Uchiha's personal opinion

Although it's unclear why Ashura, who had only agreed to stroll around the Ninja World for sightseeing, was targeted by Uchiha Tokumitsu so quickly, and even subjected to such a massive scheme, it's clearly not the right time to pursue the matter. After all, both Ashura and the toad are now despondent and at risk of self-destruction. Furthermore, given Ashura's status, the Toad Sage would at most dare to "refine" certain information transmissions to a limited extent, and wouldn't dare to disrespect Ashura in the name of the Sage of Six Paths.

After all, even though he was a comrade-in-arms back then, Toad Sage didn't know how much power the Six Paths Sage, who had disappeared for thousands of years but whose body was not yet dead, still possessed.

But the sheer audacity of the Sage of Six Paths' act of resurrecting Ashura from a corpse was enough to send shivers down one's spine.

"Asura...you shouldn't be defeated by one setback!"

The Great Toad Sage had no choice but to offer words of comfort: "It seems that Indra's descendants have indeed strayed from the path of ninjutsu, falling into the abyss of infatuation with killing and power struggles. But it is precisely because of this that the ninja world needs you!"

"You are the destined savior of the ninja world, and those who have been hindering you are the Six Heavenly Demons who are obstructing the righteous path!"

"Ashura! You must sweep away demons and monsters for the sake of all living beings in the ninja world, just as you did during the Ninja Clan era!"

Even if we encounter setbacks, defeats, or are knocked down, we must still stand up resolutely! We must unite all righteous people and shatter the darkness that shrouds the ninja world!

"Justice and darkness..."

Ashura, having regained his senses, gave a self-deprecating laugh, still looking somewhat dazed.

What exactly is justice?

Is it Mount Myoboku?

Is he the Sage of Six Paths?

Or is it him, Asura?

Or perhaps the Uchiha clan that suppressed the ninja world?

Or perhaps they are just ordinary, short-lived mortals in the ninja world?

Who defines justice? And who identifies the dark evil that must be crushed and reduced to ashes?

Even Asura couldn't explain it.

But when Ashura captured Josuke Uchiha and traveled the ninja world under his guidance, everything he saw and heard was peaceful and happy.

The phrase he heard most often from those mortals, who were like ants, was—

"Thank goodness for the Uchiha master!"

This is the mindset of the common people in the shogunate's directly controlled areas and even the Land of Fire.

As for those nobles who were once regarded by the Asuras as wise and resourceful in ancient times, they have become utterly corrupt.

Forget about their responsibility to exorcise monsters and protect the area; as long as the nobles are willing to accept a few less copper coins, they will be regarded as "the best adults" by the common people!

And this is precisely where Asura's confusion stems from!

Although Uchiha Tokumitsu was accused of numerous crimes such as "bloodthirstiness", "excessive taxation", "tyrannical rule", and "persecution of nobles", based on Ashura's observations over the past few days, it seemed that what he saw with his own eyes was very different from what was said at Mount Myōboku.

Of course, Ashura believed there must be something fishy about this, such as the fact that the captured Uchiha Josuke deliberately took him to a model county town created by the shogunate to cover up the truth, while in reality many rural areas were still living in dire straits. This possibility could not be ruled out.

But in any case, the common people of the ninja world today are at least more human than they were in ancient times.

At the very least, even nobles or ninjas who indiscriminately kill innocent people will be hunted down by the shogunate or Konoha ninjas all over the world.

But so what?

Ashura looked at his left leg, which was gradually healing and repairing itself, and then nodded slightly to the Toad Sage to indicate that he was fine.

His will was contained within his chakra, and in order to realize this special reincarnation and revitalize Jiraiya's corpse, the Sage of Six Paths also completely fused his chakra into his body. However, as his left leg was severed by Sakumo Hatake, he also lost nearly one-seventh of his chakra.

Moreover, this is irreversible...

Ashura kicked his newly regenerated left leg, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Toad oil has some effects on restoring bodily functions, so you should use some too."

"That's what the Toad Immortal said."

"it is good……"

Ashura nodded, then turned his gaze to Fukasaku, whose expression was constantly changing.

"I'm fine..."

Fukasaku lowered his head and looked at the gray petrified patterns spreading upwards at his feet.

After barely managing to regain his composure, Fukasaku managed to dispel the petrification effect caused by the rampage of his Sage Art chakra, but his expression remained unpredictable.

"In the final moment, Shima took her own life..."

The Great Toad Sage closed his eyes and said softly, "It chose self-sacrifice in the hope of avoiding falling into the clutches of the Uchiha and suffering torment..."

Fukasaku's gaze fell upon the only intact candlestick in the palace. A third of the lamps within were extinguished, and of the pair of lamps placed at the highest point, the candle on the left was completely out...

This also means that Master Shima has returned to the Pure Land.

"It might still have a chance to come back."

The Great Toad Sage slowly said, "Once it completes the important task of saving the ninja world, the Sage of Six Paths might grant it a pardon and allow it to return to the ninja world..."

"But is it still Shima after being reborn?"

The expression on Shen Zuoxianren's face was a mixture of sorrow and resentment, difficult to describe.

Before it, there had been sages from Mount Myōboku who had perished in the battle to seal the Goddess of the Rabbit, but Fukasaku had never seen a dead person continue to live in the ninja world.

