Even after months on the battlefield, there were still inconveniences that Team Minato never quite got used to.
For Rin Nohara, one of the biggest was something deceptively simple: bathing.
As the only girl on the team, she obviously couldn't bathe alongside Ren and the others. Fortunately, after months of training and combat experience, Rin had become increasingly proficient with Water Release. She could create a Water Clone to stand guard while she washed, while the rest of the team maintained a defensive perimeter at a safe distance.
It wasn't perfect.
But in wartime, perfection didn't exist.
Only compromises.
That evening, after completing a long reconnaissance mission, Team Minato arrived near a mountain stream hidden deep within the forest. The clear water flowed over smooth stones, reflecting the fading orange glow of sunset.
According to their rotation schedule, it was Kakashi's turn to prepare dinner.
The silver-haired prodigy sat near a campfire, silently cleaning fish with mechanical efficiency.
Rin had already gone downstream to bathe.
Meanwhile, Ren and Obito occupied a high rock formation overlooking the surrounding forest.
From a distance, the two boys resembled a pair of vigilant predators surveying their territory.
The mountain breeze rustled through the trees.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then suddenly—
"Hey, Ren."
Obito's voice broke the silence.
Ren glanced sideways.
The Uchiha's expression was unusually serious.
Not his normal energetic, loud, and slightly foolish self.
Ren raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Obito hesitated before asking,
"Why do shinobi have to fight wars?"
Ren blinked.
Then blinked again.
"...You're asking me?"
For a moment, he genuinely thought he had misheard.
The war had been going on for over half a year.
They had witnessed countless deaths.
Completed dangerous missions.
Buried comrades.
And only now Obito was asking this?
More importantly...
Since when did Obito start thinking about philosophical questions?
Ren stared at him suspiciously.
This guy struggles with basic strategy half the time.
Now he wants to discuss geopolitics?
Still, there was nothing else to do.
The night was quiet.
The mission was over.
And boredom was a dangerous enemy.
So Ren leaned back against the rock and answered.
"What else could it be?"
"Resources."
"Resources?"
Obito frowned.
"Yeah."
Ren picked up a pebble and tossed it into the darkness below.
"The root of almost every war is resources."
"Land."
"Money."
"Population."
"Trade routes."
"Political influence."
"Even things you can't physically touch, like authority or prestige."
His gaze drifted toward the horizon.
"Take this war, for example."
"The Land of Wind is mostly desert."
"Poor farmland."
"Limited water."
"Limited resources."
"But the Land of Fire?"
Ren spread his arms.
"Forests."
"Rivers."
"Fertile plains."
"Large population."
"We're rich."
"Sunagakure looks at all that and thinks..."
He shrugged.
"'Why should Konoha have everything?'"
Obito fell silent.
Ren continued.
"The world isn't fair."
"The Land of Fire didn't earn its geography."
"The Land of Wind didn't choose theirs."
"But reality doesn't care."
"One side has more."
"The other side wants it."
"And eventually somebody decides to take it."
The sound of flowing water echoed through the valley.
Obito thought for a long moment.
Then he said,
"But if that's all it is..."
"Couldn't they just sit down and talk?"
Ren nearly laughed.
"Talk?"
"Sure."
"They can talk."
"And after talking?"
He pointed at Obito.
"Imagine your family owned a gold mine."
"Someone wanted it."
"They decided the easiest way to get it was killing you and taking everything."
Ren tilted his head.
"How exactly are you planning to negotiate that?"
Obito opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Ren wasn't finished.
"You want to become Hokage, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then why don't you just ask Lord Third to hand over the position?"
Obito nearly fell off the rock.
"W-What?!"
"That's completely different!"
"Is it?"
Ren asked calmly.
Obito froze.
Ren continued.
"There's only one Hokage."
"Many people want it."
"The position is limited."
"Resources are limited."
"Land is limited."
"Power is limited."
"The moment something becomes limited, competition begins."
The words hung heavily in the air.
Obito scratched his head.
His expression twisted as he struggled to process the logic.
"But..."
"What if everyone competed fairly?"
Ren immediately replied.
"What if they don't?"
Obito paused.
Ren's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You might compete fairly."
"You might follow the rules."
"But can you guarantee everyone else will?"
Silence.
Of course he couldn't.
Nobody could.
"Besides..."
Ren sighed.
"Human greed doesn't have a limit."
"Most people aren't satisfied with what they have."
"They always want more."
"If someone can become Hokage, why not become ruler of all Five Great Nations?"
"If someone owns one mountain, why not ten?"
"If someone controls one village, why not the entire continent?"
Obito stared blankly.
Then frowned.
"Wait."
"What does that phrase mean?"
Ren blinked.
"What phrase?"
"The one about wanting more."
"You said something weird."
Ren rubbed his forehead.
Right.
Idiom failure.
"It means people get something..."
"And then immediately want even more."
"Oh."
Obito nodded as if enlightened.
Then immediately looked confused again.
Ren wasn't even surprised anymore.
After another moment, Obito quietly asked,
"So is it Konoha's fault?"
The question made Ren pause.
"It's not about fault."
He looked up at the night sky.
Countless stars glittered overhead.
"This is simply how the world works."
