At this moment, Minato Namikaze's worldview was completely shattered.
There was no helping it!
His life had been quite monotonous.
Living in Konoha since childhood, he did nothing but train. After graduating from the Ninja Academy, he became a disciple of Jiraiya, and then began fighting on the battlefield. Once the war ended, he became the Hokage.
Daimyos? Nobles?
He had only had brief contact with them two or three times while executing missions.
Simply put... having had no real contact with nobles and Daimyos, he had no concept of this group in his heart at all.
Even when he took the position of the Fourth Hokage, it was Hiruzen Sarutobi who handled the arrangements. At that time, he hadn't even spoken with the Daimyo, so naturally, he couldn't talk about having any understanding of that group.
But now?
After listening to Senju Tobirama's words, he was left stunned in place.
There was no helping it!
He couldn't imagine that the Daimyos and nobles in the shadows were actually such a group?
However, by the same token...
He was also a very intelligent person. It was one thing not to have understood before, but now that Senju Tobirama had introduced it, he couldn't help but speak up in the blink of an eye: "Could it be that the Second and Third Ninja World Wars were also manipulated by those Daimyos and nobles?"
Senju Tobirama's tone was calm.
He looked at Minato Namikaze before him and then spoke slowly.
"There is no evidence, but I can say for certain..."
"They absolutely were!"
"In order to maintain their power, the Daimyos and nobles must do everything they can to control and reduce the overall number of Ninjas."
"War is the most effective means. It not only reduces the number of Ninjas but also makes the Ninja Villages hate each other."
"Calm down and think about it: what is a Ninja World War fought for?"
"On the surface, it's about resources and the like, but essentially, the minerals and such that the Ninja Villages fight over are almost entirely handed over to the Daimyo's Mansion after the war, and then the Daimyo's Mansion returns them to the other country."
"What a Ninja Village essentially gains are only rewards from the Daimyo's Mansion, war commission fees, compensation funds, and the mission volume from the defeated nation."
"You tell me, is that normal?"
"Compared to the many Ninjas who die during the war, getting only this little bit after victory."
"The key is that these things are not obtained from the enemy nation; they are merely rewards from one's own Daimyo. At most, one might obtain some commissions from the enemy nation's Daimyo."
"Do you understand? Commissions from the enemy nation!"
"Do you think the Daimyos of every country are good people? Why would they give commissions to an enemy Ninja Village?"
"If commissions didn't have national boundaries, then why would a Daimyo mess with their own country's Ninja Village?"
"Fourth Hokage, think about it carefully!"
"There is no kindness in this world without a reason. I'm not afraid to tell you the truth directly: the Daimyos and nobles of every country are on the same side. At least until the Ninja community is completely eradicated, the Daimyos and nobles of these nations are their own people!"
"This is also why the various Ninja Villages beat each other's brains out on the battlefield, yet the Daimyos of the various countries still maintain good relations."
"The Daimyos and nobles of the Five Great Nations have long since secretly united and reached an agreement, tossing out some mission commissions as benefits, and then letting the Five Great Ninja Villages fight and kill each other to achieve the final plot of reducing the number of Ninjas!"
"Who is the friend? Who is the enemy?"
"You, who haven't figured this out, are at most a ruler who maintains the status quo."
Senju Tobirama sighed with emotion repeatedly.
Of course.
He didn't blame Minato Namikaze. After all, what Minato had been exposed to since childhood was Hiruzen Sarutobi's redacted version of 'his will,' rather than the true Will of Fire of himself and his elder brother. Additionally, he had died less than a year after becoming Hokage, so he simply hadn't had the time to come into contact with the true Ninja World.
So, having this kind of reaction was actually understandable!
Meanwhile, on the other side.
After listening to Senju Tobirama's words, Minato Namikaze was completely dumbfounded.
Especially when he thought about his previous struggles on the battlefield—they weren't for the sake of so-called Village maintenance at all. Instead, it felt more like participating in a grand game held by the Daimyos of several great nations... His expression became incredibly unsightly!
At this moment.
He actually felt a sliver of understanding for Uchiha Jin's behavior.
After pondering for a long time, he spoke slowly.
"These Daimyos and nobles are indeed a pack of Giant Rats."
"They truly deserve to die!"
"Uchiha Jin did the right thing; I truly understand now."
Minato Namikaze spoke directly.
Yes!
Although he appeared to be a gentle little sun, in essence, he was also a quite cold-blooded person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left behind the prestigious title of the 'yellow flash' on the battlefield.
This was a ruthless man who had continuously carved out his path through slaughter!
His gentleness was only reserved for the Village.
In his heart, he didn't have much affection for the Land of Fire. The only thing he truly cared about was Konoha. Since the targets of the Land of Fire's Daimyo and nobles were his most beloved Village... then, of course, they were enemies!
...Meanwhile, on the other side.
Uchiha Clan Compound!
Inside Uchiha Jin's tea room, two guests had also arrived at this time.
Shisui and Fugaku!
Fugaku's expression was solemn as he spoke immediately upon seeing Uchiha Jin.
"Hokage-sama, you must be careful of Minato Namikaze!"
"Do not be deceived by his outward appearance. Back then, I had relatively deep contact with Minato, so I have some understanding of his character."
"Although he seems gentle, he is actually a cold-blooded person!"
"Even though he was on good terms with the Uchiha when he became the Fourth Hokage, in reality, he only wanted to use the Uchiha. And back then, the Uchiha truly had no other choice, which is why I was willing to be used by Minato Namikaze."
"In essence..."
"He is not much different from Hiruzen Sarutobi. He also leans towards suppressing the Uchiha and does not want the Uchiha to have access to power."
"It's just that compared to Hiruzen Sarutobi, his methods are more gentle."
"Actually, this is also why during the Nine-Tails Attack Night, although I thought about leading the clansmen to help when the incident occurred, I chose to give up after being stopped by Danzo."
"Because Minato Namikaze was not one of our own!"
"Although I seemingly led the Uchiha to support Minato Namikaze, the degree of that support was actually not that great. Naturally, I was unwilling to sacrifice clansmen to help Minato Namikaze."
"But, sigh!"
"At that time, I truly didn't expect that Minato Namikaze would die on the Nine-Tails Attack Night, nor did I expect that an Uchiha would be the one to act that night, let alone that Hiruzen Sarutobi would take power again..."
"This point was my mistake!"
"If I had known Minato Namikaze would die and that Hiruzen Sarutobi would take power again, perhaps I really would have gone to help Minato Namikaze."
"After all, Minato Namikaze might not have been sincere towards the Uchiha, but at the very least, he was better than that fellow Hiruzen Sarutobi!"