Asuma sat blankly in his seat, the Daimyo's earlier questions echoing endlessly in his mind.
The names of the craftsmen… father… husband… are they people, or tools?
Those words shattered the understanding he had built over twenty years.
He wanted to refute it, but found he couldn't say a word.
Because everything the Daimyo said was true.
He could protect them—it was an easy thing for him to do.
But he had never truly seen those ordinary people as people.
Just then, a maid approached, preparing to pour wine for Arashi.
Arashi raised his hand to stop her.
The maid froze in confusion as he picked up his empty wine cup, glanced at Asuma, and said, "Asuma, look."
"My cup is empty. If you were me…"
Before he finished, the expressions of the Twelve Guardian Ninja changed instantly, and they all knelt down in panic, saying they wouldn't dare.
"I said, if!" Arashi sighed, shaking his head. "Get up, all of you."
Only then did they rise to their feet.
"Let's not talk about chakra consumption. If I were you," Arashi continued, "could I use ninjutsu to make the wine from that pot fly into this cup on its own?"
Even with his mind in turmoil, Asuma could still answer this question.
"…Yes."
"Good. Then let me ask again." Arashi smiled faintly, pointing at the maid beside him. "Why don't I do that, and instead have her pour the wine for me?"
"Wouldn't using ninjutsu be faster and more convenient?"
The question was simple.
So simple that Asuma didn't need to think.
"Because… because she's a maid, and pouring wine… is her job…"
The moment the words left his mouth, Asuma froze.
Maid… job…
It was as if lightning struck through his mind, connecting all those scattered thoughts into one clear realization.
The names of the craftsmen… their families… not letting them finish the building… the maid's job…
Asuma's eyes widened. He stared at Arashi in disbelief, completely stunned.
And it wasn't just him.
Enmaru, Hizashi, and the others all had the same look of shock.
They turned to the maid standing respectfully beside Arashi, and in that instant, they understood everything.
Seeing the expressions on their faces, Arashi knew it was time.
"Now do you understand?" he said calmly. "I stopped the project to return those jobs to the craftsmen who need them to feed their families."
His voice suddenly turned cold as his sharp gaze swept across the group.
"But do you think what I want to teach you is simply about efficiency, or about not stealing the livelihood of civilians?"
"You're wrong."
"I sent you to that construction site so you could see with your own eyes what truly forms the foundation of this country—something you powerful shinobi have long ignored!"
"It is those craftsmen. It is those farmers. It is the countless civilians who earn their food with their own hands!"
Arashi stood, clasping his hands behind his back. A commanding aura of authority filled the garden.
"I once heard a saying: with great power comes great responsibility."
"And yes, you do fulfill your responsibilities—fighting shinobi from other nations, completing S-rank missions, protecting the safety of the Land of Fire."
"But have you ever thought that your so-called responsibility is built on a flawed foundation?"
Asuma's body trembled, his face pale as paper.
He recalled the Will of Fire his father always spoke of, and the seniors who had sacrificed for the village.
Could it be… they were all wrong?
Arashi's voice roared like thunder in their ears.
"For decades, the Five Great Villages have been at war, endless conflict after conflict. Whose homes were destroyed each time?"
"Whose trade routes were severed? And behind every mission, how many hidden, dirty transactions existed?"
"You've been blinded by the honor of shinobi and the bonds of your village, yet you've never once looked down to see the true face of this country!"
The Twelve Guardian Ninja sat frozen, unable to speak.
Arashi's voice continued, powerful and clear.
"Your wars make merchants afraid to invest!"
"Your conflicts turn civilians into refugees!"
"Your very existence has twisted the nation's economy and people's livelihoods into something dependent on the shinobi mission system!"
"You might not have personally taken food from a craftsman's table, but this very shinobi era you uphold…"
Arashi took a step forward, his tone echoing like a strike of thunder.
"This old order has been stealing the right of every ordinary person to live and work in peace!"
"This is the greatest plunder of all!"
He looked at the Guardian Ninja with something close to pity.
"I stopped that project to make you understand one simple truth: this country doesn't lack a few shinobi who can build houses."
"What it lacks is a peaceful environment where all craftsmen can build houses without fear."
"A stable order where all farmers can till their land and feed their families without worry."
"And you, the ones with power, your responsibility isn't to take their place!"
"It's to use your strength to end this cursed age of shinobi infighting!"
"To build an unshakable, absolute order!"
"To become the sword and shield that upholds it!"
"In this new order, shinobi will be the guardians of the nation, the defenders of peace, and the enforcers of justice!"
"Not warlords who act independently, waging battles for profit!"
"Under the peace you protect, every commoner will have work, land, a home, and live with dignity!"
Arashi's voice echoed through the night, every word resounding with conviction.
"This is the new order I want to build!"
"This, in my eyes, is the true Will of Fire!"
After finishing, he turned and returned to his seat.
The garden was silent.
All the Guardian Ninja sat as if their souls had left them, their beliefs shaken to the core.
Arashi looked at them, his heart steady, only a glint of determination flashing in his eyes.
These men, their fathers, and even the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, had all fallen into a great historical delusion.
Ending the Warring States period and founding Konoha had been an extraordinary achievement.
But the so-called God of Shinobi had ultimately been too naïve.
He merely merged countless clan conflicts into a few national ones, replacing clans with villages, but in doing so, expanded the scale and destruction of war.
He naively believed that balance through the distribution of tailed beasts would bring peace.
Yet that very act planted the seeds for even greater conflict.
The one-country, one-village system he established created a distorted economy sustained by the sale of violence.
Under such a system, true peace would only strip the shinobi villages of their purpose.
Thus, the so-called Will of Fire had, from the very beginning, served only Konoha's interests.
It was an old order, rotten to its core.
And what Arashi needed to do was to correct that mistake himself.
To tear out this twisted era from its roots.
(To be continued.)