Then he glanced toward Obito.
"Let's say you thought Lord Third wasn't a good Hokage."
"I don't!"
"I'm giving an example."
Obito immediately shut up.
Ren continued.
"Let's say you thought he didn't deserve the position."
"So you challenged him."
"You defeated him."
"And you became Hokage."
"Whose fault would that be?"
Obito opened his mouth.
Then slowly closed it.
He didn't have an answer.
Neither did Ren.
Because there wasn't one.
The world wasn't divided into simple categories of right and wrong.
Especially not the shinobi world.
After a while, Obito suddenly blurted out,
"I'd never do something like that!"
"And Lord Third is doing a great job!"
Ren chuckled.
That part was true.
At least for now.
The current Hiruzen Sarutobi was still respected by most of the village.
The disasters of his later years hadn't happened yet.
Despite mistakes like the White Fang incident, he was still widely regarded as a capable leader.
Obito genuinely admired him.
And that admiration was sincere.
The conversation gradually faded.
Neither spoke for a while.
Ren's gaze drifted toward the stars again.
To be honest...
Sometimes he hated this world.
Not always.
But sometimes.
The shinobi world could be fascinating.
Ninjutsu was amazing.
Combat was exhilarating.
People like Tsunade, Minato, Rin, and even Kakashi had treated him well.
He had friends.
Goals.
A future.
But all of that depended on one thing.
The System.
Without it?
Ren knew exactly what his fate would have been.
A civilian-born child.
No famous bloodline.
No clan support.
No inherited techniques.
No special advantages.
Just another expendable shinobi.
In this war, his chance of survival would probably be less than thirty percent.
Maybe worse.
The Five Great Villages had existed for less than fifty years.
Yet already three great wars had erupted.
Entire generations had been consumed by conflict.
Countless children grew up as orphans.
Countless families disappeared overnight.
Statistically speaking, finding a shinobi with both parents alive was practically a miracle.
Looking at Team Minato alone—
Ren had both parents.
Rin had both parents.
That already made them unusually fortunate.
Most teams weren't nearly that lucky.
In a world like this...
Was it really surprising that some people eventually broke?
That some sought revenge?
That some became monsters?
Honestly...
The surprising part was how many people remained good.
Though admittedly—
Certain clans seemed to produce psychopaths at a suspiciously high rate.
Ren glanced sideways at Obito.
Then wisely kept that thought to himself.
A few moments later, Obito suddenly spoke again.
"Ren."
"Hm?"
"What's more important to a shinobi?"
"The mission?"
"Or comrades?"
Ren immediately felt a headache coming.
There it is.
The real question.
He stared at Obito.
"You're thinking about the White Fang again, aren't you?"
Obito looked away guiltily.
A reaction that answered everything.
Not long ago, Obito had asked Asuma about Sakumo Hatake.
The legendary White Fang.
The hero who abandoned a mission to save his comrades.
The man who was later condemned by the village and eventually took his own life.
A tragedy that still haunted Konoha.
"What did Asuma tell you?" Ren asked.
Obito scratched his cheek.
"Nothing useful."
"I tried talking to Kakashi afterward."
"And?"
The Uchiha groaned.
"The second I mentioned his father, he exploded."
"He wouldn't listen to a word I said."
Ren wasn't surprised.
Not even slightly.
Kakashi was only ten years old.
A genius, yes.
But still a child.
And his father's death had left wounds that hadn't even begun to heal.
To Kakashi, missions represented duty.
Rules.
Order.
Meaning.
If Sakumo had died because he chose comrades over the mission...
Then Kakashi's young mind naturally clung to the opposite conclusion.
Missions must come first.
Anything else would mean his father's sacrifice had been meaningless.
It was an understandable mindset.
Even if it was flawed.
Ren had no intention of interfering directly.
The bond between Obito and Kakashi was complicated enough already.
Besides...
History had a way of correcting itself.
Eventually.
Instead, Ren leaned back against the rock.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Obito."
"Hm?"
"Have you ever heard of the Trolley Problem?"
Obito stared.
"The what problem?"
"The Trolley Problem."
Obito blinked.
Then blinked again.
Finally, he asked with complete sincerity:
"...What's a trolley?"
For several seconds, Ren simply stared at him.
The mountain breeze howled softly through the trees.
Far below, the stream continued flowing.
Near the campfire, Kakashi silently prepared dinner.
And somewhere downstream, Rin's Water Clone remained on guard.
Meanwhile, atop the rocky cliff...
Ren suddenly realized he had made a terrible mistake.
Trying to explain advanced philosophical thought to Obito Uchiha was roughly equivalent to teaching a fish how to climb a tree.
It wasn't impossible.
But it would definitely shorten someone's lifespan.
Most likely his.
A slow grin spread across Ren's face.
"Alright."
"Let's start from the beginning."
Obito nodded eagerly.
Completely unaware of the intellectual suffering about to descend upon him.
And as the stars glittered overhead, Ren prepared to introduce one of the most infamous moral dilemmas in human history—
Unaware that this simple conversation would soon force Obito to question everything he believed about missions, comrades, and what it truly meant to be a shinobi.
The answer was coming.
And neither of them would leave that discussion unchanged.
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