"But what does this war have to do with them? Isn't this a war between ninjas?"
Hearing Toshiro's long speech, Uchiha Shisui became even more confused. He couldn't quite grasp what Toshiro was saying.
If the war was purely a battle for 'resources', he could somewhat understand that. But what did 'ordinary people' have to do with this war?
Given the education he had received and his limited personal experience, it was difficult for him to understand Toshiro's points.
These 'ordinary people' might have some money and power, and while these things may influence ninjas to some extent, their impact should be limited.
Why did these people have the ability to influence the outcome of a war from Toshiro-senpai's perspective?
He really couldn't understand it.
This was a failure of ninja education, or perhaps its success; they effectively trained ninjas into qualified 'tools'. To achieve this, subjects like history, society, and philosophy were either glossed over or completely absent.
As a result, these ninjas were severely one-sided in their knowledge, knowing only how to fight and kill.
From Toshiro's perspective, the setting of the ninja world was somewhat baffling.
If the ninjas here were like those in cultivation novels from his previous life, solely pursuing the path to immortality and receiving offerings from countries, he could understand that.
But in this world, the ninjas with their extraordinary powers didn't seek immortality, and instead, were influenced by daimyo, nobles, and wealthy merchants, all for some hiring fees. It was simply ridiculous.
And to top it off, while fighting each other, they also sought peace.
It was sheer madness.
After living in this world for so many years, Toshiro could only say that the ninja world was overly competitive.
Ninjas might not be everywhere, but there were settlements of ninjas here and there, not to mention rogue ninjas and foreign ninjas in various countries.
Those daimyos and such seemed to have reached some sort of consensus, forming an unwritten rule: if any ninja did not adhere to the 'rules', they would hire opposing ninjas to eliminate the uncooperative ones, thereby maintaining their own status.
Ultimately, the deep-seated hatred between ninjas of major countries made it nearly impossible for them to sit down and become friends.
This all traced back to the origins of ninjas.
It was due to Sage of the Six Paths' favoritism that Indra and Asura did not get along. From the era of ninja sects to before the establishment of Konoha, their conflicts splintered the ninja community.
Of course, Black Zetsu's instigations played a significant role in this.
After all!
Indra, as the elder brother, had been groomed as the successor for so many years, and although he was aloof and domineering, it was merely a different leadership style.
But the Sage had to show favoritism, claiming that the younger brother was more compassionate and better suited to lead, thus guiding the world towards peace.
Before he was about to pass away, he even left a testament to his elder son, hoping to mediate, but ultimately allowed Black Zetsu to exploit the situation, reaching an extreme level of stupidity.
From Kaguya to the Sage of the Six Paths, then Indra and Asura, the family's series of inexplicable actions left Toshiro at a loss for words.
"Yes! But not entirely!"
"Those daimyos and nobles either due to internal conflicts, or to consume excess population, or out of fear of ninjas, support the ninjas to launch one ninja world war after another. All of this is merely the surface of the war!"
"The surface?"
Hearing this, Shisui's expression grew even more bewildered. He couldn't help but voice the questions in his mind.
"Yes! The wars between ninjas are merely a facade. Even without ninjas, wars would still break out, just executed by different people instead of ninjas."
"The true cause of war is humanity itself, driven by their inner greed and desires. As long as there are things like power, strength, money, beauty, food, and so on that people desire, wars will inevitably occur."
At this point, Toshiro also became somewhat lost in thought. Whether it was this ninja world or his previous life, wasn't it all the same?
"This..."
Although not fully understanding Toshiro-senpai's words, Uchiha Shisui, who had been extraordinarily intelligent since childhood, vaguely felt that what the other said was indeed the fundamental cause of wars.
This made him feel very hopeless because according to Toshiro-senpai, wars could never be eliminated.
As long as humans existed in this world with emotions and intellect, as long as they had needs, wars would continually recur due to their desires, never ending.
The only difference was the people waging the war would change. What essential difference was there from what was happening now?
"These aren't the things a kid like you should be worrying about. Just focus on eating well and growing up!"
"When you're older and stronger, you can use your eyes to see this world clearly and use your own experiences to make sense of its reality."
Seeing Shisui lost in thought because of his words, Toshiro patted the child's head, interrupting his contemplation.
These were not concerns for an eight-year-old. Even in Toshiro's previous life, countless great men failed to prevent wars.
Casually reassuring him, Toshiro didn't pay much attention to the potential impact of his words on the eight-year-old Shisui. He quickly finished his food and began packing his belongings.
He still had to treat his clansmen whose wounds hadn't fully healed, and there was much to do.