Gossip has a shelf life.
As soon as a new piece of gossip emerges, the old one naturally fades away. So, after a while, discussions about Kagura and Tobirama gradually died down, and the topic that dominated conversations was the upcoming Five Kage Summit.
The idea of the Five Kage Summit was first proposed by Hashirama, who personally sent messengers to deliver letters to the Kage of the other four nations, inviting them to attend the peace talks.
Once the news spread throughout Konoha, everyone's focus shifted to the content of the meeting and its potential benefits or drawbacks for the village. Personal matters like romance paled in comparison to the interests of the village and individuals.
After a brief wait of a few days, Hashirama finally received the responses he had hoped for—the Kage of all four nations agreed to attend the summit. With that, Konoha was once again bustling with activity.
The busiest among them was Tobirama.
Unlike his brother Hashirama, who was a powerhouse in combat but somewhat lacking in strategic thinking, Tobirama was meticulous and detail-oriented, more like a strategist and secretary who handled all the behind-the-scenes work for Hashirama.
The two brothers were like a single sword—Hashirama was the sharp, gleaming blade, while Tobirama was the scabbard that concealed the blade, quietly managing everything in the background.
From selecting the location for the Five Kage Summit to determining the agenda and negotiating demands, everything was handled by Tobirama.
Tobirama role was simply to represent the Land of Fire at the meeting. In this sense, it wasn't a matter of one brother using the other as a tool; rather, they complemented each other perfectly.
Hashirama superstitious tendencies were still very much alive.
On a particularly fine day, he appeared with his beloved granddaughter, the little dumpling Tsunade, in his arms, seeking Kagura divination to determine whether the summit would go smoothly.
"It will go smoothly, but..."
"But what?" Hashirama asked nervously.
"It's nothing," Kagura replied. Even if the current peace was maintained solely by Hashirama deterrence, it had at least brought a few years of stability to the shinobi world.
Since Hashirama still had several years before his demise, Kagura didn't want to reveal future events and cause unnecessary worry.
Kagura chuckled cheerfully and played with little Tsunade.
This was the first time Kagura had seen Tsunade, who was only a few months old but already chubby and adorable.
She had heard from the shopkeeper next door that Hashirama greatest joy these days was carrying his granddaughter around and boasting about her cuteness to anyone who would listen, behaving like a devoted grandfather.
Who wouldn't love such an adorable little one?
Thinking about the upcoming Five Kage Summit, Kagura naturally turned her thoughts to the distribution of the Tailed Beasts and the subsequent three great Shinobi Wars.
Although she was merely an observer, the thought of those who would die in the wars stirred something in her heart. After all, Rin, the little angel, had died in the wars, and Obito had turned to darkness because of them. These were two characters Kagura deeply admired, even though they hadn't been born yet.
"Lord Hokage, have you ever considered keeping all eight Tailed Beasts under your control? If you did, no nation would dare to challenge the Land of Fire again..."
"to wage war against a nation, such deterrence can also bring about lasting peace."
Hashirama, who was holding Tsunade, usually smiled like a fool, but when it came to this topic, his expression finally turned serious, showing a glimpse of the village leader he was.
"Such immense power held in the hands of a single person might deter others from acting out of fear, but what about the other nations? They would still engage in constant warfare. The innocent civilians are the ones who suffer the most from the ravages of war. My wish is for the entire shinobi world to achieve the long-awaited peace, not just Konoha and the Land of Fire."
"If each of them possessed powerful strength, and these forces could balance each other out, they would be forced to think twice before starting a war, considering whether they could gain any advantage. This could, to some extent, curb the outbreak of wars. I believe this is my modest contribution to the shinobi world."
Kagura couldn't help but want to applaud him in her heart.
Look at his vision! No wonder he became the village leader. Not only was his combat prowess top-notch, but his ideological awareness was also far beyond what a small fry like Kagura could ever hope to match. It was as if he had attended countless ideological education classes.
Every transmigrator wanted to hold absolute power in their hands. People like Kagura, who were content to laze around, were few and far between. Most thought that with absolute power, they would have absolute authority.
