Chapter 292: Don’t Speak So Absolutely!

Hearing Uchiha Ren's words, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a deep sense of melancholy.

From Ren's attitude, it was obvious that he held the so-called Child of Prophecy in utter disdain. From his explanation, Jiraiya could also tell why—because that child was an idealist, and a rather conservative idealist at that.

The Child of Prophecy wasn't unwilling to change the world.

He simply didn't want that change to come with too much destruction.

Because of this, he would even try to stop certain reforms that he believed would cause excessive damage.

Jiraiya actually understood that way of thinking very well, because he himself was much the same kind of idealist.

After all, that Child of Prophecy was his student. It was only natural that the boy inherited his ideals.

It was precisely because Jiraiya couldn't find a stable path forward that he chose to entrust everything to the next generation, firmly believing that a peaceful era—one where people truly understood each other—would eventually arrive.

In the past, Jiraiya had never felt that there was anything wrong with that belief.

But seeing Uchiha Ren's attitude now caused a trace of doubt to appear in his heart.

Could it be that… true understanding between people simply didn't exist in this world?

Jiraiya looked toward Uchiha Ren and was about to ask something, but Ren spoke first.

"I'm telling you all this to make one thing clear: the future isn't set in stone. There's no need to care too much about the Child of Prophecy."

"What I told you just now was merely the original trajectory of events. I've already resolved many of the hidden dangers that would have appeared in the future."

"The future has already changed."

"That Child of Prophecy no longer has anything to do."

Ren spread his hands, speaking with absolute confidence.

As the Child of Destiny, the enemies Naruto Uzumaki was supposed to face were nothing more than the masterminds manipulating the shinobi world: the Akatsuki, Pain, Obito Uchiha , Madara Uchiha , Black Zetsu, and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

But now?

Nagato, Yahiko, Konan, and even Obito were already on Ren's side.

Black Zetsu was under his control.

As for whether Madara and Kaguya could even be revived—that depended entirely on his approval.

In other words, Uchiha Ren had already solved nearly all the problems Naruto would have faced at their root, completely altering Naruto's future.

Moreover, according to Ren's plans, the situation wouldn't even wait the dozen or so years it would normally take for Naruto to grow up.

By the time Naruto matured, he might be facing an entirely new world.

At that point, whether the Child of Prophecy could still play the role foretold in prophecy would be another matter entirely.

Jiraiya's expression changed dramatically.

What Ren had just said was practically cutting off the Child of Prophecy's future path.

Before Jiraiya could speak, Ren suddenly looked at him. The smile on his face faded as he spoke seriously.

"The real reason I'm telling you this, Jiraiya-sama, is because I don't want Minato to be put in a difficult position."

"You're his teacher. Even if you don't support what he does in the future, I hope you won't become a burden to him."

"All you need to do is keep drifting along like before—living aimlessly, watching everything from the sidelines."

From the very beginning, Ren had never intended to recruit Jiraiya to his side.

Unlike Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya's personality was completely different.

Minato might be inexperienced in politics, but that was simply because he had never been exposed to it before. With a bit of guidance, he could easily become a capable leader.

Jiraiya, however, was more like a lone wanderer driven by idealism. His convictions were firm—so firm that to Ren, he was nothing more than a huge, stubborn stone that couldn't be moved.

After consolidating Konoha's power, Ren and Minato would inevitably launch a war.

A war to unify the entire shinobi world.

To most people—both in other countries and even within this world—that war would undoubtedly appear unjust.

And Jiraiya would most likely be among those people.

Bringing this up now was Ren's way of giving him an early warning.

Jiraiya's expression turned ugly.

"So it's true… Minato really has been led astray by you."

Jiraiya might be a bit carefree, but he wasn't stupid. He understood perfectly what Ren meant.

Thinking about how Minato had been hesitating earlier made Jiraiya even more annoyed.

His precious disciple had clearly been corrupted by the man in front of him.

