*Chapter 338: Taking Action*

Itsuki was a genius.

But!

Hashirama Senju and the others were complete cheats!

Sometimes, Itsuki felt that compared to Hashirama and the rest, even with his own golden finger, survival was barely possible.

As for Sasuke and Madara, let’s not even mention them.

Naruto and Hashirama—what did they ever do to deserve reaching the heights they did?

Don’t give me that "hard-working genius" nonsense.

Rock Lee, sure, Itsuki could believe that, but chakra?

Itsuki had personally witnessed a genin who, no matter how hard they tried, couldn’t increase their chakra even a bit due to lack of talent.

Naruto and Hashirama? They were just blessed by Asura's divine favor, born into the right lineage.

One was a Senju, the other a close relative of the Uzumaki!

“Sigh...”

Itsuki sighed softly.

He had initially planned to give Hashirama some pointers to satisfy his own ego.

But looking at it now, forget it!

Even if he laid everything out for Hashirama, would it make a difference?

That guy was a complete idiot!

Seeing Hashirama’s naive, bewildered expression, Itsuki couldn’t help but feel an ache in a certain place.

Hashirama tilted his head, looking at Itsuki with suspicion.

For some reason, he felt that this guy was thinking about something inappropriate.

Still!

He had gotten used to it.

“Should we make our move first?”

Hashirama asked again.

He glanced at Naruto and Sasuke.

They had just gained the upper hand for a moment, but it didn’t last.

In no time, they were back to getting beaten down.

And not just that!

Their brief advantage seemed to have angered both Hagoromo and Kaguya. The duo's attacks became even more ferocious.

“Of course!”

“What?”

Hashirama blinked.

“I said, we can make our move now!”

Itsuki smiled faintly, clenching his fist, and then suddenly asked, “First Hokage, what kind of world do you envision as your ideal?”

“My ideal world?”

Hashirama was momentarily stunned, but then replied without hesitation, “A world without war, where everyone understands, supports, and accepts each other.”

As expected of Asura!

Itsuki smiled faintly and asked, “Do you think such a world can truly exist?”

“It will!”

The answer was as resolute as ever.

Hashirama declared, “I believe there will always be someone who can lead the people to a utopia where everyone can be happy.”

Itsuki chuckled lightly.

How naive, Hashirama. Such a world can only exist in your dreams.

Reality tells a different story.

The Boruto era is proof enough.

Naruto created a peaceful world, yet during Boruto’s time, conflicts still erupted to the point of chaos.

Moreover, if such a perfect world existed, why was Sasuke banished at the end of Naruto?

Isn’t this supposed to be about mutual understanding?

Why exile Sasuke?

Orochimaru was forgiven, so why not Sasuke?

What did Sasuke do that was worse than Orochimaru?

Orochimaru nearly destroyed the entire Hidden Leaf, while Sasuke... what?

Killed Danzo? Threatened to dominate the shinobi world?

That’s it?

How does that even affect ordinary ninjas?

Most of them probably didn’t even know what was happening.

“What’s wrong?”

Hashirama frowned and asked, “Itsuki, don’t you believe in it?”

At one point, Hashirama had thought Itsuki might be the person to achieve such a dream. Later, he realized that some of Itsuki’s actions were even more extreme than Madara's, so he gave up on that notion.

The person he was waiting for was still out there.

Whether the Hidden Leaf survived or not didn’t matter to him.

As long as such a world came to be, what did it matter if the village was gone?

The reason he created the Hidden Leaf in the first place was to end war, not necessarily to form a shinobi village.

Hashirama helped Itsuki not out of ignorance of the possibility that Itsuki might destroy the village but because he knew Itsuki wasn’t a person who killed without reason.

If Itsuki were truly a threat, Hashirama would’ve been the first to stop him.

He believed that under Itsuki's rule, the shinobi world wouldn’t be happy, but it also wouldn’t suffer.

Until the true savior appeared, Hashirama was willing to support Itsuki’s reign.

“Believe in it?”

Itsuki chuckled. “First Hokage, does it matter whether I believe in it or not?”

