Chapter 770 Shiraishi and Sasuke

Baishi came out of the laboratory and went all the way to the corner of the research institute building, near the window sill of the corridor. Usually, few people pass by here, and only the monitoring equipment installed around is playing a warning role.

Sasuke followed Shiraishi closely and came to a remote corner of the building. The quiet atmosphere surrounded the two of them, and the refreshing breeze blew in from the open window, bringing a bit of comfort.

"Not surprisingly, in mid-October, the Fifth Ninja World War will officially start. Although it is only autumn, it is inevitable to fight in winter."

Baishi looked out the window, the gradually refreshing air gradually moved away from the heat of summer, the weather turned cooler, and the season was transitioning from summer to autumn.

Considering that autumn in the war zone is very short, there will be a bitter and cold winter in two months.

In such a cold season, even ninjas who have been fighting outside for a long time will inevitably be affected.

Listening to Shiraishi's words, Sasuke nodded slightly. He knew that in order to deal with this situation, the Kingdom of Demons had already prepared various supplies for winter combat.

Theoretically speaking, the Kingdom of Ghosts now takes the initiative to start a war, which can directly cause a huge impact on the Alliance of the Five Great Nations and Akatsuki, because before the other two parties are fully prepared, the Kingdom of Ghosts has already completed the reserves of supplies and soldiers, and can gain a great advantage in the early stage, and then use tough methods to make this advantage last for a long time.

However, in this way, it is bound to be attacked by the cooperation of the other two parties. Therefore, although the first attack can gain an advantage, it will also lose more, and the situation will quickly become uncontrollable.

After all, neither Xiao nor the alliance of the five major powers can adopt blitzkrieg and wipe out in one battle.

Moreover, the melee situation among the three parties also makes the situation much more complicated than the past ninja wars. The specific end time is still unpredictable.

"I have already prepared for this kind of thing. For me, this war is also an opportunity."

Sasuke said in a firm tone.

Compared to the war era, the rate of promotion in the peace era is too slow, and the military merits that can be obtained are also very limited, and there are great restrictions on ninjas of his level.

The most important thing is that he is still a person who descended from the sky halfway. Even though he has accumulated a lot of credit with Orochimaru, it will take some time to fully digest it.

War has no such troubles.

He checked the information on the promotion speed of ninjas in the ninja war and peace era in various countries, and he said this to Shiraishi after thinking about it.

"Is there a sense of expectation? This is indeed in line with the values of most young people who are passionate and want to make achievements. However, be mentally prepared for this. I want to ask, are you really prepared for this?"

While Shiraishi felt amused, he looked slightly sideways at Sasuke, and there was a touch of seriousness in his smiling eyes.

It seems that he has sensed the mistrust and suspicion in Shiraishi's eyes. Sasuke will not be angered by such a provocation, but just replied in a calm tone: "Whether it is attacking Konoha, or the experience at the border for a while, I also have my own set of rules."

"Really? Well, if you have any questions, just ask them directly. Seeing that you are preoccupied, you should have something to tell me."

Shiraishi said so.

"I do have some doubts that I want to solve."

Speaking of this, a complicated look appeared in Sasuke's eyes.

"Is it because of your brother Uchiha Itachi?"

The gesture in Shiraishi's words made Sasuke feel a little uncomfortable, but he still nodded and admitted it.

"Your elder brother Itachi was born in the year I left Konoha, and then under the guidance of your father, he stepped into the battlefield at a young age. His self-confidence to carry everything alone and deny the idea of this troubled era must have been forced to form in that extremely cruel environment."

Shiraishi's words made Sasuke slightly surprised, and then he frowned and asked:

"Have you checked Itachi's memory?"

Itachi's body is now recovered by him, and it is buried in a piece of land behind the Nanga Shrine in the country of ghosts in the form of an unnamed monument.

But before that, Itachi's body was in Shiraishi's hands. If he took away the Kaleidoscope Sharingan at that time, he used ninjutsu to read Itachi's memory...

"No, I haven't read his memory." Shiraishi shook his head and said, "I only judged the matter about Itachi based on various intelligences. Ninjas who had the same idea as him were not uncommon in the war years, but most of them died in the war. After the war, they didn't have too strong will and talent, so even if they had such an idea, they couldn't put it into action and lived sloppily. But your brother Itachi is different. His talent...that's why he stands out."

"...I see."

Sasuke didn't know what to say.

He has not witnessed what it was like in the war era, but Shiraishi is someone who has seen it and deeply participated in it.

People like Itachi...were there many in the war era?

"Is there really hope for something like peace...?"

Sasuke asked this question that has been bothering him.

He used to hate Itachi very much, and even though he still hates it now, after learning about Itachi's whole experience, while holding hatred, he also has a little more pity and sympathy.

