Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke was taken aback. He hadn't expected Naruto to have truly changed his mind. To reform the world through love? That was an impossible dream, because people will always have their own selfish desires; not even Sasuke was an exception. How could one expect others to be selfless? It was clearly impossible.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "Will you only be unifying the five great ninja villages?"

Naruto shook his head. "Of course not." Unifying only the ninja villages wouldn't change anything for the ninja world as a whole. What truly needed to be done was to unify the entire world.

"A great unification of the ninja world. After thinking about it carefully, it's just as you said. It would be far, far better than the current situation," Naruto said, looking at Sasuke.

"If you're going to unify the ninja world, have you thought about what to do with the daimyō of the various countries?" Sasuke asked. If it were him, he would simply kill them all. But Naruto was obviously not him, and Sasuke didn't believe Naruto would take the same course of action. His approach would certainly be different.

"I've thought about it. The only way is to force the daimyō to abdicate."

That method was indeed not bad, but it was far from perfect. If they were forced to give up their positions, the daimyō would undoubtedly resist with everything they had, even at the cost of their own lives. They would absolutely not allow Naruto to unify the ninja world so easily. It was a conservative estimate that it would take several decades to quell the fighting. For Naruto to make such a decision, knowing it would bring decades of war, was certainly not an easy thing.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto. "If you do that, the entire ninja world may be in a state of constant war for the next few decades."

"Even the nations you've already pacified might see their embers reignite, with groups of people rising up to restore their old countries."

A troubled look appeared on Naruto's face, but he still bit his lip and said, "But it's just as you said. After unification, the entire ninja world will welcome an unprecedented era of peace."

"If our generation doesn't do this, someone else will, sooner or later."

"And rather than letting future generations do it, I'll do it myself."

Is Naruto trying to bear all the infamy himself? Indeed, that was the measure of his character. Sasuke smiled. "But even so, after the ninja world is finally unified, your position as Hokage will likely come to an end." This would be a war that engulfed the entire world, and the number of deaths would far exceed all previous Great Ninja Wars. With such a sea of blood on his hands, there would be no shortage of people who feared him. Even the ninja who surrendered might harbor deep-seated hatred for him. While they might not be able to take revenge on him directly, his son, Boruto, would surely face a great deal of trouble.

Naruto sighed. "Weren't you the one who kept advising me to do this? Why are you now…"

Sasuke smiled. "I advised you to do it, but I don't agree with your method."

"You… you were the one who told me what to do, and now you're saying my method is no good?"

Sasuke chuckled. "Don't be so hasty. Let me finish. You are the Hokage of the Leaf. Using your prestige and your strength, the other ninja villages dare not oppose you. This is a point you can use. At the same time, don't block off all hope for everyone."

"Establish a Union."

A Union? Naruto was stunned; he had never heard that name before.

"Weren't you able to establish a union of ninja villages before? It's the same principle, but… this Union is different from the Allied Shinobi Forces."

"All nations must acknowledge it, abandoning their former national titles and identities."

"They must become a single, unified whole."

Naruto frowned. "What do you mean? Are you saying we should let these nations remain?"

"Of course. Do you really want to start a war that won't stop for decades?" Naruto was silent, waiting for Sasuke to continue.

"Your previous idea blocked off all paths of retreat for the other nations, so they would fight to the death. But establishing a Union is different."

"The daimyō of the five great nations will form the Union and jointly manage it. The daimyō of the other smaller nations will become nominal leaders. In reality, they will have lost the power to control their countries, but we will preserve their benefits, allowing them to continue to enjoy their wealth and luxury." One choice was to lose power but enjoy a life of luxury; the other was to fight a desperate battle and die a miserable death. Sasuke believed that as long as the daimyō weren't completely delusional, they wouldn't refuse. Even if a few did, the remaining small fries would be easy to deal with. With the five great nations united, there was no ninja country they couldn't handle.

"But isn't that the same as before?"

Sasuke smiled. "Of course it's different. The five daimyō, they will die. Once they do, the next generation of daimyō will no longer be selected solely from within their respective nations." The position of daimyō was hereditary, Naruto was about to point out.

Sasuke immediately added, "This generation of daimyō will have power. But the next generation, their sons, will be reduced to ordinary nobles, enjoying benefits but having no real authority."

"The Union will eventually become truly unified. This method is called boiling the frog slowly. By the time they realize something is wrong, they will have already lost the power to resist. Perhaps a war will still break out, but it can be settled in a year or two at most."

After hearing all this, Naruto was stunned. "Sasuke, you are far more suited to be Hokage than I am."

Sasuke smiled. "I am no longer the Hokage."

Naruto shook his head. "Sasuke, stay. Just one person shouldn't make a difference, right?"

But Sasuke didn't agree. He just looked into the distance. "No. I must leave this world as well. It never belonged to me, and now I must go in search of a world that does."

"Goodbye, Naruto. I hope you can truly unify the ninja world and create the most lasting peace."

With that, Sasuke walked out of the Hokage's office. Kaguya was waiting for him outside the door.

"Did you hear everything?"

Kaguya nodded. "Although I didn't particularly want to listen, the doors made by humans cannot block my five senses."

Sasuke smiled. "Since you heard everything, you also understand that I am about to leave this world. So, your choice is…"

Kaguya looked at Sasuke. "Can I go with you?"

"Of course."

He reached out and took Kaguya's hand. Sasuke led her away, and they vanished down the long corridor. By the time Naruto rushed out, there was no trace of Sasuke left.

In the Uchiha district, Sarada stood, looking at the scene before her. Suddenly, she lifted her head, her gaze like lightning piercing through the clouds, looking up at the starry sky as if she could see Sasuke's figure. He was with a woman in white, and they vanished in an instant into the endless darkness.

'Sasuke… goodbye…'

'Your road is still long…'

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