A Sage's Pursuit of Power

"Aoba Kamikawa, have you ever loved your village?"

Mei Terumī asked a question that had long been buried in her heart.

"Perhaps."

Aoba gave a vague answer. He wasn't entirely sure of the answer himself.

Loving Konoha seemed like an absurd idea to him. He had once seen this village from a higher perspective, knowing full well just how rotten it was at its core.

But now, after all the changes he had personally made to Konoha, it was hard to say he felt no attachment at all.

"Perhaps? Aoba, you're really not a qualified ninja."

"I've never claimed to be a qualified ninja. In fact, I've never liked the profession of a ninja."

"Which is why you want to change it, even destroy the ninja profession altogether?"

"No. Calling it destruction is a bit much. I'm not planning to kill everyone. I just want to change the deformed state of the ninja world."

"And what makes you so certain you're right?" Mei challenged, feeling Aoba's words carried an air of arrogance, as if he were saying, I am the only one who's right, and everyone else is trash.

"I'm not sure I'm right. But when I finish what I'm doing, I will be."

"..."

Mei was stunned into silence. His answer was even more outrageous, yet she found herself unable to refute it.

"I'm sorry, Aoba. I'm not like you. I'm a traditional ninja. I want to do something for my village in the traditional way."

"And in your 'traditional way,' you're going back to die?"

"Dying for the village is the fate of a ninja. Of course, you may see it differently, but I stand by my choice."

"To be honest, I respect that sentiment. But there's one problem with it, who is 'the village'?"

Who is the village?

This was a question Aoba had once posed to Kakashi. It had taken Kakashi a year of reflection to decide to stand on Aoba's side.

"Who is the village?" Mei instinctively wanted to respond, but as she opened her mouth, she realized Aoba's question wasn't so simple.

He wasn't just asking who constituted the village. He was asking who she was truly fighting for, was it Kirigakure's civilians, her fellow ninja, or the high-ranking officials of the village?

Mei wanted to say, I fight for everyone.

But she knew that answer wasn't realistic. She couldn't even convince herself, let alone Aoba.

"What are you trying to say?" Mei retorted.

"I do have something to say. First, you're rushing back to die, or rather, to save your village because you believe your village is suffering, right?

Here's the interesting part. Do you really think Kirigakure will become worse under Madara Uchiha's rule?"

Mei froze. She already knew the answer in her heart. In her view, no matter who ruled Kirigakure, it couldn't get worse than it already was.

Kirigakure had already been on the brink of collapse, which was why she wanted to save it in the first place.

"But Madara is a rogue ninja from Konoha!"

"And you, right now, are a rogue ninja from Kirigakure," Aoba countered.

"What are you trying to say, Aoba?" Mei was growing angry, realizing she couldn't win this argument.

"Heh. What I'm saying is this: you're rushing back because you think Kirigakure's civilians and ninja are suffering. But from my perspective, that suffering might soon come to an end.

If Madara had won the battle in the Land of Rain, he might have destroyed Kirigakure in passing. But he was the biggest loser in that fight. Now, Kirigakure is his refuge.

Whether you believe it or not, Madara, despite appearing to be a war maniac, is at heart a pacifist. He just believes in achieving permanent peace through extreme measures.

Right now, in his weakened state, his presence might not be bad for Kirigakure. After all, he once led the Uchiha Clan to dominate the Warring States Era. He's a legend."

"That's impossible! If Madara rules Kirigakure, can it even still be called Kirigakure?"

Mei couldn't understand Aoba's perspective. But Aoba's next sentence left her utterly speechless.

"So, do you want the old Kirigakure, or do you want the people of Kirigakure to live better lives?"

"..."

Mei was silenced again. She wanted to say, I want both. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to say it, because she knew it was impossible.

Even Aoba couldn't have both.

During the battle in the Land of Rain, Aoba had planned to kill Obito, capture Madara, and seize the Rinnegan. Yet reality had shown that even he couldn't achieve everything he wanted.

But in the end, none of those goals were achieved. If he hadn't secured another Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan at the last moment, that battle would have been a total failure for Aoba.

Of course, there were many reasons for that failure. What unsettled Aoba the most was that Obito had emerged as the biggest winner, a result that left him with an eerie sense of unease.

"You see, you don't even truly understand what you want. You're just trying to fulfill a ninja's duty, but you've chosen the wrong target.

You want to make Kirigakure better, but 'Kirigakure' is a broad concept. It includes civilians, ninja, and the ruling elites of the village.

These different groups don't share the same interests. You're willing to die for this cause, but whose interests are you really serving?"

These were questions Mei had never considered. She had only felt that the situation had spiraled out of control, that her dream of restoring Kirigakure was hopeless, and that as a ninja, she needed to do something in the end.

But Aoba's words made her realize that what she had been holding onto might not be what she had imagined it to be.

"..."

Mei didn't know how many times she had been left speechless in this conversation.

"What do you want to do, then? Kill me here? Or take me back and force me to keep working for you?"

"Heh, what I want is actually very simple. I want you to see the future with your own eyes.

One day, all the people of Kirigakure will live lives like those in Konoha today, or even better.

When that day comes, I want you to decide for yourself whether you still need to follow the old ninja fate and die for Kirigakure."

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Currently on Chapter 282 - The Ninja Among Ninjas