Promoting the Konoha threat theory, and talking about the Hidden Mist Belt!

Chapter 6 Isolationism and Bloody Competition

"I know that many of you here have questions about the convening of this Jonin meeting. It's very simple. There are only three resolutions for this Jonin meeting, and all three resolutions will be implemented immediately after the meeting."

Lian turned to look at the daimyo envoy beside her, briefly introduced his identity, and then began to speak without further ado. The daimyo envoy sat there very properly, not taking advantage of his status to say anything inappropriate.

"The first thing is about the appointment of our Hidden Mist Village's genius, the 'Timely Rain' of the Hidden Mist Village." Ren glanced at Hozuki Shingetsu's position below the stage, emphasizing the two nicknames as she spoke.

Unfazed by his gaze, Hozuki Shingetsu stood up and nodded to those around him.

Many of the Jonin present had already heard of this genius ninja from their village, but they didn't understand why such an appointment was being made at this Jonin Tournament. Could it be another clash between the Mizukage and the Hozuki clan?

The daimyo's envoy standing to the side also looked at the young ninja with curiosity. It was the first time he had met the patron who had been sending him money in person.

"To show the village's respect for genius ninjas, and considering Hozuki Jonin's age, talent, and achievements, after discussion between myself and Master Genji, we have decided..."

Meeting Ren's gaze, Hozuki Shingetsu was genuinely nervous at this moment, after all, whether or not they could successfully fire this first shot depended on this!

"...granting him the position of foreign affairs officer."

Pretty!

If the setting weren't so serious, Hozuki Shingetsu would have loved to snap his fingers in celebration.

"……Yes."

However, in order to temporarily lull the enemy into a false sense of security, Hozuki Shingetsu still revealed a resentful look in his eyes, indirectly expressing his dissatisfaction.

Ren looked at Hozuki Shingetsu without any expression and immediately announced the second decision. Rather, the second and third decisions were the real purpose of his convening of this Jonin meeting, and the first decision was just a side effect.

To mobilize such a large force simply for the appointment of a junior is to underestimate him.

"The next decision is as follows: Effective immediately, based on the Second Mizukage's secrecy laws, this village will fully implement a policy of isolation. No one is allowed to leave without permission. And no outsider is allowed to enter Kirigakure without permission!"

?

This decision caused an uproar.

Although the Second Mizukage had enacted the Secrecy Law, the core idea behind it was that Kirigakure was too weak and it was a policy that had to be implemented to prevent the leakage of information from the village.

Moreover, the core of that secrecy law was actually to prohibit foreign ninjas from entering the country, but not to prohibit the ninjas of the village from going out, and also not to prohibit foreign merchants from entering. After all, if merchants didn't come, what would the many ninjas eat, drink, and play?

Judging from the Third Mizukage's words, it seems he intends to completely isolate the country, leaving no opportunity for interaction with the outside world?

The Water Kingdom is surrounded by seawater. Although the island can produce and consume its own resources, and it has no worries about the most basic living under the closed-door policy, how can they possibly get used to wearing linen clothes when they are used to wearing fine silks and satins?

As if she had anticipated the dissenting voices from the audience, Ren added, "This is His Majesty's intention."

The daimyo's envoy standing nearby also stood up to confirm the truth of the statement.

As the daimyo of the Land of Water, although he initially had the ambition to expand his territory after taking the throne, after decades of war, especially after the First Shinobi World War, he realized that his family's strength was such that they could barely defend their own small territory, let alone expand it.

So, under the impetus of certain "enthusiasts" and confidants, the policy of closing the country off from the world was thus freshly born. The arrival of the daimyo's envoy was actually to inform him of this matter, but unexpectedly, the current Mizukage seemed to greatly appreciate this decision and even wanted to implement it simultaneously in Kirigakure.

Hearing the ongoing murmurs from below the stage, Lian said expressionlessly, word by word, "This is also His Majesty's intention. Moreover, this is not a discussion, but a notification."

As he spoke, the air in the conference room suddenly became humid, and tiny water droplets filled the air, shimmering in the sunlight.