Itachi's original tragedy was created by his father Fu Yue.

Then Danzo's malicious guidance made Itachi go further astray.

Three Hokage's hesitation, Itachi can only make his own choice.

When the weight of the family was weighed against the weight of 'peace' in his heart, he found that the weight of stopping the war was even greater, so he abandoned the family without hesitation.

But after that, Konoha regarded Itachi as a traitor.

Sasuke couldn't understand Itachi was carrying such a heavy burden, what was he thinking?

At the end of his life, is he still fantasizing about the 'peaceful' world in his mind?

Konoha... Does he complain at the end?

However, with Itachi's death, Sasuke will never know these questions.

War.

Peace.

Carry out Itachi's tragedy and the sinner's life.

It seems that as long as such a dream is fulfilled, no matter how many things there are, you can give up.

But only... let go of his younger brother in the end.

The only downfall.

There is no absolute loyalty to Konoha.

The practice of ideals is not thorough enough.

Strength is an excuse for him to whitewash his weakness. What he really wanted to do all ended in failure.

In Sasuke's view, Itachi is a complete loser.

Even with extraordinary willpower and strength, this fact cannot be concealed.

So, he wanted to ask Baishi, the successful man.

Compared to Itachi, what Shiraishi has done can indeed be called a success.

Although many people hate him and curse him to die soon, they think that the sixth largest country he created has broken the international balance and turned the originally stable international environment into chaos.

But in Sasuke's view, the idea of relying on balance to maintain peace is the self-righteousness of some people. At least at the moment when the kingdom of ghosts rose, the means by which the five major countries suppressed many small countries were greatly restricted. With the support of the ghost country, many small countries have more flexibility and become richer.

Although in the process, many victims were created.

But Sasuke, who traveled to those countries with Kakashi, found that the people there did not have any resentment towards Shiraishi or the country of ghosts, on the contrary, they began to actively support them. Even now that the five major powers have formed an alliance and started to provoke and threaten secretly, these countries still firmly follow the ghost country and completely break with the five major powers.

If there is anyone in this world who can answer his doubts, Sasuke thinks Shiraishi is the most likely.

This is the man who is hated and hated by the most people in the ninja world.

"Peace, when you asked this question, I almost thought you were Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

Baishi didn't answer directly, but smiled teasingly.

Sasuke also thought of the stupid face of a certain yellow hair in his mind. Although he knew that Shiraishi was joking, he had to say it was very vivid.

Then he shook his head, throwing away such fantasies.

"In my opinion, no matter how bad order is, it is better than disorderly freedom. This sentence is also applicable to peace and war."

Baishi turned his head, put his hands on the window sill, and looked at the blue sky in the distance.

Sasuke carefully pondered the meaning of these words.

"However, the current trend of the world is either in war or in the preparation stage of war. Everyone is talking about destroying the enemy to achieve peace. But what is the enemy, how many enemies must be eliminated, and who is the enemy? At least in my opinion, peace in the true sense is currently impossible to achieve. What I can maintain now is only the relative peace of the ghost country and some allied countries. Come again."

Shiraishi's tone was neither heavy nor plain, but it made Sasuke feel extremely dull, heavy, like a mountain pressing down.

"That is to say, it can't be achieved?"

"That depends on what the benchmark is. Peace, everyone has their own views. Even Jiraiya, one of the three ninjas, has his own purpose. Although I don't agree with it, it is also a way to practice his ideals. Let me ask you, Sasuke, what is the peace you think in your heart now? Is it Itachi's will, or you did it spontaneously?"

Shiraishi turned his head, staring at Sasuke with deep eyes.

Sasuke was stunned, and opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that he couldn't say a word.

Yeah, what's your own peace?

Is it Itachi's ideal that I want to achieve?

Suddenly, Sasuke realized that he had never really thought deeply about such a question.

Even thinking about the war began to be at a loss.

"You are sixteen years old. At this age, in this era, neither outsiders nor yourself can treat you as a child anymore. But compared to the power you have now, your willpower is not firm, and you don't know where to go. Even the so-called peace is something Itachi brought you, not your own. You can't really become independent if you keep applying other people's ideas."

Regarding Shiraishi's preaching, Sasuke wanted to refute, but he still couldn't say a word of rebuttal in his mind... No, it was unexpected that he had something to refute Shiraishi.

Ignored Sasuke, Shiraishi said to himself: "In the past, I didn't like the will of fire...or in other words, I didn't like the high-level Konoha leaders led by the third Hokage who practiced the will of fire, so I chose to leave Konoha. But at that time, my thoughts were different from what I have now. At that time, I left Konoha and could only live in the country of ghosts. Compared with these fantasies, the oppression and survival of reality are the first things I have to consider. When people are busy and struggling, they will forget everything, including ideals.

