Jiraiya's choice of topic was undoubtedly good, even Yahiko and Nagato were curious about how Mokgetsu would respond.
"That depends on your definition of peace, whether it's absolute peace or relative peace, eternal peace or peace for a certain period." Mokgetsu replied.
"If any major force can produce a strong entity akin to the God of Ninjas, the war might soon end, followed by a period of peace during the time the entity is alive."
"If not, the great war should conclude in about three years, leading to a relatively peaceful time, and in the following ten years, there will be localized conflicts, but no war that engulfs the entire Ninja World."
As the war progresses, the major Ninja Villages are gradually moving past the probing stage, having clarified their intelligence on target villages, and the intensity of the ensuing battles will only continue to rise until reaching a peak.
By then, clashes between thousand-strong ninja squads will become commonplace, and only collisions of several thousand ninja squads can be called great wars; it's not impossible for battles exceeding a combined force of five digits.
Although for the era Mokgetsu lived in before, ten thousand is not a very large number.
But ten thousand ninjas and ten thousand ordinary people are not the same concept.
Once a ninja has reached Chunin rank, they're almost a different species compared to ordinary people. Not to mention ninjutsu, the speed and strength with Chakra augmentation are extremely exaggerated.
Furthermore, during that time, powerful figures, including village leaders, may take action.
So when the Ninja World War reaches its peak, even Mokgetsu would need to be more cautious.
After all, someone in the shadows is watching him, or rather, watching his disciples.
"Isn't that the same as before?" Yahiko asked in confusion.
Each time a great war is fought, then a ten-year rest period follows, with smaller wars happening during the rest.
"This has indeed been the case since the era of the Ninja Village." Jiraiya sighed.
Although Mokgetsu's words sounded like an analysis from the history of the Ninja World War being presented, Jiraiya had to admit that Mokgetsu was spot on, and the likely development is truly as he described.
Jiraiya's impression of Mokgetsu improved slightly, acknowledging that gaining real-world experience from history is quite a skill.
"Even with a powerful figure like the God of Ninjas, only temporary peace can be achieved, so how can long-term peace for the entire Ninja World be attained? Do we need the Six Paths Sage to reincarnate?" Yahiko asked Mokgetsu, puzzled.
Although the Ninja Sect's main goal is world peace, under Mokgetsu's leadership, the sect seldom discusses global peace and remains focused on ensuring the long-term stability of the Land of Rain.
"Even the reincarnation of the Six Paths Sage wouldn't work." Mokgetsu corrected.
"The peace of the Six Paths Sage era is actually similar to the peace of Senju Hashirama's era, except the Six Paths Sage was stronger."
After Senju Hashirama's death, the first Ninja World War erupted, and after the Six Paths Sage's demise, the Ninja Sect split and chaos ensued. The developments were not much different.
It's just that the era of the Six Paths Sage is too distant, coupled with the fact that the Six Paths Sage has been thoroughly deified, which makes many believe he could bring true peace.
In reality, for today's Ninja World, reviving Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama together would have an effect not much different from reviving the Six Paths Sage.
Jiraiya looked at Mokgetsu in astonishment, since for non-Ninja Sect ninjas, the Six Paths Sage is the belief of the Ninja Sect, why else would even the station be named Six Paths City.
But Mokgetsu didn't seem like someone who believed in the Six Paths Sage.
At this moment, Nagato turned his gaze to Jiraiya; earlier, Jiraiya had taken Nagato as an example, suggesting he might be the reincarnation of the Six Paths Sage, capable of creating a world of mutual understanding and peace like the Six Paths Sage.
Noticing Nagato's gaze, Jiraiya scratched his head. It's not his fault; most of his knowledge about the Six Paths Sage actually comes from myth and legend, not as clearly as Mokgetsu knows.
"No wonder they dare to call themselves the Ninja Sect; that so-called inheritance of the Ninja Sect probably truly exists." Jiraiya thought to himself.
Jiraiya believed Mokgetsu might have come upon some Ninja Sect relics, where the Ninja Sect's various deeds were recorded.
"I don't know how to make the Ninja World remain permanently peaceful, but aren't we striving to find the answer? That's the significance of cultivating the next generation; even if we can't find it, we can let the successors continue seeking answers." Mokgetsu continued answering.
Even the world before Mokgetsu crossed over hasn't had peace for very long, and there's still localized warfare around the world.
So if asked how to achieve long-lasting peace, Mokgetsu couldn't provide a precise answer.
Mokgetsu actually isn't completely devoid of methods for long-lasting peace, but voicing them would be somewhat naive, and essentially it's a strengthened version of Senju Hashirama's plan.
It involves having a sufficiently excellent and wise person become akin to a god, becoming an Otsutsuki or even surpassing the Otsutsuki.
Without external forces influencing, peace can be ensured for quite a long time.
Listening to Mokgetsu's words, Jiraiya felt deeply moved and looked at Mokgetsu with a sense of seeing another version of himself.
After all, his journey these days, taking disciples throughout the Ninja World, was driven by similar thoughts.
By this point, Jiraiya felt he had some understanding of the ninja named Sosuke, and felt reassured.
Following Sosuke, Nagato and the others weren't facing a bad situation; it was a fortunate encounter requiring luck.
...
Konoha, Southern Border Forest.
Obito arrived early at the usual training spot and looked around, waiting for Mokgetsu to arrive.