“No matter if your ideal world comes to fruition, it has nothing to do with me.”

Itsuki spoke calmly, “I’m simply doing my best to build a village of my own, where everything runs according to my vision.”

Hashirama fell silent.

To him, Itsuki was selfish.

He had the power to change the entire shinobi world but chose not to.

Itsuki focused solely on building his own Hidden Fire Village, disregarding everything else.

Whatever chaos happened outside was none of his concern.

But!

Hashirama couldn’t blame Itsuki, as he himself had acted out of self-interest in the past.

When he founded the Hidden Leaf, despite recommendations from both Tobirama and Madara to unify the shinobi world, he chose to stop the wars.

“First Hokage, if you truly want your vision to succeed, why not try it yourself?”

“What do you mean?”

Hashirama looked confused.

“You!”

Itsuki pointed at him. “Why don’t you take on the role of Hokage again?”

“What?” Hashirama was stunned, then resolutely shook his head. “Impossible, absolutely impossible! I’m a reanimated corpse—a dead man.”

“So what?”

Itsuki sneered. “Didn’t someone once say, ‘As long as it feels good, who cares if it’s a man or a woman?’”

Hashirama: “...”

That was definitely your line!

Who else would come up with something so vulgar?

“So, First Hokage!”

Itsuki suddenly looked serious. “If you can bring happiness to the shinobi world, who cares if you’re dead or alive? Aren’t you fighting for them even now?”

“In fact, as long as you can deliver happiness, it wouldn’t matter if you stopped being human altogether!”

Hashirama: “...”

This was getting absurd.

“Impossible!”

After a moment of silence, Hashirama still refused.

If it had been Tobirama, he might have agreed.

Tobirama, unafraid of taboos, would do whatever was necessary to achieve his goals.

But Hashirama wasn’t Tobirama.

“Fine then!”

Itsuki didn’t care.

Just as he said, he only wanted to manage his village well. Outsiders had little to do with him.

Of course, in Itsuki's eyes, Hashirama Senju was just daydreaming!

The world he envisioned would absolutely never exist.

Even if it did, it would only be fleeting!

Humans, each and every one, have different desires.

Hashirama’s ideology? Not correct at all.

If a person has no desires, are they still human?

That’s a saint!

Moreover, humanity has always advanced under the drive of desires.

Without desires, what would the ninja world look like today?

Forget it!

Itsuki chuckled and shook his head.

Why was he even thinking so much?

He was who he was, Uchiha Itsuki, in this life.

Living his own life well was enough.

Build a small country, claim kingship, dominate the land, and marry a dozen beautiful wives.

Now that was life.

If Hashirama and the others wanted to play savior, let them. What did it have to do with him?

After thinking it through, Itsuki’s gaze cleared again.

“First Hokage, get ready. Those two brats are about to get killed.”

“Huh!”

The First was startled awake. He quickly looked up and was dumbfounded to see they really were on the brink of death.

Both were starting to spit blood.

However!

Even at this point, they still hadn’t given away Itsuki’s location, much to Hashirama’s gratification.

“Are we just going in like this?”

Hashirama’s voice was low.

“Were you planning to dance a bit first to warm up?”

Itsuki looked at the battle-eager Hashirama with amusement.

For someone who claimed to dislike war, Hashirama was always so thrilled once a fight began—like he wanted to break the sky apart.

“Ready?”

Itsuki whispered in Hashirama’s ear.

“Do you even need to ask—ugh!”

Before Hashirama could finish his confident reply, Itsuki had already kicked him forward.

“Who’s there?”

The moment Hashirama was sent flying, Kaguya and Hagoromo noticed him.

The two shouted simultaneously, giving up on killing the two boys and instead staring warily at Hashirama.

“Wood Style: Wood Golem Jutsu!”

Hashirama quickly entered Sage Mode and summoned a wooden golem.

The massive golem formed midair, roaring as it swung its fists toward Kaguya and Hagoromo.

Such a punch—Uchiha Madara wouldn’t dare block it head-on.

Unfortunately...

“Get lost!”

Kaguya and Hagoromo shouted coldly in unison, sending two Truth-Seeking Orbs flying at the golem.

