"Then do you think wars are inevitable, no matter what?" Starting to view Shiki as some sort of wiseman, Nanashi's questions were becoming truly endless.
Though it was not merely a desire for clarity that guided the girl.
"Well, if we go just by human nature, then yes. But in the Shinobi world, there is a way to bypass that issue." Shiki replied.
Nanashi quietly awaited the ensuing explanation she was sure the boy would give.
"If everyone has relatively similar levels of power, conflict is unavoidable as greed, envy and other base traits set in." Shiki continued.
"However, in the Shinobi World where an individual can accrue sufficient personal power to suppress all, as Senju Hashirama demonstrated, so long as there is someone powerful enough and willing enough, large scale conflicts like war can be wholly prevented."
"Sure, it's not like it will ever be possible to make an utopian world without any violence and conflict but at the very least, things won't ever get too out of hand." The boy concluded.
"But that will only last until that person dies." Nanashi accurately pointed out.
"True. So that person merely has to make sure they never die, at least not until they train up a worthy successor. Still, immortality is a better option, nothing can match the prestige accumulated over a long and endless life." Shiki responded.
"Immortality . . . Is that even possible?" The Uchiha skeptically questioned.
The way the boy had spoken of it did not feel hypothetical to her. It was as if he had absolute confidence that some form of immortality could indeed be achieved.
"Of course it is possible. There are even historical examples to follow. If you know where to look." Shiki replied with an affirmation but purposefully kept the specifics vague, he was simply not that trusting.
"Is that your goal?" Nanashi seriously questioned.
The boy stopped and stared at her sharp and focused features for a few moments before he gave a genuine laugh.
"No way! I'm far too self-serving to take on such a thankless role." He honestly declared.
"If I were ever to be elevated to such a position I would surely manage things in a way based around my personal desires and not necessarily what is best for humanity." Shiki shrugged.
Nanashi just remained staring at the boy's carefree expression mulling over his words.
She could not deny it, at least when compared to the self righteous bastards she knew that always used big words to justify their actions, Shiki's honest declaration that he acted for himself was, in a certain way, kind of refreshing for her.
Or maybe her addled brain getting its first taste of love was simply interpreting her crush's words in the most positive light possible.
"Anyway . . . I have to get back to Konoha soon so you'll need to decide what you want to do." The boy suddenly spoke up again.
"What I want to do?" Nanashi knew precisely what Shiki was talking about, she was merely acting dumb.
He had no intention of letting things drag on more than they had already.
According to his plans, feeding Nanashi would result in a battle for some reason or another, after which he would knock her out and take her home, dealing with the conversational part of matter back in Konoha.
With things going amicably however, Shiki saw no reason to force things into a possible confrontation but it was really time to get back home.
"So what will it be? Come with me to Konoha or do you want me to set you up somewhere else. I prefer the former by the way." The boy bade the girl to make her choice.
Nanashi would be lying if the claimed sound of Shiki wanting her to come with him did not please her, even if she knew he did not mean it like that.
But she still had to make a not so easy decision.
"Do I have to meet the other Uchiha if I go with you?" Nanashi asked.
"Not really. If you walk around in the village though, you'll probably run into them though." Shiki replied.
"It's not like someone would come up to me just because they saw me right?" The girl doubted there would be an issue.
"Uhh . . . You're one of the most Uchiha looking Uchihas I've ever seen." The boy stated the obvious truth.
Nanashi was left without reply.
She did not even understand what he was talking about, much less how to respond.
"You can hang around the compound I live in if you don't want to meet anybody from the Uchiha. When you're ready, we can both go talk to them." Shiki offered.
"Okay . . . I guess . . ." The girl still had many doubts but, rather than being left alone, she would much prefer to follow the boy for the time being.
Shiki stored all of the supplies still left in the makeshift resistance and demolished the earthen structure under Nanashi's sad gaze.
Apparently, for someone without a place to belong, a house of a little over a day was more than enough to form an attachment after just a few short, pleasant memories.
With that settled, the pair began making their way back to Konoha.
For the girl's benefit, Shiki did not worry too much and regularly engaged her in conversation to take Nanashi's mind off the more worrisome things in her new life.
But with the girl's whole life revolving around battle and war, the conversation inevitably turned back towards that topic.
It even made the boy think about the history and original future of the shinobi world from a new perspective regarding conflict.
Be it the original series or the many fanfics he read in his previous life, all of them had their own philosophies regarding conflict, its root cause and possible solutions.
In Shiki's personal opinion though, he thought all of them were nonsense for the most part, either propped up by nonsense on the author's part or only possible because of the overwhelming power and skills of the main character in the case of most fanfics.
Some fanfics put the source of conflict strictly on lack of resources in some regions so their solution was unification of the world followed by "fair" reallocation of consolidated resources.
A solution not too surprising considering the politics where the fanfics came from.
However, essentially, that meant some regions of the world would be entirely subsidising others and no one would be happy if the products of their hard work were being used to support others instead of bettering their own lives.
It was essentially theft.
Not to mention the Mcs' emphasis on fairness, proper rewards and punishment, followed by rampant nepotism. Again, not a surprise.
Not that the original series was much better in that regard.
In the end, there was no resolution to the matter of war and conflict.
In fact, Shiki did not think there was any real progress being made at all.
Things were at their best directly at the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War but progressively went downhill from there.
There were many reasons for this but if the boy had to pick just one . . .
Unwillingness to use one's power and prestige.
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -