Chapter 180: Asura
"Why did you agree to that?"
The Nine-Tailed' colossal head pressed against the cold iron bars, its blood-red vertical pupils brimming with undisguised bewilderment and a hint of anger, as if it had been fooled.
Its voice rumbled like distant thunder inside the Seal.
"The destruction of Hidden Leaf Village—that's what you wanted, isn't it, brat!
You hate this place, hate those fools, hate the high-and-mighty leaders who turn a blind eye to your pain!
Even if the Village wasn't wiped out completely, it's hurting badly enough.
Why turn around and help rebuild it?"
Naruto's mind-body still sat cross-legged before the Seal gate; he didn't answer the beast directly.
"I like a certain poem."
The Nine-Tailed froze. "Poem? What poem?"
When had it ever seen a poem?
Ignoring it, Naruto recited two lines in a slow, clear cadence:
"A monk, though ignorant, may yet be taught; a demon, born of treachery, will only bring calamity."
The Nine-Tailed shook its head in irritation. "What does that even mean? Speak plainly!"
Only then did Naruto look at it. In the depths of his blue eyes it was as though ice cracked, revealing a darker, colder abyss beneath.
"The ordinary folk of Hidden Leaf Village—those who feared me, shunned me, threw stones—are the 'ignorant.'"
Naruto explained.
"They are the 'monks.'
Foolish, easily led, easily stirred, but in the end just tools hoodwinked and tamed by the Third Hokage, by Danzo, by the other higher-ups.
They are the ruled, treated by their rulers as instruments.
They themselves are not the Root of evil.
With guidance, with discipline, with… education by example, they might still change."
His voice paused, turning colder:
"Shimura Danzo and the dark logic of Root, together with the decaying forces that cling to them—they are the 'demons' in the poem.
They are the lurking evil beneath Hidden Leaf Village's bright skin, the true source of its calamities.
They use fear and conspiracy to eliminate any who threaten their interests, all to preserve so-called stability; they are the ones who truly brew Hidden Leaf Village's tragedies."
Naruto's gaze was sharp as a blade. "As for the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi… he may have started with good intentions, but he was indecisive, compromising again and again on matters of principle, tolerating—sometimes tacitly approving—many of Danzo's actions, excusing himself with 'the greater good,' 'balance,' 'there was no choice.'
He allowed the 'demons' to breed; in that sense he himself is part of the demon host, or at least the warm bed in which they grow."
The Nine-Tailed listened, fascinated, yet still puzzled. "So what?
They're all tarred with the same brush; smash Hidden Leaf Village and let them all die—problem solved, right?"
"No."
Naruto shook his head slowly, the corner of his mouth lifting.
This thing really wasn't Kurama.
"That would be letting them off too lightly—especially the Third Hokage."
His voice dropped, carrying a chill that seemed to see through the heart of man:
"The way to hurt the Third Hokage most isn't to kill him.
Kill him and he'll simply close his eyes in bliss, hugging the glory of 'dying for Hidden Leaf Village,' 'protecting the Village.'
That is one of the ends he desires."
Naruto lifted his gaze, as though piercing the mindscape to see the dying old man lying in a real-world hospital bed.
"What I mean to do is deny everything he stood for, deny the 'balance' he spent his life maintaining—the idea that sacrificing a few is acceptable.
Not denial for its own sake, but to keep the essence and discard the dross.
To prove with facts that the Third Hokage's weakness is unacceptable.
And I will prove it while he still lives.
Without his methods, without compromise, without sacrificing the innocent, Hidden Leaf Village can be rebuilt—faster, better, brighter—and grow strong again!
The weapon of criticism can never replace the criticism of weapons.
Between nations, might still does the talking.
Hesitation only convinces more people that Hidden Leaf Village is an easy mark.
Throw one punch to avoid a hundred!"
"I want him to understand: protecting is good.
But the 'protection' he speaks of is, in truth, often just a fig leaf for incompetence and cowardice.
The Will of Fire he believed in all his life, in his hands, has been twisted into a chain that preserves the status quo and fears change!"
Naruto's tone was decisive. "To die on the battlefield defending your home is glory.
But I don't intend to grant him that glory.
He deserves only to lie on a sickbed, filled with doubt, frustration, self-reproach.
Watching the Village that declined under his rule burst forth with new life—life he can't comprehend or control."
"That way he'll never close his eyes in peace.
His convictions will crumble completely.
That is the finest punishment I can give him."
The Nine-Tailed fell silent, as though weighing Naruto's words.
Then, without warning, Naruto's tone shifted; he stared straight at the beast.
"Do you understand now, Asura?"
The Nine-Tailed's expression changed.
Its great maw curved into a grin, and in mere heartbeats the entire mindscape transformed.
In its place stretched a boundless, pure, empty white.
No up, no down, no sound—only soft all-pervading light and beneath his feet a cloud-like softness.
Grass, iron bars, even the Nine-Tailed's vast fox-body—all were gone.
Naruto remained standing, unsurprised by the upheaval.
He turned slowly.
Behind him, within the white, a figure was coalescing out of nothingness and walking forward.
A man in ancient white robes.
His face was gentle, his gaze deep with compassion and love, yet touched by a weariness born of ages and a hidden obsession.
Powerful yet gentle, his presence blended seamlessly with the white expanse.
He was Asura, second son of the Six Paths Sage!
Asura's Chakra condensed into solid form, halting a short distance from Naruto.
He studied Naruto quietly, his clear eyes filled with complex feelings—surprise, appraisal, the helplessness of being seen through, and deeper curiosity.
He spoke, voice ethereal and resonant within the white void:
"When… did you recognize me?"
Naruto met his gaze without flinching, calm on the surface yet detached and knowing beneath.
His answer rang clear and firm in the silence:
"From the moment you tried to sway my judgment."
"Besides, I already told the Nine-Tailed why I won't kill the Third Hokage."
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