"Then what happened to you..."

"Of course it was a step-by-step trial. Fortunately, I was lucky. Although some unpleasant and unexpected things happened during the process, overall, there were no major mistakes. My ideal is not as far-reaching as peace, and it is also great. I never think about what peace or war is. In my opinion, this is something that the development of the times must experience. It is nothing more than a long-term pain or a short-term pain. People are like beasts in the primitive jungle. It is normal to fight each other for food."

"But alas, we're human."

"Yes, we humans will give excuses for fighting, whether it is before or after the event, we will pretend to be in the name of justice, but the beasts will not. This is where we are clever and hypocritical."

Sasuke chose to be silent.

Baishi's words are already obvious. In his eyes, peace and war are inevitable, they will come when they should come, and disappear when they shouldn't come.

"Afterwards, I experimented with economic, political, and military reforms in the ghost country... To be honest, I can only be satisfied in general, but perfect things don't exist in the first place, so I can only try my best to maintain them. But at that time, I didn't have any big goals, and I wouldn't act for world peace. I just wanted to do my own thing."

"Your job...is really scary."

Sasuke was a little speechless.

After all, looking at Baishi's growth path, he stepped on many stepping stones, which also involved other big countries.

"Since the kingdom of ghosts has taken off in my hands, and the countries that have just ended the third Ninja World War have begun to notice the situation of the kingdom of ghosts... I know that in that case, the exposure of the kingdom of ghosts is only a matter of time. Instead of sitting still, it is better to take the initiative and firmly hold the initiative in your own hands. While the countries are still in the recovery period, they dare not launch the fourth ninja world war at will, give excuses as quickly as possible, and declare war on the country of the wind before the countries have no time to react. By defeating the Kingdom of Wind, we will lay the foundation for the Kingdom of Ghosts to become a great country."

Shiraishi said it lightly, but Sasuke could understand that the risk was great.

However, it is impossible to hide the ghost country exposed to the eyes of all countries. Baishi's decision at the time is not absolutely correct, but at least it makes the future road of the ghost country much smoother.

However, just because it is possible that countries will target them later, and thus take the initiative to start a war and break the blockade, this kind of psychological reaction is a bit extreme.

Sasuke remembered that many people said that Shiraishi was a war maniac who was keen on fighting. Now it seems that it seems to be true.

However, it is also possible that Baishi is too familiar with the operations of the five great powers, so he is absolutely convinced that the five great powers are suppressing the kingdom of ghosts, which is why the War of the Kingdom of Winds occurred.

After all, he was also a member of the ninja village system of the five major countries. It is impossible to know what actions the five major countries will take against the new major country.

"Fortunately, I succeeded in this operation, and I don't have to defect to the Kingdom of Ghosts again."

Sasuke didn't take Shiraishi's self-deprecation seriously.

Although it seemed adventurous, Baishi took every step very calmly.

At that time, taking advantage of countries' vigilance and fear towards the Kingdom of Fire and Konoha, the five major countries could not be merged into one, and bribed the Kingdom of Thunder and Yunyin in advance, leaving the Kingdom of Wind isolated and helpless at the armistice meeting. Moreover, the collapse of the four generations of Fengying Luosha's beliefs is also the main reason why Sayin's morale has declined and he does not want to fight anymore.

"You have done so much, what is the purpose?"

What Sasuke wanted to ask was this.

"Is it ideal?"

"um, yes."

Sasuke looked at Shiraishi seriously.

"That kind of thing... I don't have one. Maybe I had one, but I thought it was too flimsy, so I threw it away."

Shiraishi glanced at Sasuke and gave this very unexpected answer.

"No?"

"Why do you have to have ideals? I have a wife and children, let's say I have a happy family, I also have a job that I am satisfied with, and I usually have some hobbies of my own. Life is already complete. If this is an ideal, isn't it the best ideal?"

Baishi asked back.

"But"

Sasuke wanted to say something.

As the minister in command of the military in the kingdom of ghosts, how could he be so casual?

"Why do you bother with these things?"

"I just can't believe that a person sitting in your position would not have his own ideals."

Sasuke thought it was Shiraishi's joke, but judging by Shiraishi's appearance, it was definitely not a joke.

But, people live, don't they live for ideals?

If there is no ideal, wouldn't it be a walking dead?

But judging by Shiraishi's appearance, he is not a walking dead.

"People will just go with the flow, no matter what exists, it has never been static. In this world where drastic changes may occur anytime and anywhere, the greatest ideal is to live well, and then do what we can do."

"Unbelievable."

"Since this is the case, you think it's strange that I don't have ideals. So, do you have ideals?"

