Me and countless me.

Chapter 8 The Second Generation Perspective
The current Konoha Hospital doesn't care much about the physical health of a ninja like him who is out of danger, so after Li Ke's vital signs stabilized, he was sent out of the hospital.

When he left the hospital, he not only saw Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma who came to greet him, but also a large number of dying ninjas who were sent to the hospital, as well as a large number of ninjas with mutilated limbs.

But more of them were those who had just died and were carried onto the corpse transporter, and were forced to vacate their beds. The patient in the same room with Li Ke was kicked out of the hospital after the stitches were completed, and he had to change the dressings by himself.

But with Xiurihong's company, Li Ke was still very happy.

But it is obvious that the evil Thousand-Handed Old Ghost doesn't care at all about the ambiguous atmosphere between the righteous Li Ke and his girlfriend.

Even after Li Ke was discharged from the Konoha Hospital and was shopping on the street with Kurenai Yuhi, the evil Thousand Hands ghost still kept speaking in his mind.

"What you should do most now is to practice and train, instead of wasting time with her. Also, you'd better not show off your abnormal recovery ability. After all, for a ninja, all their information must be kept confidential. After all, a ninja's battle is a battle of intelligence..."

Li Ke listened to the teachings of Senju Tobirama in his mind, while happily feeding meatballs to Yuhi Kurenai.

In the past, he totally disliked this kind of thing which was just a mixture of flour, sugar and oil. But since he became a ninja, sweets with normal human sweetness could hardly satisfy him since he often had to go to the battlefield.

Ninja's battles consume a lot of energy and are very stressful on the mind, so the things that he didn't like to touch before have now become delicious delicacies.

However, when Li Ke was eating, he still shared his sense of taste with Senju Tobirama who was still chattering in his body, which made Senju Tobirama stunned for a moment.

Then--

"Is it so wasteful? It's too sweet. It's such a waste. This is during wartime..."

Senju Tobirama felt the sweetness in his mouth and couldn't help but start talking.

Li Ke was silent about what Senju Tobirama said. Sensing Li Ke's mood change, Yuhi Kurenai on the side tilted her head, looked at Li Ke whose right hand was still hanging, and asked.

"Um, is it because the meatballs are not sweet enough?"

Li Ke shook his head and looked towards the Uchiha clan’s residence.

"It's wartime after all, so it's understandable if it's not sweet, but..."

It was not that he came here on purpose, but because the best commercial street was right next to the Uchiha residence, so he could see that many Uchiha people in the Uchiha clan territory were wearing white flowers and armbands to commemorate the dead.

Moreover, the most popular stores on the commercial street are not the dessert shops or snack shops, but the funeral supplies store in front and the store that orders black Japanese dresses to be worn at funerals.

The bustling crowds were buying various items with expressionless faces; some looked obviously strapped for cash, while others were even sighing.

But everyone still tries their best to let their loved ones leave in a dignified manner.

When women and elderly people meet, they don’t talk about what to eat today or how their children and grandchildren are doing, but about inviting each other to funerals and who is going to have a funeral.

This is war.

Recalling that hellish scene, the meatball in my mouth no longer tasted sweet. Instead, it was as tasteless as plasticine.

But even so, he was considered lucky, because when he teamed up with the Hokage's son, there was no way he would be sent on a mission to die.

Yet he still felt like he had entered hell.

"Just what?"

Xirihong saw that Li Ke was thinking but not saying anything, so she asked. However, when she saw what those people bought, she also silently grabbed Li Ke's clothes.

"…I was just thinking, how nice it would be if there was only one ninja village in this world."

Li Ke expressed his thoughts very directly, and he actually wanted to know why this was not the case for a long time.

Especially after coming to this world in person and going to the battlefield in person, he urgently wanted to know it all.

Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha, each of them possesses powerful enough military force.

But why not unify the ninja world?
"…Boy, it's not that simple."

Senju Tobirama's voice appeared again. He thought for a while and decided to talk more with Li Ke.

