
"Jiraiya-sama, and everyone here."
Rather than answering directly, Shinichi posed another question.
His gaze once more swept across the crowd.
"In your opinion..."
"Is the power of ninjutsu merely—or primarily—a tool for combat, killing, and destruction?"
The question immediately prompted reflection.
Many people instinctively nodded and offered different answers that nevertheless shared the same underlying conclusion.
"Most ninjutsu really are designed for combat and killing..."
"Even support-type ninjutsu ultimately exist to help people fight more effectively."
"The essence of ninjutsu is that of a weapon..."
Some even cited history.
"From the Warring States Era until now, the development of the entire ninjutsu system has been focused almost exclusively on how to kill enemies more efficiently and protect oneself more effectively..."
Then, at that moment, a clear young girl's voice rang out.
It sounded slightly nervous.
Yet it was filled with unwavering determination.
And just like that, it broke through the nearly unanimous chorus of agreement.
"But—medical ninjutsu isn't!"
It was Shizune.
Summoning all her courage, she raised her hand. A trace of nervousness appeared on her face as countless eyes turned toward her, but she continued anyway.
"Medical ninjutsu is used to save people! To preserve lives, ease suffering, and give people hope! It... it isn't meant for killing!"
Shizune's words were like a clear spring flowing through the room.
Many of the medical ninja present—or those who shared her beliefs—felt their eyes brighten.
Beside her, Yūhi Kurenai gently bit her lip.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke.
"Shizune, you're right. Medical ninjutsu itself exists to heal the wounded and save lives."
"But within our current system, isn't the value of medical ninja still largely tied to treating comrades injured in battle so they can return to the battlefield more quickly and continue fighting?"
"From that perspective, medical ninjutsu is still part of the machinery of war and combat. The method is different, but it's ultimately serving the same purpose..."
Her voice gradually grew quieter.
Even she seemed uncomfortable with how cold the argument sounded, yet she could not deny the reality behind it.
Many of those with medical backgrounds wore similarly conflicted expressions.
Shizune opened her mouth to argue, only to find herself unable to put her thoughts into words.
Because it was true.
Within the current wartime system, medical ninjutsu still seemed chained to the war machine, functioning as indispensable logistical support for sustained combat.
In essence, it appeared no different from being bound to the same curse of serving violence.
Once again, every eye in the hall turned toward Shinichi.
Jiraiya did not immediately offer his own opinion.
Instead, he looked at the calm young man before him and asked: "Shinichi, what do you think?"
Meeting Jiraiya's gaze—and the countless others fixed upon him—Shinichi spoke slowly.
"What if there were a ninjutsu that allowed people to fly through the sky? A technique that even ordinary civilians could use to cross mountains and seas, connecting distant towns and reuniting separated families?"
"What if there were a ninjutsu capable of gathering water and purifying impurities, restoring life to parched land and bringing fresh water to thirsty villages?"
"What if there were a ninjutsu that could shape stone, making the construction of homes effortless, allowing roads to be built at incredible speed, and giving ordinary people sturdy housing and convenient transportation?"
"Or what if there were a ninjutsu that accelerated plant growth, turning barren fields fertile, doubling crop yields, and driving hunger from the world?"
With each hypothetical scenario, Shinichi painted a picture utterly unlike a blood-soaked battlefield.
It was a vision filled with vitality, prosperity, and hope.
"Yet what I want to tell all of you is this."
"These ninjutsu already exist within the shinobi power system."
"Wind Release can regulate local weather, disperse harmful miasma, and, through more refined forms of shape transformation, perhaps even achieve the kind of assisted flight I just described."
"Earth Release can reshape terrain, level land, reinforce riverbanks, improve irrigation systems, and construct stonework, buildings, and infrastructure frameworks with extraordinary efficiency."
"Water Release can likewise be developed further to purify, nourish, and guide water resources, solving droughts and pollution. Its social value would be immeasurable."
"Lightning Release possesses unique properties involving the precise control, stimulation, and transmission of energy. If studied deeply enough, it could become the foundation of long-distance communication or advanced energy distribution systems."
"And Wood Release even more so."
"The First Hokage used it to end an age of chaos and create forests. If its life-giving and growth-promoting aspects were further developed for crop improvement, desert reclamation, and ecological stabilization, its significance would be beyond measure."
"And even Fire Release."
Shinichi had finally arrived at the field he knew best.
"It can be applied to precision forging, metallurgy, and even certain forms of soil improvement under specific conditions."
His words struck many listeners like a bolt from the blue.
Because he was right.
They were so accustomed to viewing these elemental arts through the lens of combat that they had developed a fixed way of thinking.
Yet the alternative possibilities Shinichi described were like sunlight breaking through storm clouds, illuminating a vast horizon they had ignored for generations.
Ninjutsu had never been limited to killing.
It was simply that, over the course of a thousand years, the path of the shinobi had gradually been confined within the narrow cage of a "combat profession."
"Do you see it now?" Shinichi slowly swept his gaze across the hall.
"If we strip away the heavy cloak of killing, war, and destruction, we discover that ninjutsu devoted to connection, creation, healing, and prosperity has always existed within the power we've inherited."
