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...
*Hokage Office*
Gojo Kaigetsu came in for his routine work report, mostly regarding the progress of the "Kirigakure Freedom Operation."
After all, it concerned the first proactive interaction with another village since the Fourth Hokage took office.
The ninjas below were watching closely; it was a test of both the Fourth Hokage's and Gojo Kaigetsu's governing abilities. If it failed, it would be a significant blow to Minato's authority, and Danzo and Mito would inevitably jump out to stir up trouble in Konoha. But if it succeeded...
Danzo's back, bent for half a lifetime, would finally snap.
They couldn't afford to be careless.
Setting aside those factors, it was evident that Gojo Kaigetsu himself was highly motivated.
Minato asked curiously, "Kaigetsu, you weren't this enthusiastic when dealing with Kumogakure. Why is it different with Kirigakure..."
"Did a Kirigakure ninja offend you?"
"Or is it because of the 'Shinobi World Continental Balance Policy - Kirigakure Threat Theory' you mentioned in the internal meeting before?"
"Kirigakure is just a bunch of singers, how could they possibly offend me? It's not because of that hypothetical policy either." Gojo Kaigetsu took a sip of tea and countered excitedly, "Minato, what is the spiritual belief of our Konohagakure?"
"The Will of Fire," Minato answered instantly.
"Then do you know what the antonym of fire is?"
"Water, is there a problem with that?"
"Why is it water?"
"This...?"
Wasn't this common knowledge in the shinobi world? Water Style countered Fire Style, what else could it be?
"You don't understand, Minato. This actually involves profound mathematics."
"As the Hokage, your level of education needs to keep up."
Minato scratched his head. Although he didn't quite understand what Gojo Kaigetsu was saying, he instinctively straightened his posture like an obedient student and said, "Please enlighten me."
Gojo Kaigetsu casually grabbed a nearby blackboard and started writing:
"Assuming fire is X, and its antonym is Y, then X + Y = 0"
"From the above assumption, we can conclude: Y = -X = 1 - 1 = 0"
"Then, let's consider '1 - 1' as a whole, 'H'"
"Isn't the equal sign above a 2?"
"Combining everything, we get: Water = Opposite of Fire = H₂O"
"Therefore-"
Gojo Kaigetsu's voice suddenly rose, and he proudly patted his chest, covered by his black uniform:
"As a staunch believer and inheritor of the Will of Fire, I am irreconcilably opposed to Kirigakure of the Land of Water!"
Minato: "...???"
Although he couldn't understand it, it seemed like Gojo Kaigetsu was engaging in something very trendy.
"Ahem, alright, let's set this issue aside for now."
Minato forced the atmosphere in the office back to the tension befitting a special operation. "Have you considered what kind of statement we should release afterward, Kaigetsu-kun?"
The current landscape of the shinobi world was "One Superpower, Two Strong Powers, Two Weak Powers."
The superpower was naturally Konoha, the two strong powers were Kumogakure and Iwagakure, and the two weak ones were self-evident. However, before another Uchiha Madara or Hashirama appeared in Konoha, they couldn't single-handedly dominate the entire shinobi world.
Therefore, even when conducting special military operations against a relatively weak village like Kirigakure, they needed a justifiable reason.
This was what was called the demeanor of a great village.
Otherwise, the surrounding smaller villages would be constantly on edge, potentially banding together and uniting with the other four great villages to challenge Konoha, which would be disastrous.
Gojo Kaigetsu casually tossed out an idea, "Do we even need to think about it? Of course, we say that Kirigakure discovered oil... oh no, chakra metal mines."
"Huh?" Minato was taken aback. "Let's not even talk about whether Kirigakure has chakra metal mines. Even if they did... this could easily be defined as a war of aggression by Konoha. That won't do."
"Oh? Then what are your thoughts, Minato?"
"I've given it some thought." Minato stroked his chin, pondering for a moment.
Those who are close to vermilion will turn red; those who are close to Gojo will turn dark.
Having spent so much time with him, Minato's heart had also become quite dark. For the sake of the village, he had always adopted a firm and ruthless stance towards other villages.
"Perhaps we can say that citizens, nobles, and merchants of the Land of Fire have frequently gone missing after entering the Land of Water. Or that Konoha ninjas have gotten lost within Kirigakure's territory."
"Therefore, we need to dispatch ninjas from Konoha to conduct rescue and search operations."
"This way, in the eyes of the mainstream public, Konoha can be distinguished from the image of an aggressor."
Minato was quite satisfied with the reason he came up with for the special military operation. He looked at Gojo Kaigetsu expectantly, hoping to hear affirmation.
However, Gojo Kaigetsu shook his head.
"That's too petty. We are Konoha, the number one village in the shinobi world. Are we going to launch a special military operation just to rescue people and conduct searches?"
"If we're going to apply pressure, we should make the Mizukage and the Land of Water's Daimyo make a statement."
"Then... what kind of statement should we use?"
"We need to understand one thing, Minato. A clarification statement isn't about making the village explain itself, it's about whitewashing the village!"
"The darker Kirigakure appears, the more justified our special military operation becomes!"
Gojo Kaigetsu cleared his throat and laid out his thoughts, "Firstly, we launch a unilateral special military operation against Kirigakure under the pretext that they possess weapons of mass destruction and are secretly supporting terrorist ninjas and rogue organizations."
"We will overthrow Yagura Karatachi's Bloody Mist regime and help the Kirigakure villagers establish a free and democratic government!"
"We will search for and destroy the hidden weapons of mass destruction within Kirigakure and eliminate the terrorist ninjas."
"We will end the Bloody Mist rule and provide Konoha's humanitarian aid!"
"We will protect Kirigakure's chakra metal mines, which are non-renewable and valuable resources belonging to the entire shinobi world!"
Gojo Kaigetsu's words were firm and resolute. "In the end, we won't find any weapons of mass destruction, but we will have protected the persecuted villagers and clans of Kirigakure."
"And we will announce that Yagura Karatachi's Bloody Mist regime had already destroyed all evidence and witnesses, and that Konoha, upholding its principles of peace, will withdraw from Kirigakure and the Land of Water."
"My goodness, a noble, compassionate, and beacon of hope image of Konoha will be imprinted in the minds of everyone in the shinobi world."
Gojo Kaigetsu closed his eyes, indulging in his own fantasy. It was-
Fantasy! Time!
His words echoed in the small Hokage office, leaving Minato dumbfounded.
After a long while, he finally snapped out of Gojo Kaigetsu's statement.
He said faintly, "Kaigetsu-kun, if I remember correctly... our special military operation doesn't include invading Kirigakure's mainland, does it?"
"Oh, is that so? I must have remembered it wrong."
Gojo Kaigetsu scratched his head shamelessly. If they truly acted as described in the statement, it wouldn't be any different from declaring war on Kirigakure.
Wouldn't that be helping Yagura Karatachi shift the internal class conflict within the village into an external conflict?
No, no, that wouldn't do.
"Alright, forget the beginning, forget the end, just remember the middle part-"
"Provide Konoha's humanitarian aid!"
...
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