"Led astray?" Ren chuckled, clearly amused.

"What exactly is good, and what exactly is bad?"

"We're all adults here. You should understand that in this world, there's no such thing as absolute good or evil."

"One man's justice is another man's enemy. It's nothing more than a difference in perspective."

"Minato isn't like you—a shinobi who has lost his way. He wants to become Hokage because he wants to change the world."

"He has conviction, and he's actually taken action."

"You lost sheep can give up on yourselves if you want, but don't stand in the way of the world moving forward."

Ren showed no restraint as he unleashed his verbal assault on Jiraiya.

Unfortunately, in his moment of enthusiasm, he expanded his line of fire a bit too much—accidentally dragging Tsunade into it as well.

Tsunade gritted her teeth.

"You bastard! How dare you speak so arrogantly? What makes you so sure that what you're doing is right?"

Ren shook his head calmly.

"You've never stood where I stand. You've never seen the world from my perspective."

"Of course you wouldn't understand my choices."

"And whether it's right or wrong isn't even the important part."

"What matters is that we act."

"Even if we're wrong, at least we'll leave behind a clearly marked wrong path for future generations."

"Standing on our shoulders, they won't repeat our mistakes—and they'll be able to find a new road forward."

"That's the most important thing our generation can do for those who come after us."

"Not dumping everything onto their shoulders and forcing them to pay the price for trial and error."

As he said this, Ren casually glanced at Jiraiya.

The disdain in his eyes was unmistakable.

Wasn't the so-called Child of Prophecy just another excuse for Jiraiya to escape reality?

Jiraiya stared at Ren in silence.

Ren stared right back, refusing to yield.

After a moment, Jiraiya let out a weary sigh.

"Young people truly are formidable… Looks like I really am getting old."

"I never thought I'd one day become an obstacle standing in the way of the next generation…"

Ren immediately followed up with another strike.

"This has nothing to do with age. It's a matter of mindset."

"Take Orochimaru-senpai, for example. He's an indispensable ally on the road ahead."

Jiraiya and Tsunade both turned toward Orochimaru in surprise.

Orochimaru simply shrugged.

"I've always enjoyed trying new things. Paying a certain price for that doesn't bother me."

Jiraiya and Tsunade sighed again.

If they were being honest, Orochimaru might truly be the most clear-minded among the three of them.

"Well," Ren said, rising from his seat, "I think we've said just about everything that needed to be said."

"If there's nothing else, Orochimaru-senpai and I will be taking our leave."

He had just started to leave when—

"Wait!"

Tsunade slammed her hand on the table.

"We're done talking about Jiraiya's business. But we haven't talked about mine yet."

"You?" Ren looked at her with mild confusion.

"You're just a wandering rogue ninja. What business could you possibly have with me?"

"Let me make one thing clear first—if this is about Shimura Danzō, I already explained it before. I had no intention of protecting him."

"So you can relax about that."

Jiraiya also stepped in to smooth things over.

"That's right, Tsunade. If you don't trust the Uchiha clan head, surely you trust Shikaku and Minato, right?"

"Besides, after what happened today with those children in the Root base being exposed, nobody in the village can tolerate Danzō anymore."

Tsunade's forehead veins bulged into the shape of a "#".

"I'll judge the matter of Danzō myself!"

"The thing I want to talk to you about is something else."

"Sit down."

"…Something else?"

Ren's eyes flickered slightly, but he sat back down.

Only then did Tsunade speak.

"Forget about Danzō for now."

"What exactly are you planning to do to the old man and the others?"

"Don't think nobody noticed. Today, you were clearly trying to use Danzō's hand to kill them, weren't you?"

Despite everything, Tsunade still had feelings for Hiruzen Sarutobi, her former teacher.

And she wasn't the only one.

Even Jiraiya and Orochimaru still carried some lingering attachment to him.