Of course, there was no right or wrong in this thinking, as transmigrators inherently had a lower cost of trial and error.
But Hashirama, as someone who truly lived in this world, had many considerations that aligned with the current conditions. His cost of trial and error was high-so high that a mistake could cost the lives of an entire village or even a nation.
"Tch, so troublesome. Why don't you just unify the five great nations?"
Kagura seemingly joking remark shocked Hashirama, causing him to open his mouth wide. "What are you talking about? How could I possibly have that kind of ability?"
It seemed Hashirama wasn't as clear about his own capabilities as Kishimoto was, nor did he know that future generations would refer to him as the God of Shinobi.
"Susanoo clad in Thousand hand buddha, two men annihilate four nations!" This phrase, coined by some talented netizens, upon closer thought, didn't seem entirely impossible.
It's often said that in Detective Conan, one person dies per case, while in Naruto, an entire village can perish in one go. Given their terrifying combat strength, unifying the entire shinobi world didn't seem so far-fetched.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that if you and Madara teamed up, you could completely crush the other four nations. Once the nations are unified, everyone would have to listen to you. Then you wouldn't have to worry about other nations fighting, right?"
"Right my ass!"
A head of white hair appeared behind Hashirama, followed by a face. Kagura saw Tobirama expression, which had never shown a hint of a smile, as cold as ice.
"Ah, Tobirama, here to see Kagura-san?" Hashirama teased, holding Tsunade and speaking to Tobirama.
Tobirama glanced at Kagura...
He glanced at her, and the thought of this woman despising him ignited an inexplicable rage in his heart. He couldn't help but glare at Hashirama.
"It was Mito who said that little Tsunade is due for her feeding. She told me to let you know as soon as I saw you to hurry back with the baby. If anything happens to her because she's hungry, you'll be held responsible."
Hearing this, Hashirama suddenly remembered that he had been out for quite some time. He couldn't let his precious granddaughter go hungry, so he quickly took off with the baby in his arms.
"For an adult, you sure don't think before you speak. Such a narrow-minded view."
What does this have to do with hair length!? -_-||
Looking at her hair, which only reached just below her shoulders, Kagami pouted and retorted, "If we're talking about long hair, your brother hair is the longest I've ever seen..."
Tobirama couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and rolled his eyes.
"You two are equally clueless. Your combined knowledge doesn't even match the length of your hair..."
"..."
Was this guy raised on sarcasm?
"Do you know the geographical locations of the Five Great Nations?"
"Yes."
"With Konoha at the center, the other nations aren't exactly blessed in terms of geography or environment. Take the rocky Iwagakure, the desert Sunagakure, the perpetually rainy Amegakure, or the island-based Kirigakure, for example. Not only are they far from Konoha, but many are isolated in their own corners of the world. Even if they were unified, the vast distances would still lead to them governing themselves independently."
Kagami pondered Tobirama words, which did seem to make some sense. It reminded her of the feudal states during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.
"Self-governance would turn unification into a hollow joke. Yet, to achieve this joke, it would require continuous warfare in the early stages. If, in the end, the result doesn't change, what's the point of doing it?"
"For instance, if something happens in Kumogakure, by the time reinforcements from other regions arrive, it would be too late. All that's left is to clean up the battlefield. Whether unified or not, the difference is minimal. Moreover, without the absolute suppression of war, it's impossible to make other nations surrender their sovereignty. But war brings death, which completely contradicts the original intention."
In short, Hashirama simply didn't have the ambition.
Ability is one thing, but desire is another. He himself didn't want it, so no amount of persuasion would change that.
But thinking about the war-torn countries in the real world, Tobirama words also held some truth. After all, unlike internal governance issues, the idea of global unification seems absurd.
Kagami didn't understand military strategy or how to govern a nation, but she could grasp a bit of what Tobirama was saying. Hashirama likely understood as well, which is why he used his reputation as a form of empty suppression, bringing temporary peace to this long-warring ninja world.
But did he ever think about the world after his death?
Perhaps he did, but he had no better solution.