As the smoke cleared, a figure emerged from the rubble at the center of the massive crater below Kizaru.
A Sharingan turned into an empty white void, Madara relied on the forbidden technique Yin-Yang Release to immunize himself against Kizaru's fatal strike.
Descending from above, Kizaru's hands in his pockets, wearing a slightly smug smile, he slightly bent forward, looking down at Madara before him.
Disliking being looked down upon, Madara, who stood only 179 centimeters tall, made a backflip, landing on a protruding rock to the left rear.
With his line of sight surpassing Kizaru, Madara satisfiedly crossed his arms.
Observing Kizaru ahead, tall and composed, not even his clothes torn, Madara acknowledged Kizaru's strength in his heart.
This brat from the Shimura clan was indeed the strongest ninja to emerge in the shinobi world since him and Hashirama!
Considering Kizaru's age of less than ten, Madara admitted that if this brat's strength continued to grow, he might indeed reach the pinnacle Hashirama had reached in the future.
However, that was it, just this much. The pinnacle Hashirama reached was the limit he could grow to!
As for himself, who had already awakened the Rinnegan, this brat would never reach the heights he had!
"Shimura Kizaru! I, Uchiha Madara, admit that you indeed have the qualifications to be called the God of New Shinobi in the future! I acknowledge your strength!" With his arms crossed, Madara praised loudly.
"Oh-ho! Such a flattering evaluation!" Kizaru chuckled, rubbing his chin.
But, was this brat really not even ten years old?
Looking at the mature and handsome Kizaru before him, Madara had some doubts; this kid's age seemed fabricated!
"No need to be modest, this is my acknowledgment to you, Shimura Kizaru!" Madara said, staring down at Kizaru below.
"Old man Madara, I remember you were defeated and stabbed to death by the First Hokage." Kizaru looked at Madara, knowingly asking.
"Hahaha!" Laughing self-assuredly, Madara replied, "That was just me faking my death! How could I, Madara, be killed by Hashirama?"
"After pretending to be dead for so many years, why appear today?" Wanting to know Madara's purpose in attacking him, Kizaru intentionally guided the conversation.
"I heard that a new God of Shinobi has emerged in the shinobi world, and I wanted to see if you had the qualifications." With a scrutinizing gaze, Madara said somewhat arrogantly.
"So scary!"
"Shimura Kizaru, you who ended the war, what do you think about peace?" Madara, who acknowledged Kizaru's strength, prepared to see if he could pull Kizaru into his plans.
"Peace? What a troublesome question!"
After a moment of thought, Kizaru answered, "Peace is just a fleeting thing; interests, struggles, hatred, those are the main themes of this world."
This brat had already seen through the essence of the world!
With an appreciative look, Madara continued, "Do you believe that peace will never come to this world?"
"There was a chance before. If you and Hashirama worked together to unify the world, establishing a stable order and regime, then perhaps there would be relative peace by now."
He hit the nail on the head!
What Kizaru said was exactly the sentiment Madara had when he was young!
However, for Madara, who had already seen the stone tablet left by the Sage of the Six Paths, such ideals were outdated.
For the Uchiha clan, who were all extreme chuunibyous and always liked to solve problems alone, the contents on the stone tablet left by the Sage of the Six Paths were even more to Madara's liking.
"Such peace is also temporary. With the passage of time, the hatred caused by conflicts of interest will bring about war again," commented Madara.
Nodding in agreement, Kizaru clasped his hands together and began to use ninjutsu.
His body remained still, but he heightened his vigilance. Madara didn't understand why this brat in front of him, who was just chatting nicely, suddenly began to use ninjutsu?
A tall stone chair appeared beside Kizaru. Under Madara's gaze, Kizaru took a step forward and sat down on the chair.
Crossing his legs skillfully, Kizaru leaned against the back of the chair, slightly tilting his head and resting his elbow on the armrest, his right hand stroking his chin.
With a half-smile, Kizaru looked at Madara and asked a question.
"Old man, what do you think is the core reason for causing wars?"
"Hatred and desire!" Madara answered directly. "Human desire knows no bounds. Driven by greed, the struggle for interests will accumulate hatred among people, villages, and nations! When hatred accumulates to a certain extent, it will lead to war!"
"A good summary!" Kizaru nodded with a smile, then continued, "I also have my own views on war."
Without speaking, Madara was somewhat eager to hear what this brat from the Shimura clan, who suited his taste, would say.
"The core essence of causing war lies in the inadequacy of productivity and the uneven distribution caused by class division."
With a pensive look in his eyes, without disdain or contempt, Madara carefully pondered Kizaru's words in his heart.
"From an objective perspective, it is precisely because of the backwardness of productivity that the output of goods cannot meet everyone's needs. This leads to people competing for survival, which in turn leads to the generation of hatred.
At the same time, the daimyos and nobles of each country monopolize the vast majority of production resources. They manipulate ninjas through food and funds, causing ninjas to fight each other and constantly sow hatred among them.
For those daimyos and nobles who lack military power, the division among ninjas due to the struggle for interests is the balance they want to see.
In reality, it is these daimyos and nobles who monopolize production resources, control vast wealth and land, that are the root cause of the constant wars in the shinobi world."
"Interesting perspective!" Madara nodded in agreement, recalling the records of the Shinobi clans hired by nobles before the establishment of the ninja village system, who fought each other and accumulated hatred.
"So you think that eliminating the nobles and daimyos will bring about peace?"
Shaking his head, Kizaru smiled and said, "The monopoly and exploitation of the nobles are only secondary contradictions. After eliminating them, some powerful ninja clans will sooner or later become the new nobles."
"Human desire is never satisfied!" Nodding again, Madara summed up affirmatively.
"So, by creating and improving new advanced means of production, continuously increasing productivity, and starting from satisfying the basic survival needs of everyone, perhaps one day peace will come!"
"That's impossible to achieve! No matter how much productivity improves, it can never satisfy the endless desires of humanity," Madara said with extreme certainty.
"Yes!" Understanding the difficulties involved as a second-generation individual, Kizaru nodded in agreement.
"Shimura Kizaru, do you want to change this world full of slaughter and war? Do you want peace to truly come?"
"The Sage of the Six Paths has already given me the true method to achieve peace. Join me, and after my death, you will become the savior of this world!"
Jumping down from the stone, Madara walked towards Kizaru, his tone lofty and seductive.
"As long as you join me, you will inherit everything from me. You will become the deity of this world, creating a happy world without hatred or war!"
Approaching Kizaru, Madara reached out his right hand towards him, his eyes full of admiration and expectation!
Madara was confident that no youth could resist such temptation!
"No!" Smiling as he locked eyes with Madara, Kizaru softly refused.
His outstretched right hand froze in the air, the smile on his face solidifying. Madara looked at Kizaru in front of him, full of puzzlement and confusion!
The great undertaking of creating a new world was right in front of him. Why would this brat refuse?
"Why?" Madara asked with a hint of excitement and bewilderment.
"Because it's too troublesome!" Without any hesitation, Kizaru answered sincerely.
Too troublesome? Just because it's troublesome, you want to give up on becoming the new deity, the savior of the world?
Completely unable to understand, Madara withdrew his right hand, frowned, and looked at Kizaru.
"Do you think I'm lying to you?" Madara could only think of this possibility.
"No, I believe that as Madara, you wouldn't stoop to lying!" Kizaru praised superficially but with a hint of mockery, smiling.
"Then why?"
"Because I... just want to live a carefree life with lots of money and a nine-to-five job!"
Kizaru: (￣▽￣)
Madara: ????