"It has merely been waiting for us to rediscover it, develop it further, and put it to proper use."
"A shinobi could be an architect of civilization rather than merely an instrument of destruction."
"Chakra should be a bridge for connection and creation far more often than it is a blade for division and ruin."
"And ninjutsu should not be narrowly defined as a combat tool or an art of killing."
"Ninjutsu should become a force that builds the world, improves people's lives, and genuinely drives the progress of civilization."
"The very first thing we must do is liberate the power of ninjutsu from the single dimension of combat and killing."
"When the power of ninjutsu becomes a source of productivity and creativity that tangibly improves the lives of ordinary people and advances society as a whole—"
"When shinobi use their extraordinary abilities to serve the public and become builders and guardians who create greater value for everyone—"
"Only then can the identity of the shinobi truly break free from the chains of its fate as a tool of killing."
"Only then can it return to the nature and mission originally bestowed upon us by the ancestor of all shinobi, the Sage of Six Paths."
The moment those words left his mouth, it was as though a thunderbolt had struck the hall.
This was no longer a simple philosophical ideal.
Shinichi had outlined a path.
A clear path.
A practical path.
A path capable of shaking the very foundations upon which the entire shinobi world had been built and redirecting the course of its future.
A brilliant light erupted in Jiraiya's eyes, brighter than ever before.
It was as though a traveler who had wandered through darkness for years had finally caught sight of a lighthouse guiding the way forward.
Almost immediately, he leaned forward and pressed the question.
"Shinichi! If—I'm saying if—the day you described truly comes, will people finally be able to understand one another completely and genuinely?"
"Will war disappear forever?"
"Will the shinobi world... will the shinobi world finally achieve eternal peace?!"
Yet, contrary to everyone's expectations, Shinichi merely shook his head lightly.
"Jiraiya-sama, do you remember one of the major causes of war that I discussed earlier?"
"At their core, many wars are struggles driven by the scarcity of resources necessary for survival and development."
"For example, the Land of Wind, where Sunagakure is located. Most of its territory consists of barren desert. Survival resources are extremely limited there. They long for more fertile land, more abundant water sources, and a more stable food supply."
"Can we understand that desire to secure the basic necessities of survival?"
Jiraiya slowly nodded, his expression grave.
"We can..."
"If we lived under those conditions, we'd feel the same way."
"Then—"
Shinichi nodded in response.
But his voice suddenly sharpened, becoming almost confrontational.
"Should we therefore hand over the fertile lands, forests, and water resources that the Land of Fire has cultivated and protected for generations in order to satisfy that understanding?"
"This..."
Jiraiya was instantly speechless.
His mouth opened slightly, yet no words came out.
He could understand the hardships of the Land of Wind.
But as a shinobi of Konoha, were he and the people of the Land of Fire supposed to sacrifice their own homes and interests because of that understanding?
Seeing Jiraiya's reaction—and noticing the complicated expressions appearing throughout the hall—Shinichi slowly swept his gaze across the crowd once more.
"Everyone, I imagine many of you find my proposal somewhat unrealistic."
"The idea that all shinobi throughout the world should break free of their shackles together, that all shinobi should escape the fate of being tools—perhaps that sounds difficult to accept."
"After all, we belong to different villages."
"We have different interests."
"We have different positions."
"Even now, we are locked in fierce war with Sunagakure and Kumogakure."
"Why should Konoha's shinobi help them?"
"Why should we concern ourselves with their future?"
"But what I want to say is this."
"If only Konoha's shinobi—or only the shinobi of the Land of Fire—walk down this new path, while shinobi from other nations and villages remain trapped within the old way of thinking and the old mode of survival..."
"If they continue viewing military conquest and plunder as the only—or primary—means of acquiring resources..."
"Then what will happen?"
"The prosperity we work so hard to create may simply become a more tempting prize in the eyes of others."
"And when that day comes, what are Konoha's shinobi supposed to do?"
"Even if we despise conflict."
"Even if we long for peace."
"Wouldn't we still be forced to take up our weapons and stand upon the front lines, fighting bloody battles against those who covet what we have built with our own hands in order to protect our homeland and our people?"
"If that happens, then we fall right back into the same vicious cycle."
"So liberation must be complete."
"And this return to our true purpose must be widespread."
"Only by liberating the shinobi of the entire shinobi world can Konoha's shinobi truly liberate themselves."
"We must even do what we can to help nations and villages trapped by resource scarcity, helping them resolve the fundamental obstacles that hinder their development."
"Only then—when the entire shinobi world is no longer trapped in a zero-sum struggle driven by absolute shortages of survival resources..."
"Only then—when the power of chakra is used more often to solve problems of development than to create destruction..."
At this point, Shinichi turned his gaze back toward Jiraiya.
"Only then will the fundamental conflict between people driven by survival pressures begin to ease."
"Only then will the structural contradictions between nations caused by competition over resources begin to loosen."
"And only then, Jiraiya-sama, will the mutual understanding you hope for possess the soil necessary to take root and grow."
"Only then will the peace we seek cease to be a castle built on sand."
"Only then will it have a chance to become a stable reality."
"That..."
"...is my answer."