No matter how flawed Hiruzen might have been, he had truly invested effort into training his three students, raising them as his trusted disciples.

Even if their ideals no longer aligned, the emotional bond remained.

Jiraiya frowned.

"Uchiha clan head… what you did this time really went too far."

Orochimaru remained silent, his gaze deep and unreadable.

"Too far?" Ren sneered.

"Do you really think the things you noticed were invisible to everyone else?"

"Do you think the others are fools?"

"Or do you believe someone like Shikaku Nara  lacks the insight that you two have?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya froze.

Only now did they begin to realize something was wrong.

The ordinary shinobi aside—

When Danzō fought Hiruzen, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane earlier, the ninja from Konoha's various clans had also been watching from the sidelines.

Did they really have no way to break the Four Violet Flames Formation?

Hardly.

Take the Nara Clan's Shadow Possession Techniques or the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Technique.

Those techniques didn't require physical contact to affect a target.

Even if the Yamanaka couldn't control Danzō himself, controlling the four Root ninja maintaining the barrier would have been trivial.

After all, those four had to remain completely still while sustaining the barrier.

To the Yamanaka clan, they were nothing more than stationary targets.

Seeing the realization dawn on their faces, Ren spoke coldly.

"Now you understand, don't you?"

"It's not just the Uchiha Clan that wants Hiruzen and the others dead."

"Everyone simply understands it without saying it out loud."

"To be honest, in my eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane are no different from Shimura Danzō."

"If Danzō had killed them today, they might have at least died with a good reputation."

"But now that they survived…"

"Their future fate may not be so pleasant."

Ren spoke bluntly, revealing his true thoughts.

If Hiruzen, Homura, and Koharu had died today—having stepped aside without causing him further trouble—Ren would have allowed them to die with dignity and a respectable legacy.

But after today?

Killing them would no longer be so simple.

Even if Ren wanted to grant them a dignified end, it might no longer be possible.

Jiraiya sighed.

"Does it really have to come to this?"

"The old man was the Third Hokage, after all. Decades ago he helped save the village in its darkest hour."

"He's contributed to the village. He's bled for it."

"Even if he made mistakes, he doesn't deserve such an ending."

Ren's expression grew colder.

"I've never denied that Hiruzen contributed to Konoha."

"But wasn't that simply what someone in the position of Hokage is supposed to do?"

"Shimura Danzō, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado have all done things for the village as well."

"But those were simply the responsibilities of the positions they held."

"Konoha is full of talented people."

"Even without them, someone else would have stepped forward to do what needed to be done."

"To put it bluntly—"

"Konoha wouldn't have suffered if those four didn't exist."

"In fact, it might have turned out even better."

Tsunade frowned deeply.

Her political insight wasn't poor. As she listened to Ren's words, she couldn't help imagining how Konoha might have developed if Hiruzen and the others had never been there.

Jiraiya, however, didn't think that far ahead.

"That's not fair," he said.

"Even if the old man didn't achieve great merit, he still worked tirelessly."

"He's not some unforgivable criminal."

Ren smiled faintly.

"Don't speak so absolutely."

"Do you know how Hiruzen Sarutobi died in the original timeline?"

"How did he die?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya both raised their eyebrows, curiosity filling their eyes.

Even Orochimaru couldn't hide the flicker of interest in his gaze.

Ren snorted softly.

"In the original timeline, Hiruzen stepped down this year as well."

"But one year later, he returned to the Hokage seat."

"And he remained Hokage for more than a decade."

"During those years, he did many things."

"Among them… sacrificing the life of the Hyūga clan leader to secure peace… and allowing the Uchiha Clan Massacre to happen."

"Then, more than ten years later, during a Chūnin Exam, Orochimaru-senpai trapped him inside the Four Violet Flames Formation and fought him."

"The situation was almost identical to today."

"Most of the village stood outside… watching the battle."

"And among those spectators—"

"Was you, Jiraiya-sama."

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