As a disciple of the First Mizukage and a true Mizukage, Ren's forte is naturally Water Release ninjutsu. His subtle chakra manipulation also proves that his reputation as Mizukage is well-deserved.

Seeing that the many Jonin below the stage immediately fell silent, and even the great ninja clans such as the Hozuki clan and the Yuki clan had no objections, he was satisfied and withdrew his methods.

"Without the strength of generational powerhouses like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and without a stable base of support, how dare they be so arrogant and run their own little kingdom? Have they really been brainwashed by Madara and Zetsu?"

Seeing this scene, Hozuki Shingetsu in the audience became certain of some of his suspicions.

"Next is the third decision, concerning future Jonin promotions."

"Due to the village's limited funds, and the fact that the number of ninjas has been increasing despite the cessation of war in recent years, and considering the latest policy of isolationism, I have decided to maintain the total number of ninjas from today onwards and implement a promotion system that promotes the capable and demotes the incompetent."

"A ninja wants to advance in rank? Sure! No missions or achievements are needed. Just defeat your opponent, and you'll gain their ninja rank!"

"If a ninja academy student wants to become a genin, then defeat a genin! If a genin wants to be promoted to chunin, then defeat a chunin! If they want to become a jonin, then defeat a jonin! And if someone wants to become the Mizukage, then if they can defeat me face to face, I'm willing to hand it over!"

As she said this, Ren's gaze lingered on the faces of Hozuki Zangetsu, the head of the Yuki clan, and others, seemingly with a hidden meaning.

However, the audience's reaction to this decision was not as strong as the last one.

It's easy to imagine that for chunin and genin, this will be a brutal and bloody elimination game.

In Kirigakure, a ninja identity is not just proof of identity, but also proof of political status!

This is especially true for ordinary people. If you want to live a good life, then become a ninja! Once you become a ninja master, you will step into another social class and be able to say goodbye to your previous hard life.

However, for Jonin, the impact is not that significant.

It's quite simple. Most of the Jonin present are from ninja clans. If the plan is implemented as the Mizukage intended, the number of Jonin will remain the same as it is now.

Becoming a Jonin is extremely rare, and those from various ninja clans who have the ability to become Jonin have already done so. This means that the position of Jonin will not change much for at least ten years, which also means that the interests of all the ninja clans present will not be affected in the short term.

For them, it doesn't actually have that much of an impact.

What? You mean ten years from now?

It's hard to say whether Ren will still be the Mizukage in ten years. If anyone stubbornly stands up for the sake of the future, everyone present will be laughing.

"Very well, if no one objects, then we'll disperse..."

"Wait a moment!"

Just as the room fell silent, the newly appointed foreign affairs officer stood up.

"I have something to say, please listen carefully."

Chapter 7 Continental Balance Policy

Whose subordinate is this? How can he be so brave?

The many Jonin present looked up and saw that it was the young clan leader of the Hozuki clan. Oh, then it's alright.

The Jonin present were well aware of the mess between the Hozuki clan and the Mizukage, so they eagerly awaited what insightful remarks the new Foreign Affairs Officer would make, with a "let's have a good show" mentality.

However, to their complete surprise, the genius from Kirigakure seemed to have a completely off-topic attitude from the very first sentence.

"First of all, I fully support all of the Mizukage's decisions. I here represent the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and firmly support all of the Mizukage's opinions! Anyone who opposes the Mizukage is opposing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!"

After all, policies like isolationism only apply to ordinary people. If a powerful ninja clan like the Hozuki clan wanted to secretly contact the outside world, how could anyone catch them? These policies only apply to ninja clans that lack ability and influence. Even the brainless Kaguya clan didn't take these policies seriously.

The fixed number of ninja slots is even more ridiculous. Does not having the title of Jonin mean one is not a Jonin? As for the influence that Jonin represent, as the number one clan in Kirigakure, do we really need a few more Jonin?

Therefore, there was absolutely no need for Hozuki Shingetsu to contradict Ren at this point.

However, Hozuki Shingetsu's loyal words left Ren puzzled. Could it be that the Hozuki clan wanted to reconcile with him?

