Zabuza froze on the spot.
Even if the speaker meant it casually, the listener could not take it lightly.
"Lord Haruto… are you saying you intend to wage war against the Hidden Mist Village?"
His throat worked as he asked, his voice tight with tension.
And it wasn't just Zabuza—everyone present was startled by Haruto's words.
The Land of Fire was flourishing now, finally stepping into an era of peace and stability after so much bloodshed.
"Haruto, are you serious about this?"
Kakashi's voice was cautious, his single visible eye narrowing.
As someone who had lived through the Third Great Ninja War, and the bloody conflict between Konoha, the Hidden Cloud, and the Hidden Mist, Kakashi knew better than anyone the cruelty and devastation war could bring.
Almost every Hokage before had devoted their lives to preventing another war from breaking out.
"Of course I'm serious."
Haruto's gaze shifted between Zabuza and Kakashi.
"You could say it's something I've planned for a long time… or perhaps something that came to me on impulse."
When it came to understanding the world of shinobi, Haruto believed that even Black Zetsu's knowledge was not as thorough as his own.
For a long time now, he had considered the unification of the shinobi world.
After all, to him, this was no longer a story in ink and paper—it was a living, breathing reality.
The Ōtsutsuki clan wasn't some distant legend.
Even in the original manga penned by Kishimoto, it was made clear: Kaguya created the Infinite Tsukuyomi and transformed humanity into White Zetsu because she feared an enemy far stronger than herself.
That alone proved that beyond this world lurked beings with power equal to—or greater than—Kaguya.
As for Boruto… Haruto dismissed it as little more than official fanfiction.
But the threat Kaguya feared?
Who could say what kind of monstrous strength they possessed?
In the face of that, unifying the shinobi world wasn't ambition—it was necessity.
And the first target could only be the Land of Water and its self-isolated village, the Hidden Mist.
Zabuza, who had defected from there and attempted multiple coups, knew its inner workings better than anyone.
"With my strength, defeating Terumi Mei isn't difficult. If you and I join forces, toppling not just the Blood Mist regime, but the entire Land of Water… it's hardly a fantasy."
Haruto's eyes locked on Zabuza, sharp and unwavering.
But Zabuza felt his mind go blank, a deafening buzz filling his head.
Just sitting there, listening, consumed all of his strength.
"Haa…"
A cold breath hissed past his lips.
If anyone else had spoken such words, he would have laughed them off as the ravings of a lunatic.
But Senju Haruto…
How could he dismiss what he said?
"Haruto… you mean to…"
Kakashi's throat tightened. He understood Haruto's intent, but accepting it was another matter altogether.
To Kakashi's mind, even the mere act of unifying a great nation and its shinobi village under a single rule was a feat of unprecedented scale.
But Haruto's ambition… was something far greater.
"That's right, Kakashi."
Haruto nodded.
"The reason I merged the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf into one governance wasn't just for stability—it was to lay the foundation for what comes next."
"The history of the shinobi world is filled with exceptional figures. Let's speak only of my own clan, the Senju."
"Senju Hashirama ended the Warring States Era, created the shinobi village system, became the First Hokage, and brought peace to the world. For the first time, clans no longer lived in endless cycles of vengeance, children no longer had to slaughter one another."
"The average lifespan of a shinobi rose from thirty years to fifty."
"The Five Great Villages feared Hashirama's power so deeply that they signed treaties of peace."
"But what was the result? Even a god of shinobi like Hashirama was mortal. The moment he passed, war returned. The First Great Ninja War, the Second, the Third… decade after decade, peace was never more than temporary."
Haruto's words poured forth like a storm, impossible to stop.
Naruto and Sakura sat bewildered, struggling to digest such heavy truths.
Sasuke remained silent, absorbing each word, turning them over in his mind.
But Kakashi and Zabuza—both men who had lived through those wars—needed no convincing.
They had felt that truth firsthand.
"Though my power today rivals that of Senju Hashirama, one day, I too will leave this world."
Haruto's eyes bore into Kakashi.
"Tell me, Kakashi… what do you think will happen then?"
"This…"
Kakashi's throat tightened again. It wasn't even a question—he already knew the answer.
Haruto now stood where Hashirama once stood, strong enough alone to halt wars.
But once Haruto was gone, the cycle would repeat.
Just as Hashirama's death had ignited the First Great Ninja War, Haruto's death would inevitably invite another.
"That is why… I must end war entirely while I still live."
"Not just the Land of Water. The Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning—all will be subdued. The fragmented nations of shinobi will be united into one, to forge a world where peace is not fleeting, but absolute."
Haruto took a deep breath, laying his vision bare for all to hear.
And his timing was no accident.
Zabuza was the perfect guide—a so-called rogue ninja, but in another sense, a man who had dared to defy tyranny.
Kakashi, of course, needed no explanation. A man destined to become the Sixth Hokage was not someone of trivial standing.
And then there was Team 7.
Naruto and Sasuke—the reincarnations of Asura and Indra.
The very protagonists of destiny.
Even Sakura—Tsunade's disciple, and the one who once struck Kaguya herself.
It was no exaggeration to say… the very core of the Land of Fire sat gathered in this room.
"This can't be…"
Kakashi drew in a sharp breath, his mind reeling from the sheer scale of what he was hearing. For a moment he wondered if he was dreaming, still half-asleep.
Zabuza, meanwhile, sat in a heavy silence, the weight of Haruto's words pressing down on him like a mountain.
The coups he had once launched now seemed laughably insignificant.
But the most unsettling thought was this—if Haruto succeeded, the Land of Water would cease to exist altogether.
Even as a rogue, Zabuza was still a child of the Mist.
To aid in the destruction of his homeland…
"Damn…"
Another sharp breath tore from his throat. Haruto's vision was terrifying in its scope.
"Lord Haruto… if I refuse to support you…"
He didn't know how long he had sat there in silence before finally forcing those words out.
"My plan requires no support from you."
Haruto's lips curved into a faint smile, but his voice was firm, resolute.
"This is the tide of destiny. The wheel of history grinds forward, and no single man can hope to turn it back."
"The tide of destiny…?"
Zabuza whispered, his heart twisting with conflict.
"Then tell me—what is destiny?"
"I am destiny."
Haruto's words were sharp, each syllable carved in stone.
"I am the tide itself."