“Boom!”

With a dull thud, the wooden golem was shattered.

But Kaguya and Hagoromo didn’t even spare Hashirama a glance, instead scanning the area cautiously.

This gave Hashirama an opening to retrieve the two boys with Wood Style, bringing them to his side while keeping a wary eye on Kaguya and Hagoromo.

“Who are you looking for? Me?”

Itsuki walked out with a calm smile, looking at Kaguya and Hagoromo.

“Uchiha Itsuki!”

Both Kaguya and Hagoromo’s expressions turned serious.

He was undeniably a powerhouse capable of facing them head-on.

And if you factored in the three behind him, either of them alone would certainly perish.

Even if the two teamed up, they might not prevail against those three.

So, should they team up?

If one of them faced those three alone, the outcome was clear.

Exchanging glances, they could both see hesitation in each other’s eyes.

Suddenly, Hagoromo spoke. “Itsuki, does our agreement still stand?”

He had a deal with Itsuki.

However, his recent attack on Naruto and Sasuke had broken that deal.

He wasn’t sure if Itsuki would still honor it.

Kaguya sneered at him.

Her son—was he an idiot? At this point, he was still clinging to such dreams?

It was clear Itsuki wouldn’t let them go. Even if there was a deal now, once one of them was defeated, Itsuki would definitely go after the other.

Their only option was to join forces!

Aligning with Itsuki now would only give him the chance to pick them off one by one.

Foolishness!

“Of course!”

Itsuki smiled and said, “Hagoromo, you don’t need to doubt me. As I’ve said, Fire Hidden Village is my private domain. It absolutely belongs to me, and no one else can interfere. As for the rest of the world, do whatever you like.”

Hagoromo fell silent.

Hashirama—no, Naruto and Sasuke’s faces turned dark.

That tiny Fire Hidden Village—how many people could it possibly hold?

In other words, the rest of the ninja world would remain engulfed in flames of war. Only about 1% of the population would be spared.

Hagoromo, sharp as always, noticed this and smirked slightly. “Itsuki, it seems not everyone on your side agrees with you.”

Itsuki chuckled, glancing at Hashirama and the others. “Don’t look at me like that. I’ve already said it: the Great Ninja Wars are essentially battles between ninjas. If you want to avoid war, then stop being ninjas.”

“The fights between ninjas won’t affect ordinary people!”

So he claimed.

But!

When their villages were attacked, how many ninjas could sit idly by?

In the end, one by one, they would join the fray.

This led to wars becoming even fiercer—

A vicious cycle!

Many situations spiral out of control precisely because people are trapped in such vicious cycles.

So, Itsuki’s words left the group hesitant.

They didn’t entirely agree with him.

“Itsuki, big bro!” Naruto hesitated. “You have the power. Can’t you change the ninja world?”

“I have the power, but I don’t want to use it that way!”

Itsuki shook his head slowly but firmly.

Change the ninja world?

What a joke!

It would just be a temporary fix.

Within a few years, war would erupt again over one reason or another.

Unless...

Itsuki glanced at Sasuke.

In the original story, Sasuke’s choice seemed to offer a better chance for peace than Naruto’s.

At least when the ninjas of the ninja world shared a common enemy, they wouldn’t wage war against each other. They would focus on dealing with that enemy instead.

We might fight, but let’s take care of you first!

Sometimes, uniting scattered factions doesn’t require a wise king—it just takes a common enemy.

“Alright, let’s not overthink this!”

Itsuki smiled at Hagoromo and said lightly, “Sage, how about we kick your ass first?”

Hagoromo: “…”

Kaguya: “…”

Hashirama: “…”

Naruto and Sasuke: “…”

The two boys couldn’t understand everything, but they could tell that it wasn’t anything good.

Hagoromo said coldly, “Itsuki, if I ally with you and those people attack me afterward, what should I do?”

Itsuki didn’t hesitate. “Once Kaguya is sealed, everything else has nothing to do with me. Settle it among yourselves.”

“In that case...”

Hagoromo nodded slightly before—chaos erupted.

(End of Chapter)