Hashirama did not blame Tobirama too much. He knew that Tobirama was doing it for the good of Konohagakure and was only putting the interests of his own village first.
"Sir, according to Tobirama, wouldn't it be more beneficial to Konoha to divide the disadvantages of the tailed beasts?"
On one hand, distributing the tailed beasts had brought Konoha clear advantages. On the other hand, the risk of a tailed beast rebellion weighed heavily on the other villages, weakening them from within.
How could Konoha lose in that scenario?
Wasn't this a sure win?
At least from Tobirama's perspective—even if he had been ambushed by the Eight-Tails from Kumo this time—Konoha would still come out ahead in the long run.
The monkeys just needed to sit still and keep their heads down.
Sooner or later, Konoha's overall strength would outpace that of the other four great villages.
Even Tobirama turned his attention to Kai, curious. He wanted to know what flaw this so-called "god," someone who seemed able to travel through time and see the future, had found in a plan that made so much sense on the surface.
Kai smiled faintly and turned the question back to him.
"Second Hokage, if it were you, what would you do after discovering the drawbacks?"
"Of course, we'd find a way to fix them."
"And what would the other villages do once they realize the tailed beasts are strong, but their jinchūriki are unstable and prone to going out of control?"
"They'd work to improve their sealing techniques, build better compatibility, and train hosts until they fully mastered the beasts."
"But that's not something you can pull off in a few months. It'll take decades of trial and error."
Tobirama's judgment wasn't wrong. The other villages had, in fact, spent decades trying to create stable jinchūriki—Killer Bee in Kumo, Yagura in Kiri, and Naruto in Konoha. And even Naruto's success had little to do with the village. He grew on his own, with a bit of help from old mentors and indirect support from Kumo.
"So you left Konoha with the Nine-Tails—a beast that wouldn't go out of control—and a soft persimmon of a host, who could be easily subdued even if he did. Was the village too comfortable? Or did you think the enemy was too stupid to ever catch up?"
Kai's question landed hard.
A peaceful village makes for a soft future. And when other villages are learning through sacrifice, staying still isn't just dangerous—it's falling behind.
The tailed beast rebellions had wreaked havoc in other villages.
Suna? Shukaku drove several Kazekage insane.
Kiri? More than one jinchūriki went wild, killing elite ninja in the process.
Iwa? Even Ōnoki, who could suppress tailed beasts, had to watch as hosts fled the village under pressure.
Kumo? If not for the Third Raikage's raw power, the Eight-Tails might've leveled the village several times.
But despite the chaos, they all gained something.
Suna developed Magnetic Release and sleep-based chakra techniques.
Kiri built the Bubble Curtain Seal and trained a perfect jinchūriki.
Kumo perfected the Iron Armor Seal and raised Killer Bee into a nearly flawless host.
Even Iwa, slowest to advance, had loyal jinchūriki who helped improve their sealing methods.
And Konoha?
Despite housing the strongest bijū, the Nine-Tails had given them nothing. No breakthroughs. No jinchūriki training system. No advancements.
They'd relied on the Uzumaki clan's sealing prowess—and when the Uzumaki were wiped out, the village was left empty-handed.
A place as vast and resourceful as Konoha, and no one could teach Naruto how to control the Nine-Tails.
All of Naruto's progress came from his own suffering and persistence.
Before that?
The Nine-Tails had only ever harmed the village. Every single time.
Other villages were making progress with their beasts.
Konoha was doing nothing.
"So when we surpass you," Kai thought aloud, "don't blame anyone if we decide to hit back."
If Konoha had handed Orochimaru one or two tailed beasts for research, he might've built mechanical tailed beasts by the time of the Fourth Ninja War. He could've wiped out the Impure World Army without even needing the Ninja Alliance.
"Sir... Tobirama, what do you two mean by that?" Hashirama scratched his head. He clearly didn't understand why this kind of progress mattered so much.
Tobirama looked at Kai seriously.
"Thank you for the reminder. I was careless. I'll pay attention to this."
He'd already made up his mind.
Once he returned, he would re-evaluate how Konoha used the Nine-Tails.
They couldn't let other villages keep gaining ground while they did nothing.
Even if he and his brother had left behind enough power and legacy, it wouldn't stop the next generation from falling behind.
Still, Tobirama wasn't panicking. The Uzumaki and Uchiha clans were still in Konoha. With those two around, no tailed beast could flip the table.
Kai didn't correct him.
Soon enough, he would take Tobirama from World 2 to the future.
Once he saw how the Uzumaki and Uchiha were destroyed by the leaders of Konoha themselves—he'd understand real fear.
...
"By the way, sir," Tobirama asked, "what's the optimal solution you mentioned earlier?"
Kai didn't hesitate.
"It's simple. Stop dividing the tailed beasts. Unify the ninja world. Tear down the villages."
His true goal was now in the open.
Everything before had just been setting the stage—pointing out how broken the system was. Now came the alternative.
Of course, he didn't expect Hashirama to agree right away. He just needed to plant the seed.
He wasn't stupid enough to try forcing Hashirama. Not yet. He didn't have the Rinnegan, and even if he did, beating the First Hokage wouldn't be easy.
"This... isn't right," Hashirama said. "We ended the Warring States era with everything we had. If we start another war to unify the world, how many people will die?"
"You're right," Tobirama added. "And even if we do unify it, what's stopping it from splitting again?"
Still... there was a flicker in his eyes.
Tobirama had wanted this for a long time.
His brother never allowed it.
After seeing the First Ninja World War, Tobirama had quietly buried the idea. Peace between ninja villages was a fantasy. Nothing but a lie on paper.
The people in the other villages never shared his brother's ideals.
He had already started letting go of that dream.
Kai glanced over. There it was—that look.
Ambition.
He'd expected this. The Second Hokage was always the easiest one to convince.
...
"Don't take it the wrong way," Kai said. "I'm not forcing anything. I'm offering an option."
"If you can think of a better way, go for it. But don't forget—the cost of doing nothing is higher than you think."
Hashirama and Tobirama both went quiet.
After the First Ninja World War, they had seen too much.
Beliefs didn't hold up well against corpses and fire.
The worst part was—they had no other solution.
"Senju Hashirama," Kai asked, "can you answer the question now?"
"What question?"
[What do you want to protect—the village, or your family?]
Hashirama looked at Tobirama and hesitated.
He created Konoha to protect his brother, Madara, and the people he loved.
But in this timeline, he killed Madara for the sake of the village.
Wasn't that the greatest betrayal?
Had his future self lost his way?
What was he really trying to protect?
Kai watched Hashirama's hesitation and nodded to himself.
The will of the "God of Shinobi" didn't break in one swing.
But hit it enough times, and even a mountain would crack.
"You still don't have an answer? That's fine."
"Then, let me ask you two."
[Senju Hashirama, what exactly is the Will of Fire that you want to pass down?]
[Senju Tobirama, when you stayed behind to cover for everyone else—was that truly the right decision?]
Hashirama: "The Will of Fire...?"
Tobirama: "Huh?"
Was it right to sacrifice yourself like that?
Or was it just another failure of the system?
"No rush," Kai said, calm as ever. "Let's go see the future. We'll read the story of the next Hokage together."
"And then, you can answer me."