Baishi asked with a smile.

"Of course I..."

Sasuke suddenly got stuck.

What is my ideal?

World Peace?

Revenge?

Peace is only Itachi's goal.

Revenge is for the dead relatives and clansmen, not for oneself.

What is your ideal?

Sasuke looked at Shiraishi's smiling face, was at a loss again, and began to doubt life.

Do I have ideals? Sasuke kept asking himself.

"However, I have my own set of rules."

When Sasuke was in a daze, Shiraishi said suddenly.

"Rules of Conduct?"

"It can also be said to be a creed in life. That is, no matter where a person is, or what ideals he is pursuing, or when he is interpreting a certain belief, he must clearly tell himself what is the truth and what the truth can bring about. Whether what you believe is in the same direction as what others believe. Whether those who are willing to believe are willing, or are they succumbed to some kind of violence, because they are afraid that they will have to swallow their breath and be forced to obey. Never be confused by what you believe and what others believe. Measures should be tailored to individual conditions, time and local conditions, and only practice has the right to speak.

"Practice..."

Sasuke was confused again.

"The times I have experienced and the things I have worked hard for cannot be taught as experience, because they are my things. The will will be continuously distorted and misunderstood by others in the process of transmission. Even if you follow the example, it is impossible to copy it exactly, and it will change in your experience. Just like the will of fire passed down from generation to generation by Konoha, some people regard it as a creed in life, some people regard it as the weight of life, and some people regard it as a political tool... Will has been distorted, can ideals remain pure?"

Shiraishi's words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Sasuke's heart fiercely, making his body tremble.

"Compared to useless things like will and ideals, I think it is the most important thing to do to consider practical and realistic issues. If someone is not full, then consider how to produce more food; if someone is trapped in poverty, then guide them to create more wealth; if someone will be bullied, then use weapons for self-protection. If someone wants to destroy me, then destroy the enemy. So I never believe in will, nor in ideals, I only believe in what I have obtained through practice."

These words were exchanged for Sasuke's long silence.

He didn't know whether Baishi's approach was right or wrong, but in the heart of the other party, it was something more noble than will and ideal.

With such a thing, will and ideals are not necessary, but dispensable.

While he was still in confusion, the other party had already passed the age of asking who he was, and he persisted in implementing it without being confused.

For 'growth', Sasuke has a sense of awe from the inside out.

"Finally, let me ask you one more simple question. You responded to me before. Are you really ready for all the preparations for the war? Or do you just tell yourself that you can bear that weight based on what you read in books?"

Shiraishi looked directly into Sasuke's eyes, making him look up.

Sasuke felt that Shiraishi's menacing eyes were very dazzling, and he couldn't help but want to close them.

A stubborn temper surged up.

"Of course, regarding these things, as you said, I have personally practiced them. I have experienced the so-called cruelty many times."

Sasuke thought that he was good enough in this regard.

At the same time, he was dissatisfied with Shiraishi's underestimation of himself.

"Really? I allow you to reorganize the language again."

what is this? When he is a student of ninja school?

Sasuke took a deep breath and stared seriously at Shiraishi's eyes.

"unnecessary."

"Really? Then, in your opinion, you must regard war as an act of mass murder."

Shiraishi confirmed Sasuke's thoughts in a questioning tone.

"Is not it?"

"No, that's right. No matter what form the war takes, it's killing people. This cannot be changed. But you know, killing people is not the cruelest thing."

Shiraishi shook his head.

"Then what is the cruelest?"

Sasuke frowned and asked.

The corners of Baishi's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a weird smile reminiscent of a nightmare.

"Do you know? On the battlefield of the Second Ninja World War, I once saw a hill full of corpses, but I, Ruri, Ayane, and the dead Sakumo-sensei didn't think it was strange. Instead, we got used to chatting at the foot of the mountain piled up with corpses, as if we were at home, talking about what to eat tonight. At that time, I only had one impression that human life was as cheap as meat hung on hooks in a slaughterhouse."

After Sasuke heard this, his pupils shrank suddenly, and a cold chill ran up his spine.

I just fantasized about that scenethe scene where I was sitting in front of the hill of corpses, talking and laughing with a group of people about what to have for dinner.

Is this romantic? No, I just feel that there is an indescribable weirdness and distortion.

Suddenly, Sasuke shuddered, his whole body was stiff and unable to move, and even the idea of quickly making contributions began to become self-loathing.

"Sasuke, if you can do this kind of thing with a normal heart, you are barely qualified. Remember, no matter how reluctant peace is, you will be happier than the most just war."

After leaving this sentence, Shiraishi stepped forward along the corridor, gradually drifting away from Sasuke's sight.

(end of this chapter)