Chapter 191: Questions

After adding some items into the water ball, he controlled it as it slowly rotated downward along his head, giving himself a simple rinse. The things he added into the water ball were toiletries he had prepared for himself, meant to be used with this 'Water Style: Shampoo Technique' while on a mission.

After giving himself a simple wash, he controlled his chakra to remove some of the moisture from his clothes, then sat by the fire to warm up. "Having abundant chakra is really convenient!"

Seeing his operation, Uchiha Yame, who was already used to such sights, commented with a hint of envy. They didn't have the luxury to use these jutsus as freely as Toshiro, even if they were simple D-level jutsus. For these 'ordinary people,' such pointless expenditure was unacceptable.

"Alright! Stop with the weird comments! You and Asahi take Nene and the others to wash up first. After we eat, I still need to check her injuries."

For the first time on such a dangerous behind-enemy-lines mission with them, the little girl named Uchiha Nene, although not a rookie on the battlefield, still got injured.

"Yes! Yes! We'll go first! Don't mind these guys~"

With that, the female companions went to wash up first, not forgetting to say, "No peeking!"

As they spoke, they glared fiercely at all the male companions present, as if saying, "Why are you still standing here?"

There was no choice. This was a temporary place they had found, and although the washing area was in a corner and covered, some sounds would still inevitably come through. But everyone was young, with Toshiro, Zhe, and Longfire being the older boys.

However... "Hurry up~"

Toshiro, who had just sat down to rest, had to get up again and leave the cave with his companions. Luckily, it took only about ten minutes for the girls to finish.

...

[Toshiro thought to himself while eating, "The dehydrated vegetables from this place are not good, and the jerky this time is overcooked."]

"Senior Toshiro, I heard that the Land of Lightning has also joined the war?"

Holding his meal and contemplating whether to switch suppliers, Toshiro was interrupted by a question from Shisui across him.

"Yes!"

"You seem very concerned about these matters."

"I'm just concerned about the progress of the war. I hope it ends quickly."

Hearing Toshiro's response, Shisui fell into deep thought, forgetting to eat his food. The major conflict between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth had already been ongoing for two years. The Land of Earth couldn't defeat the Leaf ninjas fronting them, and the Leaf had no strength to push back the Rock ninjas, leading to other ninja villages watching closely and starting to make their moves. The Land of Lightning was just the first to step in. As far as Toshiro knew, even the Land of Water in the east had started taking action with their ninjas often coming over to gather intelligence. Who knows what they were thinking, coming all this way inland to collect information?

As for the Land of Lightning, they waited nearly two years before making a striking move, directly crossing the sea and using the Land of Frost and the Land of Fields as their foothold, colliding with both Leaf and Rock ninja. This made the battlefield even more chaotic, with three-way fights breaking out frequently among Leaf, Rock, and Cloud ninja.

"Don't think too much about it! Just finish your food before it gets cold. These matters are not something a kid can understand."

Looking at the future 'Shunshin Shisui,' Toshiro never expected him to be so concerned about these issues at such a young age, unlike his peers. "Senior, why do you think there are wars? Why can't people coexist peacefully?"

"Hmm..."

Toshiro, who only meant to give a kind reminder, didn't expect such a question bomb. 

[These geniuses of the clan, none of them are easy to deal with!]

"How to answer your question..."

Not only Shisui but everyone eating slowed down, ears perked, eyes wide and curious. Making Toshiro feel awkward if he didn't answer.

"Shisui, being the clan's genius, have you ever thought about how strong you've become, how much secret medicine you've taken, how much food you've eaten?"

"All those precious herbs, vegetables, fruits, beef, lamb, and seafood, how did they come to you?"

"Well... I haven't thought about it. But what does this have to do with war?"

Not only Shisui but even Uchiha Yame and others were confused. In their traditional views and village propaganda, war was due to accumulated grudges, eventually erupting.

"Shisui, realize that from birth, a person consumes the world's resources. An ordinary person can die in three days without water and in seven days without food. Those with 'abilities' can have feasts daily, with countless servants farming for them, enjoying the fruits without labor."

"And those at the bottom, too, want to live such 'good days,' letting others work for them while they enjoy."

"But with current 'productivity,' the world can only support a limited number of 'non-laborers.' Those with abilities or resources suppress the 'ordinary people' to ensure their descendants live as they do. Conflicts accumulate unnoticed... and one day, for some trivial reason, they suddenly explode."