Namikaze Minato scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
"What you're saying makes sense, but I still feel that since everyone in the village is comrades, maybe we shouldn't be too harsh…"
Hearing this, Uchiha Ren put away his smile and spoke with rare seriousness.
"Minato, if you only want to live as an ordinary person, then that kind of thinking is perfectly fine. In fact, it's even worth promoting."
"But for soone who holds power, I advise you to cut off that line of thinking as soon as possible."
"No… rather, you can keep that kindness in your heart."
"But you must never allow that kindness to influence your decisions."
Seeing Ren so serious, Minato also beca solemn.
"Is it really that serious?"
Ren pondered for a mont before speaking again.
"Co to think of it, I've never told you about the origin of the Uchiha clan, have I?"
Minato was taken aback.
He didn't understand why Ren had suddenly changed the subject.
After organizing his thoughts, Ren slowly began:
"In truth, the ancestor of the Uchiha clan was Indra, the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths."
Minato's eyes widened.
"You're serious? Did the Sage of Six Paths really exist?"
"The lineage is well docunted," Ren nodded.
"Our clan's inherited records clearly ntion it."
"But that isn't the main point. What I want to talk about today is the story of Ninshū."
Minato nodded without pressing further and simply waited for Ren to continue.
Ren went on.
"After the Sage of Six Paths established Ninshū, he had two sons."
"The eldest was Indra, the ancestor of the Uchiha clan."
"The younger was Asura."
"Indra possessed extraordinary talent and intelligence. He was the one who created hand seals and ninjutsu, a true genius."
"Asura, on the other hand, was rather slow and sowhat naive. Compared to Indra, he was far inferior in terms of ability."
"Originally, the talented Indra should have been the natural successor of Ninshū."
"But Indra's philosophy differed greatly from that of the Sage of Six Paths."
"anwhile, the less talented Asura inherited the Sage's ideals and therefore received his father's favor."
"The Sage of Six Paths created Ninshū with the goal of using chakra to connect people's hearts, hoping to build a peaceful world without war."
"In modern terms, he wanted a world where everyone understood each other—"
"A world filled only with love."
"Therefore, both the Sage of Six Paths and Asura believed in guiding people through compassion and love."
"But Indra had doubts about that idea."
"He believed such a vision was too idealistic."
"If humanity truly wished to live peacefully, then order and rules must be used to restrain people."
"At first, their ideological conflict had not yet erupted."
"Until one particular incident occurred."
Minato's attention sharpened. He realized this was the key point Ren wanted to make.
Ren continued.
"Asura had a childhood friend nad Taizō."
"One day, Taizō claid it was inconvenient to return ho and persuaded Asura to use ninjutsu to cut down a forest belonging to the village."
"But after Asura left, Taizō sold the felled timber as lumber and exchanged it for money."
"And the reason he did this… was to raise money to treat his seriously ill mother."
"However, that forest was shared property of the village, and the village had clear regulations forbidding anyone from cutting or selling the trees privately."
"In other words—"
"Taizō broke the law."
"At the ti, Indra believed the law must be enforced impartially and Taizō should be punished accordingly."
"But the Sage of Six Paths and Asura believed Taizō had acted out of necessity and should be shown leniency."
Ren paused and looked at Minato.
"Minato, if it were you… how would you handle that situation?"
Minato laughed awkwardly but said nothing.
Naturally, he leaned toward the perspective of the Sage of Six Paths and Asura.
But he also knew Ren clearly supported Indra's viewpoint, so he felt sowhat embarrassed to say it aloud.
Ren sighed softly and shook his head.
"First of all, Ninshū at that ti already possessed dical techniques and would provide free treatnt for villagers."
"But because Ninshū had only recently been established, Taizō's mother did not trust the organization."
"That's why Taizō didn't ask Ninshū to treat her."
"And that choice tells us sothing important."
"Taizō didn't commit a cri out of absolute necessity."
"He committed it because his personal beliefs led him to choose cri as the solution."
"Second, the village where the Sage of Six Paths lived was practically a paradise compared to the rest of the shinobi world."
"It was not plagued by war like other settlents."
"Taizō was a healthy young man in his pri. As long as he was willing to work hard, it's unlikely he couldn't even earn enough money for dical treatnt."
Ren looked at Minato calmly.
"I'm telling you this because I don't deny the existence of love."
"Most people in this world can indeed be guided toward goodness."
"But at their core, humans are not so different from beasts."
"Seeking benefit and avoiding harm is an instinct."
"And within human nature, there is also evil that cannot be changed by compassion."
"That is why law exists—to restrain that evil."
"The ideals of the Sage of Six Paths and Asura were too idealistic."
"That is why Ninshū eventually disappeared into history, and the world fell into the chaos of the Warring States Period."
Minato's expression gradually grew serious as he carefully considered Ren 's words.
Ren continued.
"I won't claim whether a world ruled entirely by love can truly exist."
"But there is a saying."
"A mirror of bronze lets you straighten your clothes."
"A mirror of people reveals your gains and losses."
"A mirror of history shows the rise and fall of nations."
"At the very least, the entire history of the shinobi world tells us that the evil within human nature has always existed."
"If you do not possess the certainty and power to guide everyone through love—"
"Then the only way to deal with that evil is through law."
"Punish one to warn a hundred."
"Execute one to make ten thousand cautious."
"Especially for those in power."
"Every action you take will have a profound impact on the village."
"You must set the example."
"When people encounter special difficulties, we can create good laws to help them."
"We can establish policies to support them."
"But when they break the law, we must never tolerate it."
He concluded firmly:
"There must be laws to follow."
"Those laws must be obeyed."
"Law enforcent must be strict."
"And violations must be punished."
"These are iron rules."
"They are also the foundation that allows a village to endure and prosper."
"In short—"
"The law itself may sotis be flawed."
"But impartial law enforcent is never wrong."
After finishing, Ren fell silent, giving Minato ti to absorb everything he had said.
A long while later, Minato slowly exhaled and smiled bitterly.
"I was too naive about this."
"In so ways… the Uchiha clan really are born law enforcers."
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