"If you want to build a world where war is impossible, you must have enough capabilities, and this capability is not just about force and ninjutsu. In short, it's too early for you to think about this."

He didn't know Li Ke well enough, so he didn't really want to discuss such issues with Li Ke, but Li Ke couldn't help but ask.

"Is it because of insufficient management staff? Or is it because of the Shodaime-sama's problem? Or is it because of the opposition of the daimyo and the lack of funds?"

Li Ke asked his own question, but Senju Tobirama really couldn't understand Li Ke.

"It's incredible that you can think of these things."

These problems that Li Ke encountered were also encountered by Senju Tobirama when he established Konoha Village, but he refuted Li Ke's words.

“Both, and neither.”

His tone was somewhat melancholy.

"These are just appearances. The real reason is trust and cognition."

"trust?"

"Yes, although my eldest brother founded Konoha Village, Uchiha Madara also brought the Uchiha clan to join Konoha, and they shook hands and made peace, but how could hatred be eliminated so easily? At the beginning of Konoha's establishment, although there was the help of Uchiha Madara, there was actually no harmony in Konoha Village, and friction often occurred."

When Senju Tobirama said this, he spoke again. "Moreover, at that time, Konoha Village was not trusted by any employer, because they were worried that the Uchiha and Senju ninjas could not perform tasks together normally. Therefore, Konoha Village lacked trust and was very short of money for a long time. It was not until my brother invited the Sarutobi clan, the Shimura clan, and the Ino-Shika-Cho clan, which were within the attack range of the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan, that the situation improved."

Li Ke nodded.

"That is to say, because the so-called village structure has just been established, everyone cannot trust each other, and employers cannot trust the ninja village, so there are few talents available for management and money for operations, right?"

Senju Tobirama gave an affirmative answer.

"Yes, and what really changed everything was the marriage between my eldest brother and the Uzushio Village. That clan not only gave a lot of money, political and military support, but also gave us a sealing technique that was enough to seal monsters like the tailed beasts... You know, before that, the tailed beasts would often wreak havoc on the entire world. Therefore, the ninjas of our Konoha Village all have the Uzushio symbol on their backs."

Speaking of this, Li Ke could clearly feel that Senju Tobirama was in a very low mood.

"Unfortunately, when Konoha Village finally gained a foothold with the help of Uzushio Village and won the trust of the Fire Country Daimyo by eliminating those ninja families and bandits who often looted, and obtained more stable financial support, other countries also established their own ninja villages."

When he said this, Senju Tobirama hesitated for a while, because he was not sure whether Li Ke could understand or whether he would misunderstand.

After all, he didn't really know Li Ke, and rashly saying so much to Li Ke could easily ruin a child's future.

But after thinking about Li Ke's temper and character, as well as his huge potential, he sighed softly and chose to take a risk and continue.

"The ninja villages at that time were still very loose, and the various ninja clans actually joined together simply to avoid being exterminated by the other clans that united. The ninja clans did not have a country, and the village's cognition... For example, the Hyuga clan was like this. So if my eldest brother and Uchiha Madara led the ninja army to attack, they could indeed suppress a country by themselves, but they would not have a stable rear at all, because the various clans in Konoha at that time could not be trusted by us.

Even my eldest brother, Hashirama, would be at risk of being attacked and killed after continuous raids and battles. And after other ninja villages suffered devastating blows, it is not certain that someone would launch a suicide attack on Konoha Village, which is unacceptable to us, because once we suffer such a blow, the ninja village established in the name of peace will collapse in an instant, and our people will be killed by other ninjas who escaped.

By then, even if we can take revenge, it will be meaningless with only three of us left in the Senju and Uchiha clans.

Moreover, my eldest brother's wish was to build a peaceful place, not to rule a ninja world full of ruins. But with the thinking of the ninjas at that time, it was difficult to judge whether you were here to exterminate the clan or to conquer them. It was also difficult for them to believe that there were ninjas as powerful as my eldest brother in this world.