As for Ashura's reincarnation... to put it bluntly, he is a direct descendant of the Sage of Six Paths, far surpassing any of the outlying beings from the remote wilderness of Mount Myōboku.

The Great Toad Immortal was speechless.

Indeed, although the Toad Immortal spoke lightly, the boundary between life and death is not so easily crossed.

Even the Sage of Six Paths, who created the Pure Land, was merely patching things up above the Underworld. All he could do was "seal" the souls of some powerful beings, but he could not break through the limits of life and death. Even the Sage of Six Paths himself could not completely resist the corrosive power of time.

"I know what to do, please rest assured, Great Immortal..."

The immortal Fukasaku bowed deeply to the Great Toad Immortal: "From this day forward, I will have no more transcendence. I hope that the Great Immortal can cultivate the next generation of immortals as soon as possible, lest the lineage of Mount Myōboku fall into depravity..."

The Great Toad Immortal was speechless.

In its eyes, the sage Fukasaku, like Ashura, was shrouded in a "black aura," an ominous sign.

For Mount Myōboku, which pursues a transcendent state, the possibility of "becoming three times stronger through corruption" simply does not exist.

Perhaps driven by hatred, Fukasaku will be able to unleash even greater power than before, but his lifespan will also be greatly shortened, and even the Sage Mode of the Myoboku lineage will be difficult to advance further...

Therefore, the Great Toad Master can now regard the Fukasaku Master as a "dead frog in futures trading".

However, the most troublesome one is the seemingly unassuming Asura...

It couldn't fathom Ashura's current state, as his Myoboku Sage Chakra had turned black, but his original Sage Power remained unchanged.

Moreover, in the mind of the toad sage who had weathered the test of time, this defeat, though painful, was actually nothing to the long-lived sage of Mount Myōboku; it shouldn't have been like this...

"Asura..."

The toad immortal, who couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried, opened his mouth as if to speak, but then stopped himself.

"The value of the ninja way lies in its unwavering commitment..."

Ashura said, "Some things always need to be done by someone."

"……That's good."

The Toad Immortal was speechless and could only utter a dry remark.

Chapter 399 Asking about the value of the famous jade pendant

"What a huge loss..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu shook his head repeatedly.

"We've really lost a lot of money!"

After glancing at the expenditure report on the ninja army's deployment a few more times, Uchiha Tokumitsu couldn't help but make another comment.

Hatake Sakumo was speechless as he looked at Uchiha Tokumitsu, who had such a mercenary demeanor. He was usually a perfectly normal person, so why did he turn into this when money was mentioned?

It just doesn't feel right!

"So many ninja forces have been mobilized, almost the entire Uzumaki clan has been deployed, and they've even used tailed beasts..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu sighed, "That's how it ends..."

Pointing to the discarded corpse of the sage from Mount Myōboku on the ground, Uchiha Tokumitsu was filled with disgust.

He had originally intended to take advantage of the opportunity to kill the hermit of Mount Myōboku to absorb another dose of the essence of sage techniques, but for some reason, the remains of the hermit Shima did not contain even a trace of sage power. Therefore, this acquisition was just a useless old frog!

As for Ashura's left leg, Uchiha Tokumitsu had Firelight Lord swallow it, intending to study it carefully later to see who this ancestor, who seemed to have sprung from some unknown crack in the rock, really was.

"Konoha's dignity cannot be challenged, and the precious Jonin rank cannot be wasted."

Sakumo Hatake said.

Although this statement seems to be an attempt to smooth things over for Uchiha Tokumitsu's drastic rescue efforts, it also represents the prevailing consensus in Konoha at present.

The members of the House of Representatives, especially the Jonin, were delighted that the village valued every Jonin.

Moreover, since Uchiha Tokumitsu mobilized a large number of ninja forces to rescue a clan jonin this time, if he were in danger next time, even if there wasn't such a large-scale operation, the village wouldn't easily give up on him, otherwise the backlash from public opinion would be unbearable.

For the Jonin of Konoha, although the Uchiha clan's dominant position is unchallenged in the ninja world and there is no possibility of them rising to the top, they are still happy to continue supporting the Uchiha because everyone's lives are better than during the time when the original Hokage's lineage was in power.

“Sakumo-kun is right…”

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded repeatedly.

He likes partners like Sakumo Hatake who know when to advance and when to retreat and understand boundaries!

"However, the restoration and pacification of this battlefield is a huge undertaking..."

Sakumo Hatake also sighed.

Uchiha Tokumitsu also sighed, looking at the devastated battlefield.

Since both sides fought fiercely and showed no mercy, disregarding the lives of ordinary people in the distant county town, the battle area was blasted into countless deep craters by various powerful immortal techniques. Even the walls of Fushimi County Town were collapsed by the aftershocks of the battle. As for the extent of damage inside the county town, that remains unknown for the time being.

"I will have the United Company help with the county seat; what needs to be rebuilt will be rebuilt, and what needs to be compensated will be compensated..."

At this point, Uchiha Tokumitsu no longer cared about the expenditure of funds, "After all, they were just suffering an innocent disaster, so it's better to compensate them a little than nothing."

"The common people are innocent..."

Sakumo Hatake also sighed with a sense of sorrow and compassion.