Naruto: From Capturing the Main Clan to Becoming the Mastermind

Chapter 45: Peace

"...Roots underground can never bask in the sunlight like leaves; Danzo's actions are meaningless."

Hinata Yu shook her head and said calmly, "If you were worried, you wouldn't have come."

"...That's true." Minato smiled and stood up. "All I need to do is win this war with my comrades in the village."

The ninja clan's bargaining is predicated on the Hokage's willingness to play by the rules. When a powerful Hokage is unwilling to play, the ninja clan has no power to stop him.

Did the First Hokage have political acumen?

No, but all ninja clans must follow his rules.

The eternal law of the ninja world is—might makes right!

Yes, might makes right...

"Alright, before the village's ninja forces assemble, let's clear out the Kirigakure forces that are roaming around the area."

Looking at the excited Kushina, Hyuga Yu sighed, then glanced at Kakashi and Uchiha Yakumaru beside him, as if asking:

"We're the Shadow Guard. What kind of nonsense is it to abandon the Hokage and carry out a mission on our own?"

You ask me, who do I ask?

Uchiha Yakumaru rolled his eyes, gestured towards Kushina, then looked towards the command room, using two fingers to indicate the height difference between Kushina and Minato. Kushina was higher, Minato lower, clearly conveying his meaning.

"It's clear that this person is in charge in the Hokage's household. Can we even resist?"

Is this a different kind of "might makes right"?

The fourth generation lord is henpecked; I never imagined that before.

Kakashi, meanwhile, stood calmly looking at the comic book, as if he were already used to it.

Kushina's wife just wanted to "let loose" after spending too much time alone in the village.

"What are you waiting for?"

Kushina walked a short distance, then looked back at the three with varying expressions. She didn't follow, put her hands on her hips, and said with a smile, "Aren't you going to listen to the captain's orders? I've already spoken to Minato."

"Let's go." Hinata Yu shook his head, created a shadow clone that remained outside the command room, and followed.

Seeing this, Kakashi and Uchiha Yakumaru exchanged a glance and followed after them.

With the support troops yet to arrive, Minato needs to stay at the command post, and the plan to deal with the Tailed Beasts will have to be postponed.

After all, Orochimaru, who was gathering intelligence, had not yet returned, and some plans required more specific information before they could proceed.

However, Jiraiya has already gone to the front lines.

"It's much more brutal than what I experienced on the battlefield before."

An hour away from the command post, Byakugan reflected the surrounding forest, and Hinata Yu thought to himself.

Scattered blood and ninja tools were everywhere in the forest, and some corpses had not yet been recovered. Clearly, with the arrival of Kirigakure reinforcements and the increasing intensity of the battle, there was no longer any capacity to do certain things.

After advancing a short distance and seeing that they hadn't encountered any enemies yet, Kushina, standing at the front, gestured for them to stop, indicating that they should rest for a while.

Although they are all Jonin, if the intelligence is correct, Kirigakure has already deployed 7,000 ninjas to the battlefield and is still sending reinforcements to the front lines. The next time, another 2,000 ninjas will probably be deployed.

Although most of them are chuunibyou and genin cannon fodder, there are still some experts among them. Their team is very strong, but if they are not careful, they may be surrounded when they are tired and may suffer casualties.

"The Hidden Mist Village has gone mad. This number of ninjas was only seen when the Third Tsuchikage besieged the Third Raikage. How much defensive strength does the Land of Water still have?"

Uchiha Yakumaru took a sip of water from his water bottle and asked, puzzled, "The military forces of the Five Great Shinobi Villages are needed to defend most of the Five Great Nations. How could the Daimyo of the Land of Water agree to let the Mizukage bring so many troops to attack us? Did he really think the Mizukage could win?"

Under the one country, one village system, most of the country's military power is borne by the ninja villages within the country. Although the daimyo also controls some power, it is negligible compared to the proportion held by the ninja villages.

"The Land of Water is isolated overseas. To attack them, one must cross a long sea, which most ninjas do not have the ability to do and must travel by boat."

Kushina glanced at him and smiled, "As long as the coastline is well controlled, it's very difficult to attack there. Aren't you good at geography?"

"I know," Yaowan pouted. "I just don't understand why, every time the Ninja World War comes around and Konoha is weak, other ninja villages come after it. Why don't they attack other major powers? The Land of Water's defenses must be very weak right now. Even if they can't take it, they can still get some benefits."

"There's no real benefit in that; the Land of Fire occupies a very good location."

Hyuga Yu, using his Byakugan to probe, looked in a certain direction and said, "The Land of Fire is bordered by the sea to the east and south, and is surrounded by small countries. According to the current map of the ninja world, it is located in the center and is an important transportation hub and economic center."

"Moreover, due to its climate and terrain, its food production ranks among the highest in all countries. Attacking this place, even just crossing the border, would yield considerable profits."

"Moreover, Konoha has consistently demonstrated the strongest war potential among all the major powers. If we don't suppress it, they won't feel at ease."

"..."

Uchiha Yakumaru remained silent. It wasn't that he was unaware of these things, but he was somewhat worried about this trend of development.

During the three Shinobi World Wars, Konoha had to fight against several other ninja villages. What if Konoha ran out of talent and no one emerged as a strong enough ninja to turn the tide?

The destructive outcome seemed predictable.

"Why can't we just wipe them out? We win every time, but I don't see Konoha gaining any real benefit."

"The Tailed Beasts were all assigned to them by the First Hokage, and now they're using them to fight us. They're truly ungrateful. The peace the First Hokage longed for has been shattered by them. When will we ever see true peace again?" Yaowan muttered.

None of the people present answered, and Hinata Yu narrowed his eyes and remained silent.

True peace... that thing has never existed.

As long as people are alive and have desires, the struggle will never stop.

The world I lived in in my previous life was not peaceful either. Those powerful weapons only served to keep nations in check when necessary, and to wage war through economic and political means.

Many countries have not given up on acquiring those terrifying weapons, even if they prohibit them from researching them.

Ultimately, power can instill fear in others, but it can also arouse their greed.

The power of Hashirama was studied, and the power of the Uchiha clan was studied, because it gave rise to figures like Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju, who could rival even the most powerful ninja villages.

Many people fear them, but given the chance, they would all want to be one of them!

In the ninja world, achieving lasting or even eternal peace through individual strength is likely only possible at the level of the so-called Otsutsuki God. Otherwise, peace brought about by force will inevitably disappear sooner or later due to even stronger force.

Simply having Otsutsuki members isn't enough, since there have already been quite a few Otsutsuki who have been killed or sealed away by the ninja world in the future.

The ninja world has the resources to fight against the Otsutsuki clan.

However, if we abandon the premise of the individual and seek temporary peace, peace without war, then such strength is unnecessary...

The current Konoha is fine.

Hinata Yu's expression shifted. "Enemy spotted one kilometer ahead."

(End of this chapter)