Naruto: The Ridiculously Talented Uzumaki

Chapter 181: A Conversation with Asura

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Douluo: Martial Soul Atlas Spear

"That was indeed an oversight on my part."

Asura sighed softly, carrying a sense of calm and helplessness that came from the accumulation of ages.

He didn’t maintain a standing posture, but instead, like an old friend chatting, he casually sat cross-legged in the air, the "air" beneath him seemingly turning into a solid meditation cushion.

This action dissolved some of the invisible tension, yet it also made his presence appear more natural, and more... unfathomable.

"My consciousness has actually only gradually awakened recently."

Asura explained, his voice peaceful.

"Earlier than that, those... subtle influences on you were more like the remnants of my subconscious while I slept, or rather, my Chakra instinctively influencing you.

Guiding the host toward the path of ’understanding’, ’bonds’, and ’love’.

That was not my conscious manipulation."

His gaze looked honestly at Naruto.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, his tone betraying no emotion.

"Even if you say that, the first thing you did when you woke up was check my memories?"

Facing this nearly offensive question, Asura shook his head slightly.

"I cannot check your memories, but I saw you through the eyes of the Nine-Tailed."

He admitted it straightforwardly.

"I needed to understand the current situation of my ’host’, understand this era, and... why you would have such strong resistance and wariness toward my ’guidance’."

His eyes became somewhat complex as he recalled the images he had read: "And because of that, I saw your past, as well as your uniqueness."

Naruto’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, as if he had already expected to be seen through.

It seemed the study of the Spirit Transformation Technique needed to begin; Asura’s move was too ruthless.

If he didn’t get rid of him, he wouldn’t be able to sleep!

He looked at Asura’s calm and composed, even overly "easy-to-talk-to" appearance, and suddenly asked:

"What, now that you’ve seen through my background and understand my abnormalities, are you, having suddenly awakened, preparing to perform a Possession on me?"

This question was heart-piercing, directly touching upon the fundamental conflict of power and existence.

However, upon hearing this, Asura quickly waved his hands, a somewhat wry smile appearing on his face:

"No, no, no, how could I!"

Although he hadn’t heard of what Possession was, the term was easy to understand.

The Soul is the traveler, the Physical Body is the inn; so-called Possession should be an external Soul pushing out the original Soul to occupy the body.

His tone was exceptionally firm.

"I am already a dead man; my family, friends, and even the bonds of that era have all passed away.

Living, for me, has no meaning."

His voice lowered, carrying a loneliness that had seen through the cycle of life, death, and Reincarnation: "I am merely a wisp of lingering Chakra, a piece of stubborn remembrance, a... lingering obsession that I haven’t fully let go of.

Occupying your body to prolong my existence?

That would be meaningless and would violate the beliefs I have always held."

Changing the subject, a bit of childish embarrassment and longing appeared on Asura’s face; he scratched his head and laughed:

"Actually... I really want to meet Senju Hashirama."

He made no secret of his desire: "That junior who inherited my Chakra but walked his own path.

The person who, with powerful strength and the philosophy of bonds, almost achieved the mutual understanding that both my brother and I failed to fully accomplish."

Asura felt a bit embarrassed: "And, I want to say to him in person... I’m sorry."

He looked at Naruto and explained, "You can probably guess that Hashirama was also influenced by my Chakra.

Although this influence was passive and unconscious, my Chakra chose him and naturally brought certain ’traits’ and ’tendencies’ to him.

But every time I think about how certain overly idealized aspects of his life even brought pain and regret to his friends and family because of it, I always feel a bit ashamed.

He should have been able to create a more peaceful era with the Indra reincarnate of that generation."

He was like an elder who only realized the impropriety after unintentionally leaving a mess for his juniors, his face filled with sincere apology and bashfulness.

These words, honest to the point of being blunt, deepened Naruto’s understanding of Asura by another layer.

This guy didn’t seem like the high-and-mighty, moralizing saint he had imagined, but rather like a gentle, reflective ordinary person.

But the more it was like this, the deeper the vigilance in Naruto’s heart grew.

Because often, behind such a seemingly harmless, even likeable posture, the hidden obsessions and goals are even more far-reaching and elusive.

"Your subconscious..."

Naruto spoke slowly.

"Or rather, the ’instinctive orientation’ of your Chakra imprint seems to have overcorrected things."

He stared at Asura, his gaze piercing: "You long for ’love’, ’understanding’, and ’bonds’; there is perhaps nothing inherently wrong with that.

But the influence you exert always tries to suppress all hatred, resolve all conflicts, and use ’forgiveness’ and ’tolerance’ to cover all scars.

You seem to believe that as long as everyone ’loves’ each other, problems will naturally be solved."

Naruto paused: "However, is what you are correcting necessarily ’wrong’?

Some hatred stems from real harm and injustice; some conflicts are rooted in structural flaws and the oppression of power.

Blindly using ’love’ to gloss over and harmonize is sometimes just letting the victims continue to be silent, letting the perpetrators remain unscathed, and letting the problems continue to fester under a tender surface.

In a way, how is your theory essentially different from the Third Hokage’s compromise philosophy of’sacrificing the few for the big picture’ and ’maintaining superficial peace’?

Both are just avoiding the true conflicts to maintain a fragile, unfair’stability’."

Facing Naruto’s merciless analysis and questioning, the awkward smile on Asura’s face gradually faded.

He didn’t refute, nor did he get angry; he just listened quietly, his eyes showing deep thought.

When Naruto finished, Asura slowly and extremely solemnly pressed his hands together in front of his chest.

He lowered his head slightly, his voice becoming exceptionally sincere: 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"You are right; all of this is my fault."

He admitted it without making excuses.

"My philosophy may indeed be too idealized.

A thousand years have passed, and the world has changed greatly.

The ’Dao’ I adhered to may have deviated from its original intent in the hands of different people and different eras, or it may have exposed its inherent historical limitations.

Only thoughts that keep pace with the times can better lead everyone toward the path of peace.

Indra’s path led to conflict, and my path... may have led to weakness and indulgence."

Asura looked up, his gaze earnest as he looked at Naruto, his longing to see Senju Hashirama becoming incredibly clear once again:

"So... I beg of you."

His tone was almost pleading:

"I really, really want to meet Senju Hashirama.

I want to see with my own eyes what this junior, who practiced my philosophy in his own way and almost took it to the extreme, actually looks like.

I want to hear his views on ’bonds’, on ’peace’, and on the paths of us brothers.

I want to know what the things I left behind have ultimately brought... this is very important to me."

Immediately, he switched to a dogeza posture, lowering himself even further:

"Also, for unconsciously influencing your judgment... I am truly very sorry. Hontoni gomen nasai!"

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