"Jiraiya-sama, do you remember one very important factor among the many root causes of war that I analyzed before?"

"Many wars are fundamentally struggles caused by the limitation of survival and development resources."

"Take the Land of Wind, where the Village Hidden in the Sand is located. Most of its territory is barren desert, and resources for survival are extremely scarce. They long for more fertile land, more abundant water sources, and more stable food supplies. Can we understand this desire for basic survival needs?"

Jiraiya slowly nodded, his expression heavy.

"Yes... If we lived in that kind of environment, we would be the same."

"Then!"

Hearing this, Shinichi nodded slightly, but his voice became sharp, even somewhat aggressive.

"Can we then hand over the fertile land, forests, and water sources cultivated by the Land of Fire for generations to satisfy their need for resources?"

"Th-this..." Jiraiya was immediately left speechless. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.

He could understand the difficulties of the Land of Wind, but as a ninja of Konoha, should he and the people of the Land of Fire sacrifice their own homeland and interests?

Seeing Jiraiya’s reaction and noticing the complicated expressions on many faces in the hall, Shinichi’s gaze slowly swept across the crowd again.

"Everyone, I imagine many here feel that what I said about all ninjas in the Shinobi World breaking free of their shackles together and escaping the fate of being tools sounds unrealistic, perhaps even difficult to understand."

"After all, we belong to different villages with our own interests and positions. Even now, we are fiercely fighting the Village Hidden in the Sand and the Village Hidden in the Cloud. Why should we help them? Why should we consider their path forward?"

"But what I want to say is this: if only Konoha ninja, or only the ninja of the Land of Fire, walk this new path while the ninja of other countries and villages remain trapped in their old ways of thinking and survival, still viewing violent plunder as the sole or primary means of obtaining resources..."

"Then what will happen? The prosperity we painstakingly create may instead become even more tempting prey in the eyes of others! At that point, what should we do? Even if we hate fighting and long for peace, in order to protect the homeland we built with our own hands and protect our families and compatriots, would we not still be forced to take up weapons, stand on the front lines, and fight those coveting it in bloody battle?!"

"If that happens, we simply fall back into the same vicious cycle once more!"

"So! Liberation must be complete! The return must be widespread!"

"Only by liberating all ninja in the Shinobi World can the ninjas in Konoha truly liberate themselves!"

"We must even do everything within our power to help nations and ninja villages trapped by resource scarcity, helping them solve the fundamental dilemmas of their own development!"

"Only in this way, when the entire Shinobi World no longer falls into life-and-death zero-sum struggles due to absolute shortages of survival resources, and when the power of chakra is used more to solve developmental problems rather than create destruction!"

At this point, Shinichi’s gaze returned to Jiraiya as he continued: "Only then will the fundamental confrontation between people born from survival pressure begin to ease. Only then will the structural contradictions between nations caused by resource competition loosen."

"And only then will the mutual understanding you hope for, Jiraiya-sama, possess true soil in which to take root and grow. The peace we pursue will no longer be a rootless tree or water without a source, but something that may truly become a stable reality!"

"This is my answer."

After his words fell, silence filled the hall for a long time.

Many realized that what they had listened to was perhaps not merely a discussion about peace, but a strategic blueprint for fundamentally reshaping the future structure of the Shinobi World.

Child of prophecy!

Those four words (This is my answer) exploded through Jiraiya’s mind like thunder. He stared blankly at the boy before him, whose calmness contained ambitions vast as stars and oceans.

For a fleeting moment, he even wondered whether the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy had pointed in the wrong direction from the very beginning.

Could the child of prophecy, the one destined to guide world-changing transformation, not actually be the student he had painstakingly searched for and trained?

Could it instead be the eleven-year-old Shinichi Higashino standing before him, already displaying peerless talent, extraordinary wisdom, astonishing courage, and grand vision?

However, the thought only flashed briefly before Jiraiya quickly calmed himself and keenly grasped the key point.

The boy had painted the blueprint, pointed out the direction, and even broken down the contradictions and dilemmas, but how exactly should they begin? Where should the first step be taken? By what methods?

The actual path of implementation remained a blurry unknown.

Thus, suppressing the surging excitement in his heart, he looked at Shinichi with even greater intensity and urgently asked: "So, Shinichi! Tell me, what exactly should we do? How should the first step truly be taken?"

Under Jiraiya’s expectant gaze, the others present also held their breath, waiting for the answer that would point the way forward.

Yet, to everyone’s surprise, Shinichi gently shook his head once more.

"Jiraiya-sama, I don’t know."

"Although I carry that blueprint in my heart, that vague outline of the ninja future, and many conclusions of what should and must be done based on analysis of the current situation, but..."

At this point, Shinichi paused briefly before continuing: "A blueprint is ultimately only a drawing, while the world is flowing, a complex reality filled with countless unknown variables and deep contradictions."

"With what I currently see, know, and have learned, it is still far from enough to provide a complete, reliable, and thoroughly tested concrete plan."

Shinichi’s gaze slowly swept across everyone present as he said calmly: "Perhaps one day in the future, when this war sweeping across the Shinobi World finally comes to an end, I will, like our ancestor the Sage of Six Paths once did, leave the village, step out of this familiar environment, and set foot upon this vast Shinobi World."

"I want to personally see just how barren and desolate the deserts of the Land of Wind truly are, to personally experience how deeply the people there yearn for water sources and oases. I want to personally feel the steep mountains of the Land of Lightning and the resilience of its people. I want to understand how the people behind the rocky cliffs of the Land of Earth view the world. I want to see the lifestyles and beliefs of those living on the islands of the Land of Water."

"I want to listen to the stories of every country, every village, and even every ordinary person. To understand their joy, their suffering, fear, and hope."

As he spoke, Shinichi’s gaze became even more distant, as though it had pierced through the barriers of time and arrived in that primitive and savage era.

"Perhaps... Only by doing this, only when I use my own feet to once again measure this land that the Sage of Six Paths once walked upon and tried to save, using my own eyes and heart to once again observe and understand with what state of mind he viewed the countless aspects of the world during his travels, and how, after witnessing endless conflict and suffering, he was ultimately driven to establish Ninja Creed, spread chakra, and hope to use it to connect human hearts..."

"Perhaps only then can I truly understand how the very first step should be taken. Only then can I truly find the key belonging to our era, the key that can truly turn ideals into reality."

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