When my eldest brother and Konoha Village had established a good reputation and trust, the Daimyo of various countries quickly contacted other ninja villages. In order to prevent the Daimyo of the Land of Fire from cutting off our supply and to ensure that there was enough profit to unite the various ninja clans in Konoha Village, my eldest brother chose to stop and sell the tailed beasts for money..."

When Senju Tobirama said this, his tone already gave people a feeling of helplessness and sadness, and he even gritted his teeth.

Li Ke felt that this was probably the reason why Hashirama Senju insisted on selling the tailed beasts and the other party did not want to use force to establish order, but the doubts in his heart were also completely dispelled.

"I roughly understand... In other words, the process of establishing a ninja village is actually a process of building trust and a common understanding, a process of changing the ninja's idea of ​​family as the foundation, so that ninjas no longer need to rely on the family to survive, but can survive in the ninja world as independent ninja families relying on the village.

So if you want to build a unified ninja world, you naturally need a common understanding and enough trust. So in order to build this trust, you gave up a lot of things, including independent financial rights and some strategic concessions?"

Li Ke's answer made Senju Tobirama feel happy for the first time in a long time, because even if Li Ke was a warmongerer, he could think of these things, and the wars he launched would be wars that would benefit Konoha Village.

There is no need to worry that Li Ke will grow crooked.

And this child does have the thinking ability of a Hokage! Even far beyond his elder brother and monkey!

My elder brother knows the facts but not the reasons, while the monkey...

Senju Tobirama didn't really want to comment, but based on the existing information, he could only say that Monkey had done his best.

The third generation of Konoha Village has done his best to the best of his ability.

Then, his voice also took on a hint of ridicule.

"That depends on how you look at it. In the eyes of the Fire Country Daimyo, we are a group of bandits who have forcibly occupied part of his territory and kidnapped his military and public security capabilities. We also have to collect protection fees from him regularly, making him a..."

"A paper-made name?"

"The description is very apt."

Senju Tobirama praised him, and then Li Ke continued speaking.

"So, that means, as long as Konoha Village can develop smoothly, with the help of the favorable environment of the Land of Fire and sufficient funds, it can gradually increase more economic sources, and then gradually erode the entire ninja world?"

He could understand this step. After all, it was just a matter of building high walls, storing up food, and slowly becoming king.

He did not ask why Hashirama Senju did not use his powerful strength to forcibly establish order and peace, because if Hashirama Senju did that, he would not be Hashirama Senju.

However, Senju Tobirama did not answer Li Ke's question directly, but answered with a word that made Li Ke frown.

"As long as the Hokage can recognize how peace comes, it's fine. But if it's this era, if there are ninjas with great power and firm will who are willing to keep the ninja world in peace forever... then Konoha Village will no longer be the loose, temporary alliance that could fall at the slightest blow... because they have realized how terrifying Konoha's power is, so Konoha has enough power to protect the people that ninja cares about."

Li Ke felt a little creepy after hearing these words, because he was now certain that the "powerful ninja" that Senju Tobirama mentioned was most likely him.

But he has no bloodline limit, and no powerful chakra...

"The evil old ghost Senju, are you planning to trick me into summoning Senju Hashirama? Then let Senju Hashirama control my body to unify the ninja world and complete what they failed to do in their lifetime?"

The more Li Ke thought about it, the more he felt it was possible. After all, Senju Tobirama had been encouraging him to practice his bloodline limit. If he later said that he had a talent for wood escape and asked him to summon Senju Hashirama to help him practice wood escape, then this guess might very well be true!
"And with Senju Tobirama's personality and moral values, it's not impossible for him to do such a thing..."

Li Ke, who was alert instantly, felt that it was necessary for him to give less of his body authority to this evil old ghost when he was sleeping to prevent him from doing anything to him.

It’s decided, from now on I’ll call Senju Tobirama the evil old Senju ghost!

"Oh, by the way, hurry up and stop your unnecessary wandering. Because I want to see if you can learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, and how much of my water ninjutsu you can learn."

Li Ke was stunned for a moment, and then a voice appeared in his heart.

Lord Nidaime Senju Tobirama will always be my mentor and friend!

(End of this chapter)