However, it's clear that Hozuki Shingetsu stood up not to flatter him.

"We must not only support the Mizukage's decision, but also innovate upon it, think about what the Mizukage is anxious about and consider what the Mizukage is worried about. We must stand in the Mizukage's position, think about the impact this matter will have on our village from a holistic perspective, promptly identify and address any shortcomings, and effectively implement the Mizukage's will."

At first, Ren had a smile on her face, but the more she listened, the more something seemed wrong. What did she mean by "standing on the side of the Water Shadow", "considering the big picture", and "filling in the gaps"?

"From the Mizukage's policies, I've extracted a core principle: the enemy lies on the other side of the sea!"

"Objectively speaking, our Hidden Mist Village is somewhat inferior to Konoha in terms of hard power due to the island nation's scarcity of resources and small population."

Well, Hozuki Shingetsu has already been very restrained. This is hardly a slight deficiency. At this moment, Konoha's Mito Uzumaki alone, a living one, could overwhelm the entire Hidden Mist Village.

"Therefore, in order to defend against the enemy, we must keep our secrets and further improve our strength with limited resources."

Ren looked at Hozuki Shingetsu with some confusion, wondering what he was trying to say.

"Therefore, in order to address Lord Mizukage's urgent needs, our Foreign Affairs Department has formulated a policy, which I name... the Continental Balance Policy." Hozuki Shingetsu revealed his true intentions and explained the policy.

Simply put, it means uniting the weak against the strong to prevent the emergence of an absolute hegemon on the mainland.

But the key point is that a hegemonic country has already emerged on the mainland!

"Therefore, in order to fight against Konoha, we need to constantly incite the dissatisfaction of various countries with Konoha, thereby prompting them to launch a war against Konoha."

This made everyone present realize that Hozuki Shingetsu's words were definitely premeditated. After all, it had only been less than an hour since he was announced as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and this whole plan had already been put forward. How could this not be premeditated?

Ren had already realized this by now, but Hozuki Shingetsu had set a tone from the beginning by using his name. Not opposing him before, but opposing him now, meant missing the best opportunity. Unless they completely broke off relations, they would have to watch him continue performing under their name, but breaking off relations over something like this seemed a bit too much of a waste.

So, the Third Mizukage, filled with displeasure, asked impatiently, "So, what specific plan do you have to instigate a war between various countries against Konoha?"

Here it comes! Success or failure hinges on this one!

Hozuki Shingetsu knew the real show was about to begin, so he quickly responded: "It's definitely impossible to start a war against Konoha in the short term, but I can guarantee that at least two countries will declare war on Konoha within the next five years."

After all, it was already the 33rd year of Konoha. According to the original story, the Second Shinobi World War broke out around the 37th year of Konoha. It was only 4 years. If he just added fuel to the fire, a war would definitely break out.

"Five years? That's too long. I need five months to see results. If you can't do that, you can forget about being a foreign affairs officer. I don't need a minister who just talks big."

Although Ren couldn't understand what Hozuki Shingetsu was trying to do, she instinctively knew that she couldn't let him continue performing like this, so she directly changed the tune and set a time limit for his death.

"Five months? That's too short. But if the Mizukage allows me to take charge of all the publicity work for Kirigakure, I do have the courage to achieve that goal."

Hozuki Shingetsu looked troubled and, after thinking for a long time, gave this answer.

"Publicity matters?"

Ren paused, not understanding why Hozuki Shingetsu insisted on taking on this task. However, out of consideration for not making the enemy comfortable, he intended to refuse the request.

"The intention behind appointing you as a foreign affairs officer at your age was to nurture you, allowing you to interact with more senior colleagues and gain valuable experience. However, you've been making arrogant remarks and now you keep making demands on the village..."

"I think it's not a bad thing to give young people more opportunities. Besides, it's just publicity! It's only five months, and we'll see the results in five months. Why can't the Mizukage go with the flow? After all, even the Daimyo has heard of this kid's reputation. Giving him a chance is a good thing, isn't it?"